C-O-L-O-R-A-D-O

Fort Wayne, Indiana. Home to 251,591 people (wow) and the 73rd largest city in the US (what?!). Surrounded by mature trees and corn fields, this oasis is home to a fantastic golf course. That course would be Sycamore Hills Golf Club. It is amazing, check it out. I thought I played a great golf course in St. Louis, this course about matches it! The USGA knows how to put on a tournament. They've had 109 years of experience, they better know! Fort Wayne has seemed to have a surprise for me around every corner, hopefully on that list is the Judy Bell trophy, named in honor of the 1996-1997 USGA President. That would top off a week in corn country!

GO C-O!

Side note: Carol Semple Thompson (Pennsylvania) is here...check out her credentials – 1973 U.S. Women’s Amateur; 1990 and 1997 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur; 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur; 1974, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 Curtis Cup team; 2006 and 2008 Curtis Cup captain.

During our formal dinner tonight, people clapped after the Curtis Cup team years and thought the announcer was done. Carol sat down after about half of it. Wow...

USGA State Teams

On Saturday, I am headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana for the USGA State Teams tournament. I will be representing Colorado along with two other amateurs. We earned these spots from play throughout the year. It is an honor to represent your state against every other state including Puerto Rico. Here is a preview for the tournament:

Sycamore Hills Golf Club

Yardage: 6,095 yards

Par: 36-36—72

Defending champion: Arizona

Opened: 1989

Designer: Jack Nicklaus

USGA championships: This will be the first USGA championship for the club, but Sycamore Hills has hosted numerous state events, including three Indiana State Amateurs.

Designer notes: The course meanders through property first deeded by Andrew Jackson in 1835 that consists of mature trees, gentle hills and the Aboite River.

Nicklaus on Sycamore Hills: "Sycamore is one of the finest sites we’ve ever had the opportunity on which to design a golf course. [Owner] Jim Kelley says I tell all the owners that, but Sycamore Hills truly is a very, very fine site. It has gorgeous trees, great movement of property, and it had some existing lakes that really functioned quite well. The site had a little river moving through the property which really afforded a lot of opportunities to create different shots."

Indiana and USGA: This will be the 17th USGA event held in Indiana and the second of 2009, following the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel. In seven previous Women’s State Team Championships, Indiana’s best finish was a tie for ninth in 2003 at Wellesley Country Club in Wellesley Hills, Mass.

Elite company: When Golf Digest named its top new private courses for 1990, Sycamore Hills fell just behind Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas, Nev.

WEBSITE FOR WOMEN'S USGA STATE TEAMS.

Colorado has never come in the top 10. With the team that we are taking, we hope to bring home a National Championship. We have a hall of famer - Kim Eaton and another decorated amateur in Janet Moore. I will be in great company on our team as well as our tournament. Many past US Amateur champions will be there as well as other accomplished amateurs.

I am excited.

Tea Time

"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do."
-Jerome K. Jerome

"Tiger at the Tee"

By: DJ Gallo

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Hazeltine crowd that day;
Tiger led by two, with but one more round to play,
And then when Padraig took an eight, and more did much the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

While a struggling few got up to go in deep, intense despair,
Some others stayed right in their seats, sensing something in the air.
They thought, "If only one could make a move, I probably would not flee
I'd like to see them challenge Woods -- however unlikely."

But Westwood preceded Tiger, as did also McIlroy,
And the former was a loser, while the latter was a boy.
So upon that stricken multitude came thoughts of boring play,
For there seemed but little chance of catching Tiger on that day.

Then Yang uncorked a booming drive to the wonderment of all,
And next up was his eagle, a perfect chipping of the ball.
And when the pin was lifted, and they saw what had occurred,
There was Y.E. safe in first ... and Tiger nearing third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
How would Tiger come right back? They couldn't quite yet tell.
They clapped their hands together and yelled with utter glee.
For Tiger, mighty Tiger, was coming to the tee.

There was ease in Tiger's manner as he took his usual stance;
There was pride in Tiger's bearing and a swoosh upon his pants.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly touched his cap,
No fan there in the crowd could doubt that he would close the gap.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he put his tee into the dirt.
Five thousand tongues applauded when he adjusted his red shirt.
While Yang hit his drive a ways, to a place where he could score,
Tiger hit his all that way -- and some twenty yards or more.

And now again the small, white sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Tiger stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
But close by the sturdy flag, the stubborn ball it sped --
"$@!%&*^ @%^&," said Tiger. "Get down!" his caddy said.

From the bleachers full of people, there went up a muffled roar,
They were waiting for the comeback, and they could hardly wait much more.
"Catch him! Catch that Yang!" shouted someone on the stand;
(Although he soon piped down, lest he get beat by Stevie's hand.)

With a bit of golfing charity, Yang left his next putt short;
But Tiger did not capitalize with his usual deft retort.
And so one hole was left to play and Tiger swung with might,
But Yang erased away all hope: His approach went nice and tight.

"Yang!" cried the surprised thousands, and then they yelled out "Y.E.!"
There walked a disappointed Tiger, a sight few hardly ever see.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain.
And they knew that Tiger wouldn't let one get away again.

So the match was all but finished, it had slipped from Tiger's grip.
You couldn't help excuse him if he let some curse words slip.
And now Yang confirmed it as his putt fell out of sight.
And the gathered crowd was shocked to see Woods fall without a fight.

Oh, somewhere in South Korea the sun is shining bright,
A band is playing somewhere, and there the hearts are light,
And in Seoul the men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there was no joy for Tiger as he meekly putted out.

Wow.

US Amateur Pics

The clubhouse.

From #13 tee box. Beautiful par-3. The picture doesn't do it justice.

From #11 tee box. Great view of the St. Louis skyline the entire hole on a clear day!

From #17 tee box.

The Cox Cup was presented in 1896 by Robert Cox, of Gorgie, Edinburgh, Scotland, a member of Britain’s Parliament. It is the only USGA trophy donated by a person from another country and is the oldest survivor among trophies for USGA championships.

The backside of the clubhouse where our banquets were and we ate breakfast/lunch. The scoreboard is on the right side of the picture.

#18 green. Fantastic finishing hole.

One Great Week

July 31, 2009

TRAVEL

Man, what a long day! I woke up at 4am just exhausted. I made breakfast, packed up the car and left at around 4:50am. I drove four hours and was pulled over. 86 in a 70. Dammit. I continued to drive through extreme tiredness artificially covered up by Starbucks. Arrived at my host family’s home around 6:30pm. It felt good to be there! Met her for 5 minutes and she left for some plans she already had and I had her entire house to myself for the night! It was weird being in a strangers house without them there but very inviting and encouraging that someone would trust a complete stranger in her home!

August 1, 2009

1^st PRACTICE ROUND

I arrived for registration to a room full of smiley volunteers. They were very nice in showing me the clubhouse and our locker, and dining room. I got my gift, a backpack and a local boutique’s necklace and signed two autographs (Ha. I was excited.)!! I went to breakfast and was just taking it all in. Meanwhile I was being waited on by some of the best waiters I have ever interacted with! Everything in the clubhouse was soo fancy and nice. I felt like I was in a Victorian mansion or something. I saw the trophy and it is one of the most beautiful trophies I’ve ever seen. I met my caddie, Tim, while I was warming up. He seemed nervous but I eased him by trying to make him laugh. We got out on the course and it started pouring. It rained for 7 holes just non stop and got everything wet. After hole 8, it cleared up a bit and was a nice afternoon! I played with a girl who was on the National Championship USC team of last year, Morgan Pressel (LPGA Pro)’s sister, and the girl who beat me by 1 at our qualifier in Denver! It was really fun meeting some new friends. Interesting getting to know their personalities behind the cutthroat competitors that they are on the golf course. My friend Alison and I practiced a bit after our round and headed to the fancy dinner they had for us at the course put on by the USGA. They had all kinds of yummy stuff there! Sushi, roast beef, pasta and bite size desserts!! They introduced all the past USGA Champions the president of the club spoke as well as the USGA president. It was a short program. Alison and I sat by a girl from England and a girl from Scotland. It was fun to meet them and hear about their stories of coming across the pond for the 18-hole qualifier. Wow. I only drove an hour to mine and they spent $1500 just for the qualifier!! I was so tuckered out so I headed home to get some much needed rest!

August 2, 2009

2^nd PRACTICE ROUND

Alison and I played together today and went off early. We played with a junior golfer from California and a girl from I don’t even remember where who only spoke Korean, but then when I said nice to play with you, she said, yeah it was fun thanks. She spoke English. Ha. We had fun playing and my caddy and I had good report. I played well and made some birdies on this tough course. The ball was flying a little better due to less humidity. We finished our round and headed to lunch where we had a hot thanksgiving dinner! They had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes (I hate mashed potatoes but these were heaven -- that's how good this food was), chicken, peas, carrots, and rolls! It was great!! Alison left me so I went down to the locker room to watch some golf on the big flat-screen they have. Tiger was especially inspiring and I made some new friends. Possibly with the oldest competitor this week (54 years old)! She is from Jamaica and has won three USGA Senior Women’s Amateur titles (2005, 2006 and 2008). I chatted with her about USGA State Teams which is another championships that the USGA puts on that I will be going to in a month. We watched Tiger and rooted him on for about 2 hours. I decided I had rested enough so I went out to practice in the St. Louis heat. Our BBQ was at 5pm so I practiced some 6' putts and hit some drivers. Alison came back to get me and we sat together. They, once again, had amazing food topped off by an incredible ice cream sundae w/ peaches and blueberries! SO yummy! After dinner I did some lag putting then headed back to my home for the week for some chatting with my host mom and a shower!

August 3, 2009

1^st ROUND

I woke up around 8am for my 1pm tee time. I went to the club for breakfast and went to see the hole locations on #9 and #18. Moseyed on back to my family’s house and wrote some emails, checked the weather. When I came back to warm up, I was hitting it awesome, putting okay, and I was SO excited to play. Got up to the first tee and they do equipment checks. They look at the brands of your clubs, bag, ball, clothes, shoes, hat, glove etc. If you have ever watched golf, commercials come on that say, “Titleist. The #1 ball in golf.” It’s true and that is how they can say that. I saw on twitter that Titleist was the #1 ball at the Am 129 and the nearest competitor was 7. Ha. I teed off first and just ripped one down the middle. It was so exciting. Lots of people were on the tee watching so it was awesome. After my round, I had felt a little bittersweet about it. I had a great group of girls that I played with, but missing some short putts really killed my score. I didn't see a shot that I didn't have or have ever hit, it was just a matter of executing the right shot at that particular time. I had a double, which really frustrates me because I have had 3 in the past month and a half, which for me, has been a huge part of shooting consistently under 78 for the summer. I figured, even with the double, it was an OK first round but we gotta come back and do work tomorrow morning to make match play. I putted for a while and hit some balls until about 7pm then headed home. On tap for the night was a BBQ at my host mom’s brother’s (host uncle if you will) house with some other girls from the tournament. It was great chilling outside with some great company, great food at an incredible house. The conversation was fun and making new friends is always enjoyable for me! I was exhausted and the only one there who didn’t get to shower so I requested to head home about 9pm. Had to talk to the paparazzi (haha) and then the parents then headed to bed after watching some Golf Channel.

August 4, 2009

2^nd ROUND

Morning came too soon, but I woke up excited as ever to get back out there. Had an amazing breakfast at the club and headed out to warm up. This week I made a great warm up mix with a little Britney Spears- Radar and Break the Ice and some Miike Snow- Cult Logic. Can't forget the MGMT- Kids and Electric Feel and Newpoint's cover of In The Air Tonight. Needless to say it was a sick mix. Like the previous day, I was hitting the ball very solid but I was putting a lot better. Got up to #10 tee and ripped it down the middle again. I was thinking, "man, this is fun, I could do this for a living!" I got off to a rocky start, double bogeying the par-5 that I had birdied the day before. Anytime I bogey a par-5 it feels like a double so it was a hole where I lost a lot of ground. With my length and short game I should birdie them all! This golf course was demanding on every shot and I pushed my drive a little too far right so

it was out of position. Finished that nine well with a birdie on #16 (made a 12’), birdie on #17 (drained my 3’ – par 3 185 yards hit 5 iron to 3’) and made a great up and down out of the trees for a par on #18 (made an 18’). I was heading to the back nine at 2-over and beaming with confidence. Made a 45’ on #2 for birdie and had so many chances on my back nine to make a charge and get under that cut line but nothing fell.

I limped into the clubhouse with a bogey-bogey finish and had to wait to see if I made the cut. Never a good place to be. I knew that those last two holes were going to make a difference but I dwelled on the fact that I missed some putts on those last two I should have made and that is the only difference. I also gave credit to the fact that I had a great time playing, possibly the most fun ever and of all the friendships that I had made. Around 7:30pm is when I found out I would miss a 6-for-1 playoff (6 girls for 1 spot). I was pretty devastated. I came into the week very confident. I had spent the previous week buckling down and working very hard to fine tune the scoring parts of my game – putting, wedges and long irons (because of the course’s length) not to mention the previous month working hard on my game as well. It was a good first USGA event and Alison’s dad made it a little better by saying he’d buy me a drink if I missed it. Ha. We spent the night watching the playoff and heading to Fleming’s Steakhouse for a celebration dinner. Good way to end the week.

August 5th, 2009

TRAVEL HOME

After eating at the club, paying my caddy and taking some pictures, I started home around 9:45am. At approximately 10am I was pulled over again. Ridiculous. The speed limit on the highway was 60mph. Who woulda thought?! After that I was drove 5 below, in my cruise-control-less car all the way home. It was a good drive home and I even maxed out at 490 miles for a tank of gas! My car is awesome. Got home around 10pm and my bed felt great, although the whole day I was playing the course in my head. When I passed Denver International Airport, there was a huge storm hitting Denver and I was on the outside of it. I snapped some pictures. I have never photographed lightning before. It is one of my favorite things to photograph now because you don't know what the picture is going to look like until it comes out. This was one of the better ones I got. Pretty sick.

I told the paper it was a dagger to the heart that I didn’t make it. I didn’t cry (many girls did) but I couldn’t have been more disappointed. On the same level, I was competing at the top level of amateurs. The best 150 girls in the country were here and I was T76th. It was a great accent to my amateur career. I made note yesterday that I wasn’t nervous. I believe a person gets nervous because they don't believe they should be playing at that certain level. I know I have felt like that in previous national competitions. This past week, I didn’t feel that. I felt like I belonged and that I was at the right level. The highest. It was a monumental week for my game (I have kept it below 78 all summer, which I have never done…ever) and my mental game. I am home with so much learned in St. Louis. I couldn’t have spent the week better if I tried.....well, yeah I could have won but I guess this will suffice. :)

Thanks for following! The support is forever appreciated!!!

Hilarious.

Sergio hit 36% of dudes and 64% of fairways yesterday at Firestone in Akron.

Haha.

Day 2

Yesterday went alright. I teed off late and didn't really know what to do with myself. I started off great. I was a little nervous but thrived off of it. I had an awesome group of girls I was playing with, one from Australia and one from Michigan. I had a rough patch about 5 holes in but on the back I grinded it out to shoot 1-over. There are some damn long holes out there! If you are in the rough you can forget about getting to the green! I made a couple up and downs from about 100 out and was really pumped.

Today was a little better. My front nine (the back nine) where I played well yesterday, wasn't as good, but finished birdie-birdie-par. Made three 1-putts to stay 2-over for that nine. I chipped it to 10' on #16, then hit a 5 iron 185 on #17 to 3' and made an 18' on #18 to get some momentum into the back (the real front). Made a 45' on #2 to stay at 2 over then played pretty steady until the last two holes. On my 18th, I hit into the opposite fairway and had a clear shot to the green. It came to rest in the sand and I had a brilliant shot out of it to about 4' but I missed the putt. Overall it was good. If I would have not bogeyed those last two, 74 would have been pretty solid and I wouldn't really have to worry about staying at the course to avoid any playoffs. But I'm chillin with my Australian "mate" and we're about to watch Across the Universe. Gotta keep an eye on the scoreboard. I am T110th right now but there are about 50 people that still have to tee off, or have but just don't have scores updated.

I believe some weather is coming in, at least some wind (hopefully). Still having a blast though! I hung out with Tiger Wood's niece and an LPGA pro's sister last night so I am in great company and enjoying myself to the max!

Update from St. Louis

Greetings from one of the oldest golf championships in the country! 109th US Women's Amateur is the most prestigious amateur tournament in the United States for women and I have the honor to play in it!

The last three days have been incredible! Filled with amazing food from Old Warson Country Club to meeting USGA officials who have officiated numerous US Opens, both men and women and being in the presence of past USGA Champions. It has been awesome!! I have met people from all over the world and made some new friends!

I am just killing time now, waiting for my tee time at 1:25pm. I believe they are doing live scoring on the US Women's Amateur website. I still have an hour before I leave for the course.

I am staying with a host family about 10 minutes away from the course and it is such a great experience. A lot better than staying in a hotel!

Anyway, pray the weather holds off (it poured our first practice round and they are calling for 70% chance at 1pm) and the putts fall! It is a great course!! I have been blogging on my computer in my room (my family doesn't have wireless) so I will post all of that when I'm home. Thanks for following and I hope you get to all week long!