Sooners in the Desert

My goodness, where do I start? As I think back on the past couple of days, all I can think about is how much fun I have had. I was due back in OKC last Saturday but thankfully the pros at OU Jimmie Austin Golf Club called and needed me to be a “Sooner Celebrity” in their annual Sooners in the Desert golf tournament in Indian Wells, CA. It has always been a dream of mine to play in the tournament and I finally got to do it! It is a great event for OU donors to get together, play some golf, eat a bit, drink a lot, and just have a wonderful time.

I woke up Saturday morning after a late night out with friends in Scottsdale and made the 3 ½ hour drive over to Palm Springs. I thought I was going to dread the drive but it really wasn’t that bad. I had some pretty mountains to look at and some nice fuzzy Mexican music to listen to. I drove to the far west side of town to shop at the massive outlet mall. I’ve never seen so many people shopping in my life. If you saw the parking lot, you would think its Christmas or something. I found absolutely nothing I needed so I made the journey up 6,000 feet to a mountain town called Idyllwild, CA. My aunt told me about this cute town so I figured it was just a short drive up and down. Mmmm, nope, I was wrong, it wasn’t. I was an idiot and didn’t fill up before making the trek up so I was getting nervous about 45 minutes in to the drive. It was neat because there were a couple of undercover brand new cars up there getting road tested because the twists and turns were pretty intense. I stopped a lot to take pictures because the views were gorgeous. Once I got up to 4,000 feet, snow and ice started to show up. I had less than a ¼ of a tank of gas, no cell phone service, no food, and no clue if I was even going the right way. Thankfully I started to see a sign of life, human life (I had a deer jump out at me in the fog and snow and barely missed him, it could have been a Tommy Boy episode.) I found a gas station with no one working in sight so I’m sure it was 4 bucks a gallon but I didn’t even care, I was going to make it! I kept driving and shortly after found the town of Idyllwild, CA. It’s a cute place with a lot of families who were vacationing. There were a couple of creepy people so I went into a candy shop (I was hungry, but didn’t get anything) and then found a deli to pick up a chicken salad sandwich. I was in flip-flops and a t-shirt while everyone else was in Northface coats and beanies. I wasn’t prepared. I figured I saw all I needed to see and started down the hill, which was much more fun and less scary.


I probably didn't need to be up here in flip flops...


Proof I was actually up there!


This is when the deer came out in front of me, I could hardly see!

I found the resort I was staying at, MiraMonte, and my mouth dropped open. I don’t typically stay at fancy places and this resort was out of my league. Something I’m not used to, but I was pretty sure I could handle it. I met up with one of the assistant pros from OU and we went out for a bite to eat and watched a little Olympics. It was great to be in a beautiful place and not have the worry in the back of your head that you are going to have to perform your best on the golf course in a matter of a day or two, it was going to be nothing but fun!

I woke up the next morning and met some of the pros for a leisurely round at Rancho La Quinta Country Club. It was absolutely gorgeous! The PGA’s skins game used to be played out there. I played great on the front nine but put 4 balls in the water on the back! I still scored all right and won my match 8 and 6 against the assistant pro but I hate losing balls! We had to stop by and get a famous In and Out burger before the fancy hors d’ oeuvres and cocktail party. I had no clue what I was in for that night but I had a wonderful time meeting such friendly and genuine people, OU people of course. It was supposed to last from 6 to 7:30pm but I stayed close to 9:30pm!


Looking back at #18 at Rancho La Quinta


#17 Rancho La Quinta


#18 Rancho La Quinta

Woke up the next morning and headed to Indian Wells Country Club for a lovely breakfast and had a quick warm up on the range. I played with Al Cusack, Harvey Sparkman, Dick Askew, George Records and Steve Prescott. All were wonderful men and even though our golf games weren’t spectacular, we had a great time. I had Dick Askew chauffer me around and learned that he is 85 years old and has gone to every OU men’s golf tournament for the past 25 years! That is amazing!!! I ended up shooting even and the team finished near last but the wonderful thing is, it didn’t matter! No one cared! One of the guys I played with rewarded me with an hour massage at the resort spa…it was fantastic! The bad thing was I had to rush off after the massage because I had to get ready for the final dinner that was held at the golf course. I was able to speak with every OU football coach that was there and many other great OU donors and celebs. The dinner was fantastic and Coach Stoops was hilarious in his speech. After thinking back about how the weekend went, how many incredible people I met, it made me realized how proud I am to be affiliated with the University and it’s because of the people who represent it. We are having a rough year athletically but it will only make us stronger and appreciate the conference and national championships we often win.


#1 Indian Wells CC


Coach Stoops and I

I’m at the airport now heading back east to the cold state of Alaska, I mean Oklahoma. I turn 23 next week so I’ll have some celebrations coming up and will hopefully get to see a lot of friends and family. It looks like I’m going to have to bundle up these next few weeks, lose the tan I worked hard on, and get ready for a long year of being out on Tour. I’m excited to see what the year is going to bring. I feel like just in these first two months of 2010 I have improved physically and even more so mentally. I can’t wait to have consistent practices and see how far I can take my game. Thanks for everyone’s warm wishes and support!!!!

Boomer Sooner!

Sun + Golf + Hike + Friends = Happiness

I made it to the top of Camelback Mountain!!!

It’s been a while since I last updated the good ol’ blog. I apologize! We have been a busy bunch of girls these past couple of days. I finally have a few seconds to sit down and record what the past few days have been all about.

I came down to the desert for one main purpose: a golf tournament. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my golf game. I shot 74-72-70. Not what I was expecting or hoping for but there are some promising things to this. Those scores don’t look too awful to the average golfer and a year ago I would have taken those scores for a decent round but I’ve learned a lot in the past year and have grown a lot in this head of mine and know that I’m capable of shooting even better scores for a poor day of golf. I know that I will shoot higher scores than this in tournaments in the future but that’s just the nature of the game. Looking at the big picture, I haven’t spent hardly anytime practicing in the past two months but I still felt as though I was prepared to play better than what I shot. The last round was going pretty well, bogey free until I reached the 17th green and three putted. That put a damper on things and went on to the 18th and put my second shot in the water and made another bogey. Grr! Nerves weren’t the issue, it was all mechanical but my goodness, the ending could have been a little brighter and better!


Me, Kendra, Michaela, and Ashley after our round at the Duke

After the awards were given out a bunch of us went out for happy hour drinks and sushi. It was a nice night out in downtown Tempe but I was exhausted and was in bed by 9pm!

We woke up early this morning and headed over to Camelback Mountain. I’ll admit, I haven’t worked out consistently since the fall but I thought I would be able to handle hiking a lot better than I did. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done in a long while but thankfully I had sweet friends to stop with me and take pictures along the way up. The view from the top was amazing, overlooking all of Phoenix. We made our way back down and had a ball. We were entertaining the whole mountain with stories from Kendra, Kelly, and I. Tara and Michaela were speed demons and were anxiously waiting for us at the bottom.


Michaela acting crazy!


Michaela, Kendra, and I on Camelback Mountain


The group at the top!

We had to race to Chandler, AZ to make it to an Isagenix tour. It’s a newer company that is promoting healthy bars, shakes, cleanses and we were there to see how they make it and visit with the VP of the company. We came in with sweat and dirt all over us and in our hiking clothes. Others in our tour group were dressed up and looking at us up and down. Tara, Michaela, and I felt quite uncomfortable but giggled throughout the whole tour because it was a tour of the actual company. During the hour, we looked at offices and cubicles. Who in the world cares about that?!?! We wanted free healthy food and drinks! So we quickly left and thankfully picked up some Wendy’s so I wouldn’t die and had a picnic out by the pool at the condo. I spent the afternoon laying out instead of practicing because I was worthless from the climb this morning.


We are going out tonight for Kendra’s 24th birthday. There should be a big group of us (all golfers) so it should be a lot of fun. I hear there’s a mechanical bull at one of the bars but I’m wearing a dress so I unfortunately won’t be doing that!

I had a slight change of plans in my trip. I had a direct flight back to OKC tomorrow (Saturday) but two days ago got a call from one of the assistant pros at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in need of a “celebrity Sooner” to play in the Sooners in the Desert in Palm Desert, California. He had to twist my arm, beg, and plead for me to make the short drive over there to hang and play golf with Bob Stoops, Toby Keith, and other great OU donors. So that’s where I’ll be heading in the morning, straight west on i-10 to the awful town of Palm Springs, California. Ha! I love that place, it’s golfers’ heaven! We will be playing at Indian Wells Resort and from I hear, it’s gorgeous. There will be a couple of dinners so I’ll make sure to take some pictures! I’ll be back to the cold of OKC on Tuesday night. Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!!!

Sunshine!

I love a good sunburn in the middle of February! Makes me feel like I’m still playing college golf, going to Puerto Rico while everyone else is back in the freezing cold. I hope the tan stays for a while!

I decided to come back to the desert…thanks to my sponsors for giving me a free flight. It was too hard to pass up. I’m staying with my friends Tara and Michaela once again so it should be a cheap week!

Round one was today at the Duke Golf Club in Maricopa. I knew the course because I played it a couple of weeks ago in a two-man event. I guess my clubs forgot what they knew because they didn’t treat me well at all today.


Par 3 at the Duke

I got off to a great start, two under through the first three holes and thought that if I stayed patient, I could take it low once again. I found my first bogey on 8 and things got pretty dark from there on. My bogeys were from 125, 135, 65, and 40 yards out from the fairway. My putter was ice cold and my short irons were hatin’ on me. I shot 3 over, 74 and am near the bottom of the totem pole. I can take some positives from the round I guess. I had some ridiculous up and downs, hit the driver long and straight. If I can get a few things to go my way, I should have two fun rounds ahead of me. Another positive is if it doesn’t go my way, I can blame it on the equipment (ha!) and will be looking forward to all of the new clubs I picked out at Ping yesterday. It’s my new heaven on Earth. The guys at Ping treat you like royalty and go over and beyond with getting you the equipment you need. I’m expecting 21 new clubs in the next few weeks. I know I can only play with 14 clubs but a girl has got to have options!


Ping

You can find results and information on the tournament at thecactustour.com. Hopefully I can fight and claw my way back up the leader board and give it a shot to win on Thursday. Have a great week everybody!

What I’m Reading: Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado
What I’m Listening To: Lady Antebellum

Finally Got the W!

Whew! I’m tired!

What a day?! I had no clue how much fun today was going to be when I woke up this morning. I have been surrounded by people I love and that just makes the day that much sweeter. I tell you what, winning sure does beat the alternative.

The day started off with me two strokes behind the two leaders and tied with two other girls. I was playing in the second to last group, which statistically has always worked out in my favor…no pressure on my end. I like a good chase.

On my first hole I nailed my approach 15 yards over the green. The reason for it, I went to Ping the night before to get my irons bent a degree and a half flatter (where they should have been from day one.) I had been hitting thin iron shots for months and thought it was my swing. Turns out, my irons were more than half the problem. Anywho, with it going 15 yards over the green I told myself that my irons were back to their old ways and to trust my old distances, no more offseason, weak, short distances. I was looking at a double on the first green but thankfully made my knee knocker putt for bogey. I gained it back on the next green by making a 15-foot birdie putt. I got to the 171-yard par 3, hole number 4, and made a 50-60 foot putt for birdie. Those are gifts. The next hole was a par 5 that I was able to reach in two but missed it just to the right of the green. It was an easy up and down for birdie. Hole number 8 was also another par 5 that is reachable but since I missed my first fairway of the day, I had to lay up and pitch close and make my 2 footer for birdie. I put myself into the deepest fairway bunker I’ve ever seen on 9 and had to use my most lofted club just to make sure I got out. I bogeyed that and made the turn at 2 under. I had some work cut out for me because I knew that going 4 under on the back nine was going to give me a great chance at winning.


Teeing off to start the final round

Well, apparently my body didn’t listen to my brain because my 10th tee shot was blocked right and into some prickly trees that guarded the left side of the driving range. Not good…the pin was tucked right, I was right, and I was getting cut up from a nasty desert-looking tree. All I could do was punch a 5 iron back to the fairway. I think my backswing was 2 feet long, I’m just glad I didn’t whiff it! I’m pretty sure I cut my shirt all up with the branches. I was able to stick my 3rd shot to a foot and tap in for par. Ho hum par right? Lord! I don’t like to make golf easy. I missed a 6-foot birdie putt on 11 and came to the par 5 12th hole. I was able to reach the green in two shots and 2 putted for birdie. I missed the eagle putt by a hair. Danget! That would have won me some skins money (we had a skins game going with the rest of the field.) Hole 14 was another par 5 that I was able to get up and down for birdie as well as sticking one close on 16 and making a 5 footer for birdie. I gave myself a decent birdie chance on 18 for a 66 but I missed it to the right by 2 inches. Tap in for 67, which is a nice way to finish. I know there is no such thing as a perfect round of golf. Shooting 18 under is possible in a given round but even doing that, you’re going to have shots that aren’t perfect. Thinking over my three tournament rounds, finishing 9 under, there were so many shots I left out there. It’s kind of exciting to think about and know that if I did it for one tournament, I can do it over and over again.


My last birdie hole of the tournament - No. 16

To finish up how the day went, the girls in the final group all shot in the 70s and I ended up winning by 3 shots. It turns out I didn’t even have to shoot a 66 to win. I’m glad my mom and college roommate/teammate Kelly Jacques were there to celebrate with me. Kelly was more ecstatic than I was. I guess I was still waiting for someone to tell me that I got second place haha!


My roommate/teammate Kelly Jacques...just a roommate pose, we like boys, don't worry!


The Cactus Tour money winners

The weird thing is, as I was walking from our casita to the course this morning, I called Alex Brown, my trainer from OU, to tell him about my situation. He was so excited and said that’s right where he would want to be, two shots back, in the second to last group. He told me to shoot a 67 and that if I didn’t win, then the other girls outplayed me. I told him, “Nah, I want to shoot a 66 and not worry about a playoff or anything like that.” When I called him after the round, I told him. “Welp, you were right, 67 won it by 3 but it’s a shame because I had 7 birdies with 2 bogeys.” He couldn’t believe it but was extremely happy for me. That’s what makes doing what I’m doing so much fun. There have been so many people in my life that have helped me, encouraged me, and pushed me to become a better person and player. Any bit of success I have in this “individual” sport is a reflection of the awesome people I have in my life. I don’t take a single one of you for granted; I’m a lucky girl!


Finally got the dub!

After the award presentation wrapped up, we took lots and lots of pictures and then my mom and I went out to eat with my good friends Kendra Hanson, Kelly Jacques, Michaela Cavener, and Tara Godeken. During my final round I only ate a bag of pretzels. I know my college coaches and dad would get on to me as they always do because when I get in the moment, I don’t eat! My eyes are always bigger than my stomach so we ordered loads and loads of food but I could only eat a tiny bit. We had to make a special stop across the street to the famous Sprinkles cupcake place. My friend Christina “egg roll” Cung made a request for some red velvet cupcakes so it was on my to-do list before I left Phoenix. It was a wonderful day but the only downfall was I didn’t get a huge cardboard check to take back on the plane with me (instead I’ll be toting and guarding the red velvet cupcakes with my life.) It was a mini tour event so they don’t do those but it gives me something to work hard towards.


My mama and I (it looks like it could be an Easter picture!)


My favorite Iowan, Kendra Hanson

It was a wonderful trip: 10 straight days of golf, beautiful weather, green lush grass, great friends, food, and a tournament win to cap it all off. I’m looking forward to going home and seeing friends and family, relaxing a little bit in OKC, losing my tan in the cold weather, and catching up on all my DVR’d shows. I want to thank each one of you for the encouragement and well wishes. It’s been a great start to the new year and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds. Have a great weekend everyone!

Field Trip to Ping!

Ping man!

Hey everyone-

I hope to make this short and sweet because I’m exhausted. Round 2 was today and I got off to a decent start with a bird but followed it right up with a bogey. It was that type of day. Birdie bogey birdie bogey. I didn’t hit as many greens today and didn’t make putts that I felt I should have. The most exciting moment I had today was when I looked at an 8 foot eagle putt. Don’t worry, I didn’t make it but the opportunity was pretty sweet.


Pretty par 3

I ended up shooting 71 so I’m two back of the lead. I’m in the second to last group so I’m pretty comfortable in that position because if I can remember right (which probably isn’t right) all of my college victories were when I came from behind. I like a good challenge and there’s not a whole lot of pressure on me. It should be a fun day! Oh yea and another positive…I think it’s going to rain tomorrow!!! It should hopefully play into my favor.

As soon as I got done signing my scorecard this afternoon, Mama Dye and I bolted over to the Ping facility to tinker with my irons and figure out what I need to be playing for the remainder of the year. I pounded many more balls and was able to meet some really nice people. Bill Iseri saved the day, saved my trip, and saved me some money. He stayed late and went over and beyond on helping me out with fitting me and showing me around. They really had no appointments open for me this week and I was going to pay $400 to stay later to get fitted. Thankfully, he’s a super nice guy and told me to come on after my round. Turns out, my irons were one and a half degrees too upright so no wonder I was skanking my iron shots around the past few months. I’m pretty positive I’m turning my bag into 90% Ping. I will still hold on to my Vokeys just because I feel comfortable with them. I’m sure that if I tried Ping’s wedges I’d love them but since I have Vokeys coming to my house, I better stick with them. It's pretty crazy what they have at the facility. I could go on and on about it but I do know that if I ever become rich, my wish would be to have a bay that opens out on a range and have a mat of real grass instead of astroturf. I think that's what impressed me the most about the place today. Hitting off of grass, out onto the range, yet I was indoors. Anywho, Ping was sick and I loved it!


Hitting the i15s on Ping's range...I recommend these clubs!!!


Pretty new putter...same as old except black finish with a red dot even though it's supposed to be orange...I don't do orange.


Testing out the new putter


Add us to the list of girls who have touched Tiger's putter...


White gloves please!

Mama Dye and I drove across town to Scottsdale to meet my old teammate/roommate Kelly Jacques for dinner at a really tasty place called Banderas. I was in a ball cap and the front door said no hats in the dining room. Whoops. I always say my money is just as good as the person in their prom dress so they didn’t bother me. They could tell when I walked in I was starving. They would be sorry if they missed with me and my empty stomach. We couldn’t even finish our appetizer before our entrée was there. That’s how you’re supposed to run a restaurant!

Well, tomorrow is my last full day in Phoenix. I’m pretty sad about it but am already planning my next trip out here…possibly in three weeks! I’m off to bed to dream of birdies! Take care everyone!

Cactus Tour - Round One

It’s been a while since I last updated about my long adventure in Phoenix land. I love it here. I can honestly say I haven’t missed Oklahoma while I’ve been in the desert. It’s kind of easy to love it here with their consistent warm temps, calm winds, green grass, and gorgeous views. I feel like I need another two weeks in Phoenix to see all I want to see.

This past Friday was spent practicing. My old college roommate and teammate Kelly Jacques took me over to ASU Karsten to practice some short game. It was like old times and good to catch up with her. We spent two hours working on 80 yards and in but hunger set in so we had to hurry and find a Subway quick. The closest Subway was in a gas station so we ate in the car instead of choosing to sit with the homeless people picnicking in the grass behind the Shell station. Wise decision.

We all went out to Old Town Scottsdale that night for happy hour sushi. It was delish and the atmosphere was great. I’m hoping to make it back up there before I leave on Thursday.


Sushi night with the girls!

Michaela, Tara, and I spent Saturday morning playing a practice round at the Legacy Golf Resort (which is where I’m staying now.) We were paired up with a nice older man named Larry. I was lucky enough to ride with Larry and we had a great time. We practiced more after our round and I had an epiphany on the range. My specs on my irons are way off! It’s not my swing that’s the main problem! I need stronger, flatter, different irons! Thankfully I’m going to Ping tomorrow to get that all worked out. I’m excited! After our 8 hour practice day, I checked into the resort and had a night in my casita to myself. It was wonderful. My mom was supposed to make it in that day but the snow and ice in OKC didn’t allow her to get out until Sunday.


The pretty fountain at the resort we are staying at

Mama Dye finally made it yesterday afternoon and was excited to get out of the nasty weather. I practiced in the morning before she got there so we would have the rest of the day to do whatever. We ran some errands and had a Mexican dinner with Tara and Michaela. Our OKC Channel 5 sports director Mark Rodgers told me to try this place out and I must say, he must’ve had many margaritas before he ate there because I’ve definitely had better. We still had a good time though!

I was able to sleep in this morning and walk to the course to warm up for the first round of the Cactus Tour’s first event of the year. I got off to a decent start and ended up only making one bogey for the entire round. In my last two tournament rounds, 36 holes, I’ve had 2 bogeys so that’s pretty cool. I just realized that statistic. Hopefully I can keep that trend going. I ended up shooting 3 under today and am tied for the lead with two other girls. Everyone is very close behind so I’m going to have to keep the pars and birdies coming.


Teeing off this morning at the Legacy


Putting out on 18 at the Legacy

Hope everyone is having a great week. I tried switching my flight to stay longer down here in the nice weather but it was going to cost me $400 so I said no thank you! Guess that God’s way of telling me I need to go home, go to the OU-Texas bball game Saturday, and sit inside and watch the snow melt with my friends. I bet my dog and dad miss me too. Take care everyone!