Land of Lincoln!

One week down, one more to go. Last Sunday, my mom and I began our two-week journey up to Ohio. I drove the entire way up there while she sat patiently in the passenger seat, reading magazines, texting, facebooking, and making fun of small town names with me. For example, Effingham, IL…great name!

We drove 7 hours to St. Louis, spent the night, and drove 5 hours on to Cincinnati the next day. It was my first time to Cincy so I didn’t know how humid the weather could get. It was unbelievably HUMID! Memphis-like. My friend Lucy and I went to King’s Island Amusement Park Tuesday afternoon after my one-hour driving range session. We had an absolute blast riding all of the roller coasters and acting like little kids. I took my camera on almost every ride and found out at the end of the day that I was breaking a park rule by doing so, whoops!



Wednesday morning I was selected to play in the tournament’s pro am. I was paired up with a fun group and ended up shooting -12. We missed the prizes by 2 shots but I had a great time and met some cool guys. That night I had to go back up to the course for the Pro Party. We have one each week with the sponsors of the tournament. I won an iTunes gift card so I was a happy girl.

Thursday afternoon I had my one and only practice round with my usual group, Lucy Nunn, Kendra Hanson, and Jane Rah. Since Jane is higher up on the money list than the rest of us, I made her sign a contract that if she won she had to pay for all of our tickets back to King’s Island. She was tied for the lead after the first round but ended up getting 9th which is great for a 19 year old!

Friday was my first round of the Teva Championship in Mason, OH and I teed off at 1:30pm. I played alright and made some good putts but also missed two short ones and three putted a few too many times. I shot -1 and stood 5 shots off the lead. The next morning we had a four-hour rain delay that pushed my 12:20pm starting time to 4:25pm. I didn’t think there was any way we could get the round in but as we sprinted up the last par 3 and got our short knocker of the group to tee off on 18, we finished the last hole in the dark while the other girls had to come in due to the horn sounding off because of darkness. I was really thankful we didn’t have to get up and play one hole early Sunday morning. We leisurely got to the course the next morning to find out that I missed the cut by one shot. It was my second cut to miss and kind of heartbreaking to know that I played awful in the second round and only missed it by one. I could count on 2 hands the number of opportunities I had to make birdie or save par and I didn’t. I know every good player misses cuts and I just cannot let this get me down. It is one of many tournaments I play in and just because my swing is going through a lull, I’m going to work extremely hard to make sure that never happens again.

My mom and I decided to drive west and see some of my friends in Carmel, IN. But first, I went to Crooked Stick Golf Club to rate a top 100 golf course. I had no problem getting on and played a quick 18 with their first assistant professional. I warmed up next to Alice Dye giving a lesson to a member and then met famous golf course architect Pete Dye on the first tee box. Pretty neat because I always tell people he is my grandpa and he designs so many great golf courses. He was a pretty cute old man and it made my day! Little did I know that when I was on my second to last hole, I took my cart the wrong way and almost went right into a member’s tee shot. That member happened to be Peyton Manning. I wanted to go over there and get a picture with him but the assistant pro said that he is the one member that they shy away people from. Danget! At least I got to see him up close and personal though. I slow played the rest of the way around just in case he came back by the clubhouse. He never did but maybe one day I’ll get to really meet him. We had a home cooked dinner with my friends, the Savich’s, in Carmel and had a great night off from the typical restaurant and hotel room. They are the funniest people I know! Lots of laughs and stories but then we had to leave them be because the girls had a big tournament the next morning in south Indianapolis.


Grandpa Pete Dye and I!

Monday, my mom and I drove 2 hours west to Decatur, IL. It is the original home of the Chicago Bears. That’s about all it is home to. The exit we took for Decatur had a big blue attraction sign that had absolutely nothing on it. Awesome. We get to spend an entire week here too!!! This week is the Tour Championship so it will be a four round tournament starting on Thursday morning. We were only allowed one practice round on Tuesday because they had three pro ams this week. As most people know, the weather has been crazy lately. At home, OKC got 11 inches in just a few hours. It must’ve travelled up to where I am because this is what we got last night:



They are going to make one par 5 a par 3 because it is completely underwater. The tee times have already been moved back an hour and a half and who knows what will actually happen tomorrow morning before the first group tees off.


My practice round group: Tara, Jane, and I....the ones who never use pull carts!


My first official day to ever use one of these!

Since we didn’t get a practice round today, Lucy and I had a nice long morning practice and then hit the tennis courts this afternoon. We played for a solid two hours so I can only imagine how sore I’m going to be in the morning.

Welp, time to get some rest! Hopefully we can play all 18, for all 4 days and without rain delays! I don’t think we would know how to play without rain! Hope everyone has a great weekend and is enjoying their summer. I realized today that I have been home for one full day in Oklahoma this whole month. I’m ready for some home cooked meals, my bed, and my dog! Next week! Gotta make some money before I go home though!

What I’m Listening to: Drake - Thank Me Later
What I’m Reading: I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley

Major life changing news for me: My best friend Caitlan was hired this past week at Kempler Energy in South Beach Miami! I have a hard time seeing my best friend move across country but I'm so proud of her for graduating in 5 years with her undergrad in industrial engineering annnnd receiving her MBA. Another close friend, MJ Desbiens, was recently hired as Arkansas State's Head Womens Golf Coach! Another huge hire and I know she is going to take that team to the top. She has already moved to Jonesboro and I didn't even get to say goodbye to her. My weekly lunch buddy has left me so now I have to travel 7 hours one way to have a meal with her...I will do it! So proud of you MJ! And finally, another one of my best friends, Whitney, has started her first summer in PA School at the University of Oklahoma. She is going to be one of the best PA's ever but the next two and a half years are going to be brutal for her. Please keep these three girls in your prayers. They are doing great things in the world and I'm so thankful to have them in my life!

Colorado Mountains

Team Dye

Well the week in Denver has come to an end but it has been a memorable one to say the least. The family flew up with me on Tuesday morning to Denver for the Colorado Women’s Open. It is a women’s professional event but includes a simultaneous pro am like the PGA’s AT&T Pro Am tournament. I took my brother Adam as my partner this year, knowing we could tear it up. I, however, didn’t carry my weight the first two days…

I shot 74 in the first round with only one birdie. It was a matter of not hitting as many greens as I should have and not making any birdie putts that I normally drop. I was sitting two strokes ahead of the cut, looking to move on up during round two. …My golf game had other plans. I started off the day with a tee shot that hit the cart path and missing the hazard by 2 inches. Whew! I finally caught a break. However, on the 2nd hole I went on to double from 131 yards out in the middle of the fairway. Got one back by getting on a par 5 green in two shots and two putting for birdie. A few holes later I doubled from 107 yards out in the middle of the fairway. Not cool! The 16th hole, my approach shot didn’t make it over the tree and came straight down. I had an awkward 60-yard pitch that I pushed out to the right and hit the same tree and flew into the hazard. I dropped, hit it over the green and proceeded to get that up and down for a beautiful triple. The following two holes I went on to three putt. 9 over, 45. I had my back against the wall at this point.

I can go to some pretty dark places in my head and I’d like to think I can do this but eventually bring myself out of it. When we were walking down #1, our tenth hole of the day, my mom asked if I was awake. Yep, pretty sure those doubles and triple were a cold splash of water right in my face. I was definitely awake but wishing I was in a nightmare to wake up and realize I didn’t just shoot a freakin’ 45! I put myself in deep holes all the time, holes that I can slowly crawl myself out of. Well this, was a dang mine! 9 over on top of the 2 over I shot the day before…I was looking to be in contention on the final day but now I’m thinking I’m missing the cut by a mile and hopefully making the cut for the pro am team competition. I find every green on the second nine and one birdie to finish 45-35. Now that 35 looks awesome but let me tell you, I missed a 2 foot putt on my 17th hole and my chip on the 9th, my eighteenth of the day lipped out and went six feet by, where I proceeded to two putt for par. The 35 was not that pretty.

So here I am, shooting 74-80, on a course that I tore up last year and a course that I should tear up every time I play it but I kept my spirits up because I knew there would be another day with the pro am competition.

We went back to the hotel, showered, and headed over to Boulder so Adam and my sister-in-law Jennifer, could see Pearl Street and all the weirdos that it contains. Us girls went to a lot of different stores while the boys sat outside and people watched. We saw some straaanngge people! There were great photo ops everywhere! We found a yummy Mexican place to eat called The Rio (I believe?) I don’t drink often and especially not lately so since the day sucked so bad I needed a frozen strawberry margarita to make my insides feel a little better. Turns out I had two to make myself feel on top of the world. Two is the limit at this restaurant. We had a fabulous time eating along the street, cracking jokes and speaking inappropriately. By the time dinner was over, I found out that I had made the cut on the number! There lived to be another day!

We drove back to our hotel and I passed out til morning. Best sleep I have had in a long time. Woke up feeling like I had been given a second chance to get myself back into gear. My dad wanted to caddy for me once again but I told him no for the third straight day. I just knew that if I had my bag with me, I couldn’t blame anything on anyone except myself. So he went on to push Adam’s pull cart…something my dad is very good at doing. That and cleaning our dirty balls. Ha!


My dad "caddying." Note us getting ready for the next hole in the background. God love em! :)

I started off the day by sticking an 8 iron to 6 feet. I over read the putt and missed it. Screw it, move on and try again. I stuck my next approach to four feet. MADE IT! Alright, things are feeling back to normal. The next was a par 5 where I put my approach in a bunker about 60 yards away. I stuck a gap wedge shot out of there to 6 feet. Draino! It was raining on the greens we were on. The 14th tee was moved up so I busted driver just to get the ball somewhere around the green. I was 20 yards out and made the chip for eagle! Holy moly, 4 under thru 5 holes. This was getting kind of fun. I block my next tee shot and put it in a nasty fairway bunker looking at a pretty difficult pin up ahead. I somehow manage to put that shot to 12 feet away. My triple hole from the previous day, number 16 was next and I missed the green. I had an easy chip that I somehow managed to thin 20 feet too far. I made the come back putt for par. I stuck the next par 3 tee shot to 6 feet that I went on to par. And finally the 18th, our 9th of the day, I put to 12 feet that fell in for birdie. 5 under, 31, on that side. Less than 24 hours prior I shot 45 on those 9 holes. Who does that? I still don’t believe I shot a 45.


My near hole-in-one

I knew I still had a lot more golf to play and I had to keep digging out of that 10 over par hole I put myself in. 5 more birdies was the goal. I had plenty of opportunities, hitting every single green and hitting every single fairway. I found only one birdie on the second nine and that was on #5, par 3 that was 154 yards. I hit a 9 iron and saw it bounce in front of the hole, tap the pin and finish 5 inches from the cup. I was so disappointed. How could that thing not go in?! I had a tap in birdie and pared the rest of the way in. 66, -6, +4 overall. I moved from T44th to T12th. Not awful but man the whatifs! I like that I graced my presence in each category. I saw the 70s, 80s, and 60s all in a matter of three consecutive rounds. Team Dye shot 64 today, 68 on round one and 66 yesterday, -18 which got us 6th in the pro am competition. Adam was able to get two brand new Vokey wedges with his golf shop money so he was a happy boy. I wish I could’ve helped more in the first two rounds but I was glad to play well in front of him and show him that I’m not wasting my time playing professionally. I think he believes I can do it, but it’s nice to show the brother I can score well. I made a decent check of $2200, which will be nice to put back into the golf account and hopefully see a few more bigger checks in the coming weeks.



We are currently flying back to OKC for one full day then heading northeast in the car to Mason, OH. I am thinking we will stop in St. Louis Sunday night to check out my friend Sammy B’s new town and then head on to Ohio Monday morning. I am thinking about playing and rating Canyata Club in Cincinnati since it’s a top 100 course. There is also King’s Island Amusement Park which I’ll be finding some free time to visit. I’ll play in the Futures event in Ohio Friday, June 11-13 then drive over to Decatur, IL to play in another Futures event June 17-20. I’m thinking about rating a course called Camargo Golf Club in Illiniois that is another top 100 course and a must-see! Mama Dye and I will be driving home on Father’s Day and will stay home for one full week before I head out for another three weeks.

I’m so tired and can’t wait to see my puppy dog and get into my own bed! We had a great week full of laughter and memories and I’m so glad the entire family got to go with me. Hopefully it won’t be the last. Until next time…

One Sweet Scenario

Check out this sweet scenario:

My family (mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law) flew up to Denver this morning with me and it's the first time we are all together at a professional golf event. What's even better is that I'm getting to play in a professional golf tournament with my brother as my partner!!! How many professional athletes get to say that they've played in a professional competition with their sibling as their teammate? Not many. I'm blessed!

My brother is one of the main reasons why I even play this game. He is and has always been the much better golfer and someone I strive to beat every time we tee it up. Golf is one of our best talents and you can truly say that it is God-given. Some of our family members play(ed) golf and love the game but the both of us have worked hard to get to the level of play we are at. Adam has never seen me play in a professional tournament so this is a special week for all of us. It would be great for us to come away with the cardboard check Friday. Friday's results are already destined so all we can do is give it our all and have fun!



We are playing in the Colorado Women's Open in Denver, CO at Green Valley Ranch. We had our first and only practice round this morning with my college teammates Kelly Jacques and Ellen Mueller. My dad walked around with us trying to find wildlife...his favorite thing to do. He got me excited because he said there was a bobcat and I quietly walked down the cart path to see a dang calico cat going through the weeds. He got sleepy and kept losing us when he fell asleep on tee box benches. We could never keep track of him. Adam and I are lugging our bags around this tournament so we were worn out after the round. We had a nice, senior citizen (5:00pm) mexican dinner and were back at the hotel at a early time tonight.


Hopefully this year's results will be one place better!

Adam and I tee off at 12:20pm tomorrow for the first round and play with one other girl. Hopefully she won't feel like the third wheel in our group. They have the course set up for 6,325 yards so with the elevation as it is, we should have some good opportunities at birdie. I've been putting on greens that have been rolling about a 7 and these greens in Denver are creeping up to 12 on the Stimpmeter. We better be aware of where we are! I'm hitting the ball so dang far up here so that's another thing I have to be aware of. I'm planning on hitting a lot of fairway woods and hybrids off the tee this week. Last year I was a little more aggressive but ended up getting 2nd individually and 2nd as a pro-am team which seemed to work out alright. I feel like I've gotten a lot better since last year's Open and a lot more wiser and feel that I can score even better this year. I'm really excited and know that if I enjoy my time out on the course, good golf will come. Hope everyone has a great first week of June! Crazy how fast the time flies!!!

They might have live scoring found here: Live Scoring