A Change Is Gonna Come

My absolute dream job!

Well friends, thankfully my prayers and possibly other people’s prayers were answered and I finally played well this past week in Bloomfield, CT! It’s been a long time coming but I did it! I met a tour caddy by the name of Paulie back in Daytona Beach, FL in March when he was caddying for another player. I spent some time with him last week at the US Womens Open and revealed to him that I had been struggling to perform. He normally caddies out on the LPGA but had a week off and offered his help this week in Connecticut. I jumped at the opportunity because I know his record and his referrals were nothing but positive. I knew a change was gonna come!

Before we hit the links this week, Lucy and I had the opportunity to visit ESPN (my dream job) in Bristol, CT. We had a nice tour of the campus and met some nice people. We ran across a few famous faces and were able to take many pictures. I had no clue how stressful of a job it is but I believe the on-air talent have the easiest job. The people behind the scenes do it all and it’s a 24/7 stressful, stressful job! We went the morning that Steinbrenner died so it was complete chaos.


I'm in heaven!


Maybe one day...

Lucy and I made it to the course that afternoon but as soon as we arrived it started to pour so I rode around in the cart with my caddy just to see the place before we teed it up for our first practice round Wednesday morning. It was Paulie’s birthday on Thursday so we celebrated it at Buffalo Wild Wings Wednesday night with the entire Duramed Futures Tour staff. It was pretty fun to see them off the course and relaxing a bit and sharing stories. They are a funny bunch!

Thursday was an afternoon practice round so that morning I called Hartford Golf Club to see if Lucy and I could come out and practice. They were extremely gracious and allowed us to come out and use all their facilities. It was an old 1920s Donald Ross design and was gorgeous! As we were finishing up our practice session we met this man who offered to get our lunch at the club. Score! He even wanted us to stay with him and his wife at their big house this week but we felt like that would be a bit too much. It turns out his wife is from Oklahoma City and his in-laws still live there. Small world. Lunch was much better than what we are used to so we were happy campers!

Friday was the first round and Lucy and I both had early morning tee times. We had the better-conditioned greens but that didn’t stop me from missing putts. I ended up shooting two over and sat right on the cut line. That has been typical for me to shoot a decent round and then lose it in the second round to miss the cut. I had a different feeling this week with Paulie on the bag and never thought about the cut, just thought about the present and how I wanted to birdie every hole. I had read articles about Paulie’s past players and how he kept them so relaxed out there and I thought that was just typical of a caddy but for some reason, it’s really true about him! He’s very positive, hilarious out there, and knows his stuff! He may be tweeting during practice rounds and chatting it up with the other players before tournament rounds but once the gun goes off, he’s ready to work and is hardly off with distances. I’ve never laughed so much during a tournament than the past week, which I think is a good thing. I wish I could have made more putts for him but my number one goal for the week was to make the cut and have three consistent good rounds. Goal completed! I ended up shooting 72-68-69 for a three-day total of -1 and tying for 21st. It was my season-best finish on the Duramed Futures Tour but I still have some room to gain for the last four tournaments. I definitely need to finish in the top 90 on the money list but top 20 is still in reach to be able to forego the first stage of LPGA Q School.

We saw Inception on Friday night after our round and I must say it was crazy! The reviews have all been good but I think I had ADD during the movie because I was going stir crazy. It’s a good one, it makes you think, and I don’t think Leo ever puts out a bad movie. Saturday night after our second round Lucy and I went out to eat with my caddy, her caddy, and another LPGA tour caddy to a restaurant called Max’s Burgers in West Hartford Center. If you are ever in that area, go there! I had the best burger I’ve ever eaten in my whole entire life. Sweet potato fries, the whole nine yards. Yum! Last night (Sunday night), Lucy and I went over to Jane Rah’s host house (who was 98 years old) and had homemade sushi made by the one and only Mama Rah! It was delicious and we ate a billion pieces. As we were driving back to our hotel, I asked Lucy if she was still hungry. We are fat girls so we went to McDonalds and rewarded ourselves with a Big Mac! I haven’t had one in ages but it was a lot smaller than I remembered! We ate really well (as in didn’t starve) but hardly spent any money this week so we are learning how to use our sources haha! I am currently on an airplane back to Oklahoma City for an entire week. I’m so excited to be home for a short while and have a summer! I think I’m going to enjoy this week and maybe not put so much on my plate. I’m getting a shot in the toe this afternoon because the shattered bone is calling my name again so gotta get that taken care of. My mom has some kind of delicious dinner planned tonight because she has reservations. We don’t ever have reservations so I’m ind of interested to see what it’s all about. My dad has golf league so it’ll just be girls night out tonight. I’m planning on going to Norman to practice, see my college sports psychologist and have lunch with an old teammate. I really want to go lay on a float one afternoon in my best friend’s pool and work on the tan lines. It’s the simple things in life that I look forward to. I have a gig on Friday at an Edmond golf course where I have to hit tee shots for my high school and another Edmond high school’s football fundraiser scramble. They will put me on a ladies tee box on either a par 4 or 5 and be able to get it on the green or give the groups a short shot in on a par 5. It should be a fun time. Thanks for everyone who have prayed for me and given me encouragement during the rough past few weeks. I know things are getting better; I just have to keeping looking ahead.

Next up: Syracuse, NY July 26-August 1
Harrisburg, PA August 2-8
Richmond, VA August 9-15
Albany, NY August 30-September 5