Last week, I had the pleasure of playing in the two-day event, Sorenson Champions Challenge in Salt Lake City, Utah. My partner for the team scramble events was Dave Stockton Jr. I was invited to play with Stockton Jr., because his father Dave Stockton, last year’s Sorenson Champion, just had rotator cuff surgery.They needed a replacement, and I was honored to be of help.Johnny Miller hosted the event that consisted of a Pro-Am on Monday and a two-man scramble on Tuesday. I had two fun groups for the Pro-Am and was able to win a Bushnell laser when I hit it inside 10-feet on the par 39th.Monday night, the entertainment at the tournament was incredible. Gary Mule Deer and Vince Gill went on stage together and did a marvelous job telling jokes and singing songs! Vince Gill was amazing, and he has an unbelievable voice!Vince Gill cracked a joke about his soft voice saying, “I know I sound like a woman, but I live in a large house because my voice sounds like a woman!It was freezing on Tuesday, and Stockton Jr. and I had a rough start. We played with Mike Weir and Dean Wilson. The two of them birdied the first few holes. We started to hit it close, but the putts would not drop! It was frustrating! However, we still had a blast at the fun event. Together Stockton Junior and I shot -7 to finish 7th.I feel the crowd was extra supportive of our team, because I was the only female player on the field. It made me happy to represent female golfers. I also received a lot of compliments on my GoDaddy.com golf bag. I am so glad everyone likes it as much as I do!I returned back to Los Angeles on Wednesday to be greeted by the rain. It was not my first choice of weather having just left the freezing cold in Utah. Luckily by Thursday afternoon’s golf training it was 80-degrees and perfect again in LA.Fortunately, I had scheduled a weekend of relaxation. I left to Hawaii on Friday for some downtime, great workouts and lots of golf practice! I try to fit golfing into my schedule as much as possible, especially now since I have a week left to prepare for the up coming events in Asia!
Archive for October, 2009
Sorenson Champion Challenge
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009Sorenson Champions Challenge
Monday, October 12th, 2009
Today I played at the Sorenson Champions Challenge. I met the MEDIAGURU from the famous Hooked on Golf Blog. We also got a chance to raise money for Thanksgiving Point and Point of Hope, a Deron Williams Foundation.
Sorenson Champions ChallengeNavistar LPGA classic in Prattville, Alabama.
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
On Tuesday, I traveled to Alabama, so I could work with one of my coaches, Ron Stockton. I played 9 holes with him and worked on chipping bunkers and shot-making on the course. I was extremely happy with how I was hitting it!
Upon arriving at Alabama, I headed straight to a player meeting. Afterwards, I attended the Pro-Am party. Navistar hosts one of the best Pro-Am parties that we have all year, so it was fun mingling with players, sponsors and volunteers. The highlight of the night was meeting Charles Barkley. After someone introduced us, he paused for a second and then said “Wait, I know who you are.” He then explained how he knew who I was and proceeded to say something along the lines of “Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks, you just keeping paying those bills.” It was both sweet and hilarious all at the same time!
Wednesday I had a fabulous Pro-Am group who had to deal with me still asleep for the first 9 holes. Luckily they were all in stellar form and didn’t need me—they only used one of my shots and two putts in 9 holes. I woke up on the back nine and redeemed myself; we shot a -16 and finished a respectable second.
In round one, I hit the ball quite superbly. I gave myself tons of chances and didn’t really convert. But I was happy to start with a two under 70. Especially because I played at the last tee time, which left me with bumpy greens and playing the last few holes in near darkness.
I came out firing the next morning, getting it to -7 at one point, but unfortunately, a bad approach on 17 and a 3-putt on 18 left me at -5. I was still optimistic heading into the weekend. Once again, I started round three with stellar ball striking but no ability to convert birdies. I was hitting good putts, but I wasn’t getting a good line. Then I made numerous course management errors and could not get anything going. Making soft bogeys was extremely frustrating. In round four, I just felt stiff right from the beginning. It was a cold and windy morning, and I just couldn’t put the ball close to the pin. Eventually my frustration led to some silly bogeys. Luckily I pulled my head up and finished with two awesome birdies. The pin was in a ridiculous position on 18. I hit a great approach which ended up over the green, but I holed out and the crowd went crazy, which is always a great way to end the tournament.
With a few weeks off from the LPGA, I am now heading back to LA. I am looking forward to hitting the gym and working on a few things in my game!
Navistar LPGA classic in Prattville, Alabama.
