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Two Weeks in Texas (and all in between) ~ week 1

Wow! A bit behind, but so many new and fun updates to share with golf and with how God continues to grow and bless me! I'll cover all the weeks chronologically so everyone will hopefully have an easy time following along in this longer-than-usual post. :)


Ok, so, the last update came after the first week of May. This means I have about 4 weeks to recap. I'll start by recapping how those 4 weeks were supposed go, then explain how it it actually went (life is all about how you handle plan B, right?).


The Original Plan: The 2nd week of May was an off week for the WAPT. A chance to come home, do some laundry, rest, and repack. After that, I was scheduled to play in Mississippi during the 3rd week, in Texas during the 4th, and then I would have reached a two week break from traveling before starting my competitions in June.


Now...here's how it really went:


My mom and I returned from Oklahoma with plans for a reenergizing and productive off-week. Unfortunately, my immune system somehow thought it deserved to take an off week too. Two days before I was supposed to leave for Mississippi, I came down with a record setting case of strep throat. When I saw the doctor, she was so shocked at how bad it was that she sent me to the ER to get an injection of penicillin to kick start my oral dosage. Fun stuff! This lead to me having to withdraw from Mississippi, and spending the next 5 days doing more resting than I think I've done in the last 5 years. Pretty sure I made up for all the lack of sleep I accumulated during my 5 years of college, haha! Thankfully, the rest and medication did their job, and things were going back to normal.


Texas: week 1


At this point in the recap, it's finally come time to leave for Texas! I knew I wasn't physically back to 100% yet, but I had enough in me to go and play. And boy did I miss competing. I knew it had only been two weeks since my last tournament, but it was starting to feel more like two months. Additionally, another fun part about my event in Beaumont was the fact it would be my first time playing in Texas. Golf wise, I knew I would need to go into the week with no expectations and just trust what I had. I hadn't been able to practice much during my break, and I wasn't coming in at my physical best.


I wish I could go on to tell some fairytale story of how I went in with nothing and came out with everything. But reality was quite the opposite. Beaumont was a hard tournament to walk away from mentally. Golf is a funny game. It will never miss a chance to teach you a lesson. A player can know the rule is to go in with no expectation. However, then you'll start to think that if you do that and just trust your swing, then the results will be ok. And sometimes that will be the case!; but there are other times where it won't be such a happy outcome. And a player needs to be ok with that too. I don't think I went to Texas ok with that alternate outcome, and Beaumont was that hard lesson. I'll be honest, my putting was good, my tee shots were manageable. I wouldn't say my iron game was bad, but it wasn't sharp. And on this course (and honestly any course) you needed to hit greens. Over the course of 2 days - 36 holes - I'm pretty sure I hit around 12 greens in regulation. It was frustrating. One of those tournaments that makes you question your ability and the dream you're chasing. I've missed a cut before, but going 80, 83 took a whole new punch at my confidence. Even after acknowledging the lack of prep that I couldn't control going into this event, those scores still seemed unacceptable in my mind. How could I still be capable of shooting those scores in a tournament?


After turning my scorecard in on the second day, I looked at my mom and said I was ready to go back to Georgia. I wanted to start driving home that afternoon. I wanted to get the heck out of Texas and as far away from that course as possible. I was upset about my golf and pissed off at myself. I'll be the first to admit that I naturally struggle to process a bad day on the golf course. After a bad round, I naturally don't want to be around anyone. I spend a lot of time fighting the urge to let my bad score define my identity as a person. Thankfully, God blessed me with my mom who will never miss a chance to push me to grow. What would have made me the happiest in that moment would have been her agreeing to check out of our hotel early instead of waiting until tomorrow morning to start driving back. Instead, she answered me with a flat "no". The tournament was providing lunch for the players, and my mom then took things further and told me that we were going to sit in the clubhouse to eat, and that I was going to visit with my golf friends. I would have rather someone told me that I could never eat my favorite meal ever again. I was in no mood to talk to anyone. I was filled with embarrassment, anger, and frustration. I didn't feel like it was proper or that I even deserved to be around people and be happy for a while. What kind of professional athlete walks away from such a poor performance and can immediately interact like they have anything to be happy about?


Well, as I'm sure this is a shocking statement to everyone: mom was right. I eventually came into the clubhouse and sat with the sweet friends that I have made since joining the tour. I then was able to walk out and root on my friend Mikayla for her last hole of the day. She was playing so well, but sadly she missed her birdie putt on 18 to miss the cut by 1 shot. It was bittersweet, but I loved being there and being able to give her a big hug as she walked off. We even made plans for her and her mom to join me and my mom for dinner that night.


And this is where I can look back and just say that God is so, so good. Since my mom is awesome at pushing me to grow, that led to us being able to have dinner with friends. And then at the dinner, Mikayla and her mom told me about the Texas Open in Dallas

that was happening the next week and that I should play in it.

(...and so begins part 2 of Texas)



To wrap up this post, I do want to share a few takeaways and comments. First, how blessed am I to serve a God that will chase after me and help remind me where I find my worth and joy. Second, I am thankful for this journey and all who share a role in it with me. No matter how big or small. Every small message, word of encouragement, or financial contribution means more than you could ever know. The progress may not be linear, it may not always be filled with success in the form that the world will label success, but I know I am constantly growing and acquiring the skills needed to live my dream. And ultimately, no matter where this journey leads, I pray that God will use me for His kingdom and His glory.





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