NH Golfer Gal

Hi Gals, Today, February 2nd, 2022, is the 36th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day! Today is a day to recognize all of the accomplishments of female athletes, the influence that female athletes have on sports, the struggle for equality in sports, as well as honoring the progress that has been made.  Sports are a huge part of my life and seeing all of the amazing female athletes kicking butt is so empowering. Being a female athlete comes with it's fair share of challenges and people saying you'll never get anywhere but it is also so rewarding. Golf has introduced me to the most incredible women who have inspired me beyond words. Golf, aside from my high school team (which is a whole other story check that out right here ), is an individual sport but that doesn't change the fact that the people I have met through the game and who have supported me and continue to support me throughout my journey in the game really have become extended family. I am in love with the ...

  Hi everyone, This post is a bit different from things I tend to talk about but it's the reality of my journey to date having played two full seasons on my high school's varsity golf team as the youngest player and as the only girl. Please take the time to read this because I am sure that there are other people with similar experiences, be it under the same circumstances or different.  I apologize for the long delay in this post. I have been busy focusing on school and golf for the past few weeks and didn't find the time that I felt this post deserved as it is a big one.  Last season (for more details about last season check out those posts) I was a freshman and things were challenging with us being remote for school and everything going on with covid. However, the "team" didn't truly feel like a team and we never really did anything to help us come together. I discovered early on how prevalent issues of sexism, disrespect, lack of caring, and selfishness wer...

Hi everyone, Congrats to Team Europe on a phenomenal win at the 2021 Solheim Cup! The strong European team led after each round and made it look as though they were going to run away with it early in today's singles matches the US team made a bit of a run but didn't have a chance to get all the way there when Matilda Castren sunk a putt to retain the cup for the Europeans.  Credit: Sky Sports As always watching the event is so inspirational and having two women from New England on Team USA was awesome to watch! It's so motivating to watch and hope that someday I could be on that stage competing to bring the cup to the US.  The European team played incredibly this week and rookie Leona Maguire was the only player to play all five rounds and finished with a 4-0-1 record securing 4.5 of Europes 15 total points. Leona has got to be the MVP of the week! Great playing to all of the players and we can't wait to see what 2023 will bring!  Keep your eyes out for an upcoming post...

Hi everyone, Happy Solheim Cup Week! Both teams are looking phenomenal this year and I can’t wait to watch over the holiday weekend! Watching the Solheim Cup is always so much fun and always inspires me to work even harder to someday hopefully have a chance at making that team. Also to Brittany Altomare and Megan Khang who are on Team USA representing New England as they are both from Massachusetts! I also start school this week so posts may not come as regularly depending upon high school golf and homework levels. I will do my best to continue to have a new post up every Monday and others included here and there when they are prevalent. I hope everyone has a great start to school! ~NH Golfer Gal

Hi everyone, This past week was the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie! Watching links golf is always so interesting and exciting because it comes with its own sets of challenges and situations. Seeing the best women in the world competing on such an incredible golf course for a historic title was such a fun way to spend one of the last weekends of summer. Seeing them play the course was also extremely exciting given that I have been to Carnoustie (check out this post…  http://www.nhgolfergal.com/2018/08/the-open.html?m=1 ) and have seen some of the difficult scenarios players can encounter. Seeing all the names atop the leaderboard not only made for an exciting final round but continued to build up excitement for the Solheim Cup coming up! Watching some of the best Europeans in the game making a run combined with American Lizette Salas also making a move was a thrilling Sunday. Danish player Nanna Koertz-Madsen was so close all day before a difficult final hole with a bad break in the...

Hi everyone, This past week wrapped up the regular season on the PGA Tour and a week where 25 hard working men earned their PGA Tour cards after the final event of the Korn Ferry Tour regular season.  On the PGA Tour after some phenomenal rounds all week there was a 6-way tie for first after the regulation 72 holes were completed. Into a playoff they went, and Kevin Kisner lighting it up was able to get it done coming out on top of Adam Scott, Si Woo Kim, Kevin Na, Branden Grace, and Roger Sloan. Congratulations to Kis on his great victory and great playing to all! Looking forward to watching the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the next few weeks.  On the Korn Ferry Tour after a long and gruelling regular season the first batch of new PGA Tour card holders have achieved a dream! Congratulations to all of them and best of luck to the remaining players vying for one of the 25 remaining cards up for grabs during the finals! The LPGA Tour and LET Tour were in Scotland this week where in a ...

Hi everyone, The past few weeks in Tokyo were the 2020 (rescheduled to this year due to COVID-19) Olympic Games! Which included the Olympic golf competitions, one for the men and one for the women.  The men's event took place first and all the men were ready to compete after getting all their Covid tests to be ready and eligible. For many, it was their first Olympic games and an experience that as for every Olympian will never be forgotten. All week players were out posting low rounds and trying to keep themselves in medal contention come Sunday. Xander Schauffele, Team USA, was in a great spot heading into Sunday's final round and was able to card a -4, 67 to earn his gold medal! Rory Sabbatini came out of nowhere on Sunday with a final round 61, a whopping -10 to win himself a silver medal! For bronze, it was a bit more challenging to be the one standing on that podium as there was a seven-man play-off to win that medal. The play-off included the likes of Rory McIlroy, Collin...

Hi everyone, This last week at Brooklawn Country Club in Connecticut was the 3rd US Senior Women’s Open! There were so many legends teeing it up including JoAnne Carner, Laura Davies, Catriona Matthew, and Michelle McGann! Laura Shanahan Rowe, who teaches out of the Sagamore-Hampton Golf Center here in NH, teed it up and made the cut finishing in a tie for 49th.  However making her first start in a USGA Championship since 2008, the GOAT, Annika Sorenstam held a share of the lead after the first round and the solo lead after the second and third rounds. With another phenomenal round yesterday in a very Annika-like fashion she took home the victory with an eight shot margin, 26 years after she won her first US Women’s Open! Watching Annika tee it up was such a treat and being able to watch her win was an unbelievable opportunity! Before March of 2020 (when I watched her play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am) I had never thought I would be able to see my hero play, let alone w...

Hi everyone, This past week was the Amundi Evian Championship for the best women in the game! Everyone played incredibly, including Jeongeun Lee6 who had an incredible week with a 61 in the second round! Minjee Lee ended up coming back with a 64 in the final round to tie Jeongeun and force a playoff where she was able to get it done. Congrats to Minjee on earning her major championship victory and everyone on a great week! This week also kicked off the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Watching the Olympics is always so much fun and there are so many phenomenal athletes from around the world who are so talented in their events! Some of my favorite events to watch are golf (of course!), gymnastics (what those people do is unbelievable!), the triathlons (the endurance to complete that event is so impressive), beach volleyball, and a variety of others. What are your favorite events to watch?  ~NH Golfer Gal

Hi everyone, This past week was the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational on the LPGA Tour and for the best male players in the game was The Open! Both of these events are great and so much fun to watch. The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational is a team event where women pair up and play two rounds of best ball and two rounds of alternate shot. Watching everyone playing having so much fun with their partners was great to see! Most of the teams came up with fun team names including, Team Jelly (Nelly and Jessica Korda), Team Sisters From Another Mister (Danielle Kang and Lydia Ko), Team Soul Sisters (Amy Olson and Katherine Kirk), Team M&M (Moriya (nickname: Mo) and Ariya (nickname: May) Jutanugarn), and so many more! The Jutanugarn sister duo took home the win with an incredible 59 in the final round. Congrats to Ariya and Moriya on their phenomenal win and to all the partnerships who teed it up! The 149th Open Championship was played at The Royal St. Georges Golf Club in England. We misse...

Hi everyone, On the sixth and seventh (last Tuesday and Wednesday) I played in the NH Junior All-Star Championship up at the Mount Washington Resort Golf Course and it was a phenomenal experience! The course was in phenomenal condition and the views, despite it being semi-cloudy both days, were gorgeous! My grandparents took me and my sister up Monday night (thanks guys!) and we went over and had a chance to hit a few putts on the putting green and take a look at the scorecards. I knew the course was going to be similar to courses I have played in the past based on the layout and having played courses designed by the same person. After hitting some putts and knowing it was a resort course I knew the greens wouldn't be overly quick to maintain pace of play.  I teed off at 10:06 Tuesday morning and my sister was right ahead of me at 9:57 so we left the air b and b we stayed in for the few days with the goal of being there between 8:45 and 9. My sister and I decided we didn't real...

Hi everyone, A few weeks ago my sister, Teagan, and I played in the NHGA Jr. Team Championship together! Despite not playing as well as we wanted and know we are both capable of it was so much fun and a great experience! Playing in a team-best-ball tournament is a different experience from playing solo in a regular strokeplay event because not only are you trying to put up the best number that you can, you're also trying to stay in play to help your partner out, and stay positive to keep yourself and your partner in a good mood. My sister and I struggled with the idea that when one of us got into trouble that didn't mean the other had to try to make up for it instead it meant that we had to focus even more on just playing our game knowing we needed to eliminate big numbers. I think that was a big takeaway knowing that we are both capapble of posting good scores and we just needed to focus on both putting up good numbers and then together that number is bound to be better.  Bein...

Hi everyone, This past week was the KMPG Women's PGA Championship on the LPGA Tour. Two women were right there at the top all week, Nelly Korda and Lizette Salas. Both vying for their chance at a major championship victory! Nelly took home the win with a three-shot victory over Lizette who was still 6 shots clear of the rest of the field! This win gave Nelly her third win of the season, her first major title,  and she went back to back winning the week before as well! Seems like a pretty good 2021 to me.  As always, watching the interactions between the women playing in some of the biggest tournaments in the world always makes me smile because it reminds me of my friends I play golf with around here because we all have so much fun and as the women on tour even though we are all out there competing with one another at the end of the day we're like sisters (because we see each other more than some of our own families during the summer haha) and we are so proud of and happy for t...

Hi everyone, This past week was the US Open and what an exciting event it was! The event was contested at Torrey Pines in San Diego. The course was playing difficult all week long with brutal rough.  There were a bunch of names at the top of the leaderboard all week but it came down to Louie Oosthuizen and Jon Rahm! Watching Rahm down the stretch was unbelievable, as he made two clutch putts on his final two holes. Louie got into some trouble on the 17th hole that ended up leading to another runner-up major finish.  Photo credit: @pgatour on Instagram Seeing Rahm embrace his family and then killing time between when he finished until the final group hit their approaches and he knew he had won his first major championship. Just imagining being in his shoes and having your family there, must have been such a special moment. A great way to spend his first Father's Day, celebrating his first major with his little boy Kepa and his wife Kelley! The wait however I can only assume was...

Hi everyone, Yesterday was the US Kids Maine Local Tour tour championship at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful course!  Despite not having my best run the last few weeks I have had so much fun being back out playing competitively. We have had some very New England spring days throughout the events but lucked out a few times with great days. There were 6 events this spring, and I was able to make it to five of them.  There were more girls this season than in past years and it was so exciting to be with everyone! All of us were shuffling schedules with travel, COVID-19 vaccines, family events, working, and being busy with homework, so having a few at every event was great! I had so much fun with these girls and cannot wait to get out to play with them again soon. This spring was also the first season with new tour director (we missed you, Joe and Diane!) Nancy Storey, who did a great job! Thank you for taking over Nancy!  If you are just gettin...

Hi everyone, Happy Monday everyone! Here in NH, it'll be a warm week, so stay hydrated and cool everyone! This past week was the US Women’s Open at The Olympic Club! All week there was lots of excitement on the leaderboard and the course was playing difficult especially if players missed the fairway. There were many storylines worth following throughout the week, a few of my favorites being Chloe Kovelesky and her length, Lexi Thompson on her quest for the win, Megha Ganne's phenomenal play, and Yuka Saso’s victory.  Chloe Kovelesky is a fourteen-year-old girl from Florida who teed it up in her first major championship. Watching Chloe play was incredible and inspiring to see someone my age out there hitting bombs and competing with the best in the world! During the first round, Chloe led the field in driving distance with an average of 303 yards off the tee. Unfortunately, she missed the cut but it was a stellar performance nonetheless. Best of luck for your future Chloe! Lexi ...

Hi everyone, I hope everyone has had a good long weekend and Happy Memorial Day!  I played in the NHGA Women's Match Play Championship at Cocheco Country Club the week of May 17th. In both match play events that I have played in to date, I start off slow on the front nine of the seeding round and then pick up and play pretty well! So after the first round on Monday was complete I was the 6th seed in the Championship flight.  My ball-striking and putting were solid on Monday and the only thing that kept me from scoring better was the fact that my short game let me down. When I got home that afternoon I hit a few short pitches around my yard and got in some swings to get back to hitting good wedge shots.  Tuesday morning I had a match against Deb Clauson and we teed off around 8:00. So I got dropped off at the course around 7:00 and walked out to the range to warm up and got in some more wedge practice. I changed my strategy a little bit for match-play but I knew that I had...

Hi everyone, This past week was the PGA Championship which was held at the Ocean Course of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort. The conditions were tough and it was exciting all week long.  There was a nine-way tie for 8th place which brought a nice group of players inside the top ten at the second major championship of the year. A few of the notable guys in this tie include Rickie Fowler, 2020 PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, and Will Zalatoris. There was also a four-way tie for fourth place including Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Shane Lowry, and Harry Higgs.  After working hard all week Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen finished in a tie for the second two strokes behind Phil Mickelson! Phil made history as the oldest major champion in golf history, at 50 years and 11 months. Despite a rocky start, Phil rallied through all week to secure his second PGA Championship victory and his 6th major victory!  Everyone who teed it up played phenomenally on a ...

Hi everyone, I am playing in the NHGA’s Women’s Match Play Championship this week! After the first round which is seeding, the event becomes a match play tournament which I am looking forward too!  Match play is a unique format because it brings out that one on one competition part of golf that you don’t always get. I have only played in a handful of match play events but have been utilizing the format for years playing rounds with friends and family. Playing match play allows you to play a bit more aggressively while still not necessarily taking yourself out of it. Even though you can play aggressively making sure you make good decisions in order to out-play your opponent is very important! The weather in NH has been beautiful the last few days, it’s finally starting to feel like summer! When do you all get out of school? I don’t get out until the 18th of June and it feels so far away.  Have a great week and enjoy the nice weather! ~NH Golfer Gal

Hi everyone, This past week the LPGA Tour was in Thailand for the Honda LPGA Thailand, the PGA Tour was in North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship.  Over in Thailand the leaderboard was tight and it was exciting down the stretch, Ariya Jutanugarn came out with the win! Ariya became the first Thai golfer to win in her home country! Ariya and her sister grew up in Thailand working extremely hard on their golf games and it has paid off greatly for them. Her older sister Moriya finished nine shots back in a tie for 17th. Another young Thai golfer on the LPGA Tour is Patty Tavatanikit, Patty won the ANA Inspiration last month and has been proving her spot on Tour since she started out last season!  At the Well Fargo Championship, Rory McIlroy got it done for his first win in nearly 18 months! Rory has undergone lots of changes since he last stepped into the winner's circle including changing coaches and making some swing changes as well as becoming a father to his daughter....