The 2023 regular season was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I made some important cuts, got my first start on the Epson Tour and felt like I hit the ball better than I ever had. There were also lots of missed cuts, close calls and discouraging moments throughout the year. However, when it comes to October it doesn’t matter how you’ve played all year, it just matters how you play for one week at Stage 2 of Q-School. It is a huge week because it will determine if you are moving on to play for an LPGA card at Q-Series or if you are going to earn Epson Status for the following year. For me, Stage 2 was probably the event I was the most nervous and uncertain about.
At Stage 2 the Epson priority list is created. It will determine who gets into each event on the Epson Tour schedule. A good week at Stage 2 will guarantee entry into every event and makes scheduling easy. A tough week at Stage 2 and a player will find themselves at the bottom of a priority list and waiting until the last minute to find out if they’re into each event. This is what happened to me last year and I can say for certain being stuck on a waitlist makes it very hard to plan out a season. It is also part of the reason I was so nervous going into Stage 2 this year. Last year I was injured and had my worst week of the year. I didn’t feel like the golf courses set up well for me and my lack of comfort on them was reflected in my play. I finished T165 out of 175 girls.
This year felt a little bit like Deja Vu, because 3 weeks out from Stage 2 I hurt my back. I had to take it easy with practice and play leading up to the event and spent a lot of time at physio. When I got to Florida to begin prepping for the event I was still not in great shape. After my first practice round, I was seriously questioning whether I would be able to finish all 4 rounds of the tournament. To not finish would mean bottom of the priority list again, somewhere I did not want to be. I really had to focus on what I could control that week. I believed I could hit it short, straight and get it up and down from everywhere. I spent lots of time in preparation breaking down the golf course and creating a game plan I knew I could execute despite my injury.
I played the first two rounds with 80% swings. I hit a lot of fairways, holed out for eagle from 141 yards and chipped in twice. I was definitely not playing at full health but found a swing that worked. This game plan placed me inside the top 10 through the first two rounds. It was a new feeling to find myself in contention for a win and well inside the cut to advance to Q-Series. In honesty, this level of play hadn’t crossed my mind coming into the week and the nerves definitely started to hit after the second round. I continued to hit the ball solid over the next two days, but unfortunately the putter went ice cold and I couldn’t covert many of my birdie opportunities. I moved backwards on the leaderboard and finished the week at T59. It was disappointing to be so close to going to Q-Series and to fall short after the last round. The emotions were high, and it was heartbreaking to play so hard over 4 rounds and not get the job done. However, as a consolation I finished over 100 places higher than the previous year and guaranteed myself a full season on the EPSON Tour for next year.
I had a tough season in 2023 and had moments where I questioned whether I could really compete at the next level. At one point after my 7th missed cut of the year I really considered not going to Q-School at all. To play my best golf when it mattered the most was the best feeling in the world. It reaffirms all my hard work over the years and has me more motivated than ever going into the 2024 season. For now, I am focused on gaining some distance and improving my putting stroke so that I am really able to compete next year on Epson. 2023 has been a wild ride and I am excited to move on from the mini-tours and be on the official path to the LPGA with a full-time membership on the Epson tour. Thank you all for following along with me this year and can’t wait to be back next season with more exciting updates from life on the Epson Tour.