This is the toughest time of year for a lot of golfers that have the dream to play on the LPGA or PGA tour. This week is the final stage of qualifying to reach the goal that many of these players have had their entire life. It is also a week that many players who lost their tour cards are trying to regain their card or improve their status so they can play in more tournaments. It is hard to believe David Duval, Rich Beem, and Lee Janzen are all major championship winners and they are playing this week. It is hard to believe it all comes down to one week.
I have three players at the LPGA qualifier and two are there for the first time. Having experienced the qualifying school myself I know exactly what they are going through. As I try to prepare these players for the week I emphasize to them that all the hard work is done before you get to the tournament and now it is time to have fun and enjoy the week. They have to control the things they can control and worrying about results is not one of them. It is important to stay in the moment the entire week, it is important to go through your routine on every shot and it is important to keep your emotions in check. Everyone will be nervous and if the golfers can just find a way to enjoy being there and realize they have done all they can by preparing ahead of time for this week and now they need to treat this week as the party. Easier said than done.
The good news about this week as most of the players will leave with some status whether it is on the LPGA or PGA tour or a mini tour most of them will be playing somewhere next year. For the young players that are there for the first time, I tell them to go into the qualifying school with no expectations and to play golf like they are playing with their friends at home. This will give them a much better chance of playing well and they will learn a lot as they go through the week. Whether they make it or not it will definitely be easier the next time they have to go to qualifying week.
I also feel for the young players that it is not a bad thing if they do not qualify. They can learn so much on the mini tours. Playing professional golf is a lot different than amateur golf or college golf. The golfer will now have to make all their own travel arrangements, learn about new golf courses, learn to play for money, and manage their schedule weekly. Managing your schedule can sometimes be tricky. You now have a full day without anything scheduled. However, to make it as a professional golfer you have to workout, practice, practice rounds, pro-ams, laundry, travel days, clinics plus much more and this can be overwhelming when you are new to this lifestyle. So as glamourous as the tour life looks it is only glamourous for the top money winners and it takes a lot of hard work to reach that level.
So I encourage the players to enjoy the week and I wish everyone the best of luck. I encourage the fans that are looking at the final rounds on television to remember how much pressure is on these golfers (as they miss short putts, hit bad approach shots and just hit shots they would not normally hit) and what an amazing accomplishment it is for them to just make it to the finals. Some will make it, most will not and the sun will still shine tomorrow and they will continue to work hard to reach their dreams. I especially want to wish Kandi Comer Golf students Whitney, Leah and Riki the best of luck this week and to remind them to enjoy the week.