Julia Boland BLOG: 1st Stage US Open QF Well hello again everyone. I thought I would write another blog as I am pretty much through my summer of playing here in the states. If you recall the last time I wrote I was in Japan competing in the Suntory Open- and since that time I have been really busy. Firstly I have been to the US Open. I was an alternate for the event so I was able to practice and train at the Broadmoor, and play on the adjoining course. What a great opportunity!!! I was pretty much ready to knee cap any player though, because as it worked out if only one more player had pulled out I would have been able to play!!! Oh well, it was a terrific week. Glenn Whittle (my coach) was able to come over, and I made the most of having him there. Glenn was only with me for 4 days so we put in some very long days on the range, playing and also watching. I have worked with Glenn for 5 years now, and when he took me on my time with NSWIS was just over, and I was not scoring well enough to be in the National squad. In the past 5 years the work that we have done has been unreal- I can honestly say that Glenn has made the biggest impact on my golfing career thus far and I am thankful that he saw enough potential in me to take time to teach me. I also got to see the three Karrie Webb scholarship holders during the week proudly donning green and gold. This tradition was started in the first year by Stacey Keating and Steph Na, and I know that Karrie gets a real kick out of it!! Speaking of Karrie, it was good to catch up with her and watch her play. Wow she was really up there throughout the tournament, I truly believe she is the best female golfer of our time, and I have so much to learn from her. Her care for Aussie golf is awesome, it was weird to think that just two years ago I had won her scholarship and at the time I really didn t know how important that week would be in my career. I think I can speak on behalf of all the girls who have been personally affected by her generosity in this way THANK YOU Karrie!! Another cool thing for me personally is that Karrie uses Noel Blundell as her sports psychologist, and I have also been working with him for the past 6 months. Noel is incredibly gifted at what he does. It’s almost frustrating having a session with him because he just manages to effortlessly make everything simple, when more often than not I have been working so hard and complicating my efforts! I was able to spend some time with Noel during this time, and it s certainly something I will continue to when I turn pro. The US Open really separates the players who take the effort and time to take care of the little things on and off the course! In summary awesome experience, and certainly stoke the flame in me to be playing next year! Thanks to Noel, and Glenn for their time, and also Golf Australia for making it possible. Tour school. It’s hard to describe tour school, I was warned that the air is like ice, and that s pretty accurate. I really felt it was important to set strong goals, and stay committed to them. There are a lot of distractions, a lot of players complain about having to ride in a cart, slow play, condition of the course etc etc, add on top of this rain delays, postponed rounds, and a hefty entry fee you may be able to get an understanding of the atmosphere. I was fortunate enough to caddy for Stacey Keating last year at the Futures Qualifying school, so I think I had a reasonable idea of what to expect. This year however they have merged both LPGA and Futures tour school so there is 3 stages, 150 players in the first stage, and 50 move onto the second stage. With this being said, I don t think anything can fully prepare you for tour school, it is different than normal tournaments, there s an electricity in the air that s undeniable. Most of you will know that I love to compete, so I just tried to enjoy the pressure as much as possible, stay focused and play to win- I was very clear in my mind that I was not there to just finish top 50. The format is 72 stroke, with a cut being made after the 36 holes to the top 80 players. I played some really solid golf, and can take a lot of positives out of the week. My rounds were; 68, 72, 70 and 68th to finish 6th at -10. Truly it was a great introduction to tour school I think I achieved my goals, I was very calm and patient and just let the birdies come. I have to give a massive shout out to Emma DeGroot, who finished at -11 in 5th. We were paired together in the final round which was awesome. Who would have thought that two girls who grew up 4 hours from each other in the country would be paired together in the second last grouped of LPGA qualifying school! Ok, thanks for lasting through a long blog, but you are now updated on my progress. I am excited to announce that I will be returning to Australia to compete in my last interstate series prior to turning pro. GO the mighty blues! Thanks again to Golf Australia I am so excited about the next step in my career and I have so much to be thankful for! Until next time, good golfing! Julia
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