Bye Bye, Brisbane!

Week 6: Brisbane

If you haven't noticed by now, I am a very chronological person.  I am excited to wrap up my Australian chapters today in order to move onto the hundreds of ideas floating around in my head.  In the meantime...

My last week in Australia - I can't believe it!  My weekend at the Great Barrier Reef was well worth the trip, and I am ready to power through these last two tournaments and end on a high note.

Our first event at McLeod Country Golf Club was a special time; this course was founded and is almost completely run by women - a perfect venue for the ALPG! Keeping up with the royal/presidential treatment throughout the weeks, Meghan and I were honored to be staying with McLeod's president (whose daughter's dog is appropriately named Royal).  After getting to know our host family, I discovered that they had lived in the same town as some of my family and even knew some of my cousins - small world!

McLeod Country Golf Club is also where I earned my first professional paycheck - 104.40 AUD.  I was pleasantly surprised because the day before, my putter grip had melted off. That Aussie sun!  The pro shop and our new friend, Josh, were instrumental in giving me a temporary solution until I got home.
Next thing we knew, it was time to head to Yamba Golf and Country Club for the last pro-am of the season.  My crooked putter was killing it, and I sunk 5 birdie putts.  My friend, Emily, who I actually met at Qualifying School in Palm Springs last year, and I were paired together and we had a great day out there.  I won another paycheck, and then it was back to Emily's house near the Brisbane airport so I could fly out the next morning.
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While I was very happy with my score and the payout, I was more proud of implementing all the lessons I had learned the last six weeks and finishing strong. Tour life is exhausting but so rewarding.   I believe that staying positive and energized through the end really made the difference for me at Yamba.  I also felt like my visualization and pre-shot routines were on point as well as my determination to stay in the present and not worry about a potential paycheck while playing.  I will admit, though, that I had *NSYNC's "Just Got Paid" in my head the whole round since we were playing Friday afternoon, but hey, it worked!

And that, folks, concludes my Australian tour experience.  I flew from Brisbane to New Zealand to spend a week with my mom there for her birthday and then home to start my mini tour season.  I would highly recommend the ALPG to any professional golfer looking for growth in her game.  The sightseeing and new connections aren't bad either!

Thanks for following my Aussie adventures, and I hope you come back for details about my roller coaster of a summer leading up to LPGA Qualifying School.  Cheers!