Delaney Shah
The last week on the road in this stretch of events was in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma just outside of Tulsa. This course was hillier than the previous courses, more narrow and tree lined, with great greens. The weather for the week was lots of wind, with some cold and rainy weather on Wednesday morning.
The first day I started on hole 10, where I carded 8 straight pars before making a birdie on the 18th hole. Making the turn at 1-under, I carded 5 more pars before another birdie on hole 6 and pars at 7 and 8. Having a bogey free round going, I came to the 9th feeling strong. I hit my drive in the fairway, and hit a wedge shot which got caught by the wind and sailed over the green. I ended up with a bogey and shooting a round of 1-under which put me T4.
Knowing I was sitting in a good position for making the cut, my focus shifted from that of making the cut to trying to win the golf tournament. I started off round two with a double on the second hole from a 3putt under 6 feet, but bounced back with two birdies to shoot even on the front. The back was filled with 6 pars, 2 bogeys, and a birdie to card a round of one over, making me even for the event and sitting solo in third place.
The nerves started kicking in on the third round because I was playing in the final group, the first time I had been in that position as a professional. I started off steady with a birdie and two bogeys on the front, which calmed any nerves I had warming up. The back nine I made 7 straight pars before a birdie on the 17th and a double on the 18th due to a poor approach shot and an unlucky putt. Shooting two over I was sitting in a T6, just a few shots out of the lead.
The last day was very windy, with gusts up to 45 mph. I started off the round strong, making two birdies in the first 5 holes, before a 3 putt bogey on the sixth and a 3 putt double on the eight. Shooting one over on the front with the winds picking up, I made two more bogeys on the back before making a birdie on the 17th. Knowing how hard the conditions were, I was feeling really good about where I was sitting going into the last hole. I went to the 18th and striped a drive exactly where I wanted to, thinking I could clear the fairway bunker, but it just caught the lip and plugged. I hacked it out, but unfortunately flew into another bunker, where it plugged in the lip again. I hacked it out again, however it rolled back into the bunker into another hole. After yet another attempt I got the ball out, chipped on, and lipped out a 6 foot putt. Making triple I carded a 5-over round which dropped me from 4th place to a tie for eight. This was hard to swallow since the difference in the payout between 4th and 8th place was out about $1,000 less. As much as ending on that note stung, I realized I just got three unlucky breaks that I couldn't really do anything about. I hit my drive exactly where I aimed and wanted it to go, I just thought I could clear the bunker.
With that, I had my highest finish on the tour so far with a T8, which also meant my biggest check yet! Aside from the money, I feel all the hard work have me the opportunity to be in the position of being in contention to win.
Three weeks on the road takes a toll – physically and mentally. I finally get a week off to recover from all that wind and walking, before I head to Pittsburgh to do my Women's Open Qualifier which is a 1-day 36 hole event with two spots to qualify for. My golf game is feeling very good and I have a lot of confidence going forward into my next event. Thanks for your continued support and as always, I will keep you posted.