‘Lessons from Pebble to my little one’: This may be the most touching U.S. Women’s Open moment
Amy Olson hits a shot on Thursday on the 2nd hole at Pebble Beach.
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At 6:07 a.m. in the time zone where she had just played 36 holes of U.S. Open golf, Amy Olson hit ‘tweet.’ It had been a week at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where a little one had tagged along.
Everyone, it seemed, was on this story, of how a 30-year-old pro from North Dakota would play a major about two months ahead of childbirth. Go ahead and Google it. She’s Playing in the U.S. Women’s Open. She’s Also Seven Months Pregnant. That’s the headline from the Wall Street Journal. 7 Months Pregnant at U.S. Open, Amy Olson Takes On Pebble Beach: ‘An Awesome Thing.’ That’s the headline from the San Francisco Chronicle. Good Morning America did a video. And on and on. Similar feats had been done previously, but each always and understandably is special.
They capture the sporting spirit, don’t they? Take Olson. She learned she was expecting in January. And in July, the ladies were playing an Open at Pebble for the first time. So she started doing some math.
“I started texting like every mom on tour going, ‘How long did you play? At what point did you stop?’” Olson told Sarah Kellam of lpga.com ahead of the Open. “And I was hearing (that the) max is kind of right around 28 to 32 weeks, depending on how you carry, who you are.
“I computed that at the [U.S. Women’s Open], I will have just completed 30 weeks. I’m like, OK, it’s possible. I’m hearing that it’s doable. It’s Pebble [Beach] of all things. So I’m like, ‘You know what, let’s just go out there and see what happens.’”
In late May in Minnesota, she won her qualifier. (Notably, USWO 36-hole leader Bailey Tardy grabbed the other spot.) The moment started to hit.
Only then, you see Pebble’s par-3 7th. So short! And the par-5 18th! So memorable! And the Pacific. So serene! So powerful! And it smacks harder than any Olson drive.
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“For me, it’s been really cool to see over my 10-year career the different courses that we’ve been able to play and how it’s just gotten better and better and better,” she told lpga.com. “To be able to be part of this as we take the stage at one of the best venues, the best golf courses in the world, is really special. I look back and I see how far we’ve come even in my career, and I think about 70 years ago when our founders started this tour. Did they even dream this was possible? Maybe, but I think they would be so proud of where we are today.
“I don’t know what to expect. I’m trying not to have too many expectations. I’m hoping to soak it all up and enjoy being on the property. Then being able to do it with a baby, all of it is a little bit overwhelming. I’m trying not to put too much pressure or expectation on it, but truly just enjoy the week.”
On Thursday, Olson played round one. A 79. On Friday, she played round two. Two strokes better. She missed the cut. It stung. She wanted 36 more. But there’s a bigger story here, of course. Jeff Kolpack, a writer at her home-state newspaper, the Forum, wonderfully gathered this, in a story published Friday:
Yet, she was a Pebble Beach favorite of sorts for playing two months before her due date. Fans were consistently nodding in approval of her playing, beginning with the starter on hole No. 10, who asked Olson how she was feeling.
A few other examples:
A woman lying on the grass on the 11th fairway: “That’s so cool.”
A woman next to 13 green: “I would kill to look that good at seven months. That’s amazing.”
A woman by the 14th green: “Is this the pregnant girl? Cute. I need to take a picture.”
“One of the things that I’ve not ever wanted to buy into is that pregnancy is somehow a disease,” Olson told CNN. “I’m not ill, I’m not sick, I’m pregnant — my body is made to do this.
“I think being an athlete, in a lot of ways, I’m incredibly fortunate because fitness has been part of my life just naturally and I think it’s helped the pregnancy go well. In some ways, yes, it impedes your career — I wouldn’t recommend anyone just gaining 25 pounds for performance in golf — but I also think there’s a mindset of gaining a little perspective and balance in new life recognizing there are different seasons.
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“There’s a season for us as women to pursue a career, to pursue a passion or a dream we’ve had since childhood, but there’s also a time to become a mother and you don’t want to look back at the end of your life and realize that I sacrificed one of these at the exclusion of the other.”
All good stuff.
As was this from Olson. It may be the week’s most beautiful moment.
“Lessons from Pebble to my little one:
“Do the hard thing. If you aren’t sure if you can, try.
“Enjoy the view. No matter what happens, be grateful.
“Every experience is better with people you love. Hold your family tight.
“God is good, all the time. He’s got you, little one.”
At 6:07 a.m. in the time zone where she had just played 36 holes of U.S. Open golf, Amy Olson then hit ‘tweet.’
It had been a week at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where a little one had tagged along.
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