It was an ordinary day. Reading about the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament that is currently in the city of Lancaster, PA...my home town. Story in the newspaper told of a young woman by the name of Julia Misemer who was looking to fill a spot in the tournament if perhaps someone would drop out or become ill. She was sitting by the fire pits near the putting green of the Lancaster County Club, thinking about packing the car for a trip back to Philadelphia. She had arrived in Lancaster on Monday as an alternate for the U.S. Women's Open, hoping to fill in for someone should they have to withdraw. It was almost 2:20 PM on Thursday afternoon, and with just two tee times remaining in the first round. It was very unlikely that she would be asked to fill in for another golfer. "Then I got a phone call from a Pennsylvania number. They said to come to the first tee box. So, Julia grabbed her clubs - her father/caddy, Todd, joined her a few minutes later - and went to the first tee for her 2:31 tee time. Seems that golfer Stephanie Meadows had withdrawn just prior to that time, which opened a spot for Julia. Making Misemer's inclusion all the more improbable is that she entered the day as the second alternate. Apparently the first alternate was already on the way to the airport when Julia got the call she was awaiting. Misemer, who is from Overland Park, Kansas and just finished her sophomore season at Arizona, was hardly prepared to play in a major at that point; without time to properly warm up or mentally get in focus! She hadn't done much since playing practice Tuesday and Wednesday. "I hadn't hit any balls since around 7:30 or 8:00 a.m." she said. "And, hadn't hit any putts for at least two or three hours as well. So I mean, that was definitely a mistake on my part. I knew I should be ready." Others, not surprisingly, were caught unprepared, as well. When she teed off on No. 1, the standard bearer for her group had yet to add her name to the scoreboard. And even when she reached the 18th green as the sun was going down at 8:15 PM, Misemers' picture was on the nearby video scoreboard, but without her name. Misemer, who earned an alternate spot by finishing fourth at a qualifier at El Macero Country Club in California, shot 6-over on the front and finished at 14-over 84 Thursday. She made her only birdie of the day on the par-4 ninth, hitting her approach shot to about four feet, then making the putt. "I kind of got out of my competitive mindset a little too early," Misemer said, "I mean, again, I was about ready to leave and obviously I struggled a bit on the course. I think tomorrow (Friday) I just need to make sure I am really prepared and get into a good kind of groove going and maybe shoot a few under par." This is Misener's second U.S. Women's Open. She didn't make the cut last year at Pebble Beach, but she said that experience helped her Thursday. She even said her best shot of the day was her tee shot on No. 1. "I'm very excited," she said, "even if it wasn't a great day today. I'm hoping to have many more to come. Or at least a few more. And, so I'm just looking on the positive side." After signing her scorecard Thursday, she admitted she still didn't know what her tee time was for Friday - it's 8:46 a.m. - but knew it would be a quick turnaround. "Just trying to get a quick dinner and go right to sleep," she said. Then she added that she needed to email a professor to tell her she can't do her homework! Life's hard at time...isn't it! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
 |
| Julia Misemer placing the ball for her putt on the 18th hole. |
No comments:
Post a Comment