Kathleen Ekey Begins Professional Career at U.S. Women's Open

Former Tide Golfer makes second straight appearance in U.S. Women's Open

July 6, 2009

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - With one of the most successful golf careers in the history of the University of Alabama in her rearview mirror, Kathleen Ekey will step to the tee on Thursday, July 9, as a professional for the first time.
And what better place to make one's pro debut than at the Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., site of the 2009 U.S. Women's Open.
"It's a great honor to make the U.S. Open my first professional tournament," Ekey said. "It means a lot to me. When it's your country's championship, it really doesn't get any better than that."
With her younger brother Byron fulfilling caddy duties, Ekey snagged a spot in the 156-player field with back-to-back rounds of 71 at the 36-hole sectional qualifier at the Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, N.C. Her 142 (-2) gave her a second-place finish and one of six U.S. Open qualifying tickets awarded to 40 hopeful competitors.
"Having my brother on the bag and also having my mom there was really nice," Ekey said. "Having both of them there to spend time with me and obviously give me support helped a lot. My brother does a great job (caddying). He caddied for me at the Open last year. He's caddied for me a lot growing up, and he always keeps me calm and joking around."
While the 2009 U.S. Open will serve as Ekey's professional coming out party, it won't be the first time that the Wadsworth, Ohio, native has competed in the nation's premiere event. Ekey qualified and played in the 2008 U.S. Open at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn., as an amateur before her senior season at Alabama.
Ekey admittedly did not play her best golf, missing the cut with consecutive rounds of 80, but at the same time, she said that her game was not that far off. She also learned an invaluable lesson at Interlachen; U.S. Open courses are unforgiving.
"One of the most important things I learned is you can't be even a little bit off at a U.S. Open," Ekey said. "It will take everything from you that it possibly can and then some more. You just have to be really smart around the golf course and be really patient. "
Along with her experiences from last year's Open, Ekey has acquired another valuable asset heading into next week's tournament in the services of Carl "The Caddy Machine" Laib. As one might assume from his conspicuous nickname, Laib has a wealth of experience and success as a caddy on the LPGA Tour, serving as the right-hand man in 33 LPGA tournament victories and seven major championships.
Ekey met Laib at a practice round during last year's Open where Laib was caddying for another member in Ekey's group. The two hit it off from the beginning as Laib offered Ekey advice on her game, and gave her his phone number with instructions to call him if she ever needed anything.
So after qualifying for this year's U.S. Open, that is exactly what Ekey did. Well, she sent him a text message but same idea, asking Laib if he was free for the Open. Laib said that two golfers had already contacted him but that they had not qualified yet, so he would have to wait and see. In the end, things broke Ekey's way, and she wound up with a caddy Hall of Famer on her bag for one of the most prestigious tournament in women's golf.
Since qualifying, Ekey has managed to squeeze in a lot of practice time, most of which she's devoted to her short game, in between taking summer classes at the University and working a youth golf camp. Ekey said the camp was a good experience for her as it allowed her to unwind a little bit and enjoy herself with the kids who ranged in age from five to 14.
"I think the kids appreciated having someone that was young, and they also knew I was going to be playing in the Open, so they thought that was the coolest thing in the world," Ekey said. "It was really fun for me."

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Women's Golf Signs Alabama State Champion Hannah Collier

Nov. 20, 2009

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama women's golf coach Mic Potter announced the signing of Hannah Collier to a national letter of intent on Friday.
Collier, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, won the Alabama state individual championship in 2009 while competing for Spain Park High School.
"It's really good and refreshing to have another player from the state of Alabama joining our team next year in Hannah Collier," Potter said. "Hannah is the state high school champion and one of the better players to come out of the state of Alabama in quite some time."
Collier also won the Southeast Junior Golf Tour Vestavia Classic in 2009 and earned victories at two American Junior Golf Association events in 2007. Her Spain Park team took the state title behind her strong performance in 2009, and she holds the Alabama High School Athletics Association state scoring record.
"Coach Potter was the main reason I signed with Alabama," Collier said. "He's a great coach with a long history of winning and producing great players. I also really like the school and was impressed with their facilities. I just like everything about Alabama, and I'm really excited to get started next fall."