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The US Women’s Open begins tomorrow at Shoal Creek Club near Birmingham, Alabama. Former US Amateur and NCAA champion Emma Talley, who is a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season, plays out of Shoal Creek and three weeks ago captured a spot in the Open via a playoff at her qualifier in Georgia. We asked Emma, who also appeared in the 2016 Links Players Magazine (read the article here), to tell us what this week will look like for her and for us as viewers and fans.
You must be very excited to be in the US Open the year it is being held at your home course.
It was really nerve-wracking. I actually got in on a playoff. I was shaking 10 minutes after the fact. Right when I finished college at Alabama, I think because of my résumé, I got a good deal with Shoal Creek. They gave me a membership out there, so for the past two years I’ve been playing out of Shoal Creek. It’s been absolutely wonderful. They have a tour-hopeful program and there’s a lot of good players on it. I was one of them. Once you get on tour, they still let you come and play. So I’ve been lucky enough and fortunate enough to be able to play out there. So [the US Open] will be like a home-course advantage, hopefully, and I’m really looking forward to it.
What do you love about this course and what can we look for watching the tournament?
It’s my heaven on earth. It’s so pretty. It is a beautiful place. I hope everyone else sees the beauty in it that I do.
It’s going to be pretty tight, I think. The greens are really firm and fast. You have to know where to miss it, because there’s some places on the course where if you miss it, you’re going to have a hard time getting up and down. For me, being patient [is important] and knowing if the pin’s here, hit it there. If the pin’s in the back right, I kind of know where to hit it on the green with my approach shots. I’m playing well right now, so hopefully that will continue.
What are a couple things you’ve learned so far on the Tour that will help you in any event but especially this one?
Yeah, this year has been very interesting. I’ve loved every second of it. The traveling is a bit difficult, and now that I’m my own boss it’s kind of weird. The golf is wonderful, but all the stuff outside of golf—planning, arranging things, making sure I’ve talked to all my sponsors, all of those kinds of things—are the hard part. But it’s a good problem to have and I’m very fortunate to be playing golf at 24 years old for a living, so it’s a dream come true. I’m going to just keep playing golf and keep having fun and hopefully keep living out this dream.
What will the week look like for you?
I’ll kind of stay low and hang out with family and some friends. I’ll try to relax and not worry that it’s at my home course. I won’t be able to go out to eat and do the fun stuff, but I’ll have so much support there. I’m very thankful for it, but I also have to remember that I have to play golf.
Shoal Creek photo: USGA