\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As we approach the end of the first week of the New Year, US national women\u2019s amateur tournaments are well under way in the Orange Blossom circuit in Florida. The results of the first tournament showed once again that golf is an international sport currently dominated by exceptionally talented teen-agers.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Orange Blossom tour comprises four weekly Florida tournaments in January that bring low handicap female amateurs from all over the world who seek world-class competition and an opportunity to gain rankings and Curtis Cup points. In the early years the Orange Blossom tournaments were favorite social tour stops for the women professionals (before the LPGA was founded in 1950).<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first of the series is\u00a0The Harder Hall Women\u2019s Invitational, in Sebring, Fl\u00a0(www.harderhallwomens.com<\/a>) held this year for the 57th time. It\u00a0is a 72-hole tournament. When I played in it I was always surprised that some of the entrants were barely teen-agers, and by how far they had come from South America, Asia and Europe to gain tournament experience against the best women golfers. The championship division played at 6,151 yards\u00a0is limited to the lowest 100 entrants.\u00a0The\u00a0higher handicap division played at 5119 yards is limited to the lowest 44.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Charley Hull, the 15-year-old sensation from England scored a pair of 69s in the closing two rounds (282) to win yesterday by 2 strokes over 16-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand (284), and 3 strokes over her 15-year-old sister Moriya (285). In 4th<\/sup> place was 17-year-old Perrine Delacour from France who shot a closing round 69 to finish 7 strokes back (289).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The 72-hole SALLY (www.thesally.com<\/a>) tournament, formerly called the South Atlantic Amateur, begins next week on January 11th<\/sup> with two rounds of qualifying for placement in flights. One of the oldest amateur tournaments, it began in 1926 and is played at Oceanside CC, which is just north of Daytona Beach.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is a very prestigious tournament as only female amateur players with handicaps of 8 or less can apply. Of the 91 entered this year, only 16 have handicap indexes over 5, and 25 have a plus-handicap. A plus handicap means that in a net tournament they would add<\/em><\/strong> their handicap to their score instead of subtracting it. Plus-handicap golfers consistently shoot scores around par or lower. FYI Tiger\u2019s handicap has been estimated at +7 on his home course.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oceanside golf course is what it’s name\u00a0says. It is across the street from the Atlantic Ocean which has provided\u00a0frigid temperatures and winds some years, and balmy southern weather in others. My memories include barbeque pits placed on the par-3 tees to warm your hands, wearing multiple layers of clothing, mittens\u00a0and rain gear making it difficult to swing, and winds so strong it wasn\u2019t necessary to throw up blades of grass to determine the wind velocity.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At the conclusion of the SALLY, the Orange Blossom circuit moves south to a warmer climate in Ft. Lauderdale for the 79th Ione D. Jones\/Doherty Women\u2019s Amateur Championship. \u201cThe Doherty\u201d is a match play tournament played at Coral Ridge CC (www.coralridgecc.com<\/a>),\u00a0 home to innovative golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. who designed the course in 1954. The tournament is now named for his wife Ione. The Doherty field is limited to 48 players in the championship flight and 48 in the senior flight. An 18-hole qualifier to determine the players will be held on\u00a0January 17th.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Charley Hull, newly crowned 2012 Harder Hall champion and a plus-three handicap, ranked 33 in the world, won the Doherty last year. One of my proudest golf experiences was to be the runner-up in the Doherty Senior Division when you had to have a 7 or less handicap to enter.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The last stop on the Orange Blossom circuit changes format once again with the 65th<\/sup> Women\u2019s International Four-Ball tournament\u00a0on January 22-25th<\/sup>. It is held a little further south\u00a0at Orangebrook Golf & CC (www.orangebrook.com<\/a>) in Hollywood, Fl.. It is the longest running women\u2019s amateur event held at one location in the US. This is a match play tournament, but this time with partners. A four-ball match is when two players play their better ball against the better ball of \u00a0the opposing two players. For my explanation of how to play the different kinds of match formats with a strong mental game, log on to http:\/\/bit.ly\/wEpi8J<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you are in Florida in the month of January you can watch women’s amateur\u00a0 golf at its finest for free at any of these tournaments. You will be amazed at the 250 plus drives and how they execute precise shots in their short games. This is a good way to get up close and learn from the best without having to fight the crowds.<\/p>\n Play “In the Zone” With Joan<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Log on to the PMI website<\/a> and Blog<\/a> for mental golf tips. <\/strong><\/p>\n If you want to learn how to win like these top notch women amateurs and how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances, contact Joan at\u00a0 828.696.2547 for a free 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As we approach the end of the first week of the New Year, US national women\u2019s amateur tournaments are well under way in the Orange Blossom circuit in Florida. The results of the first tournament showed once again that … Continue reading