With positive Charleston experience, she’s back in search of first pro win
If experience on a golf course makes a difference, Emma Talley starts the 74th U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday at the Country Club of Charleston with an advantage.
Most in the elite field of 156 that will be seeking the most prestigious title in women’s golf have only a passing acquaintance with the Seth Raynor design that opened in 1925. On the other hand, Talley played nine competitive rounds in winning the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur over the par 71 layout.
“I don’t know about an advantage, but I do have so many positive vibes and fond memories of Charleston and the golf course,” Talley said. “The course is amazing, and winning that week with my dad on the bag was really special.”
Talley, 25, learned the game in her native Kentucky, starred in junior golf, on national teams and at the University of Alabama. She is one of a handful of players to win both a U.S. Women’s Amateur title and an NCAA individual championship.
She turned pro in 2016, played the Symetra Tour in 2017 and finished fourth in the LPGA’s rookie of the year chase in 2018. Her current season has been spotty with a couple of top 20s sprinkled in with four missed cuts.
Two weeks off prior to the tourney in Williamsburg, Virginia, that ends Sunday provided the opportunity to work on her game, and she will head to Charleston for her sixth U.S. Women’s Open — the first in 2011 while still in high school.
“I’m sure the course will play longer this year than during the Amateur,” Talley said. “But the key is still going to be hitting fairways off the tee and the short game. The green complexes are challenging, and if the wind blows, the course will play really tough.”
The toughest of Charleston holes is among the shortest, the par-3 11th. Sam Snead once made a 13 there, and Beth Daniel, who honed her Hall-of-Fame career on the course, predicted that some competitors in the Open might lay up and make bogey rather than risk an “other” on their scorecard.
“Some of the others have asked about No. 11,” Talley said. “I tell them to play for the middle of the green and hope the ball stays on. Fortunately, I hit the green every round but one (in the Amateur), but the hole is definitely challenging.”
These players often make a challenging game look easy, and Talley got her start in that direction growing up in Princeton, Kentucky. She “fell in love with golf and sometimes got into trouble when I didn’t get home for dinner on time,” she said.
While watching an LPGA tourney in Nashville, Tennessee, “when I was 12 or 13, I knew I wanted to be a professional golfer,” she said. “It took a lot of sacrifice and work, and my parents deserve a lot of credit. I knew what I wanted to do and I was motivated to be good. My parents made sure I got the opportunity.”
Now in her second season in golf’s major league, Talley returns to the scene of her biggest triumph seeking her first pro win. She will feel right at home.
US Women’s Open TV schedule
▪ Thursday/Friday: 2:30-7:30 p.m., FS1
▪ Saturday/Sunday: 2-7 p.m., Fox
Also streaming at usga.org
Chip shots
Entry information for the Sonic Columbia City Women’s Championship and the City Junior Girls Championship, set for June 17-18 at Woodlands CC, is available online at www.columbiawomenscitygolf.com. Tournament director Lynn Holmes predicts an increase over last year’s 100-plus field and called the Woodlands “a challenging yet fair test.” Under new ownership, the club has invested in upgrading the course and facilities. ... Kevin Williams, who has guided East Carolina’s successful women’s golf program for 17 years, has been named assistant coach for the USC women’s team. Williams replaces Puggy Blackmon, who retired after 24 years with the Gamecocks’ men’s and women’s programs. ... Clemson senior Bryson Nimmer has been named one of the 10 finalists for the Fred Haskins Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate golfer. ... The team of Roger Page (Duncan) and Tim Pope (Spartanburg) won the SCGA’s Super Seniors Four-Ball title at The Links at Stono Ferry.
This story was originally published May 26, 2019 at 7:11 AM.