STARKVILLE — For Rica Tse, this summer has been anything but dull.
Rather, it has been full of golf and sitting in a classroom learning about business.
The former Mississippi State women’s golfer is finishing up her master’s degree in business administration, but that hasn’t kept her from finding time to hit the links. She turned professional after her final tournament as a Bulldog earlier this year, and her young career has already been exciting with two victories.
Just like the last four years, she has had to balance school and golf, but this time she is playing for her livelihood.
“It’s definitely been a good confidence booster playing these mini tour events and actually end up winning. I haven’t been really able to play a whole lot, so it definitely helps to play these tournaments and win,” Tse said.
She started her career by winning the first tournament she played in in early June. Tse shot a 2-over, 218 in three rounds to capture the title at the LPGA International Hills in Daytona Beach, Florida, by one stroke on the SunCoast Tour.
She followed it up by winning on the Cactus Tour in Texas this past weekend. She shot a 1-under, 71 in the final round at Walnut Creek Country Club to win by one stroke and notch her second-career victory.
MSU coach Ginger Brown-Lemm always believed Tse could play professional golf, and this spring was really the turning point. Tse recorded her best-ever finish, a second place at an LSU-hosted event.
“I think that Rica probably proved to herself this spring that she can handle it and that she really wants to take the next step,” Brown-Lemm said. “That’s massive for her because if there’s any indecision, you might as well not.”
Tse is not the only former Bulldog to find success this summer. Ally McDonald also won in the first professional tournament she participated in. The Fulton native shot a 5-under, 211 in three rounds to win the Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championship at the Mountain Ridge Course in Thompsonville, Michigan.
McDonald won five individual tiles while at MSU and she relied on that experience as she shot a final round 2-under, 70 to help cap off the victory.
“I think it definitely kept me, kind of things in perspective because I really wasn’t thinking about winning,” McDonald said. “I was just trying to focus on the here and the now and hitting fairways and greens and just doing everything one shot at a time like I always had.”
McDonald and Tse came to MSU as freshmen just before the 2011-12 season got underway. The duo was apart of the second recruiting class for Brown-Lemm and she had a good feeling about the pair.
After seeing McDonald and Tse lead MSU to three-straight NCAA Regionals and two appearances in the NCAA Championships, Brown-Lemm is happy to see the success continue for the two girls she recruited at the next level.
“I feel like a mom again because I told you you could do it,” Brown-Lemm said. “There’s nothing that you can’t do. I’m so prideful.”
Boost in recruiting
Brown-Lemm’s five years at MSU have been full of success and firsts for the Bulldog program.
She laid the groundwork for the future of the program with the signing of Tse and McDonald. Now she can use their successes after college as a recruiting tool.
“Those kids that have verbally committed to us and with dreams of going and playing professionally, it means everything to me to be able to say, ‘We’ve done what it takes and these two ladies have decided to go that route,'” Brown-Lemm said.
Both men and women’s golf will have a new home this fall at Old Waverly Golf Club. A new practice facility is being constructed and Brown-Lemm has already used that on the recruiting trail.
The wins by both Tse and McDonald show how Brown-Lemm can develop junior golfers to be well prepared for the next step.
“Hopefully she can use that to draw other great players in and continue to see success,” said McDonald who has been practicing at Old Waverly this summer.
A deeper bond
Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Tse had to leave her family and friends behind to start her college golf career.
It was hard on her, but she found a great support system in Starkville with Brown-Lemm, McDonald and assistant coach Leigh Phillips.
“I cannot thank Coach Brown and Coach Phillips enough for making me the person I am today,” said Tse who hasn’t seen her family since last Christmas. “(Brown-Lemm) has really been more than a coach. She has just been everything I could ever dream of.
“It’s just been incredible how homely I’ve felt at Mississippi State.”
Although they are playing on separate tours and trying to get their careers underway simultaneously, McDonald and Tse still keep in touch.
Playing for the Bulldogs for four years, led to a deep bond and friendship and they only wish each other the best.
But the last conversation between the pair was about Mississippi State football.
“We were trying to figure out how to get Coach to get us tickets to the football game. It’s just kind of the same old stuff in college.
“It’s a little bit of golf talk, but must of it’s just, ‘Oh, how are you? Next time we’re in town we should go grab a bite to eat,'” McDonald said.
Flight booked
Last week was a flood of good and bad emotions for McDonald.
She found out Monday that another alternate was taken over her to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open. She thought her shot at playing in a second-straight U.S. Open was over.
That wasn’t the case.
She found out late Tuesday night that she had been added to the field after another player had to withdraw due to an injury. McDonald was in Fulton, but her parents had already booked a flight for early Wednesday morning just in case she snuck into the field. They left Fulton at around 3 a.m. and boarded a flight in Memphis, Tennessee. McDonald and her family – her brother caddied for her – arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, just after 2 p.m. local time.
She hit the ground running as she played a practice round and walked off the course just after 7 p.m.
“It was a really, really busy 24 hours from when I got the call,” she said.
McDonald failed to make the cut at Lancaster Country Club, but now she has two U.S. Opens under her belt, something she thinks will help her later on in her career.
“I told my family you have to be able to be in that position and experience the U.S. Open before you can really succeed. I’ve got two of them under my belt now and hopefully from now on I’ll make the cut and play well,” McDonald said who missed the cut at Pinehurst No. 2 last year in the U.S. Open.
McDonald and Tse will continue to play professional golf and they hope to gain a spot on the LPGA Tour with a good showing in the coming months at the LPGA’s Qualifying School.
“We’ve both been dreaming of being a professional golfer since we were young, so it’s a pretty good start,” Tse said.
Ben Wait is a sports writer for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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