It’s not every day that young athletes get to display their talent on a national stage. For West Point native Emerson Blair, however, she had that chance Aug. 2-8 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Golf Championship.
Blair, 15, traveled to Rye, New York to take on a field of mostly collegiate golfers. Of the roughly 1,560 girls who applied to participate in the tournament at Westchester Country Club, 156 qualified.
To qualify, Blair needed to nab one of six available spots out of 74 girls who competed July 5 at Woodmont Country Club in Canton, Georgia. It seems Blair has a flair for the dramatic, as she entered into a five-way playoff for the final spot after shooting a 2-under-par 70.
She would end up winning the second hole of the playoff to earn her spot. Blair said that the experience at the qualifier showed that she could shoot the scores she needed to compete with a high level of competition.
“Not many people my age make it,” Blair said. “There were probably 10 golfers aged 12 to 15. Most of the people that made it really far were in college, so they have a lot more experience, but it’s motivating to see that they did the same thing I did. They just kept practicing.
“That’s the end goal. It motivated me to practice even harder so that I can make it in future years.”
Blair said that while she did not perform as well at the tournament as she would have liked, especially on the second day when she shot 80 after a first-round 76 on the par-72 course, the experience was invaluable to her.
“It’s a good learning experience to see how other people’s games compare to mine,” Blair said. “We stayed after stroke play and watched some people in match play, and you just learn a lot from watching others.”
Playing on a national stage at a young age is tough, but Blair didn’t have to do it alone. Her cousin, Mississippi State golfer Blair Stockett, also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amatuer, and having an older relative there was a big comfort for Blair.
“We were there for each other; we did some fun things up there, But it was motivating having both of us up there,” Blair said.
With a goal of playing college golf and beyond, Blair said the tournament was a great experience. She held her own against more experienced competition and gained a lot of experience playing and adjusting to a tough course.
“The big thing for me was the elevation change, and I had a lot of blind shots into the green, so I kinda had to adjust to that.” Blair said. “It was just learning where to hit it on the greens, and being on the green might not be as good as being near the pin.”
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