Emily Tubert received one big break courtesy of the Golf Channel in 2014.
El Dorado Shootout
WHEN Today-Sunday
WHERE Mystic Creek Golf Club, El Dorado
PURSE $100,000
WINNER’S SHARE $15,000
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPION Inaugural event
ARKANSAS CONNECTIONS Emily Tubert (Arkansas Razorbacks), Amanda McCurdy (El Dorado, Razorbacks)
Emily Tubert at a glance
AGE 23
HEIGHT 6-0
HOMETOWN Burbank, Calif.
COLLEGE University of Arkansas (2014, broadcast journalism)
LPGA TOUR 4 events, 3 missed cuts (highest finish, tied for 48th as an amateur at 2011 Northwest Arkansas Championship)
SYMETRA TOUR EARNINGS $14,834
HIGHEST FINISH Tied for eighth, 2015 Patty Berg Memorial
The three-time University of Arkansas All-American is looking for an even bigger break in 2015, one that will put her on the LPGA Tour next season. She'll continue her career plight today when she tees off in the first round of the Symetra Tour's inaugural Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout at Mystic Creek Golf Club.
Tubert, 23, is in her rookie season on the Tour after finishing among the final four a year ago on Golf Channel's Big Break Myrtle Beach. Her success on the show and at Arkansas hasn't hindered the Burbank, Calif., native from her goal of achieving LPGA Tour status despite only one top-10 finish in 2015.
"Any time you jump to the next level there is a little bit of a transition," Tubert said. "For me, I got a new swing coach a couple of months ago which has been good, and I think will be really good in the long run. I think it has been more of a mental struggle, just working on believing in myself and playing freely and without fear.
"I believe I am closer to breaking through out here."
Tubert is 47th on the Symetra Tour money list, where a top-10 finish at the end of the year would earn her an LPGA Tour card. With three events left, she is trying to at least break into the top 25 which would get her into the third stage of qualifying school.
Tubert is third in driving distance on the tour, averaging 271.167 yards on measured drives. She said she hasn't been surprised by the level of competition she has gone up against every week.
"There are very good players out here," said Tubert, who missed the cut at the 2013 U.S. Open. "I just don't think I have played to my potential. If I can play better than I have, I think with my game I should be able to play well out here."
She said she isn't feeling any more pressure these final weeks than she did during her Golf Channel experience.
"I have never been more nervous in all my life than when I was on Big Break," Tubert said. "Everywhere I have gone, people have been supportive and think it's pretty cool I was on the show."
Tubert's father is an actor, but she credits her mother for her mental approach to the game.
"She's the one that really helps me with all of that, but my dad and I have had a lot of conversations about the similarities between golf and acting," she said. "You have to do everything you can to prepare, then once it's time to prepare or play you have to forget about it and trust your preparation and trust you'll be able to execute.
"There are a lot of parallels between the two, but my mom is definitely more instrumental in coaching me through the mental stuff."
Tubert was a four-time All-SEC selection at Arkansas and won the 2014 Dinah Shore Award given to a female golfer who excels in the classroom and on the golf course. She has played in three LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championships, where she tied for 48th the first time in 2011 but missed the cut in 2012 and 2014.
"I'm really looking forward to playing in Arkansas," she said. "Even though El Dorado is five hours away from Fayetteville, I think everyone is still a Razorback fan."
Also included in this weekend's 132-player field is former University of Arkansas golfer Amanda McCurdy. A 2002 El Dorado graduate, McCurdy, 32, received a sponsor's exemption into the tournament.
Sports on 09/25/2015