Kang shines at LPGA Drive On Championship showcases
In the two LPGA Drive On Championship tournaments in 2020, Danielle Kang won at Inverness Club and finished solo second at Reynolds Lake Oconee. It’s safe to say that the Rolex World Golf Rankings No. 5 enjoys the atmosphere and competitive nature the particular Drive On series showcases bring.
“I do love the golf courses that we're playing. They're great shot-shaping, shotmaking golf courses and they're newer [to us], not this week specifically,” said Kang, who is set to make her third start of the 2021 season. “I think it’s just whoever can get in the most practice in the short amount of time we have is going to play well. Ocala, we have played here previously, but this is a new event. I don't know if we're coming back, so just kind of a one-time showcase type of deal.”
Kang comes to Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club on the heels of her first missed cut since the 2019 Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group1001. She had made 17 consecutive cuts before missing the weekend at the second annual Gainbridge LPGA.
“I needed some me time after last week. I came here on Tuesday at 11:58 because I had to test before noon. Had nothing to do with missing the cut for me. I think I wasn't really ready mentally to play an event and I just tried to shut it down, everything, just focus on golf, and I didn't succeed in that,” Kang said. “More than anything, I just kind of wanted to be in my own state of mind and play this week in the proper state of mind. Coming into this week, I wanted to regroup and focus on making Danielle happy.”
HARD-WORKING MORGAN PRESSEL TAKES NEXT CAREER STEP
Every job looks easy when you watch experts do it. From brick mason to star athlete, the best make the most difficult tasks look effortless, casual, easy enough for you say, “Gee, I could do that.”
Television is no different. Armchair quarterbacks in their living rooms almost always think they could analyze a game better than the guys in the booth. But the same also goes for a lot of athletes and coaches who believe that transitioning from competing to providing analysis on television is an effortless jump.
As anyone who has picked up a microphone and looked into a camera can tell you, they are sorely mistaken.
Television is hard work. And those who do it best have put in countless hours of testing and practice. They listen to those who have been doing the job for years and they accept critiques without taking offense. Just as on the field of play, those with the most talent, the most dedication and the hardest work ethic rise to the top.
Morgan Pressel, who will join Golf Channel as the lead analyst this week at the LPGA Drive On Championship presented by Volvik, could well be one of those.
Pressel is both smart and quick. And everyone who has been around her knows her dedication to being the absolute best at everything she does. It comes as no surprise that she is picking up the microphone and taking the next logical step in a successful career in the game.
“I'm excited to join the NBC family and work with Golf Channel,” Pressel said on Wednesday afternoon at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club. “You know, being on the other side of the camera for a long time I've had the opportunity to dabble a little bit in television. I'm excited to see the production behind the scenes, see everything that goes into showcasing our sport and to be part of the production.”
Pressel will continue to play, just as Paul Azinger, Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller continued to compete during their early days in television. But she will also provide analysis at both LPGA Tour and PGA Tour events in 2021, including the U.S. Women’s Open, the Amundi Evian Championship and the Solheim Cup, where she competed for Team USA six times, most recently in 2019 at Gleneagles, Scotland. She will also provide analysis during the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic from March 15 – 21.
To read the full story from Steve Eubanks on LPGA.com, visit:
https://www.lpga.com/news/2021/hard-working-pressel-takes-next-career-step
MARIA TORRES NEAR COLLEGIATE STOMPING GROUNDS AS LPGA TOUR PROFESSIONAL
Just days ahead of the LPGA Drive On Championship presented by Volvik at Golden Ocala, LPGA Tour member and Puerto Rico native Maria Torres is searching for her first Tour victory near her alma mater with the University of Florida just over 30 miles north of this week’s tournament host venue.
“Being here in Ocala got me thinking of my entire four years. Monday night before going to bed, I remembered us practicing or even going to classes. It was nice, that memory lane. I'm excited to go back,” said Torres, who graduated in 2017. “After this tournament, I'm going to Gainesville, so I'm kind of excited. I have been thinking of when we finish on Sunday and seeing everybody at the course, my coaches, and even the tutoring center where I spent a lot of time between classes and practicing.”
With an impressive collegiate résumé, including being named the first female SEC Golfer of the Year (2016) in UF history since 1990, Torres is feeling ready with the support she has from her college friends and even the slight advantage of having practiced before at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club.
“We used to play this course a couple of times a year to practice and get our rounds, qualifying rounds,” said Torres. “Right now my game I think is rolling, like slowly getting into it and getting the timing down of playing tournaments again. I think slowly, but like steady I'm trying to work on the routine.”
BY THE NUMBERS—LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY VOLVIK AT GOLDEN OCALA
The following statistics were compiled by Amy Mills, Senior Manager of Statistical Research for the LPGA.
Lydia Ko is a combined -23 in her previous two starts at Golden Ocala Golf Club, resulting in a second-place (2015) and third-place finish (2016). Ko has a scoring average of 69.13 on this course, which ranks as second-best among players.
