Juneau credits her parents and playing all types of sports with the boys when she was younger for developing a love for competition.
“I was very independent and did a lot of other things than golf. I played baseball, basketball, volleyball. All with the boys. I played baseball until I was 13 or so and then they told me I couldn’t play with the boys anymore. I honestly wanted to. I was a pitcher. I was like ‘why can’t you let me pitch?’
But Juneau found her niche in golf and was recruited by the University of Louisville to play for the Cardinals. After an outstanding collegiate career which included five career victories and two All-American selections, Juneau thought to give the professional ranks a shot.
“It was always kind of a dream but I didn’t know it was possible,” said Juneau. “I never thought about what I was going to do later. But once I got to college and did well, I thought ‘well maybe it is possible.’ I was like let’s just try it. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”
In just her second year on Tour, Juneau has learned plenty of lessons along the way, ones that have helped her keep her balance.
“It is a huge difference,” said Juneau. “I learned so much about myself last year. I saw all the girls out on the range all the time and am like, ‘man I gotta go practice.’ But then I could feel myself getting burned out. I don’t play on Wednesday, I’ll maybe play nine on Tuesday, and I don’t feel guilty at all.”
Juneau credits being from north of the U.S. for relying on other activities to get through the year.
“Being from the north and being so used to others things other than golf all the time is huge,” said Juneau. “When I first started out, the amount of time you get to practice versus the amount you actually need is ridiculous.”
Juneau didn’t hesitate to dish out some advice to a younger player earlier this season on time management. She shared host housing with one of the 2012 rookies and had a flash back of exactly what she went through a year ago.
“She was at the range 24/7,” said Juneau. “I was just like ‘I’m going to chill here by the pool at our housing and I could tell she was looking at me funny. But I told her, ‘you know what, you’re doing that now but let’s talk after Decatur and I did and she was like ‘yep, starting to get a bit burned out.’ You really have to pace yourself.”
Juneau has clearly found her routine and what works for her in order to get the most out of her weekends.
“As a pro I’m just starting to get the hang of it,” said Juneau. “I’ve had good results so far and just trying to keep up.”
She has been playing consistently solid throughout her sophomore season and is currently ranked No. 10 in the Volvik Race for the Card. She had a hot start to the year with a T2 finish at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic and has been steady ever since. Three more top-25 finishes and nothing out of the top-60 in her first six starts has put her in prime position to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2013.
But Juneau realizes the ever changing rankings and the importance of notching a win on Tour, something that would likely solidify a top-10 spot for most of the season.
“I keep making money but I’m like $1,000 short of if there’s a one-time winner that week, they’ll pass me,” said Juneau. “So if I just do one really good tournament, those first timers won’t be able to pass me. At first I was thinking too much about that and then I was like there are 10 tournaments left. I’m just going to go out there and play.”
The Tour’s marketing efforts to highlight the current top-10 players in the Race have not gone unnoticed. Juneau admits it was challenging at first to keep her mind off all the extra recognition for her ranking.
“I was like I’m going to forget about it and keep focusing but your name’s everywhere and you have a different bib color. So it’s always in your face. You can’t really forget but you need to go out there and play.”
Juneau is the type of player that doesn’t look too far down the road but is smart enough to know that her playing career won’t last forever. She said if she wasn’t a golfer she would have pursued a career in law enforcement.
“If I didn’t play golf I would’ve done something totally different,” said Juneau. “I would’ve been a police officer. They wouldn’t let me do it while I played golf. In Canada it’s very different. It’s a better job than in the States. You retire really well. I’ve shot some big guns before.”
Juneau doesn’t come off as an enforcing type and says that friends agreed that she didn’t fit the badge flashing bill.
“The funny thing is that in college when people would ask me ‘why because you don’t like getting told what to do,’” said Juneau. “But I said I hate authority but would like being the authority. I was a trouble maker growing up.”
Juneau stays out of trouble these days and loves staying busy when she’s off the course. But she said it’s difficult to find part-time jobs as a Canadian citizen. Keeping her mind off golf during her down time has been the key to her success. She’s taking a liking to spending time in the kitchen and mastering her crock pot skills.
“I would love to be able to do something else,” said Juneau. “I would babysit or something or volunteer. Just doing golf all the time will drive me crazy. I started cooking. I’ve been cooking a lot. I can do everything in my crockpot. I love my crockpot. I’ve done pulled pork. And some beef stew. I just made a turkey chili. It was delicious.
“My mom and grandma passed me down recipes. I didn’t really cook in college. My roommate did a lot and I did the dishes. That was our deal. But now I’m into it. Every weekend I would try one or two new recipes. It’s obviously hard to cook for one so I started getting good at putting it in containers and freezing them.”
Juneau will have to put off any dreams of becoming a cop or a chef for right now since she’s in the midst of achieving each player’s goal: earning her LPGA Tour card. Juneau says she only has a few goals and keeps them to herself. Whatever they may be, it looks like she’s on the fast track of achieving them.
Topics: Player Feature, Sara Maude Juneau
