Jackie Stoelting (Vero Beach, Fla.) is always excited to return to Albany because her parents grew up in town.
“It’s always fun to come back to Albany with my parents being from here,” said Stoelting before the pro-am on Wednesday. “I think this is the tournament I have played the most over the years so it definitely feels like a home event. I definitely know the course pretty well.”
Stoelting, who was Barenborg at the time before marriage, finished in a tie for 4th at the 2011 event at Capital Hills. She played in Albany in 2012, 2013 and 2014, but did not play last year as she played on the LPGA.
“I was tied for the lead and knew that if I won, I would get my card, but I finished third or fourth,” recalled Stoelting about the 2011 event, which was the Tour Championship at the time. “It was an awesome experience to play on the LPGA, but when I got there I was still in a dream and not quite living it. It was a little bit of an adjustment for me to get comfortable. I fell into that trap of trying to change things and didn’t really stick to what got me there.”
Stoelting finished 3rd on the Volvik Race for the Card money list in 2014, but made just two cuts on the LPGA in 2015.
“It’s hard to taste the success and then have to come back,” said Stoelting. “A couple years ago when I finished in the top 10, I was really concentrating on the money list and this year I am just trying to play golf and enjoy myself.”
Stoelting admitted that the two wins late in 2015 on the Epson Tour helped make her decision easier to continue her career.
“At the end of the LPGA season, I played three Epson Tour events to see if I could gain some confidence and see if I still enjoyed the sport,” said Stoelting. “Winning two made me realize that I’m good enough and I can’t give this up and I can do it. It made me realize that my whole year on the LPGA was mental more than anything. I don’t want to end my career thinking I failed. I also thought about what I would do if I wasn’t on Tour and I really couldn’t give myself an answer.”
)
)
)
)
