October 15h, 2008

I often tell my fans that life on the road for golf pros isn’t as glamorous as they think. Well, I’d be lying if I did that right now… The LPGA is having an inaugural event at the Kapalua Bay course in Maui, Hawaii this week. I arrived on Monday afternoon from Fresno, CA where I played in a 36-hole charity event, organized by Peter Jacobsen Sports, in ear muffs and a turtleneck… After a long trip from the mainland, I was welcomed to Maui by my housing hosts Gunars and JoRene who happen to live on the Plantation course of Kapalua… Not a bad spot to stay for a week :):)

 As they gave me a tour of their gorgeous house with a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean (next door to Jim Furyk’s house), I found out that they have a full-time personal chef who prepares lunch and dinner every day of the week!!! His name is Riko and he’s not just another chef… He is an amazing chef/artist from a 5-star restaurant in San Diego.  So as you can imagine,  I was thinking ‘Is this real?’, ‘do I get to enjoy all of it this week?’  I’m going to be so spoiled by the end of this trip. As I was describing this experience to my husband Brian over the phone, he just couldn’t help but ask me if I was ‘ever coming home’… :):) He sounded a bit worried!!!  And I didn’t just get lucky with the accommodations but also with my hosts, who are just wonderful human beings.

The next day, I had to qualify for the LPGA tournament as I was still on the alternate list. I literally played blind: first, because I had never played the course before, and second, because my right contact lens was coming out every other hole and didn’t have a backup in my bag… I shot 72 and got into a playoff against Amy Read. To make matters worse, my caddie was having trouble keeping up with me (it’s a hilly golf course) and then, it was my turn to struggle. After both of us parred and tied the first playoff hole, we moved on to the next tee and I literally collapsed on my butt after finishing my swing. My right calf cramped up on me…. It was so scary as it never happened to me before!!! After stretching my calf muscle and delaying play against Amy, I kept going. I tried to stay as composed as I could… We both hit the green in regulation and as I walked up to the green, my left calf and toes cramped up. At that point, Angus (one of our LPGA rules officials), Amy and the caddies were helping my stretch my leg. It was quite a funny scene. I felt so badly for Amy because I was probably very distracting to her game… But she handled it so gracefully. She was joking around by telling me that she was old enough to be my mother and that she should be the one collapsing now after walking 20 hilly holes!!!!

At that moment, I was so concerned about not cramping again that I quit thinking about this playoff. We both 2-putted and moved on to our 3rd playoff hole!!! I couldn’t wait to get off the course! I stepped up on the par 3 12th tee (where I had double bogeyed it in the qualifying that morning) and hit it to a foot and a half. Amy made a solid par and I sank my little putt to finally earn my spot in the Kapalua classic!!! I guess it’s true when people say to “beware of the injured/wounded”!!!

Getting a spot in the tournament this week is so special for 2 reasons: First, my sponsor Universal Insurance Holdings of North America is having an event in Kapalua to celebrate Hawaii as their new coverage territory! Second, my mother joined me on Tuesday afternoon from South Korea to visit me. She and the Universal team will get to watch me play in the tournament!!! I have a dinner function each of the 3 nights Universal is here so this is a very busy week! I’d better go and get ready now!!!

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back soon again!

I am at the State Farm Classic this week and just finished my second round. I am currently at even par so I’m anxiously waiting for the cut line to be determined. Well, while I have time to relax, I thought I should check in and write my rookie blog since I have been lazy about doing that lately, or maybe I should say, I’ve been running out of things to write about. So I thought I should express my gratitude to the people that make all the LPGA tournaments possible.

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the volunteers and the housing hosts at each tournament. I cannot explain to you how enjoyable it has been to meet volunteers who take time off work just for our tournament. They wake up at 5:00 a.m. to take care of transportation, spend all day in the heat on the course to be a marshall, standard bearer, scorer, locker room attendant, etc. I can go on and on about it. I have met numerous people who have been volunteering for 15-20 years and they all seem to really enjoy it! I just think it’s quite impressive! They make our lives much easier because they are at our disposal whenever we need help. So thanks to all of the volunteers! Just know I really appreciate your support!

I need to cut this short since my housing host is about to take us out to dinner tonight! I’ve been enjoying Springfield so far. We (Kristina Tucker and me) are staying at a beautiful house on the golf course, which makes it very convenient to commute! We even got to visit the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. For those of you who don’t know it, Springfield is the home of Abraham Lincoln, who happens to be one of my parents-in-law’s favorite historical figures. So I really felt the need to go to the museum and learn more about him! We spent a whole afternoon visiting and it was definitely worth our time! I highly recommend it if you are ever in Springfield, IL.

I will catch up again soon! Thanks for reading!

Jeanne Cho-Hunicke

I spent a few days off from golf and went to the beach with my husband and friends on Memorial Day. I also got to sleep in. All the things that I don’t get to do on the road…Then I met with my sports psychologist Dr. Bob Winters to clean up the mess that’s keeping me from playing my game. It was a breath of fresh air to hear simple thoughts and identify how and why I created all the doubt and lack of confidence…

I have a couple of weeks off to relax and recharge my batteries before qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open. My husband Brian will caddie for me like he did at the Sybase Classic where I made my first cut by shooting a 69 after a poor first round 79!!!

He doesn’t get to take too much time off work, so he can’t always come out to the tournaments. As you may not all know, we just got married last November. So as newlyweds, we hate being apart from each other. He does know me best on and off the golf course. My wish is that someday he can travel with me all season long!

I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. I am going to San Antonio next Monday for an appearance for my main sponsor Universal Insurance Holdings of North America. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to freely go to every event, consult with my coaches, and continue to invest in the improvement of my career. They have been treating me with care and professionalism, and I am proud to represent such a great company. So thanks again Universal!

Then, next Friday, I get to “work” at the CMA Fanfest in Nashville, TN! I guess all of you who listen to country music would know what it is. It’s supposed to be a big event! I enjoy some country music but don’t listen to it all that much…or at least not as much as when I was in college. (All my teammates/roommates listened to country music!!) I cannot wait to tell you all about it in my next blog!

Thanks for reading my late blog! I promise to write again very soon!!!

Jeanne Cho-Hunicke