Pano going pro

[heavy_hitter]

Was texting with the Cabal this morning.  Pretty unanimous that the US Open for Pano was a fail.

[Medson]

12 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

Was texting with the Cabal this morning.  Pretty unanimous that the US Open for Pano was a fail.

Pro golf is hard. 

 

I was thinking in the last 3 years, the only female junior/amateur who had a relative smooth transition to pro is Jennifer Kupcho. 

[heavy_hitter]

5 minutes ago, Medson said:

Pro golf is hard. 

 

I was thinking in the last 3 years, the only female junior/amateur who had a relative smooth transition to pro is Jennifer Kupcho. 

Oh I get it.  College golf is hard as well.  To not make the cut and have amateurs beat you that are younger or in college isn't a good look.

[Medson]

2 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

Oh I get it.  College golf is hard as well.  To not make the cut and have amateurs beat you that are younger or in college isn't a good look.

I guess what I was trying to say is don't look at low finishes/MC as a failure. That is a really slippery path to go down. 

[heavy_hitter]

1 minute ago, Medson said:

I guess what I was trying to say is don't look at low finishes/MC as a failure. That is a really slippery path to go down. 

Not sure about that.  When you make that jump you are saying you can perform out of the gate.  She is looking at 2-3 years before she as at the level to compete on the LPGA.  Making it to the dance and competing at the dance are two different things.  I still think the better path was college.

[Medson]

3 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

Not sure about that.  When you make that jump you are saying you can perform out of the gate.  She is looking at 2-3 years before she as at the level to compete on the LPGA.  Making it to the dance and competing at the dance are two different things.  I still think the better path was college.

Oh man, agree with this 100%. Again, whether she's hoping to compete on LPGA right out of gate or is realistically looking at 2-3 years to "learn the rope", she gotta look at each start as a learning opportunity.

 

I've no opinion on whether she should go pro directly or go through college. 

[capking]

2 hours ago, Medson said:

I guess what I was trying to say is don't look at low finishes/MC as a failure. That is a really slippery path to go down. 

Patty only was 1 stroke better, tied with Popov… it is a US open

[Shilgy]

20 hours ago, heavy_hitter said:

Oh I get it.  College golf is hard as well.  To not make the cut and have amateurs beat you that are younger or in college isn't a good look.

Geez man….some of those are five years older than her.  Let’s revisit in a few years.  Yes, it’s certainly a risk skipping college.  But if she is happy with a career in golf whether at some point it’s playing…teaching….announcing….whatever.  There were plenty of in their prime major winners that got beat by those kids as well.

[JDee1935]

I was at USWO every day. The USGA & Pine Needles did fantastic job in making course supreme challenge. From fairway to green, player A could hit center of green, perfect. Player B could hit same shot, 5' away, land in depression and roll off green, bogey or more. So, to say anyone failed isn't accurate, as day 4, w/10-15 mph winds showed, scores high.

 

I did see Alexa play a few holes in practice round with Ariya and Mo Jutanugarn, both of whom I've known for years from US Girls. They were highly complimentary of Alexa's decision to turn pro. Nice catching up with them.

 

Both Epson tour and LET, are much,  much higher levels of golf than college. Take away the top 3-4, and college golf much closer to junior major, and there's nothing wrong with that. College, has many benefits, but most players are not successful as pros after graduation. A very low percentage

[mikedellgolf]

33 minutes ago, JDee1935 said:

I was at USWO every day. The USGA & Pine Needles did fantastic job in making course supreme challenge. From fairway to green, player A could hit center of green, perfect. Player B could hit same shot, 5' away, land in depression and roll off green, bogey or more. So, to say anyone failed isn't accurate, as day 4, w/10-15 mph winds showed, scores high.

 

I did see Alexa play a few holes in practice round with Ariya and Mo Jutanugarn, both of whom I've known for years from US Girls. They were highly complimentary of Alexa's decision to turn pro. Nice catching up with them.

 

Both Epson tour and LET, are much,  much higher levels of golf than college. Take away the top 3-4, and college golf much closer to junior major, and there's nothing wrong with that. College, has many benefits, but most players are not successful as pros after graduation. A very low percentage

 

Justin Suh?

[leezer99]

1 minute ago, mikedellgolf said:

 

Justin Suh?

Ouch

[leezer99]

Great Epson event this past weekend for Pano.  Had the lead down the stretch but an untimely double on 16 derailed her where she ended up losing in a playoff.  Game is trending and hope to see her continue competing.

[Bizzle80]

I mean she's been near top of leaderboards for each of her Epson events. Pretty good sign for future success hopefully.

[Shilgy]

11 hours ago, leezer99 said:

Great Epson event this past weekend for Pano.  Had the lead down the stretch but an untimely double on 16 derailed her where she ended up losing in a playoff.  Game is trending and hope to see her continue competing.

And the ladies tore that course up.  Per the tour website they played tees just 56 yards shy of mens rating of 70.5.

[leezer99]

Another good start on the Epson tour!

 

https://www.epsontour.com/tournaments/firekeepers-casino-hotel-championship/leaderboard?m=1

 

[MB19]

Along the lines of turning professional in something involving a tournament grind, there is no question that skill should be a huge factor in such a decision.  Very underrated, in my opinion, is how a player will handle the tournament grind on a mental level.   Not everyone is cut out to play tournament after tournament, spending what seems like a lot of money in the process with no guarantee of seeing an immediate monetary return on that investment.  Anyone who has ever come in just outside the money bubble or big pay jump can relate to what it is like to spend over a dozen hours grinding and playing virtually mistake-free for next to nothing.  It is a soul-stealing endeavor that can alter your mental approach to the game and even your everyday approach to life.

 

My old roommate was one of the most gifted limit hold 'em player I have ever seen, and also an excellent no-limit hold 'em player.  Any given session or tournament, he could dominate the field and take in a financial windfall.  His "A-game" was beyond reproach to the point where I couldn't figure out why he wasted his time tending bar full-time.  Then I $&^%# around and found out.

 

After living with him for a few months, I saw why he could never make it as a tournament or cash-game grinder.  The dude had massive "life leaks"--he was lousy at managing any financial aspect of his life and he was an alcoholic.  The vicious cycle that was his life was brutal to watch--turn $600 into $20K, celebrate, blow all the money, abuse the body/torture the soul.  Work hard for a few months, take another shot and win big--blow it all like you hate yourself.  He was a small-time poker version of Willy Wilcox. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/willy-wilcox-drug-addiction-pga-tour. 

 

My time living with him made me a better player, but I wasn't better for going through it.  A year later, I folded on my dream of playing poker full-time for a living and it was the right move for someone wanting to start a family.  A conversation I'd had with a young pro 10 years my junior in Vegas was the planted seed (inception, even). 

 

"A man belongs at home with his woman--not here," he said, nodding down at the five racks of red chips under his nose next to a red, green and black stacks of chips with 15-20 hundos stuffed behind and wedged into the rail on the table. "This cost me my girl and a potential family. The life isn't for everyone."

 

He was up about $7K on the night, roughly the going cost of happiness on any given night in Las Vegas circa 2007.

 

Managing the non-golf aspect of your life is an underrated part of being a tournament grinder.  Alexa's ability to avoid life leaks is largely unknown to most of us, but there is little doubt that she learned what the grind entailed over the past couple of years being carted around by her dad from town-to-town while not getting paid for it.  College could help her learn to manage her money with the right degree, but it would also take away some prime physical years.  What does her concentration level look like when surrounded by co-eds on a college campus?  Hard to say.

[capking]

59 minutes ago, MB19 said:

Along the lines of turning professional in something involving a tournament grind, there is no question that skill should be a huge factor in such a decision.  Very underrated, in my opinion, is how a player will handle the tournament grind on a mental level.   Not everyone is cut out to play tournament after tournament, spending what seems like a lot of money in the process with no guarantee of seeing an immediate monetary return on that investment.  Anyone who has ever come in just outside the money bubble or big pay jump can relate to what it is like to spend over a dozen hours grinding and playing virtually mistake-free for next to nothing.  It is a soul-stealing endeavor that can alter your mental approach to the game and even your everyday approach to life.

 

My old roommate was one of the most gifted limit hold 'em player I have ever seen, and also an excellent no-limit hold 'em player.  Any given session or tournament, he could dominate the field and take in a financial windfall.  His "A-game" was beyond reproach to the point where I couldn't figure out why he wasted his time tending bar full-time.  Then I $&^%# around and found out.

 

After living with him for a few months, I saw why he could never make it as a tournament or cash-game grinder.  The dude had massive "life leaks"--he was lousy at managing any financial aspect of his life and he was an alcoholic.  The vicious cycle that was his life was brutal to watch--turn $600 into $20K, celebrate, blow all the money, abuse the body/torture the soul.  Work hard for a few months, take another shot and win big--blow it all like you hate yourself.  He was a small-time poker version of Willy Wilcox. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/willy-wilcox-drug-addiction-pga-tour. 

 

My time living with him made me a better player, but I wasn't better for going through it.  A year later, I folded on my dream of playing poker full-time for a living and it was the right move for someone wanting to start a family.  A conversation I'd had with a young pro 10 years my junior in Vegas was the planted seed (inception, even). 

 

"A man belongs at home with his woman--not here," he said, nodding down at the five racks of red chips under his nose next to a red, green and black stacks of chips with 15-20 hundos stuffed behind and wedged into the rail on the table. "This cost me my girl and a potential family. The life isn't for everyone."

 

He was up about $7K on the night, roughly the going cost of happiness on any given night in Las Vegas circa 2007.

 

Managing the non-golf aspect of your life is an underrated part of being a tournament grinder.  Alexa's ability to avoid life leaks is largely unknown to most of us, but there is little doubt that she learned what the grind entailed over the past couple of years being carted around by her dad from town-to-town while not getting paid for it.  College could help her learn to manage her money with the right degree, but it would also take away some prime physical years.  What does her concentration level look like when surrounded by co-eds on a college campus?  Hard to say.

Was your roommate Worm?

[NCLancer]

16 minutes ago, capking said:

Was your roommate Worm?

I was thinking this exact same thing!!😁👊

[MB19]

2 hours ago, capking said:

Was your roommate Worm?

In my heart of hearts, I would like to believe Worm would have never played scratch-offs unless they were fakes and he were working a scam.

 

Unfortunately, that was not the case.  He would get excited about hitting $100 or $200 on a $20 scratch-off, but not tell me it was his 15th try in two weeks.

[Medson]

T21 in Q-series. I think it's a limited LPGA membership. Nevertheless, she's LPGA bound. 

 

http://scoring.lpga.com/public/QSLeaderboard.aspx

 

Good luck to her next year. 

[MB19]

8 hours ago, Medson said:

T21 in Q-series. I think it's a limited LPGA membership. Nevertheless, she's LPGA bound. 

 

http://scoring.lpga.com/public/QSLeaderboard.aspx

 

Good luck to her next year. 

Pretty impressive stuff.

[tiger1873]

14 hours ago, Medson said:

T21 in Q-series. I think it's a limited LPGA membership. Nevertheless, she's LPGA bound. 

 

http://scoring.lpga.com/public/QSLeaderboard.aspx

 

Good luck to her next year. 

 

Just getting a LPGA card is not like getting a PGA card where you will at least make some money.  She going to have to win a few events and make money before her costs sky rocket from traveling.  

 

Hopefully they can play a full schedule and she has some good finishes.

[leezer99]

Here it is folks. Pano being interviewed by Ben on The Back of the Range. Enjoy!
 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-back-of-the-range-golf-podcast/id1324297751?i=1000596062373

[MahalNeneng]

I would probably say college is the better route as well. Akshay on the same basic path 2-3 years. 

[golfortennis]

1 hour ago, MahalNeneng said:

I would probably say college is the better route as well. Akshay on the same basic path 2-3 years. 

 

Bhatia has 4 professional wins, has made over $600k in money between PGA Tour and Korn Ferry tour, and just turned 21.  Dude has learned so much more than he would have learned going to college.

 

In some ways, I almost think college golf delays people having to come to the realization they won't be making a living on a tour, at least on the men's side.  But then again, as I get older the less I think sports should be tied to schools like they are, so take that fwiw.

[MB19]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:54 AM, leezer99 said:

Here it is folks. Pano being interviewed by Ben on The Back of the Range. Enjoy!
 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-back-of-the-range-golf-podcast/id1324297751?i=1000596062373

Thanks for the link--I listened to it yesterday.  While Pano is no garden variety rookie, it is hard not to be impressed by how ready she seems for being a full-time pro.  In other ways, of course, she is still very much a teenager.

 

Her father catches a lot of heat, but you can't accuse him of not completely preparing her for the professional grind of the LPGA.

[MB19]

5 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

Bhatia has 4 professional wins, has made over $600k in money between PGA Tour and Korn Ferry tour, and just turned 21.  Dude has learned so much more than he would have learned going to college.

 

In some ways, I almost think college golf delays people having to come to the realization they won't be making a living on a tour, at least on the men's side.  But then again, as I get older the less I think sports should be tied to schools like they are, so take that fwiw.

My man.

[Bizzle80]

Pano is going to be fine, no matter what Tiger says. She's 18, just got full status for LPGA, and is literally fulfilling her dream. Listening to her on the podcast and following her on socials, seems like she's a pretty well adjusted kid with a lot of friends and personality to boot.

 

I am sure if our kids worked as hard, loved the game of golf as much as Pano, we would all be stoked to support them going pro early...

[tiger1873]

14 hours ago, Bizzle80 said:

Pano is going to be fine, no matter what Tiger says. She's 18, just got full status for LPGA, and is literally fulfilling her dream. Listening to her on the podcast and following her on socials, seems like she's a pretty well adjusted kid with a lot of friends and personality to boot.

 

I am sure if our kids worked as hard, loved the game of golf as much as Pano, we would all be stoked to support them going pro early...

 

I don't think Pano made a mistake not going to college.   She couldn't turn pro until 18 and capitalized the first year she could.  

 

Also I don't think 4 years of college is going to improve her game that much. So in her case the risk was most likely not going pro vs college she also probably made money from sponsors.

 

At this point she is either going to make on tour or not. We will know in a year two.

 

College is for Kids who games are improving and still developing and the extra year or two helps them secure better status when they turn pro.   Bhatia is a kid who made a mistake in my opinion he's taking far more abuse turning pro too early.

 

 

[Jkhogbear]

Good time to revisit this topic. Congrats to Pano for the win.