Emily Talley spent 2013 in the limelight, her every move scrutinized in a golf pressure cooker shown before hundreds of thousands of viewers during Golf Channel’s “Big Break” series. It was so intense that Talley came back for more, a second stint on the show in the same year. The 23-year-old Californian learned so much from that experience that she came out a champion – and more prepared for a spot on the LPGA.
“I never felt golf competition like that in my life,” said Talley, a second-year Epson Tour player. “In the first show (Big Break Mexico), I wasn’t myself. For some reason, I shied down a little bit. I wasn’t in my element. I wasn’t my usual gregarious self. I didn’t do well.”
That’s hard to fathom for a player who said she can be “loud and obnoxious – in a good way.” She lives life quickly, touring the Epson Tour this year by car by herself, and staying in touch with boyfriend Andreas Hoye, a senior cross-country skier from Norway who is completing his schooling this spring at their alma mater, the University of Colorado.
“Then on the next show (Big Break NFL Puerto Rico) I knew what to expect,” Talley said. “I was able to come out of my shell. Maybe I was a little feistier.”
The result was winning the second go-round, teaming with Hall of Fame wide receiver and Northern California favorite Jerry Rice for first place last fall. The title earned lots of fringe benefits, such as a $50,000 reward, a spot in the LPGA’s ShopRite Classic later this month and other financial benefits. She did turn down an equipment contract to continue playing with her beloved Titleist clubs. But on the other end, she has kept in touch with Rice and was his guest at a San Francisco 49ers game last season.
As Talley was getting big-time exposure on “Big Break,” she was struggling during her rookie season on the Epson Tour. Putting and nerves were her biggest shortcomings. Then came some fatherly advice last fall. It was a place she could comfortably turn as Rob Talley taught his daughter every sport under the sun in Napa, Calif., most prominently golf and tennis.
“I was describing to my dad what happens to me under pressure when I putt – I was a terrible putter then,” Talley said. “My dad is one of the biggest Golf Digest readers, really avid. He always talks to me about something he read. I probably rolled my eyes. But he said he read where cross-handed putting takes a lot of nerves out of the hands. I switched to cross handed, and in a matter of days I had gained so much confidence. Give me a 5-footer on 18 to make the cut now, and I’m making it.”
Much like the successful transition from one show to a second on “Big Break,” the move to the second season on the Epson Tour has been evident. She finished third in Mesa, Ariz., to start the season after shooting a final-round 65 – her career-best professional finish and round. A tie for eighth at the Florida’s Natural Classic pushed Talley to 11th on the money list, just a smidgen below the top 10, which earns a spot on the 2015 LPGA at the end of this season.
“I’m starting to see someone who can play on the LPGA,” Talley said. “I’ve got a lot more confidence that I can do this.”
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