Over the past week, Polly Mack has made large jumps in two different rankings. The rookie played the French Lick Charity Classic, heading into the week with a lot on the line. Mack was then No. 124 on the Official Money list, just 2 spots away from having to play in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I.
A good finish in French Lick, Indiana meant Mack was able to avoid heading out to Rancho Mirage, California just two weeks later. The thought made her uncomfortable, which was evidently rubbing off on her game.
“I was just really nervous about the whole thing,” said Mack. “I think you could tell by the scores, especially by the second round, starting with three bogeys.”
Luckily, Mack’s caddy was able to calm her down and help her get her head back in the game. After finishing her first round at 2-over and starting her second round 3-over thru 3, Mack knew it was time to make a decision.
“I was like okay Polly, you either have to fight back or let it go,” said Mack. “Suddenly I made some birdies that really helped, and I fought.”
Her fight was coming to a close, and she needed one more birdie to make the cut.
“I knew on No. 9, my No. 18 of the second round, that I had to make that birdie to make the cut,” said Mack. “I made the putt to make the cut. From there on, I knew I was pretty safe. I could play golf without too much going on mentally.”
During her third and fourth round, Mack allowed herself to play freely. This is when her game picked up and she started to move up the leaderboard.
“I started to enjoy the rounds, enjoying the course and the views,” said Mack. “That helped, to just have fun out there.”
Mack finished in solo third, a big improvement from barely making the cut. The finish moved her from No. 124 on the Official Money List to No. 31 – comfortably away from having to prepare for Stage I later in August.
Now, Mack is preparing to play the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. She also has new goals for the second half of the season.
“I think from here on out, I’ll just go into everything relaxed,” said Mack. “A goal now is to jump into the top-10 and maybe get a win out here. I know now that it’s definitely possible with the game that I have going on.”
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