Calkin Captures Prestigious Amateur Event
1/16/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Jan. 16, 2007
By BETH ANN BALDRY
Senior writer
Golfweek
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Kelly Calkin couldn't believe people were sitting in bleachers behind the first tee when she began her third round at the South Atlantic Ladies Amateur. And she certainly didn't expect the dozens of fans who came out to watch her march to victory Jan. 13 at Oceanside Country Club.
Calkin had only invited one guest out for the final round - her mom. Renie Calkin doesn't make it out to every college or amateur tournament her daughter plays in because she and her husband, Steve, tend to think Kelly does better when they aren't around.
"I've been instructed to stay in the cart today," said Renie, who was playing the part of mom more than caddie. Steve flew out to Boston Saturday morning to visit his mother.
Renie Calkin isn't one of those crazy Little-League-type parents. The truth is, Kelly didn't want her mother walking around Oceanside because six years ago the veteran teaching professional was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Kelly, a junior at the University of Maryland, didn't take up the game until the summer before her freshman year of high school. Her mother took her out to play nine holes for the first time that summer. Three weeks later, a numbing sensation came over Renie while she was working as head professional at Prairie Landing Golf Club outside Chicago. She was immediately taken to the hospital and later diagnosed with MS. She's been numb below the waist and in her hands for the last six years. Swinging a club is impossible for the Penn State grad, who has been a PGA teaching instructor for nearly 25 years. Renie never tried to live the game through her children, but feels the emotions of every shot.
"I never felt pressure," said Kelly of taking up the game. 'We'd just go to big tournaments and laugh at all the high-strung parents."
The fact that both Kelly and her older brother Michael wound up playing Division I golf is merely a bonus for Renie. Michael graduated from Miami of Ohio in May while Kelly is on her way to a degree in elementary education. Neither of them ever took a golf lesson from their mother. From the start, Renie decided the best way to teach her children the game was to send them to someone else.
"I'm just a mom," said Renie.
Calkin isn't your typical Sally champion. Every player who has won the prestigious title this century has gone on to play professional golf, with the exception of last year's winner, Virginia Grimes. The longtime amateur did, however, play on the victorious 2006 U.S. Curtis Cup team.
The Ormond Beach faithful have been fortunate enough to get up-close-and-personal with some of the nation's best young talent in recent years: Julieta Granada, Sarah Huarte, Aree and Naree Song, Hilary Homeyer (now Lunke) and Beth Bauer. That list includes a U.S. Women's Open winner, an NCAA champion, LPGA Rookie of the Year, and most recently, the LPGA's first million-dollar winner in the '05 champion, Julieta Granada.
It includes such famous names as Babe Zaharias, Debbie Massey, Pat Meyers, Christie Kerr and Grace Park.
Unless Calkin wins the lottery, she won't be seeing seven-figure paychecks anytime soon. Renie says her daughter has no interest in professional golf. She plans on putting her elementary education degree to use immediately after graduation.
Calkin, who is ranked 183rd in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, may not have the resume of past Sally champions, but she's made tremendous strides in the last six months thanks to new set of sticks. Last summer Calkin switched to a set of Callaway X-18s and put some new Cleveland wedges in her bag. The steady, level-headed player suddenly started making more birdies and has seen her stroke average drop from 80.2 her freshman season to 73.3 after the fall semester.
Calkin can only point to the clubs as the reason for the incredible drop. Something just "clicked over the summer" and she found herself winning a college tournament, the Napa Grill Cardinal Cup, in September. When the fall season ended, Calkin decided to take a two-month break. She only hit balls a handful of times before arriving at Oceanside for a practice round earlier this week.
The first two rounds Calkin relied on her short game to stay in the tournament after rounds of 74-76. Her steady iron play returned for the third round and she found herself one shot behind leader Natalie Sheary heading into the final round.
Sheary, a high school senior who is headed to Wake Forest in the fall, bogeyed the first five holes Saturday and never recovered.
Calkin drained a 40-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole to take a six-stroke lead and no one ever came closer enough to give her a proper scare as she posted an even-par 72.
"I'm not used to playing a four-day tournament and I was so mentally tired," said Sheary. "I think I had a little trouble with that."
Calkin finished at 7-over 295 for the tournament, four strokes ahead of Jessica Yadloczky, who closed with a tournament-low 68. Sheary finished third at 300 after a disappointing 78.
Sally participants enjoyed some of the warmest weather of the event's history, yet only three players managed to break par over four days.
Calkin doesn't know much about the event's rich history and has yet to experience its terribly unpleasant weather. But she's already talking about returning next year and adding more amateur events to her summer schedule.
She can hardly wait for the spring season to arrive.
"I'm really wanting to get out there and go play again," Calkin said with a smile.
Hopefully mom can come along for the ride.
Reprinted with permission from Golfweek magazine
Players Mentioned
