LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – It wasn’t the finish she dreamed of, but there are worst settings for your best professional tournament than the Women’s PGA Championship.
Elizabethtown native and former University of Louisville standout Lauren Hartlage experienced a career first in playing in the final pairing on the final day of a major Sunday at Sahalee Country Club just outside Seattle. Her 2-over-par 74 wasn’t the score she hoped for, but was good enough to tie for fifth, four strokes behind winner Amy Yang.
“I had so much fun,” Hartlage said. “Being in the last group in a major is something I've dreamed of, and even though I didn't play as well as I would've hoped to today, it was a great learning experience and I just had so much fun out there.
Hartlage birdied two of her first five holes, but double-bogeys on No. 7 and 8 set her back. She shot par on the back nine. She takes home $394,393 for tying with fellow American Amy Ewing. That paycheck was more than her 2 ½-year career-to-date earnings ($276,888) coming into the tournament.
“I had a couple tough holes in the middle there and just kind of getting a good putt to finish really helped kind of lighten the mood a little bit,” Hartlage said. “But it's a really big accomplishment. It's my best finish on tour and in a major, so really good for your confidence. And kind of getting that momentum of bringing it into the rest of the year will help. Now I have some more starts for some of the other major tournaments, so it'll be good.”
Hartlage came into the tournament having missed the cut in her past three majors. In two seasons on the LPGA Tour, she’d had to return to Q-school after each campaign. But her back-to-back rounds of 69 in this tournament caught the attention of fans, and she had plenty sticking around after she holed her final putt on Sunday, signing autographs for around 200 of them.
“It's really cool to see all the support,” she said. “Just having all the fans out here this week has been great to see, and all the people have been so nice and cheering on all of us, which has been really awesome.”
Hartlage said she’s hoping the week can mark a turning point in her career. After being an honorable mention All-American and three-time All-ACC performer at U of L, she has struggled with her confidence and finding consistency as a pro. She said this past week taught her something.
“I learned that even though I'm uncomfortable I can still play good golf,” she said. “Because it's hard when you're out there. There is a lot of stress, a lot of emotions. I'm just proud of the way I handled those all week.”
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
