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Alex Elias  Wake Forest Women’s Golf A Senior at Wake Forest, Rachel Kuehn has cemented herself among the top collegiate players in the nation. Currently ranked No. 4 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, Kuehn was the 2022 ACC Player of the Year and was named 2022 WGCA First Team All-American. Last week, Kuehn recorded her sixth career victory. Given Kuehn’s immense success, her amateur ranking, and most recently being named to the ANNIKA Award (honors the player of the year in women's college golf) Watch List, Kuehn faces a monumental amount of pressure to perform week in and week out. When Kuehn was asked about the bar that she has set, she responded, "I think that I have come to realize that all I can control is what I do. I can control the work I put in, the attitude I have, and the effort I give on the course. Sometimes you have your A game and sometimes you don’t. If I go out and give myself the best chance to succeed, then there’s no pressure because I know I have done everything I can."  Chris Keane/USGA In addition to her success as a Demon Deacon, Kuehn has recorded a seventh-place finish at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, reached the Round of 16 in the U.S. Women's Amateur (Chambers Bay), and has earned the winning point for the U.S. Curtis Cup team twice (2022: Merion, 2021: Conwy). Reflecting on the different events, Kuehn said, "Every event, in my opinion, is an opportunity to improve. Specifically, tournaments like the Curtis Cup and the US Am give me an opportunity to work on my match play skills and mindset. Every good or bad result is experience under your belt that you can learn from."  Wake Forest Women’s Golf Reflecting on her time in Winston Salem, Kuehn said, "I have loved every minute at Wake. I have developed a second family here and choosing Wake was the best decision I could have ever made. I feel like it’s given me the opportunity to develop as a person and as a player. I’m thankful that my coaches have given me the chance to play here."
Subsequently, in regard to where she believes she has improved the most, Kuehn said, "I think my putting has improved most since I got to Wake. It’s been a long process of finding a routine that works for me when I go practice. I always make time to work on my start line and my speed, and I have worked in performance drills as well." As Kuehn and #1 Wake Forest turn their attention to defending their ACC Title (April 13-16) and winning the NCAA Women's Golf Championship (May 19th-24th), Kuehn said, "I think, obviously, our goal is to win a national championship in May, but we know that all the work we have put in over the year will help give us the best chance at that." As for her individual goals, Kuehn said, "My goals are to continue to develop as a player for when the time comes to peruse professional golf."
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Alex Elias  Following a round of two-under in Round 3 at the Valspar Championship, Kevin Streelman could be seen on the range for an extended period of time. When Streelman was asked if the purpose of his range session was to reassure a swing thought that had clicked during the round, Streelman candidly responded, “Definitely working on a few things.” “In this crazy game, our feels change daily. A good swing thought can work really well one day and feel completely foreign the next,” said Streelman. “I’m constantly trying to tighten my game up with past experiences," said Streelman. “I have hundreds of notes in my phone of this was a great feel this day, this was a bad feel this day. I can go back to majors that I played well in, Tampa when I won here, Hartford when I won there.” Speaking on the current state of his swing, Streelman said, “I tend to get a little bit steep with the shaft, and then I have to really lay it off in transition. That gets me stuck with fast legs. That’s just my DNA.” As for the correction, Streelman said, “I’m always thinking of trying to open the face earlier and steepen it at the top, feeling support like a triangle, more like Ernie Els. Then, I have space to compress it.”
Alex Elias  Now a Georgia Bulldog, Caleb Manuel's collegiate career began in Storrs, Connecticut at UConn. Named First-Team All-Big East and Big East Freshman of the Year, Manuel's success continued as a Sophomore recording two wins, 11 Top-10s, 14 Top-20s. Now, in his first season at UGA, Manuel said, "Practicing and playing against the best only makes you better." As the competition in the SEC is certainly among the top in the nation, Manuel said, "3 or 4 under isn't always good enough. You can't be afraid to take it deep." Manuel continued, "Once you get to three under, you can't try to par out. You have to keep your foot down because in a three round tournament, anyone can get hot at any time."
Speaking of the level of play, Manuel said, "Managing the golf course is extremely important. That's why Tiger was so good. He didn't always hit it the straightest, but he would miss on the right side, where he could get up and down. He was always thinking about where to play his next shot from. At our level, especially as the courses get harder, when you can't just blast driver everywhere, you have to manage the course." Qualifying for the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club as an amateur, Manuel reflected on the championship, saying, "It was definitely pretty nerve-wracking. I wasn't hitting it as well as I wanted to, but it was an unbelievable experience." When asked about his main takeaways from the U.S. Open, Manuel responded, "If you're going to play golf for a living, you have to pace yourself. You want to be out there all day, every day, leading up to the tournament, but you have to let your body rest too." Speaking of his goals, Manuel said, "Less expectations. At the end of the day, it's a game and no one is going to define you by your golf score." Alex Elias  Sam Greenwood Having led the University of Texas to a National Championship and recording his first professional win (Live and Work in Maine Open - 6.26.22) in only his third start on the Korn Ferry Tour, Pierceson Coody is no stranger to victory. This season, even following an off-season wrist surgery, Coody immediately returned to the winners circle on the Korn Ferry Tour.
"Getting a win early is nice for the confidence and reassures me that my game is still good enough after surgery. Following the win it gives me a very narrow focus going into each week about how I need improve to accomplish the year long goal of getting my PGA Tour card," said Coody. With a clear motivation to secure his Tour card, Coody said, "It’s easy to move past the sun because golf is a game where people are focused on what you are doing next. It’s nice to have got my second win but all my focus is on accomplishing the goal of securing a Tour card. The celebration didn’t last long and redirected my focus." Making his PGA Tour debut (played as an amateur at the 2021 U.S. Open and 2021 AT&T Byron Neslon) at last week's Honda Classic via a sponsor exemption, Coody finished T63. Firing a Bogey-free 4-under 66 in Round 1, which put him a shot behind the early leaders, Coody said, "Honda was a great experience and learning to be a better professional. My game is good enough, but if I continue to improve my ability to score, I’ll be really happy with where my game is at." Reflecting on his takeaway from the week and what he can implement in his own game, Coody said, "The guys who have a great week obviously hit it great but save so many shots on and around the greens, so just raising my standards with scoring clubs." |
