This has been a very memorable year for Dawn Shockley, who has every reason to give thanks this holiday season.
The Colorado native won a college golf tournament for the first time, then added victory No. 2 in short order by claiming an NCAA regional title. She finished 21st in the NCAA Finals, helping the University of Denver to the best national team showing in the program’s history (fifth place). Shockley then turned pro in May, and four months later she landed a spot in the final stage of qualifying for the LPGA Tour.
Now there’s just one more thing that Shockley would like to do in 2009 to put a perfect cap on the year: earn her 2010 LPGA Tour card.
The opportunity is there Dec. 2-6 in Daytona Beach, Fla., where Shockley and 113 other players will compete in the finals of LPGA qualifying. A top-40 finish would give her a spot on the LPGA Tour next year, and a top-20 showing would result in higher status among the qualifiers.
“It would be a dream come true to make it,” Shockley said in a recent phone interview. “Growing up, I said I wanted to be on the LPGA, but I played other sports (in the interim). In my senior year of college, I decided this is what I want.”
The 23-year-old, who grew up in Estes Park and now lives in Denver, knows this is an opportunity of a lifetime. That’s why she’s spent so much time recently in North Carolina and Florida, getting accustomed to the grass, conditions, qualifying courses, and generally trying to get her game in peak form for the 90-hole test. She said she likely won’t set foot in Colorado from sometime in October to mid-January.
“I think my game is coming around at the right time,” said Shockley, who works with swing coach Don Hurter, the head professional at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock. “I know I belong here (among top LPGA aspirants), so I’m just going to go out and see what I can do. I’m sure it’s the best field I’ve ever played in, and I’m young and learning, but I know I belong.”
Even if Shockley does come up short, she has a good chance at being a regular on the Futures Tour. The 70 players and ties who make the 72-hole cut in the LPGA qualifier will be assured of no less than fully-exempt status on the Futures Tour, but there could still be a fallback position beyond that. Shockley competed in the Futures Tour 2010 qualifying tournament in Florida earlier this month, and was among the top 125 finishers in the 287-player field. A total of 275 golfers will gain some status on the Futures Tour, but a far smaller number will earn full playing privileges. How things shake out depends on the results of next week’s LPGA qualifying tournament.
Rachel Larson of Longmont was the top Colorado finisher in the Futures qualifying, placing 78th.
The fact that Shockley has made it to the finals of LPGA qualifying as a first-year pro is an accomplishment in and of itself. In the sectional qualifying tournament in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in September, Shockley finished tied for 27th place with a 2-over-par 290 total. Also at that figure was her longtime former DU teammate, Katie Kempter, who likewise advanced to the qualifying finals. The player who shot 291 at the sectional failed to move on, so Shockley and Kempter cut it close.
Shockley said she made putts of 8 feet on her next-to-last hole and 6 feet on the final hole to advance on the number.
“It felt great (to qualify for finals) while knowing I didn’t play my best in the first stage,” she said.
While other players in the finals of LPGA qualifying have more golf experience, it’s safe to say that few have had the all-around athletic success that Shockley has. At Estes Park High School, she won a state cross country title in Class 3A as a freshman in 2001. She was named Ms. 3A Colorado Basketball as a senior in 2005. And she was voted the student class president as a senior to boot.
If nothing else, that shows that Shockley is strongly competitive. How that translates in Daytona Beach will be soon be seen.
“It’s very exciting, but nerve-wracking at the same time,” Shockley said. “I don’t know what I’m going to be doing with my life in (a few weeks). But I’m not the only one going through this.”
