‘Best feeling in the world’: Women’s golf return to the course

After almost a year of waiting patiently amidst the pandemic, Chapman athletics saw its golf team participate in a tournament once again from Feb. 26 to Feb. 27. Photo courtesy of California Lutheran University Athletics

The breeze wafting down the fairway of the first hole sent chills through Brooke Leet’s body as she got set to tee off.

The Feb. 26 moment back on the pitch, coming in the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) No. 1 Regional golf tournament, seemed unlikely for the senior golfer. For months, Leet had doubts about seeing her final season come to fruition. 

Yet, here she was, setting up her first tee shot in over a year. And she was determined to not take the moment for granted. 

“It was the best feeling in the world,” Leet said. “I was very grateful when I found out I’d have a season for my final year.”

That season began Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 in the year’s first tournament for both the men’s and women’s golf teams. In the return matches, Leet led the Chapman women with a team-low score of 77 — five over par — and Charlie Shumway led the men’s squad with a 75. Both teams, however, finished in third place out of the three-team field, suggesting some rust. 

“I obviously got to play golf during quarantine, but this was my first time playing competitively in a year,” Leet said about her performance. “We were still happy to be playing together and still celebrated our scores.”

The time off gave Leet a better appreciation of what she missed most about golf: the social interaction. 

“Being able to cheer on my teammates on the first tee, or watching them come in from the 18th — I didn’t realize how much I’d missed that until it was actually gone,” Leet said. “Being able to experience it again was special.”

Leet even made friends with others on competing teams during her rounds in the tournament, exchanging social media contacts with a competitor. She’ll have plenty more of those opportunities in the future, as Leet and the rest of Chapman’s golf team will be seeing similar faces throughout the year. The only two teams on the schedule as opponents for this season are California Lutheran University and the University of Redlands. 

With the narrowed field of those vying for the SCIAC throne, Ming Lao, head coach of Chapman golf, believes the women’s team has a good chance at reaching the NCAA Division III national tournament. 

“Our ranking will jump up astronomically because a lot of people aren’t playing,” Lao said. “Statistically, (the women’s team) is number eight, but looking at the numbers (without a COVID-19-altered season) it would’ve been in the 30s … There’s a lot of possibilities for us now.”

It’s not all sunshine and roses, however, as Lao and junior Kristen Lee noticed some glaring flaws in the team’s play during its first tournament. 

“Putting was a mess for me,” Lee said. “(The greens) were really fast those two days and I didn’t adjust.”

Lao said the physical conditions of the course — playing on a windy day with a cloudy sky — weren’t optimal, but he thought his team was able to handle the elements to finish out the tournament strong.

“I was excited and happy just to get back to it,” Lao said. “The results to me (weren’t important). Win, lose or draw, I was going to be happy.”

As the team pushes forward into its season, the prospect of vying for a national championship is exciting to Leet, who said she wants to make memories in her senior season she can talk about for years to come. 

“I want to look back at these memories and tell my kids, “Yeah, I was a college athlete,’” Leet said. “‘And they were the best years of my life, even in a pandemic.’”

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the tournament took place on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28. The tournament took place on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. This information has been corrected.