Emma Talley was all smiles after her round Friday. (LPGA Photo)
Maybe Emma Talley should get mad more often. She was really upset with herself after a 3-putt on No. 2 — her 11th hole of the day and second three-putt — and then went on a birdie spree on five of the last six holes to take the second-round lead at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Ireland.
“I looked at my caddie after the round, and I said, maybe I should get mad more often because after that I just started playing really well. I hit it well all day. Left a few putts out there, but other than that I played pretty well,” the Kentuckian said.
She admitted “angry” Emma was not something anyone sees often because she has such an even personality and enjoys herself on the course. But two 3-putts Friday after an opening-round 67 Thursday upset her.
“You don’t see it often, but I was mad. And even after the round I told my caddie, I was like, ugh, I made two, and I was like, and I three-putted twice, and he’s like, Get over it! I was mad about it,” she said.
She finished with a 7-under par 65 and is 13-under going into Saturday’s third round. She has a three-shot lead over Chella Choi and Jennifer Kupcho — her first 36-hole lead in an LPGA Tour event — as he pursues her first LPGA win.
“This is the first time in a long time that I’ve been in this position,” Talley said. “I feel really relaxed. There’s a lot of golf left, so just going to stay patient and keep doing our thing.”
What made her round at Massereene Golf Club — one of two courses used in the tourney — even more impressive was that Talley had seen less than half the holes because rain disrupted practice rounds. She had to rely on caddie Brandon Winton more than normal.
“Had to really put a lot of trust in him and the yardage book because we hadn’t even seen the golf course yet,” she said. ‘I think sometimes that can be helpful in a way because I didn’t even know what was up there to get in trouble. I just kind of hit the ball where he told me to and kept moving.
“I actually didn’t start that well, either. It looks good on the scorecard, but I had a couple par putts, six feet or so. Yeah, it was just a really solid day. Like I said, I just feel really confident about my golf game, about my mental game, talking to my sports psychologist this afternoon. Like I said, lots of golf to be played, but excited to see that my game is kind of back.”
Talley, who had her highest finish on the tour in July when she tied for fourth at the Volunteers of America Classic, will be paired with Choi and Kupcho Saturday. Just so happens that Kupcho’s caddie is Patrick Smith, Talley’s boyfriend.
“Patrick, he’s not like me. I’m a bit more — y’all know how I am; I’m wild. I like to try to embarrass him and stuff, so he’ll be pretty serious out there, but I know I’ll probably get a couple thumbs up and I’ll try to bug him a little bit when he’s not working,” Talley said.
“I think it’s going to be a fun day, and I’m happy that — let’s just say he’s probably very happy at what the leaderboard looks like at the moment. I definitely know he’s going to try to come beat me, but I think it’s — it will be a really cool day tomorrow. Like I said, I haven’t been in this position in a long time, and I’m going to have my caddie and my boyfriend all in the same group, which is pretty cool.”
She said she’s been paired with Kupcho and her boyfriend only a few times and even with him trying to get Kupcho to beat her it will still be “nice” to have him around.
“I’m just looking forward to having a fun weekend, and like I said, I’m really just trying to focus on the process,” the former Kentucky high school state champion said. “I know that’s kind of like just standard response, and I hate when I hear athletes do that, but it’s just the case of what I’m trying to do right now. I’m really trying to stick with what my coaches and my sports psychologist have been helping me figure out the last year or so.
“So just going to try to stick with it and keep on going and be thankful that it’s all kind of coming together, and also stick with my mission, and my mission is to go out and play the best golf I can and hopefully win this thing.”
Talley said she’s happy with her game, especially her putting, and is hitting the ball really well as her scores would indicate.
“Just the confidence I think is the main thing. I think this is the first time in a long time that I’ve been in this position, but it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve felt this comfortable over the golf ball and with my putter. I feel really relaxed,” Talley said.
Talley started the Volunteers of America Classic with a 6-under round but then shot even par each of the next two rounds and admits since she had missed several cuts in a row she “relaxed” after finally getting off to a good start. She told her father, Dan (who is back home in Princeton), Thursday night she was not going to do that again and she didn’t.
“Between my sports psychologist, my caddie, my boyfriend, my parents, I think everyone — and my coaches, everyone around me kind of knows what I’m trying to do, and it’s starting to all kind of work, and whatever happens this weekend, it’s just nice to see my game going in the direction that I want to, and just build off each experience because truly I have been working so hard on my game and my mental game. It’s nice to see everything kind of fall into place,” Talley said.
“Now it’s happened finally two days in a row, and hopefully I can make it four days in a row.”
