There are 14 players in Final Stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament that can’t legally order a drink at a bar in the United States. On the other side of the spectrum, there are nine players that are 32 or older, including Alison Walshe, a nine-year veteran of the LPGA.
Walshe is back at her third Qualifying Tournament in hopes of improving her status for the 2018 season. She’s off to a good start with back-to-back rounds of 71.
“I’m pretty happy with how I’ve played so far, I’m not really trying to attack unless it happens,” said Walshe. “Patience is really the biggest thing. You can get worked up for this and then start putting a lot of pressure on yourself. It helps to have been through the grind of a tournament and I’ve done it a million times now.”
Walshe first arrived on the scene in 2009 after winning ten times in college at the University of Arizona. She earned her card through the Epson Tour in 2009 and has made 135 starts on the LPGA since with five top-10 finishes and earnings approaching one million dollars.
“I started great when I first got out here (LPGA), but it’s been rough the last few years. I’ve had to come back to Q-School,” said Walshe about the journey. “I’ve got a good mindset now and I just want to get back to where I was.”
Her best season on the LPGA was 2013, when she finished 53rd on the money list.
Truthfully, 2017 has been a hectic, yet joyous year for Walshe. She married her longtime boyfriend-now husband, Chris Herrick, in late September.
“At first when we got serious, it was tough being on the road, but now I’ve been with him for six years and now it’s easier,” said Walshe. “Of course we miss each other, but he gets it as he was in the business.”
The newlywed said she wants a family and is by no means a “tour lifer,” but is not at all ready to hang up the clubs.
“It’ll be a gut thing (when to retire), but I just know that if I play the way I should play, I can still compete,” said Walshe. “It would kill me to hang it up knowing that. I still want to win and compete and that is why I am here. I’m not out here to just get by.”
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