In 2015, Brittany Altomare moved to the Tampa Bay area to be closer to her team and coach Justin Sheehan, who currently serves as the Director of Golf at Pelican Golf Club. Five years later, Altomare is a pseudo host for this week’s Pelican Women’s Championship at a course she now calls home.
“I'm still at home, which is kind of weird. I didn't have to pack a suitcase on Sunday, which was nice,” said Altomare, who is commuting 45 minutes from her residence this week. “I love being here. I mean, I've never slept in my own bed for a tournament before, so this will be weird and fun at the same time.”
When she originally heard of the club hosting the Tour, Altomare was thrilled. The club’s owners—Dan Doyle and his family—also run DEX Imaging, one of the event’s presenting sponsors. The 29-year-old is also an ambassador for the company and knew this week would be top-notch with their influence.
“When Dan Doyle started kind of floating the idea of having a tournament here, I thought it would be great. Just getting to know the Doyles, everything he does is first class. He wants to put 110 percent into everything. I knew it was going to be a great week, the hospitality, food, everything was going to be great, not just the golf,” said Altomare. “I've been so lucky to partner with them the last couple years, and now they're diving further into women's golf and sponsoring a LPGA event, which is amazing.”
Lindy Duncan and Jennifer Song played with Altomare for a sneak peek last week, with other players reaching out for tips and strategy. Though familiar with the layout, Altomare said the greens may be the trickiest for her and the rest of the competition, but after a tied for eighth finish in the LPGA Drive On Championship—Reynolds Lake Oconee, she’s hoping that momentum carries into the weekend in front of familiar faces.
“I played pretty well in Georgia and was really happy to see my game kind of going in the right direction, but I worked a lot on my short game and chipping. I felt like that kept me out of contention in Georgia, so did a lot of short game work,” Altomare said. “I think this week should be a little bit of a hometown feel and I feel really good about my game right now, so hoping to be in contention come Sunday.”
Altomare heads off No. 10 tee tomorrow at 7:54 a.m. ET alongside fellow LPGA Tour winners Minjee Lee and Austin Ernst.)
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