In 2019, Canadian golfer Maude-Aimee Leblanc missed the cut at the CP Women’s Open, her only LPGA Tour event of season. A few months later, she announced her retirement from professional golf.
“I was not in a good place. I felt like my game was better than my scores and my results, so it was very frustrating. I didn't enjoy being out there anymore,” she said on Tuesday morning before the 2022 CP Women’s Open.
Thankfully, her retirement turned into only a year-long hiatus that served as a mental turning point for the now 33-year-old Tour veteran, currently in her ninth season on Tour.
“It gave me time to think and put things in perspective, and really also think about what wasn't working in my previous nine years,” she said. “I really thought, deep down, that I had more to accomplish out here, but, again, I wasn't going to do it until I figured out what I needed to improve or change.”
As she returns to the CP Women’s Open, her favorite event on Tour, it seems she has figured it out. The 2022 season has been her best so far, making 10 of 16 cuts with three top-10 finishes and already earning more on the official money list than in any other season. At the Amundi Evian Championship, her commanding performance earned her a spot in the final grouping on Sunday for the first time in her career. The key to her recent success apparently lies on the greens.
“Putting seemed to always be the common denominator every year, so I’ve put a lot of effort in that,” she said. “I’ve changed coaches, worked on my putting a lot. For me, putting is also an attitude, mindset so I feel really good right now. Game feels good.”
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