North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Strandberg Comes on Strong For NCAAs
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. Kathleen Strandberg never lost hope. But she did lose most of her self-confidence.
In her first two seasons as a member of the NC State women’s golf team, the junior from Greensboro struggled to find her place at the school from which her mother, Mimi, graduated and for which her older brother, Jace, played golf.
A three-time conference champion and a two-time all-state selection at Page High School, Strandberg enrolled at NC State with strong academic and athletic credentials. She played in eight tournaments as a freshman, finishing as high as fourth place. Just after her freshman season, she recorded a top 10 finish in the North Carolina Women’s Amateur.
But something went wrong with her natural swing and she struggled throughout her sophomore season. She was in the starting lineup only twice and her stroke average neared 80.
“Last year, I kind of hit rock bottom with my game and my confidence,” Strandberg said. “It was really frustrating, but my coaches believed in me and told me to stick with the process and keep doing everything I was taught to get back on track. I knew that one day it would turn around and it slowly did.
“Now I feel everything is back in a really good place and I can move forward from here.”
With support from Wolfpack women’s golf coach Page Marsh, some tinkering with the components of her stroke with swing coach Robert Linville of Precision Golf School in Greensboro and a few sessions with team sports psychologist Elizabeth Hedgepeth, Strandberg is now playing the best golf of her collegiate career.
Her resurgence will be key for the Wolfpack women as they begin play today at the NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio. It’s the eighth consecutive regional bid for the Wolfpack, which is seeded 13th among the 21 teams in the field. The top eight teams, plus the top two individuals not on an advancing team will move on to the 28th annual NCAA Championship May 19-22 at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
Last year, the Wolfpack came within one shot of advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history.
The five players headed to this year’s regional Strandberg, plus senior all-ACC selection Lauren Doughtie, junior Emily Street, sophomore Julie Saleeby and freshman Meghan Chapman teammates are eager to make that leap this year, coming off a fourth-place finish at the ACC Championship in Strandberg’s hometown of Greensboro. Three of those players finished in the top 15 at the ACCs: Doughtie in a tie for fifth, and Strandberg and Street in a tie for 13th.
Strandberg not only came on during that tournament, she was third on the team at the Bryan Championship played two weeks before. That’s a huge improvement for someone who didn’t crack the team’s starting lineup this season until the middle of March.
“I think Kathleen is coming out of a period of golf that has been a challenge for her,” Marsh said. “I always coach my players to follow the same process and results will follow. I think Kathleen has done a great job of reflecting and staying upbeat. She has been a very supportive teammate who has worked hard on her process and, lo and behold, things have improved.”
Though it may seem that she’s come from nowhere to be a regular contributor for the squad, Strandberg understands that her improvement has come at the end of a long process.
“It didn’t just happen in a week,” she said. “There was a stretch last fall when I felt like things were getting a lot better. Then early this spring, I felt like I was playing a lot better but I still wasn’t seeing any numbers.
“I played in a tournament in Miami as an individual, and after that I made it into the lineup. Throughout the year, I could tell it was getting better and better, and then it all kind of click in the last month or so.”
Her improvement couldn’t be more timely for the team, which is looking to get over the hump of advancing to the NCAA Championships.
“Last year, we saw what it took, and that is for every player, one through five, to play at their best from the first hole to the 54th hole,” Strandberg said. “You can’t think about that one hole you missed early on. You just keep making shots and following the process.
“We have spent this whole spring working very hard, on the course and at the Short Game Practice Facility. Now, it’s time for the whole group to go out and play hard every whole for us to be able to advance.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
