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A few too many frustrations
Leta Lindley, 28, is in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour. She had her best year in 1999 with a tie for second, as well as four other top 10 finishes. In 1997, she finished second at the LPGA Championship, losing to Chris Johnson on the second hold of a sudden-death playoff. She was a four-time All-American at the University of Arizona and set an NCAA record for lowest 54-hole score (nine under par). Check out Lindley's diary each Wednesday on CNNSI.com. September 6, 2000 I had another terrible travel day this week. It's been a bad season travelwise.It makes things so frustrating. We were flying into Newark, but the weather was bad, so we circled for an hour. Then we were low on gas so we flew to Allentown, Pa., to refuel. Well, since that was closer to where we were actually going, we asked to get off there. They let us, which surprised me, and they were able to find four of our five bags. Matt has no clothes (it was his bag they couldn't find). But since we chose to get off the plane, it's not the airline's responsibility to get the bag to us. I'm not quite sure what we're going to do. I feel like I wish I had a van, so I could be traveling on my own, coming and going when I want to. All this trouble traveling just adds to my frustration and stress level. Some weeks are smoother than others I guess. I just feel like I haven't had that many smooth weeks this year. I had four bogeys and two birdies last week, which was basically not enough birdies. So, I didn't make the cut, which was even par. At times I putted well, at times I didn't. I hit a few good shots. I can't pinpoint one thing I did wrong. I obviously hit a lot of pars, so it's not like I played terribly. I just didn't play well enough. I definitely thought I played better than in past weeks -- no big hooks -- and I didn't have any 8s or 10s, so that was better. But I don't know. It was one of those courses you had to go low to play well. I should have been able to make that cut. I couldn't take advantage of two of the reachable par 5s. That was disappointing. I'm not where I want to be. I'm hoping this will be a better week. I hit some balls on Sunday while being videotaped. I don't think I have the feel of knowing where the ball's going to go and you can't be that way and play really well. You have to know to be aggressive. I wouldn't say I'm playing very aggressively right now. So much has to do with confidence, and confidence is quick to leave and slow to come back. All it takes is one good tournament. I don't have to win the next four or something to reach my goal of making the top 30 on the money list (right now I'm 33rd). If I can play well this week, I can build more confidence going into the last three events. It's hard because I feel like I'm doing the right things -- I eat well, I work out, I've been working hard with Lud -- yet the results aren't there. I'm not hitting the ball the way I want to. It's especially hard since I was doing so well at the beginning of the year. My timing's not there and you're going to hit funny shots if that's the case. When your timing is good, you can get away with little hitches, the things that aren't perfect. And all I can say is my timing isn't there. When I watch the videotape I see a lot of good things. I don't see the thing that makes me say, "Aaaah, that's it." So I know it's the timing. But the funny thing is, it could be there tomorrow. I hope so. Overall, I'm disappointed and frustrated. And then you have a nightmare travel day like I had at the beginning of the week.... But it's situations like these that really test you. Anyone can play well during the great times. It's all about who survives the struggles. I think about Laurel Kean, who's 37. She's been on tour a number of years and this year she played on both the Futures Tour and the LPGA. Before last week's Rail Classic, she had made something like $6,000 so far this year. She had left the tour for awhile and was working giving lessons at a driving range. She had to qualify for the tournament on Monday, and she shot a 67 to qualify, winning a two-hole playoff for the last spot in the field. Then she shot three rounds of 66! She won the tournament by six strokes! It was her first career win. She won $135,000. She's so inspirational to me. Just look at what she's done. If I have to wait until I'm 37, I guess I'll take it and the victory will be more sweet. But hopefully it will happen before then. I just tell myself to hang in there. I know hard work pays off. It may not be immediate. I know I can do it because I've been there. It's not like I'm fighting to keep my card, but I'm fighting for something more. It's about meeting a goal that I've had for two years. If I don't make it, I'll try again next year. I'm cranky now. Am I not playing well because I'm cranky or am I cranky because I'm not playing well? All those kind of things are factoring into my game. This week we're playing at a great golf course. It's tough, so I'm not going to have to shoot 25 under to win. Par, a couple under, is a good score. It's a good course for me. It's just a matter of finding my timing and letting it all happen. -Leta
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