(Getty Images Photo)
Emma Talley had a fabulous rookie season on the LPGA Tour.
The three-time Kentucky high school champion from Caldwell County and NCAA champion at Alabama finished 52nd on the money list with $421,287 and fourth in the Rolex Rookie of the Year standings. She had four top 10 finishes, including three in the top five.
Most importantly, she kept her tour card for the 2019 season, something made her parents — Jennifer and Dan Talley of Princeton — extremely happy.
“She played well enough as a rookie to qualify for the first two majors next season,” Dan Talley said. “The Open will be played on the same course in Charleston (S.C.) where she won the U.S. Amateur. We are real hopeful she will have another decent year, and I think she can.
“You really don’t know what to expect going into this. I know all these girls and how good they have been forever. My goal was for her just to keep her tour card and get to play next year. She did that early in the season and it would be nice if she could do that again.”
She played across the world. She played four times in Asia and once in France, Scotland, Bahamas, Australia and Britain. In this country, she played on both coasts and many places in between during her 92 rounds of play that included 40 rounds of under-par play.
“We just worried about her every play,” Dan Talley said. “We were sitting around last year after she got her card and wondered how it would work with all her travel. The logistics are hard. Her mother travelled with her on the Symetra Tour, but she knows a lot of LPGA players from college. They travel as a group a lot. Because of her personality, she made friends and knows everybody. She communicates really well.
“Everything about the year was positive. She didn’t have any problems. I was worried more about injuries than anything. It’s easy to get hurt.”
Dan Talley remember LPGA commissioner Mike What telling him before the 2018 season started that if his daughter qualified for the season-ending Asian swing to try and limit how much she played to avoid physical exhaustion.
“The rookies are not used to playing that much and he told me their games are not good at the end of the year because they are worn out and don’t even know it,” Dan Talley said. “I think she might have got caught in that. She had a great year, though. She had three top-five finishes. Some players go their whole career without that.”
Talley ranked 16 in driving accuracy but only 139th in driving distance and 105th in putting average. She’s hired a new putting coach.
“Emma still has some improvement to do. A lot of girls are about as good as they can be and struggle because it is easy to frustrate if you do not get better. I think Emma will get better,” Dan Talley said.
Her season will start in Australia in mid-February with two tournaments before she goes to Thailand and then Singapore. Her first tourney in the United States will be March 21 in Phoenix. She’ll hopefully play in tournaments in Scotland, England, France and Canada and then qualify for the season-ending Asian swing again that is limited to the tour’s top 70 players — and comes with expense money for each event.
“She had a fantastic time in Asia this year, saw lots of stuff and had a great experience,” Dan Talley said. “It was good for her to go, but the competition is really tough because those tournaments only have the best players. I think she was just worn out. Even the food is different and the time change makes sleeping really hard.
“She didn’t play poorly. She just didn’t play good enough. She told me she hit the ball well but she said the greens and grasses were different. She had never seen those courses, either. If she gets to go again, she might have a better feel for what she is getting into. But she’s not complaining because just getting to go was a great opportunity and experience that not everybody gets.”
