UK Athletics Photo
Kentucky sophomore golfer CA Carter had a career-best 7-under par 65 in the final round of the Tallahassee NCAA Regional to help propel UK into the NCAA Championships starting Friday in California.
Even though Carter’s average 18-hole score this season had been about 74, she didn’t make changes during her career-best round that included eight birdies after making bogey on her opening hole.
“No matter what, I am very routine oriented and very specific with my process and how I go about my pre-shot routine,” she said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “It’s very consistent. “Just that consistency and when you do have those shots under pressure, you have to be honest with yourself. It is uncomfortable at times, but just being able to trust your team is the training we do every single day.
“Just doing the small things that add up, doing the mental work and even just the small stuff with the golf swing. I’ve started working with some coaches down in Sea Island, Justin Parsons and David Angelotti, and the belief that they have in me means the world. My success is just a testament to the team around me and the people that are helping me reach my goals.”
Carter, who hopes to be a sports personality eventually, does have one small quirk in her routine — she takes a sip of water before every shot.
“I love to emulate some of the best players in the world, and something that I’ve seen some of them do to mentally reset before a shot is drink a sip of water. So I guess that’s kind of become one of my little cues to lock in and come back to the moment and then just execute the next shot,” Carter said.
The Kentucky sophomore tries to control her tempo every shot and also reminds herself that she is an athlete.
“I tell myself before almost every shot to just be an athlete with it. That kind of clears a lot of the technical thoughts that can be going in my head and just free myself up to do what I know how to do,” Carter said.
