Goodwin A Solid Addition for Tide in Freshman Season
5/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
After qualifying for the NCAA Championship for just the second time in school history, we would like to introduce you to the team that has put itself in the record books as one of the best ever at Alabama. These five players, under a brand new head coach, came from nowhere to shock the field in Greensboro, N.C. at last weekend’s NCAA regional with an eighth place finish. The finale was highlighted with a dramatic sudden-death playoff against Virginia for the last spot in the 2006 NCAA Championship, with the Tide prevailing by a single stroke. We will introduce you to each of the five players that will compete for the national championship next week, May 23-26, in Columbus, Ohio.
Freshman Laura Goodwin has been a pleasant surprise for the Alabama women’s golf team this spring and has rounded out the team’s top-5 quite well. So well, in fact, that at last week’s NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C. she turned in a season-low 228, the team’s third best score and now she’ll look to build on her steady improvement in hopes to lift the Tide to its best finish in school history at the NCAA Championships, which begin next Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Goodwin has steadily lowered her scores this season from the low-80s to the mid-70s. Only two of her first 14 rounds this season were below 80. However, things began to click for Goodwin in early March. On the final day of the LSU/Cleveland Classic she carded a career-best 72 and since that time has played just one round higher than 78.
“I worked real hard with Mic (Potter) last winter on my swing and my short game and really put in a lot of practice time to get ready,” Goodwin said. “I think that it has paid off for me, but it’s really nothing I’ve done. It’s been all Mic. I give him all the credit for my improvement.”
And according to Goodwin, the two biggest keys to her improvement this season, besides the coaching of Potter, have been better course management and a more refined short-game.
“Anytime your short-game improves your scores are going to drop,” Goodwin said. “But as a golfer I haven’t changed a whole lot mechanically. I’ve learned better course management and that has helped in my approach.”
Thus, Goodwin has shaved nearly 15 strokes off her 54-hole average since the beginning of the season, a drastic change from the 251 she shot in September at the Mercedes-Benz Championships.
But one might also argue that the collegiate team concept has played a role in Goodwin’s improvement as well. It’s a format that she says she enjoys playing and it offers a change of pace from that of junior golf. Perhaps there is less individual pressure, but one thing is certain, it suits Goodwin well.
“The competition is different,” Goodwin said. “Things are more competitive than I thought it would be and it’s a different experience. In the past I’ve always played for myself, but I love the team setting. I have the opportunity to play with my four best friends every day.”
As for the NCAA Championships, what does she know? After all, she is just a freshman and the Championships, like everything else, will be just another new experience. But if recent history is any indication, Goodwin should have no trouble at all.
“I don’t know what it is supposed to feel like, but I know that it’s going to be an incredible experience.”
