THE WOODLANDS, Texas — By the time Amari Avery got to her hotel room in The Woodlands, Texas, Wednesday night, it was close to midnight. Fresh off a team victory at the Pac-12 Championships, the USC sophomore felt her eyes start to shut around 1 a.m. Later that afternoon, she teed off in the first round of the Chevron Championship without having ever seen the golf course.
“To be honest,” said Avery, “I didn’t really have that much nerves coming in just because I came straight off the plane from playing the final round at Pac-12s. I was kind of like, ‘Oh, just more golf.’ Hopefully four more rounds, and I think we’ve secured it.”
Avery has done more than secure a spot on the weekend. A second-round 69 puts her at 2 under for the tournament and in a share of 26th at the water-logged Nicklaus Course at the Club at Carlton Woods.
It didn’t always look this rosy, however, for the California teen who burst onto the scene in the Netflix documentary, “The Short Game.” Avery found herself four over through five holes on Thursday when the horn blew to suspend play. She returned to action just over an hour later and drained a birdie putt on the sixth hole. Since that first delay, Avery has played her last 31 holes in 6 under par. She trails leader Lilia Vu by five strokes.
Former LPGA player and USC assistant coach Tiffany Joh said while most attention is paid to Avery’s ball-striking – marked by power and a high ball-flight – not enough people talk about her touch around the greens.
While Avery played the Nicklaus Course blind on Thursday, she did have quite a few pointers from younger sister Alona, 16, who competed on the same course last Saturday at the Mack Champ Invitational. Alona has committed to UC Irvine for collegiate golf. Their father, Andre, is on the bag this week for Avery and scouted the course much as he could in the days leading up to Amari’s arrival.
“Got a lot of help from friends of mine who are caddies are out here,” he said.
New profile pic ? #Pac12Golf champs pic.twitter.com/DY5FOxuZdZ
— USC Women’s Golf (@USCWomensGolf) April 19, 2023
Avery, one of seven amateurs in the field, isn’t just balancing two big events in the course of one week. The communications major is also doing about an hour’s worth of homework every day.
“Unfortunately, my adviser and my coaches have been kind of staying on me a little bit,” said Avery with a smile. “I’ve been falling behind in school. I’m trying to do something every day just to make sure I stay on track.”
This marks Avery’s third start on the LPGA and her first time making the cut.
It’s already a week she’ll never forget.
