It’s a professional
golfer’s dream scenario: 18 holes left in a major tournament, the lead in sight, going head-to-head with the best in your sport. This is exactly where Amy Olson found herself this past December at Champions Golf Club in Houston — just one
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By Joshua Pease
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shot off the lead heading into the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open, her sport’s oldest major championship and the one with the largest purse ($5.5 million for the 2020 event; $1 million for the winner). While she had 11 career top-10 finishes, she had yet to win a tournament. Her husband Grant, a linebackers coach for North Dakota State, had flown in to watch her. The stage was set for a storybook ending. And then that Saturday night, Grant’s dad, Lee, died from a sudden heart attack. Everything changed. By the next morning, Grant had flown back home, and Amy, barely able to process her grief, had one more day of golf to finish. “So I go out on Sunday, and ... it was cold, it was rainy, and maybe 20-30 minutes before I’m supposed to tee off, everyone gets pulled off the course,” Amy recalled recently on the Sports Spectrum Podcast. “So we didn’t play at all on Sunday, and I think in a lot of ways that was a positive thing just to be able to process a few of those emotions and get some rest that night.” The following day, Amy shot 1-overpar to tie for second place (2-under overall), her second career runner-up finish at a major tournament. It wasn’t a win, but in finishing strong amid the circumstances, she displayed a muchrespected resolve.
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AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez
FIRMLY IN CONTENTION FOR A U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN VICTORY, AMY OLSON RECEIVED THE CRUSHING NEWS OF HER FATHERIN-LAW SUDDENLY PASSING. SHE LEANED ON THE LORD TO FINISH VALIANTLY, AND SHE AND HER HUSBAND, GRANT, ARE STEADIED BY GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN A SEASON OF GRIEF.
