22 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 6-12, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Mina Harigae shrugs off final round difficulties at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship that sent her toppling from contention into a tie for 24th. “Sometimes golf happens,” she says. Besides, playing the course at Baltusrol in Springfield, New Jersey, was the easier part of her weekend. Getting home from the tournament through Newark’s Liberty International Airport—that proved nearly impossible. Storms walloped the area, delaying 516 flights and forcing the cancellation of another 289 on June 25, according to FlightAware. In the aftermath of a major tournament on the LPGA schedule, many of the top names in women’s golf were trapped in long lines, tapping desperately on mobile devices trying to find a new route or giving up in frustration. Harigae says that after three cancellations, Lexi Thompson rented a car intent on driving to her home in Florida. She heard that another golfer hoped for better results at an airport several hours away and also headed to the rental counter. The situation is not unusual. After a tournament last year, Harigae and her husband decided to take a break from the tour and catch up with his family. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. “We slept in the airport,” Harigae recalls. “Then at 5am they canceled our flight.” Forget the image of private jets and courtesy cars. Such luxuries are more common to the men’s PGA Tour. On the women’s side, both purses and perks are smaller. “It’s not a glamorous life,” she explains. “I know girls who do their laundry in the hotel bathtub.” The LPGA Tour took a weekend off ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. For Harigae, the Monday following Baltusrol was her first day at home in a five-week span that started with an event in Nevada. Life on the road is routine, provided the weather cooperates. When heading to an unfamiliar course or to a major tournament like the Open, Harigae arranges to arrive early. Otherwise, Monday is her usual travel day. On Tuesday she goes through a light workout in the morning then visits the driving range and putting green before playing nine holes of golf as a warm up. “I work on things I need to work on—at a leisurely pace,” Harigae observes. This unhurried approach continues on Wednesday, when most tournaments host a nine-hole pro-am event. Harigae prefers playing shorter rounds in advance of the event. Once tournament play begins on Thursday, days become more focused. But she still finds time to work out kinks, if necessary. “Last week I didn’t hit the driver well, but I had a swing epiphany,” she says. “I wanted to go to the range and see if I was right—and I was.” Although Harigae now lives in Arizona, she grew up in Monterey. Her parents own a restaurant in Pacific Grove, Takara Sushi (which is on her list of places to revisit). The U.S. Open is one of the events that provides golfers with a courtesy vehicle, so she can slip away from the routine and drop in on her favorite kitchen. Pebble Beach is a homecoming—an easier spell for Harigae on a tour that winds across the U.S. and to courses in Thailand, China, Japan and elsewhere from January through December. Tour professionals are not bound to take part in every event. But to take a week off or miss the cut at a tournament means no paycheck. Harigae turned professional in 2009 and joined the LPGA Tour the next year. She has been through the fun and frustration, both on and off the course. There is a bond that develops through the weeks of travel. “It’s kind of like high school,” she says with a laugh, noting that golfers tend to form into little groups of friends away from the course. But it’s far more mature. “We all respect each other.” So the off course grind continues, week after week. “You pack, lug your crap around, land, get a rental car, get to the hotel, lug your crap around again and unpack for the week,” Harigae says, describing life on the road. “Then you do it again.” But, she points out, the drudgery comes with a reward. “When you are playing well, there’s no better feeling,” Harigae explains. “When your heart rate is through the roof and you’re making putts—it’s super satisfying.” That, she says, makes a brutal evening at the Newark airport worthwhile. “IT’S NOT A GLAMOROUS LIFE. I KNOW GIRLS WHO DO THEIR LAUNDRY IN THE HOTEL BATHTUB.” TRAVELING TEAM For Monterey native Mina Harigae and other stars of women’s golf, life on the road can be long—and rewarding. By Dave Faries U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN • PEBBLE BEACH Mina Harigae, a native of Monterey, talks things over with her caddie while waiting for play to get underway during the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open in San Francisco. While they have a caddie on course, away from golf “we have to it ourselves,” Harigae says. “Everyone flies commercial.” KATHRYN RILEY/USGA
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