Rebelog: Women's Golf's Dori Carter

Rebelogs are the latest feature on OleMissSports.com and provide a look into the life of Ole Miss student-athletes. The next installment of the blogs is from Rebel junior Dori Carter of the women's golf team from the NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga.

May 9, 2008 Today was the second round of the NCAA Women's Golf East Regional in Athens, Ga. My tee time wasn't until 12:20 p.m. in the afternoon, so I was able to sleep in. I woke up around 9:30 a.m., and ate a little breakfast, consisting of fruit and granola, and watched some TV. (tough life!) Coach and I left for the golf course (University of Georgia Golf Course), around 10:45 a.m. I followed my usual warm up routine and headed to the tee 10 minutes before my tee time. Being from Georgia, I am fortunate to have family come out and support me, because it is not far from home. I had a crowd today! Both my parents and grandparents, my former teammate's mother, Coach Drinkard, and a future teammate and her grandfather were there to watch all 18 holes. Seeing all of their faces made me feel like the luckiest person alive. And all I wanted to do was give them something to clap for. The first few holes were a little shaky (there might have been some nerves). But once I got into my rhythm, things went very smoothly. I had a long stretch of pars starting on number eight. Not that pars are a bad thing, but I was starting to get frustrated that putts were not dropping for birdies. This was my problem during the first round as well. Anyway, I had a disappointing bogey at the 17th and tapped in for par on the 18th for a score of 75. My two round total of 152 was not what I had hoped for. I am going to need a solid, low round in the final round to give me a chance at the NCAA tournament in New Mexico. This tournament is not like most others, I am the only player from Ole Miss here. When I pulled into the parking lot for the first time this past Wednesday, it hit me: my teammates aren't here. I guess the old saying goes "You never miss something until it's gone." Well it's true. My teammates are the backbone to my success on the golf course. One thing that is different are my nerves. I realized that my teammates are the ones that keep me relaxed. Though I know that this will be the only time that they are not with me at a tournament, I still can't help to wonder if my performance these two days would be better if they were here. As I write this, I am texting a few of my teammates. We are joking about exams and movies that we are both watching on TV. All of them sent me messages today telling me good luck and that they are pulling for me. I saved them so that I can read them in the morning. Maybe this will help with the nerves in the morning. Anyway, I am feeling a lot better about tomorrow and looking forward to closing the tournament with a good round.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos