Rathdrum’s Hanson Enjoying Rookie Season

Tracy Hanson, you’ve competed in 15 LPGA events in a hectic rookie season on the tour, what are you going to do with your week off?

Go to Indian Canyon and watch the Rosauers Open golf tournament.

Seems an unlikely choice of recreation, but since Hanson failed to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open - missed it by a stroke - she showed up at the Canyon Saturday to root on some friends.

The 23-year-old Rathdrum, Idaho, native stands a close third in the running for Rookie of the Year points.

And aside from the $44,000 she’s made in prize money this year, Hanson made it clear she’s having a good time on the tour.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me,” she said. “I’m really pretty comfortable with what’s going on out there. Having played in Europe and Asia (last year), I started out pretty comfortable with it all.”

Hanson’s season has been promising, but not entirely fulfilling.

“I’ve been near the lead or in contention a couple times,” she said. “I’ve had some good rounds, some 67s, but it has to be a matter of putting them together.”

The best example of that was when Hanson opened with a bogey-free 67 to take the lead of the Star Bank LPGA Classic in Dayton, Ohio, but could not hold on.

What will it take to win?

“Just confidence in myself,” she said. “If you let one or two little doubts creep in there, it can cost you strokes and you can’t afford to lose strokes when you’re close.

“I know I can compete and I know I can win, it’s just a matter of when my time comes,” she said.

On occasion, Hanson has had to cope with a skittish putter. She’s using a new one these days.

Rookies on the LPGA Tour seem to get a kind welcoming and don’t have to face the sort of hazing their counterparts in the NFL must sometimes endure.

“Most of the vets are great,” Hanson said. “There’s some who are on their own time frame and don’t pay much attention to what’s going on around them, but for the most part, everybody’s been helpful.”

Oddly, perhaps the most publicity the LPGA has gotten in years was of a negative variety after commentator Ben Wright alleged problems with lesbianism on the Tour.

Asked if she were sick of hearing of that topic, Hanson nodded.

“What I say about that is that we have a bunch of talented women golfers out there and what happens off the course is nobody’s business,” she said. “Golf is our job; it’s what we do for a living and that’s what people come to see.”

The fact that it truly is a job has been abundantly clear to Hanson.

“We work 8 to 10 hours a day, six or seven days a week, with a lot of travel in there, too,” she said.

The trick to staying fresh is doing exactly what she was doing Saturday - getting away from the grind.

“I think I know when to take my weeks off and that’s important,” she said. “As a rookie, it’s easy to get in that rut because we’re worried about making money and keeping our exemption, but you have to have some breaks.”

Ranked 67th in money winning after the Toledo Classic, Hanson seems almost assured to keep her exemption, which requires a top-90 finish.

A top-60 finish, meanwhile, would be good for a two-year exemption.

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