Golf: After a taste of LPGA Tour life, Yada on the grind to get back

Britney Yada is chasing the dream, and this weekend that takes her to Rochester, N.Y.

When she’s done golfing there, she’ll travel, then golf some more, then travel, then golf some more, all the while knowing she’s not quite there yet.

For Yada, it’s a constant balancing act between following her heart and accepting the costs and hard work associated with trying to get to the LPGA Tour.

The 2009 Waiakea graduate splits the difference just as she would a fairway with one of her powerful drives.

“It’s a constant grind, but it’s the grind I love,” Yada said. “Every player out here wants it just as bad as anyone else. The ultimate goal is to get to the LPGA. We all have good weeks and bad weeks. And, of course, it will feel more like a grind during the bad weeks.

“But, just got to keep pushing forward and improving my game.”

Yada, who played college golf at Portland State, is in her first full season, and second overall, playing on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA Tour developmental circuit. Being a Symetra member allows players to enter LPGA Tour Monday qualifiers, for a price. She took advantage in mid-May, and after winning a qualifier she made her LPGA debut at the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va.

Her stay lasted only two days, but even after missing the cut, it gave her a taste of the big-time and what she needs to improve upon to get back there.

“The whole experience was eye-opening for me,” Yada said. “I learned that I can hit the ball just as good as anyone on the LPGA Tour. The only thing that sets me apart is my chipping and putting.

“It was amazing to have both my parents and boyfriend (her caddie) from Arizona there to witness my first LPGA event.”

“Since playing at Kingsmill, I have made (my) short game a priority,” she said. “It obviously won’t happen overnight, but with time put into practicing, I will get there.”

To get back, Yada might have to go through LPGA Qualifying School for a fourth time. She’s made it through the first two stages the past two years, earning a place on the Symetra Tour each time, but hasn’t played as well in the final stage.

“The mental aspect plays a big part in your performance at Q-school,” Yada said. “Confidence is key. I have to keep reminding myself that I am good enough to be playing at the highest level.”

If she improves her play this summer, Yada still has a chance to avoid Q-school altogether.

She enters the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic on Thursday in upstate New York ranked 37th on the Symetra money list ($14,425). The top 10 at the end of the year earn LPGA cards for 2017.

Her best Symetra finish so far this season came when she placed fourth in Sarasota, Fla., pocketing $5,872.

Yada lives with family in Arizona, and prior to the start of the Symetra season, she tore it up on the Cactus Tour, winning three of the first five events. She’s still first on the Cactus money list ($15,250), despite entering only eight events.

“One week, I could be hitting it great, but putting poorly,” Yada said. “And the next week I could be putting better, but not hit the ball as well. I’m still waiting for that one week where it all comes together.

“All it takes is one good week, and that could bump me closer to that top 10. If trying to improve my short game doesn’t get me into the top 10, it surely will help me at Q-school.

An LPGA card certainly could lift financial concerns.

Entering Symetra events cost $500, and even though local host families ease the burden of paying for hotels, Yada estimated that she’d have to earn at least $40,000 in a season to break even.

Of course, chasing a dream is priceless, and that’s something Yada would like all Big Island junior golfers with big aspirations to know.

“My best advice would be to enjoy the ride,” she said. “You will learn golf turns into a different animal once there is money involved. But never forget that golf should be FUN.”