Friday Features: Last shot comes too soon for Union’s McRee
By Maurice Patton
Logically speaking,
Lindsay McRee knows she shouldn’t feel cheated.
But the
Union senior can’t help but, slightly.
McRee closed out her collegiate golfing career about as well as anyone could hope – draining a 40-foot putt for birdie in the final round of the Gulf South Conference championship at The Shoals in Muscle Shoals, Ala., to complete a personal-best 1-over 73.
“The weirdest feeling was that, my career ended on that one shot,” the Eagleville, Tenn., native said. “I was planning on two-putting."
“I was shocked, but it was a great thing.”
The shot capped a bounce-back performance for McRee, the first four-year golfer for the Lady Bulldogs since the program was established in 2012. She wound up placing 17
th at the tournament with a 54-hole total of 235, after shooting 82 and 80 in the opening two days.
“The first two days definitely didn’t go as planned,” she said. “It’s a challenging course. I knew it was hard, but I knew I could shoot better than the scores I shot the first two days. My ability right now is about as good as it’s ever been. It’s more (about) my mentality. I knew I could place well in this tournament."
“Our conference has a lot of good competitors. I play with some of the best people I’ve ever played with in my life, playing in the Gulf South. I love the competition. It makes me a better player.”
It also allowed her to conquer one of her bigger nightmares of the event, having shot an 8 on the par-4 hole in the opening round before double-bogeying on the second day.
“She was apprehensive about playing it,” Union coach
Don Morris said. “I told her, ‘let’s get in the fairway and on the green’. Then she had about a 40-foot putt, and I told her, ‘let’s not give the hole away’.”
“I knew I was better than that hole,” McRee said. “That hole did not define me as a person, even though I’d played it badly on the previous days."
“I get up on the green, and I told coach Morris I just needed to save two-put, get my par, take my 74 and leave. I was so fine with that. The putt was really long and kind of uphill. Long putts scare … me."
“I hit it, and I could hear people around me saying ‘that’s going in’. It was getting really close, and I feel like I blacked out, like it wasn’t really real. Whenever I saw it go in the hole, it gave me chills. It was a surreal moment where I was like, did that really happen? I was shocked, but it was a great thing. It was one of the best feelings.”
As big as the moment was for McRee, sharing it with the school’s legendary coach was even bigger. Morris, who returned to the program this year to replace
Andy Rushing, walked the final three holes with Union’s No. 1 player.
“That meant a lot to me,” she said. “We ended it together. It was a really special thing to get to go through that with him. It’s something I’ll never forget. That last hole, walking up 18, I was talking to coach Morris and asking questions, not even about golf, just trying to get my mind off it."
“He deserves so much credit and respect for what he’s done for the program. He’s bettered the program and made us better players.”
In turn, McRee looks to have the same impact on the program. She’s set to join the coaching staff as a graduate assistant for next year.
“She’s given us a lot of leadership,” Morris said. “I think she’ll inspire these girls to get out and work hard. It’s going to work out well.”
“Seeing the girls coming after me, I have a sense of contentment that I’m proud and leaving on a happy note, knowing how much better it is and the progress we’ve made,” she said. “I just know it’s going to be so much better in the future. I won’t be playing, but I can continue and help and I’m so excited to do that."
“It’s not over.”
Follow Patton on Twitter at:
@mopatton_sports. E-mail comments to:
mopattonsports@gmail.com.
Join in on the conversation using #FridayFeatures on
Twitter and
Facebook.
2015-16 GSC Friday Features
9/04/2015 - FIT's Hughes Inspired by Former GSC Standout.
9/11/2015 - Veteran UNA Coach Bobby Wallace Enjoys His Time With Young Lions.
9/18/2015 - Mississippi College Looks to Sustain Quick Start.
9/25/2015 - UAH's Winslow Races Way Back to Top After Injury.
10/02/2015 - Union's Morris Not Ready for Rocking Chair.
10/09/2015 - UWA's Mark Grant Learning Lessons From Both His College Sports.
10/16/2015 - Perez Sets Tone for Nationally-Ranked Lee.
10/23/2015 - Jessica Codato Finds Friends, Volleyball Success at Valdosta State.
10/30/2015 - Delta State Safety Looks to Avoide School of Hard 'Knox'.
11/06/2015 - Shorter's B.J. McCoy Runs Hard, Is Thankful for Every Snap.
11/13/2015 - Consistency Leads Union to XC Nationals Again.
11/20/2015 - Will Hall Making Waves at West Georgia, Throughout GSC.
11/27/2015 - National Tourney Awaits MC After Month-Long Hiatus.
12/04/2015 - Harlon Hill Finalist Wingo Leaves UNA with Pocket Full of Records.
12/11/2015 - Stramaglia Waits Long Time to Do Long-Range Damage for UWF.
12/18/2015 - UAH Women's Basketball Senior Class Shares More Than Most.
1/08/2016 - Christmas Trip a 'Life-Changing' Experience for Lee Baseball.
1/15/2016 - VSU's Thomas Macera Preaches (And Shows) Toughness.
1/22/2016 - Union's Youngsters Spark Surge to Top of GSC Women's Hoops.
1/29/2016 - Shorter's Phil Taylor Making Waves in His Return to College Basketball.
2/05/2016 - DSU Softball Grabs Early Attention, Knocks Off No. 1.
2/12/2016 - Small-Town Pitcher Norton Makes Big Splash for UWG.
2/19/2016 - Y1K For Union Men's Basketball: Three Bulldogs Reach Career Mark.
2/26/2016 - Record-Setting Hillary Carpenter Brings Success With Her to UNA.
3/04/2016 - And Baby Makes - Another Teammate for MC Softball.
3/11/2016 - UAH Point Guard Greg Gardner Loves the Aesthetics of the Game.
3/18/2016 - Ben Holland 'En Fuego' for Lee Flames.
3/25/2016 - Team Leader Kayla Robles Finds Her Voice at Valdosta State.
4/01/2016 - Freshmen Set to Jumpstart West Florida Softball.
4/08/2016 - Kristiansen Leads Lacrosse Revolution at Shorter.
4/15/2016 - Florida Tech Gridiron Star Dreams of Degree, Not NFL Draft.
4/22/2016 - West Alabama Pitcher Josh Jones Living a Baseball Dream.