View full sizeSarah Brown, a Lopatcong Township native, lines up a putt in the U.S. Women's Open qualifier. Armed with a new attitude and an improved golf swing,
is primed for a big year.
The former Lopatcong Township resident wants to parlay her hot start this season to earn a ticket to the 2013 LPGA Tour.
The 20-year-old Brown, now living in Whitehall Township, tied for ninth place in the
season-opening event in late March in Winter Haven, Fla.
Not only did Brown win $2,908, but she positioned herself to earn one of the 10 coveted 2013 LPGA Tour cards that will be awarded at the end of the Symetra Tour's 2012 season to the top-10 money list leaders on the circuit, which serves as the LPGA's official developmental tour.
Following a 2011 season which Brown described as "emotionally exhausting," she took the winter off to re-charge and get some needed lesson tee work with her swing coach -- Bethlehem Golf Club head pro Paul Viola.
Brown, who admitted she has been too hard on herself during competition, credits Viola for improving her mental outlook on the golf course.
Brown said she regularly phones Viola for swing advice.
Brown's rise on the futures circuit is a remarkable story considering the tough financial position she found herself in early 2011 until PING climbed aboard as a sponsor and Brown started to earn some sizable prize money checks.
Another important source of support is Brown's legion of Facebook and Twitter followers from the greater Lehigh Valley and western New Jersey regions.
Brown said their emotional support lifts up her game. She said that it reminds her of her roots growing up in the area, her standout junior golf career, and her unprecedented semifinalist run (for a female golfer) in the 2008 Lehigh Valley Amateur.
Currently, Brown is practicing with the Campbell University women's team in Buies Creek, N.C., where she is good friends with the team's assistant coach.
Brown's next tournaments on the 16-event Symetra Tour are in Sarasota, Fla., on April 20-22 and in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, on April 27-29.