Hey everybody! My name is Liebelei Elena Lawrence and I am going to attempt to give you a summary of my whereabouts and golf endeavors without losing you (I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of it myself ☺).
I was born in Greece (I am Greek/American), moved to Luxembourg with my parents when I was three and then up and left to attend the David Leadbetter Academy in Florida when I was sixteen. From there I received a scholarship to play golf for Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and had every intention of turning pro once I graduated.
Well… upon graduating in August of 2008 I had my doubts about the goals I had set as a sixteen year old and instead of turning pro, decided to put up my golf clubs and start working for a start-up company in Nashville. I never did figure out why I made that choice, but after spending ten months in the corporate world and getting to the point of not being able to drive past a golf course without tearing up, I realized that maybe I wasn’t quite ready to hang up my dream of playing professional golf. So I put in my notice, and after ten months of not touching a club started shaking off the rust. (and let me tell you, I had accumulated A LOT of rust – those of you who have taken long breaks know that golf is not like riding a bike). And to add to the change I realized there is no place like home; so after 7 years of living in the States I packed up my things and moved back to Luxembourg to be with my family.
I unfortunately did not manage to shake off enough rust before the 2009 Q school and didn’t get my card this year; so in order to maximize my competitive experience, decided to stay an amateur through the 2010 season. I am very excited about playing the LET Access events and plan on playing multiple international amateur events to get ready for 2010 Q School.
I worked hard on my swing through the winter (since Luxembourg was covered in snow well into March) and have been spending numerous hours on short game since the courses have reopened to get ready for the LET Access events.
Last week’s Terre Blanche Open was a wonderful experience. The course was in immaculate condition, but strong winds and some challenging greens and pin positions made for higher-than-normal scores. I was very happy to make the cut and finish with a 1-under round to move into a tie for 19th. I think the last day at Terre Blanche gave me lots of good momentum that I look forward to carrying it into next week’s event at Dinard. From what I hear it is an absolutely breathtaking place and I can’t wait to play the course.
So here I am, happy as can be to be back in Europe amongst family and friends, chasing a dream I set out to achieve when I was sixteen. The journey has only just begun but I am loving it so far and am very anxious to see what else it has to offer.
