Cheyenne Knight actually had to book a tee time for her practice round on Monday. That’s something she hasn’t had to do in several months. In a way, getting back to work this week at the Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open will feel like old times. The tournament, after all, is held on the same course where she won her first LPGA title last October, the Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas.
Knight lives about 60 miles from the course in Aledo. She’ll have to remember to pick up breakfast before she gets to the course, probably Chick-fil-A. There will be no player dining. No hugging old friends either.
Players had to sign a waiver, she noted, acknowledging that there won’t be any coronavirus testing this week. Play at your own risk.
Knight said she feels comfortable about competing as the nation still works to reopen. She’s one of several LPGA players in the field, including Brittany Lang, Gerina Piller, Celine Boutier, Maria Fassi, Yu Liu, Lindsey Weaver and two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kristen Gillman. The event takes place June 2-4 and features a projected purse of $50,000.
“I’m comfortable,” said Knight, “but you always have to be respectful of others.
Knight said she didn’t plan to wear a mask while competing but was interested to see if anyone would. The clubhouse will be closed, she said, except to use the bathroom facilities. Knight, who recently became a member at Old American Golf Club, wanted her LPGA caddie, Brian Mahoney, to travel to Texas but with him being in New York, it proved too complicated with the two-week quarantine. Her mom will use a push cart instead. Everyone – players and caddies – must walk this week and there will be no spectators.
Each group will have a volunteer assigned to rake the bunkers and tend the flag. Players can only show up 90 minutes before their tee time.
Lewis said she didn’t even know about the event until the SMU coach, Jeanne Sutherland, asked if she was playing.
“I’m kind of excited to just go play and carry my own bag,” said Lewis, who like Knight last competed at the ISPS Women’s Australian Open in mid-February, when the LPGA last staged an event.
Knight first played in the Texas Open in 2015, the summer before she started her career at Alabama. In her second time around, she’s a local celebrity after last year’s victory at the LPGA’s Volunteers of America Classic. This year’s event has been pushed back to Dec. 3-6, putting it the week before the U.S. Women’s Open in Houston. Knight played a practice round at Old American several weeks ago in her first trip back since she hoisted the LPGA trophy.
“It was pretty special,” she said.
First played in 1933, past champions of the Texas Women’s Open include LPGA founders Babe Zaharias and Betty Jameson as well as fellow Hall of Famer Betsy Rawls. The event stopped after the 1946 edition and was resurrected in 2001. It’s now run by the North Texas Section PGA.
