Amari Avery had some unfortunate surprises to deal with during the U.S. Women’s Open. Against all odds, she made it happen and qualified herself to get on the line for the weekend. The 20-year-old longballer cranked out a 76 on a day when the harsh elements made things tough to pretty much everybody else in the field. She presented a terrific performance, despite having to borrow a friend’s clubs. A bureaucratic snafu led to her own tennis clubs being cut.
The day started out with Avery almost acing the 189-yard, par-3 No. 17 hole. As she continued through her round, night set in. It led to a play stoppage right when she was about to finish the hole. Unwelcome as the interruption was, it merely underscored all the usual stress of an already tumultuous day.
Adding to the drama, Avery had an almost break in at her first place of stay that was very disconcerting. The plot thickened when Aurilia unknowingly ended up with Avery’s golf clubs. Now, Avery was left having to depend on borrowed equipment.
“My boyfriend, my mom, and my dad saw the person outside the door, so it was a little bit scary,” Avery recounted, reflecting on the attempted break-in that occurred earlier in the week.
Even as she dealt with these challenges, Avery continued to stick with it on the water. She said she couldn’t have done it without the unsung support of her inner circle.
I will never be able to express my gratitude to my entire inner circle, she said. To be able to get onto a flight like that — that’s insane, and I’m just really, really fortunate.
Her college coach noted that Avery demonstrated improvement in her putting during this challenging round, which ultimately contributed to her making the cut for the weekend.
This hasn’t left me feeling wonderful about the state of Gabi’s clubs, I’ll tell you what. That score just reinforced my gut feeling that they were seriously awesome. Avery added, referring to her friend’s equipment. When asked about the possibility of taking more than just a few clubs, she joked, “I joked with her last night after I called her and I said, ‘Obviously, thank you so much for lending me the clubs.’ I was like, ‘I might take your putter.’”
Her grit allowed Amari Avery to walk the line between remarkable and routine as she jumped these six challenges. With the encouragement of her friends and family, she kept her eye on being the best performer she could be, even in tough conditions.
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