Reed On The Greens November 24, 2022
Hope And Faith Szeryk’s Winning Formula
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioSports.com
Photo: LPGA Tour
Life on the road for professional golfers can be a lonely existence. Golf legend Lee Trevino has talked volumes about his on-course persona which earned him the nickname, The Merry Mex, and his off-links life of almost solitary confinement at countless hotel rooms.
London’s Maddie Szeryk, who just wrapped up her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, said learning to deal with downtime was one of the major adjustments she had to make this season – that, and the sometimes circus atmosphere attached to a professional golf tournament on the biggest stage.
Resting at home in Dallas in preparation for the final stage of LPGA Tour Q-School which begins next week, Szeryk reflected on her rookie campaign which arrived with a myriad of ebbs and flows. She finished the season with a sore back and is seeking treatment for a herniated disc, but said she’ll be ready to go in Alabama as she attempts to re-secure full-time status on tour.
“Right now it’s about getting healthy, making sure everything is fine tuned and looking through the yardage books. We play three different courses,” said Szeryk of some gruelling golf ahead of her.
First up November 28 to December 4 at Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Alabama are the Crossings and Falls courses. From December 5 to 11, Q-School visits Highland Oaks Golf Course in Dothan, Alabama where a hybrid of nine holes at Highlands will be paired with nine at the Marshwood club.
Maddie Szeryk
Few tests await competitors in any sport which compare to Q-School, but Szeryk said she sees it as just another golf tournament. She knows it’s not. But there’s an inner peace Szeryk lives with that separates her from most other professional golfers.
“My faith in God is huge,” Szeryk said. “I lean on Him. I know He has everything figured out. I just need to trust Him, live each day and just praise Him for everything.”
In fact, Szeryk does not hesitate for one second when speaking about her faith. While diversity and inclusivity has been built into the model of most sports groups, there’s still a stigma attached to any athlete who gives thanks to God for more than a five-second TV clip.
Yet Szeryk said just as much as she plans for her future in professional golf, her commitment to Christ drives everything she does, on and off the golf course.
“It has been a goal of mine to speak about God and to work him into everything I do,” she said. “I’m very thankful for God and everything I have been given. He has really blessed me and my family with so many opportunities.”
Tough Campaign For Former All-American
The 2022 season was, for the most part, a trying year for the former All-American golfer from Texas A&M University. In golf, no matter what your accomplishments (Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy exempted), there are no guarantees for success on the big tour.
Szeryk finished the year with $47,148 total earnings. She missed the cut nine times, including at her first six tournaments stretching from late-March to mid-June.
In mid-July at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, Szeryk finished T36 which included a second-round 6-under 64 and final-round 3-under 67 – something to build on, she said.
Szeryk also had a new caddie on the bag that week: New Yorker Eric Deuble. Said Szeryk, “I’ve known Eric for a few years, having been in groups with golfers he had caddied for (on the LPGA Tour and Epson Tour). We started working together at the Dow event and have been together ever since.
“It was just time for a change,” added Szeryk. “I wasn’t playing super, so I felt I needed to switch things up. And it’s a good fit with Eric.”
Oh, Canada!
It all came together for Szeryk in late-August at the CP Women’s Open where she finished T26 at Ottawa Hunt and Country Club. She was the top Canadian after three rounds, and finished with rounds of 67-68-69-71—275 (-9) with $19,701 in earnings.
“It has been a goal of mine to speak about God and to work him into everything I do.” – Maddie Szeryk
Veteran Alena Sharp of Hamilton finished top Canuck at T17, thanks to a final-round 3-under 68, edging Szeryk by a stroke.
“It was incredible, having so many family members there with me,” Szeryk said of the Ottawa experience. “And the fans were incredible, too. To walk down the fairways and hear them yelling, ‘Go, Maddie, Go!’ was an amazing feeling.”
Most of all, that tournament was all Szeryk needed to finally feel she belongs on tour.
“Absolutely, that’s what I needed,” Szeryk said. “I had glimmers of hope leading up to that tournament. But playing well during the entire tournament – four solid days of seeing my name on the leaderboard, and gathering some attention for the first time in an LPGA Tour event – was an experience I’ll never forget, and one I will build on.
“It told me I can compete out here, I can be consistent. So that tournament made me an even better player. I became more comfortable and confident. Winning on this tour became something I can do, rather than a crazy expectation. I can do this,” she said.
In early-September, Szeryk finished 72nd at the Dana Open presented by Marathon, and finished T68 the next week at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.
In late-September, she finished T24 at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America tourney, shooting 67-70-67-76 — 280 (-4), and winning $15,595.
Szeryk was also in the field at eight Epson Tour tournaments this year. She missed the cut at six events, finished T59 in March at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, and finished T9 at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in late-July.
Game Of Inches
Photo: Epson Tour
Szeryk currently sits 58th on the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy, but knows all too well that she’ll need to continue finding it in the dirt in order to better her overall game. She also knows that the six inches between the ears can make or break a professional golf career.
“I did make a few swing changes this year – tweaked a few things, worked hard. And I also made some changes to my mental game,” she explained.
“Early in the year, the nerves were really high. I felt like I had to perform, and there were so many things in my head other than the golf game. But I came to the conclusion, at the end of the day, it’s just golf. It’s the same game I’ve always played. I am playing at tougher courses, and the competition is obviously tougher. But it was mostly about getting used to the ins and outs of each week.
“Playing on the LPGA Tour is very different, even from the Epson Tour,” she said. “It truly is another step up. So I had to get used to everything that goes on around a tournament. At times I could feel overwhelmed – what’s going on? Where do I go? But I feel now I am in a much better place.”
Szeryk continues to work with swing coach Justin Poynter of Dallas. The two have twinned efforts at the range even before Szeryk starred with the Aggies. She said, “It’s nice to have another set of eyes in Dallas when I’m home working on my game.”
A member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro squad, Szeryk gives thanks to the entire organization, including coach Tristan Mullally, Team Canada’s head of national talent identification, for support given since her days of junior golf.
“Golf Canada has been amazing over the years, with their funding, coaching, nutritional advice, mental coaches, physiotherapy – every part of golf,” she said.
Szeryk said she is extremely thankful for support shown by other Canadians on the LPGA Tour, in particular Sharp, and her wife and caddie, Sarah Bowman.
“Any time we have crossed paths, I’ve chatted with Alena and Sarah. They’ve both been so wonderful to me this year, and in past years. But they’ve reached out, asked me how I am doing, asked if I needed anything, made sure I was in a good place. They’ve really supported me and have wished me well on tour.”
Most of all, Szeryk gives thanks to God for the opportunity to play professional golf, and to inspire young girls in London and in Dallas to do the same.
“I’m very blessed to have a fellowship and Bible study group on tour. They’ve been so incredible, just having a group of girls who encourage each other. That’s important, because this truly is a very lonely lifestyle. It’s important to have a community.
Photo: Epson Tour
“I can’t do this on my own,” Szeryk said. “The other girls help me grow in my relationship with God, and I lean on Him. I do know he has everything figured out.”
Now, it’s back to Q-School for Szeryk. In 2021, she finished T35 at the tour’s Q-Series to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2022 season.
You get the feeling that no matter what Szeryk’s future as a golf professional, God has already spoken through her in order to inspire others.
Szeryk’s social media platforms carry the message of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
As Szeryk said, at the end of the day, it’s just golf. But she also buys into Arnold Palmer’s quip, “I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying. I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”
In life and in golf, Szeryk is already a winner.
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Three-time author and award-winning golf journalist Jeffrey Reed has written about the sport since 1980. Reach him at jeff@londonontariogolf.com.
