Long Beach State University Athletics
Happy Return
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Nov. 26, 2008
By Ryan Herrington
GolfWorld magazine
There was no shortage of people taken by surprise when Kay Hoey, a two-time second-team All-American at Long Beach State, decided to sit out what was supposed to be her final year in college in 2007-08 to sharpen a seemingly well-tuned game. The same can't be said, though, for the fact that the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native returned to form so quickly as a fifth-year senior, winning the Heather Farr Memorial Invitational in her second start and finishing the fall season with a 72.08 average.
Hoey believed being away from competition for a year would give her a better appreciation for the game and for its importance in her life. "It really was just about her developing and working on her game and taking care of herself." Says 49ers coach Sue Ewart, who proposed the idea of taking the year off to her star player and helped work out a plan to follow during the redshirted season.
"I wanted her to work out, get stronger and develop her short game. Hopefully then when she turned pro, she'd be ready to go instead of getting out there and spending two or three years bouncing around on the mini-tours to make ends meet."
Both player and coach tried not to put too much pressure on results this fall, but Hoey's competitive instincts kicked in. After finishing T-11 at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in September, she opened with a 65 at the Heather Farr tournament en route to her seventh career victory.
That's not to say she hasn't shown a little rust. At the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational last month, she was in the lead entering the final round, only to shoot an 81 at Sahalee CC and finish T-3. "There are a couple of things she still has to relearn that she had known before," Ewart says regarding how to close out a tournament. "But I was pleasantly surprised. I think she was a bit, too."
There is an ancillary benefit for the 49ers in having Hoey around for an extra year. Her delayed finish has given her a chance to mentor Lee Lopez, a highly regarded freshman who closed the fall with three top-10 finishes of her own.
Says Ewart: "All the girls look up to (Hoey), which is great. And she's more than willing to give and help. It's one of the great things about having her back." in t
