Professional-am rounds is usually a enjoyable alternative for critical golf followers to fulfill their favorite gamers and for the golfers to get some further follow in forward of that week’s event.
However for Canadian golfer Selena Costabile and former NFL gamers Josh Scobee and Marcus Pollard it was an opportunity to get into the intricacies of the athlete’s mindset. The trio had been grouped collectively for the pro-am on Tuesday forward of the Epson Tour’s Atlantic Seaside Traditional and obtained right into a prolonged dialogue as they made their method across the course.
Costabile, who’s from Thornhill, Ont., and Scobee bonded over the similarities between being a golfer and a placekicker.
“Since you actually simply have one shot to carry out,” stated Costabile. “He was giving me quite a lot of insights about how it’s important to have two totally different mindsets. One is in follow, after which when you get in to a contest or the event, on the course or on the soccer subject, no matter which may be, it’s important to virtually swap to extra of a efficiency mindset.
“Attempting to only get the ball between the posts is just like attempting to get the ball within the gap and try this as finest as you may whereas not likely fascinated by the mechanical facet of it.”
Scobee was a kicker on the Jacksonville Jaguars for 11 seasons earlier than being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 after which spending a few months with the New Orleans Saints in 2016 earlier than retiring the subsequent yr. He linked on 80.1 per cent of his field-goal makes an attempt and 98.2 per cent of his extra-point makes an attempt for a complete of 1,046 factors.
He stated that he developed his “how and the place” strategy about six years into his profession.
“I instructed her what I’ve at all times tried to do — and it’s not at all times simple — however what I attempted to do was to separate follow from the video games,” stated Scobee. “Apply is the place you’re attempting to determine do it. You’re working in your method, and little issues that you simply follow to be prepared for the sport or a event or no matter.
“Then separating that from the place to hit it, or the place to kick it at any time when I used to be taking part in. So I instructed her it’s the how versus the the place, do it versus the place to hit it.”
Pollard was a decent finish with the Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons over 14 seasons, catching 40 touchdowns and over 4,280 receiving yards. Though Pollard didn’t have a lot so as to add to Scobee and Costabile’s dialog on mechanics, the kicker stated he had lots to say about mindset generally.
“It’s enjoyable to get in entrance of different athletes that play totally different sports activities and go across the desk and speak about what all of us considered or how we ready,” stated Scobee, “All of it principally comes again to the identical issues and that’s the fantastic thing about sports activities.”
Costabile stated the dialog got here at a very good time for her as a result of she has missed two cuts to start out the Epson Tour season.
“I’m attempting to work on leaving all of the work of the low season within the low season and trusting that I did the work and now I simply must exit to play,” stated Costabile.
She’ll be joined by Kate Johnston of Ayr, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., within the subject at Atlantic Seaside Nation Membership.
Thibault, in her first full season on the Epson Tour, made the lower on the Florida’s Pure Charity Traditional on March 8 and once more on the IOA Golf Traditional on March 15. She stated she was proud of these outcomes as a result of her ball putting has not been as much as its typical normal.
“To be sincere, the main target hasn’t been on cuts since you’re attempting to win it so it’s been extra annoying in that sense,” stated Thibault. “However I’m nonetheless excited as a result of to start out the season the highest 50 ladies’s golfers on the earth had been in Asia so the primary three Epson Tour occasions had been most likely the strongest fields we’re getting the entire yr.
“To have the ability to actually not really feel like you may have your recreation and nonetheless battle and put these scores up, I’m extraordinarily pleased with that.”
The 25-year-old stated that her focus this low season has been to concentrate on the pure movement of her swing.
“I’m diving extra into my artistic facet and extra into my given expertise and dealing with that as a substitute of attempting to suit right into a field,” stated Thibault. “I’ve been extra of a sponge, going into tournaments and seeing what tendencies present up with adrenalin as a substitute of being so technical, as a result of I had actually tried to suit right into a field with a sure swing and it appeared higher however then I form of misplaced a little bit of lag there.”
LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian heading into this week’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. She is fifth on the Race to CME Globe season standings, having completed within the prime 10 in three of her first 4 tournaments of the yr. Rookie Savannah Grewal (twenty ninth) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., are additionally within the subject at Palos Verdes Golf Membership in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
CPKC WOMEN’S OPEN — Golf Canada introduced on Wednesday afternoon that Mississauga Golf and Nation Membership would host the CPKC Girls’s Open Aug. 18-24, 2025. It’s the primary time the nationwide ladies’s championship has been within the Larger Toronto Space since 2019 when Magna Golf Membership hosted it in Aurora, Ont.
PGA TOUR — Nick Taylor is eleventh within the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week’s Valspar Championship. Adam Hadwin, who can be from Abbotsford, B.C., received the Valspar in 2017 and is No. 30 within the factors checklist. 5 different Canadians are within the subject at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla., together with Mackenzie Hughes (71st) of Dundas, Ont., Adam Svensson (72nd) of Surrey, B.C., Ben Silverman (88th) of Thornhill, Ont., Taylor Pendrith (93rd) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Roger Sloan (201st) of Merritt, B.C.
PGA TOUR AMERICAS — The PGA Tour Americas begins its inaugural season on Thursday with the Bupa Championship. The third-tier tour is a mix of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada, that ended final yr. Twelve Canadians will tee it up at PGA Riviera Maya in Tulum, Mexico.
DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is fifteenth on the Highway to Dubai standings, the European-based DP World Tour’s factors checklist. He’s the lone Canadian within the subject at this week’s Porsche Singapore Traditional at Laguna Nationwide Golf Resort Membership.
