Colorado University Athletics
Lee Continues To Shine For CU Women Golfers
October 05, 2015 | Women's Golf, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Just two weeks ago, Colorado golfer Esther Lee shot what she calls the best round of her career — a CU record 8-under 64 in the in the second round of the East & West Match Play Challenge in Madison, Wis.
Now, if she could only remember it clearly.
“To be honest, I don't even remember much of that round,” Lee said last week. “It's a blur. It's the best round of my career and I don't really remember it. I just remember every ball I was standing over I knew was going to be inside 10 feet, and every time I stood over a putt I knew I was going to make it.”
What Lee does remember is that the round — which featured eight birdies and no bogeys — could have been better.
“I know there were a couple of putts that I missed that I don't know how they didn't go in,” she said with a laugh. “I think I could've shot 60. But the whole round is kind of a blur. I just remember hitting greens and making putts.”
While it was a record-setting round for Lee and the Buffs, it didn't come as much of a surprise. Lee has been sparkling since her arrival last year from Duke after transferring to CU following her freshman season.
In her first year at Colorado, she earned first team All-Pac-12 honors, helping the Buffs to a fifth-place finish in the Pac-12 Championships and a berth in the NCAA Regionals last spring. Over the summer, she earned a berth in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.
And this fall, she's picked up where she left off, helping the Buffs to a second place finish in the East West Challenge, their second meet of the fall season.
All of this, mind you, on a sprained knee that she thought might keep her from competing at all this fall.
Lee injured her knee when she stepped into a sprinkler hole on a practice round. She heard a “pop,” felt some pain and an examination revealed a sprained MCL. But when she and CU's training staff decided she wouldn't need surgery, she decided to play through the pain.
“Being an athlete, you never want to miss a competition,” Lee said. “That's what you're here for. With that in mind, I just told myself, 'I have to play.' You just play through it.”
While the injury bothered her in the Buffs' first meet of the year, it has gradually improved. At the Wisconsin meet, she said the pain was manageable.
This week, she'll test it again when she and her teammates travel to Sammamish, Wash., for the two-day Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational. The meet, hosted by the University of Washington, begins Tuesday.
Lee's decision to transfer to Colorado from Duke has obviously been a boon to Anne Kelly's program. But what makes the story even more interesting is that Kelly had no idea Lee — one of the best junior players on the West Coast before college — had any inkling of transferring anywhere after her freshman year at Duke.
“I was born in Colorado and I lived here until I was six and then moved to California,” Lee said. “We visited relatives in Colorado after my senior year in high school and I just loved Boulder. It's just such a beautiful place.”
But by then she had already signed with Duke, so it was off to Durham for her freshman year. There, she ran into a number of obstacles. She found that being on the opposite coast from home left her homesick. She also began to question how much she loved golf.
“When I decided to transfer, I had to re-evaluate my stance on golf,” she said. “I had to figure out what I really wanted from it. Was it a possible career, or did I just want to play in college?”
Also figuring heavily into the equation was family.
“They were my backbone and support,” she said. “I wanted to be closer to home. I was looking at some California schools, and some of them were like 20 minutes from my house. That was a little too close. So my dad suggested that I check out Boulder, because we remembered how much I loved it when we visited.”
So Lee sent Kelly an email, asking if she could discuss transferring. It certainly wasn't an email Kelly was expecting.
“Yes, I was quite surprised to get Esther's email,” Kelly said. “I had watched her in junior golf with 100 other coaches and knew she was one of the best junior golfers in the country. When I got her email, I had to look at it a few times, and then sent it to our assistant coach, Brent Franklin, with the message, 'Is this who I think it is?'”
But Kelly — who said she still has Lee's original email — also didn't waste any time in emailing Lee back.
“Coach Kelly emailed me right back and said I needed to come on an official visit,” Lee said. “When I drove into Boulder, I found out that feeling of awe you get when you first come over the hill never went away.”
Soon thereafter, Lee was a Buff.
“I have no regrets,” Lee said. “Duke never really felt like home. It was comfortable, but I wanted to be home — and this already feels like home. I am home.”
Lee has also rediscovered her love for golf, thanks to Kelly and Franklin.
“I've rediscovered my love for golf and why I like it,” she said. “When I got here, I started playing well again, and that's when I knew it was the best decision for me. Every coach is different in how they handle their players, but how Anne handles us here is just a better fit for me.”
Lee's results are a testament to that. In the initial Golfweek college rankings, released last week, the Buffs were ranked No. 11 in the nation and Lee was ranked No. 3.
“It's nice, but you really can't think about rankings because you can't play with that being the only thought in your mind,” Lee said. “You have to play for your school and teammates because your teammates are counting on you. But, it was a nice surprise, and I hope by the end of the season my ranking will continue to be high.”
Kelly said Lee's influence has been positive on the entire team.
“Having a player of Esther's caliber certainly helps our team to be a contender,” Kelly said. “She came in last year and embraced her new teammates and new school immediately. Because of her quality of play, she is helping her teammates to reach a higher level individually as well and as a team. … Plus, she is competitive and wants to win. That rubs off on others as well.”
Lee said she hopes to help the Buffs qualify for the NCAA Championships next spring. After that, she has her eye on a berth in the Curtis Cup, a biennial amateur competition for teams from the United States and Great Britain/Ireland. Next summer's competition will be held in Ireland.
If she qualifies, it will only help expand the visibility of the Buffs' program.
“Having a top-ranked player like Esther come to Colorado instead of a typical decision to attend a California, Arizona or Florida school certainly helps open up the eyes of younger golfers as to what Colorado has to offer,” Kelly said. “I believe if you want you be the best you have to play with the best. Esther is helping her teammates to see what a top player plays like.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
