NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland – Jacksonville University women's golfer
Hannah Berman, fresh off of a runner-up finish at the Women's Southern Amateur in North Carolina last week, has taken her game internationally to compete in the British Womens Amateur at Royal County Down Course starting June 11.
Berman is blogging about her journey and opportunity to compete against some of the best amateur golfers in the world and her travels through Europe.
June 14 & 15
And so concludes my time in Ireland! I am writing this from the plane from Dublin to Boston (my second home). After sprinting (literally) through the airport, I have time to reflect on our hectic 48 hours in Dublin. On Friday, we really just walked around Dublin to get our bearings. We explored Trinity College, which was stunning, and did a brief walk through in the Book of Kells exhibit. Dublin is full of different architecture, from medieval times to large glass modern buildings, which all seem to mesh beautifully in the city. The streets were always busy and the people were very friendly, although the accents were tough to follow at times.
On Saturday we started our morning at The Little Museum of Dublin with a tour that was only 35 minutes in an old "tenement" house (it really was little). It gave a brief history of Dublin from the early 1900's to present day. After, we did some shopping and sightseeing through the famous Grafton Street and the side streets that always led to new places to explore. To really close out our grand tour of Ireland, we went to the Guinness Storehouse. It was five floors of how Guinness is made and the exact process the barley goes through to get that undeniable taste. The tour concluded with a free pint on the fifth floor Gravity Bar with 360° views all across Ireland.
This trip has truly been a wonderful experience that I would do all over again. I'm so thankful for this experience and opportunity. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has followed along! This was my first go at a blog so I appreciate you sticking it out with me. I can't wait to get back home and back to reality, summer is still in full swing and golf and more travel aren't over yet!
June 13
So in my second day off of golf out of our 13 days on the road (I think? I've lost count), we went to the most northern point of Northern Ireland to the Giants Causeway. It's a beautiful natural landscape with steep, lush cliffs and rocks made of molten lava from thousands of years ago. It was SO cold and windy but the natural beauty of it was unbelievable. The deep blue water crashing onto the rocks and cliffs truly looked like something out of a movie. After the Giants Causeway, we headed a bit west to Portrush, an adorable seaside town where the British Open is being played this year. The Main Street of the town has colored buildings, lots of shops and cafes, and is really just a quaint British town. Portrush has been my favorite town thus far. After Portrush, we went south to Belfast. We traveled down the coastal highway, which definitely adds a good bit of time to all of our drives but it is stunning. By the time we got to Belfast it was about 8:30 p.m., so we (mostly I), were exhausted and we had dinner in a pub in the center of the city and headed back to Newcastle. One of the hardest, yet nicest parts of the U.K. is how late the sun stays up. The sun doesn't properly set until about 11:15 p.m. and comes back up around 4 a.m. It makes staying out easier, but you almost feel bad for being so tired when it's still broad daylight at 9:30 p.m.
Today we are headed into The Republic of Ireland to spend our last 2 days in Dublin. We are definitely looking forward to the Guinness Distillery and some live music!
June 12
So I've done some minor calculations (math is not my strong suit). I've been on the road for 13 days now and of those days I have been on a golf course for 12. Yes, I am more physically and mentally exhausted than I think I've ever been. Last week, I made it to the final match of the Women's Southern Amateur (a total of about 190 holes) went home for 12 hours, re-packed, and took a seven hour flight to a new country.
In Northern Ireland I have played 54 holes of spectacular golf and I truly left everything I had out on Royal County Down. I know how the scores look, but there are no pictures on scorecards. I fought for every shot and never once thought my round was over. I truly have never played better golf. A lot of it was due to my wonderful caddy, Matt, who is a caddy for the course. Without his navigation of this course I would've been lost. The largely European field had a strong advantage over me: they are used to playing these style courses and grass with these kinds of weather conditions (rainy, cold, hot, windy, all changing every 15 minutes). Absolutely nothing in the States can compare to the course I played this week. It was a beautiful challenge and I'd do it all (mostly) the same over again. I might be exhausted and I might've missed the cut, but let me tell you guys, I have never been more proud of myself. My game is as good as its ever been and I am more excited than ever to continue to follow my dream of playing professionally. This week I proved to myself that I can do it, and I think that confidence going into my final two seasons of college golf and then on to whatever comes next is key.
I would also like to thank all of my family and friends for their endless support, I could never do what I do without all of your love and encouragement!
One last thing: The United Kingdom is beautiful and the bright side to missing the cut is that I get to explore this country further! Today, we are taking a trip up to Giants Causeway and heading into Belfast tonight.
June 12
Day two play update: Berman finished her second round at the British Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday shooting a 78, sinking four birdies and improving her overall standing by 11 places.
She missed the cut with a two round total of 159 at Royal County Down Course, and finished seventh among the 14 American golfers in the event.
Berman once again started the day hot, making birdie on two of her first four holes of the day. She finished with red numbers on holes two, four, 11 and 13 and wrapped the week with six birdies and 18 pars, shooting field average on Par-3s and Par-4s, with the long course and perpetually changing weather conditions impacting her ability to go low on Par-5s.
June 11
Day one play update: Berman opened up the British Womens Amateur Championship with an 8-over 81, sinking two birdies and nine pars along the way. She started the day with a red number on hole one, and had a 30-foot putt for eagle on the third hole, which she ended up parring. She kept aggressively seeking pins throughout the round, nearly chipping-in for eagle on 16 as well.
She tees off at 9:30 a.m. eastern, 2:30 p.m. local time and will attempt to make the cut with a strong round tomorrow.
June 10
After a good 12 hours of sleep, I headed to the golf course to get some practice in before my practice round at 12:00 p.m. The weather was exceptionally beautiful, it was about 60 degrees with slight winds and a few clouds; "one of the nicest days we'll have all year" the locals said. The course is stunning with 360-degree views that are always amazing. I think the make-it-or-break-it shots are definitely going to be off the tee, but overall a very playable golf course. After the practice round was a BBQ for the players and their families. The Royal County Down club house provided the food and drinks outside with the breathtaking view of the mountains. After the BBQ we walked around the cute town of Newcastle and headed back to our home-base of the week to rest up before the first round begins tomorrow with a 9:37 a.m. (4:37 a.m. Jacksonville time) tee-time!
June 9
So, the getting to Ireland part of playing in Ireland has been quite the adventure. After our 10 changed flights (and no I'm not exaggerating) we finally made it! We landed in Dublin around 11:45 a.m. Ireland time (6:45 a.m. Jacksonville time) and drove straight to Newcastle, which was about an hour and a half north of Dublin. We checked into our Airbnb which is this adorable three-bedroom cottage about five minutes from the town center. Around 4:30 p.m. my dad and I went to the golf course (also about a five-minute drive) to practice and walked 18 holes to see the course. After we finished walking, my mom picked us up and we went to this little pub to have dinner around 8:15 p.m. with jet lag slowly setting in.
Founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union, the Womens Amateur was first played at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire. Before the rise of the women's professional game, the Womens Amateur was one of the most important golf events for female competitors. Today, along with the US Women's Amateur Golf Championship, it is considered the highest honor in women's amateur golf.
The 116th Womens Amateur Championship is taking place at Royal County Down Golf Club, which is located on the east coast of Northern Ireland in the town of Newcastle. The Royal County Down Golf Club was founded in 1889 and the course has witnessed many prestigious championships. From 1893, when the second Irish Open Amateur Championship was held, until the present time, Royal County Down has been synonymous with the best in amateur golf.
The champion also receives full exemptions to the AIG Women's British Open, US Women's Open, The Evian Championship and Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship in the current year provided she is still an amateur at the time of the championship.
