Kenny Dobson came out of a work meeting on the morning of April 28 and pulled up live scoring for the
Before Missouri competed at Stanford at NCAA regionals last month, Addie had never stepped foot in California. After the program qualified for its second NCAA Championship appearance (and first since 2005), she made a second trip to the Golden State for the finals near San Diego.
As a freshman, Addie averaged 76.67 for the Tigers and played in three events. By the time the NCAA postseason rolled around senior year, she’d dropped four strokes off that average.
Turning professional was never even a thought until this year.
“You know, you have those moments where your life feels like it changes just a little bit,” said Addie of the days after her qualifying triumph, “and this is definitely one of those. I feel like people, they look at me just a little bit differently.”
Early in her high school career, Kenny took Addie for a lesson with Craig Onsrud, head women’s coach at Illinois Wesleyan University and the longtime pro at Ironwood Golf Course in Normal.
In April, Onsrud went to the Masters with U.S. Mid-Am champ Brandon Holtz. Now he has a student in the biggest championship in the women’s game.
Onsrud’s first impression of the athletic Addie all those years ago was that she had a natural swing and the potential to get good pretty fast. A long-ball hitter with effortless speed, Addie’s struggle in the past has been keeping the ball in the fairway.
Now, with improved accuracy and confidence, she has broken through to a new level.
Even so, when she reaches out to Onsrud about once a month with a swing video, he generally tells her the same thing, “Girl, you gotta keep them hips back.”
The beauty of starting late is that Addie still has a great deal of wonder in her voice. A natural-born leader who likes to be loud, she has thrived in a team environment and maintained a strong desire to get better.
Addie will have an “entourage” in Pacific Palisades this week, including a young junior player from Jacksonville. The Dobsons have rented a four-bedroom house for the occasion.
“There will be a lot of hillbillies at Riviera,” Kenny cracked.
It’s already bigger than anyone dared to dream.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Meet the amateur who took up golf at 15 and is in the U.S. Open
