
In another addition to her career highlights, senior women’s golfer Kay Hoey qualified for the 107th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Carmel, Ind., shooting a 71. Qualifying for this major event completed a transition for the reigning Big West Golfer of the Year, as she plans to redshirt next season to pursue a professional career.
Kay Hoey has gone from taxing times on the boys’ golf team at Rancho Cucamonga High School in Rancho Cucamonga to a decorated collegiate career, which includes two All-American second team selections. She stands at every tee with a feeling of completeness with her game and her goals.
“I feel really good about my game right now,” Hoey said. “During prior seasons, I felt like there was something missing.”
What Hoey felt she lacked was a unification of her physical and mental prowess on the green.
“There were times wherein I was hitting the ball really well but couldn’t concentrate the way I wanted to,” Hoey said. “And other days I felt I was focusing really well, but couldn’t hit the shots I wanted to. So after this past season, I felt I was able to combine the two and play the way I wanted to.”
She certainly did play the way she wanted last season, winning three individual titles while averaging a career-best 72 in 11 competitions. Hoey has drastically improved every season at Long Beach State, going from good to great.
She was the Big West Golfer of the Year as a freshman, as she tallied nine top-10 finishes and became the first female golfer in LBSU history to qualify for the NCAA championships, where she finished tied for 27th.
Hoey was a first-team All-Big West selection in her sophomore campaign and continued to lower her season scoring averages, going from a 76 to a 74.
Hoey’s junior season established her as a force not only in the Big West Conference, but also nationally. Hoey qualified for the NCAA championships again and finished tied for 46th. She also set a school record at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, where she finished at 209 overall, beating the previous mark by seven shots. Along with her recent triumph, Hoey found herself more poised than ever, and said an improved mental game was most important in her self-development.
“Before, I would start feeling the pressure when I wasn’t playing as well as I would have liked,” Hoey said. “But now, I feel more relaxed and motivated to play better.”
This certainly was not a similar feeling in high school, where Hoey had to hit harder and farther in order to keep pace with the boys’ squad.
“Playing on the boys’ team was probably the hardest task for me at the time,” Hoey said. “I never really thought I was a short hitter until I played with them.”
Hoey said she had to play from the back tees, despite being used to playing from the middle tees. However, she enjoyed her experience there, saying it helped her to have patience and hit longer shots.
Hoey will return the following season in 2008 to play for LBSU, but she said leaving the team will be hard because she has grown attached to the other seniors on the team. Nonetheless, she remains optimistic about being a good example to the team’s incoming freshmen.
“Most of all, I want to be a good teammate to everyone there and still continue on being supportive toward my team’s goals of succeeding,” Hoey said.
Accomplishments have been numerous for Hoey, and she found women’s golf head coach Sue Ewart to be a great supporter during her career at LBSU.
“She has always believed in me and helped me strive for my dreams and aspirations,” Hoey said of the 12-year head coach. “Without a good support team, I don’t think I would have felt as motivated and would not have been guided into the direction that would help me accomplish my goals.”
When it comes to accomplishing more, Hoey said she hopes to do better or continue to be consistent. Either way, the accomplishments will continue for Kay Hoey.