Tubert moving forward following professional debut
It has been a whirlwind last three weeks for women’s golfer Emily Tubert.
The 2010 Burroughs High graduate spent two weeks filming the upcoming season of the Golf Channel’s “Big Break Myrtle Beach,” which wrapped up production Wednesday. “Big Break” is the Golf Channel’s reality golf competition series.
Then she whisked her way from South Carolina to Arkansas and arrived on Thursday for her appearance in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G, where she received a sponsorship exemption into the event. It was her first LPGA tournament as a professional following four successful years competing on the collegiate level at the University of Arkansas.
Unfortunately for Tubert, she didn’t make the cut for the tournament’s final day after taking part in rounds on Friday and Saturday.
After filming the reality series and playing in the tournament, Tubert said she plans to take some time to decompress.
“I’m going to go home, meet with my agent and move on in my professional career,” said Tubert, who is represented by the Los Angeles-based Yee & Dubin Sports, LLC.
Tubert said her next substantial adventure will be taking part in the LPGA Tour Qualifying School, or Q-School, which will take place in August.
“It has been pretty crazy for me the last few weeks,” Tubert said. “With the ‘Big Break’ filming and the tournament, it is such an exciting time for me. I am just fortunate to have the opportunities that I have been able to experience. I just want to make the most of all the opportunities that I have.”
With the filming of the “Big Break Myrtle Beach,” Tubert didn’t have much time to practice for her professional debut.
In the first round Friday at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark., she played a steady round, finishing with a three-over-par 74 and in a 16-way tie for 108th place. On Saturday, she carded a seven-over-par 78 and was in a two-way tie for 137th when tournament play was suspended due to darkness.
The tournament was won by fellow Arkansas graduate Stacy Lewis, who fired a final-round 65 on Sunday to end with a 70-66-65 — 201. Lewis was tied for 34th after the first-round 70 on Friday.
“Stacy’s impact on the program is tremendous,” Tubert said. “And Stacy is so great. For my first three years in college, she would come out and watch one event every year. She’s our volunteer assistant coach. She would pop in every once in a while and we would practice with her out at the Blessings [Golf Club].When I qualified for the U.S. Open last summer, I played a practice round with her and she’s just been very gracious with her time and her knowledge and her experience, just so helpful.
“She’s been through it. She’s playing the highest level of professional golf and she loves the Razorbacks. … And so to have an event here, to have her playing in this event and to have her doing so much for the community and the university, it’s incredible. What a resource and how amazing that she does that for us.”
Tubert was a three-time All-American and a four-time All-Southeastern Conference first-team honoree for the Razorbacks.
This was Tubert’s third time receiving a sponsor’s invite into the tournament, with her best finish coming in 2011 when she finished in a tie for 48th after shooting 74-68-71 — 213.
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Follow Jeff Tully on Twitter: @jefftsports.</p