Emily Tubert ends another busy summer in golf

Emily Tubert carries with her a memento, a reminder of where she came from.

Clipped onto the bill of her ball cap, the champion golfer always carries a special ball marker. On the marker is a cursive “B,” signifying her allegiance to her former high school — Burroughs High.

Whether it’s taking part in the 13th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship last week, or the 68th U.S. Women’s Open, or an LPGA event or the competing for the U.S. Curtis Cup team, Tubert takes her memento with her.

“Some people see the ‘B’ and ask if I’m an Atlanta Braves fan,” said Tubert, who graduated in 2010. “And I tell them, ‘No, it’s just from my high school.’

“It is something that I’ve just used since I graduated from Burroughs. I use them in all of my college tournaments. I think I was the one who told [former Burroughs golf coach Mike] Krose to get them for us back in the day. I have a couple of them and I really like them.”

Tubert, 21, has just wrapped up another successful summer that has kept her busy traveling and playing in high-profile tournaments and staying in shape in preparation for her senior season at the University of Arkansas.

After competing in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship this week in South Carolina in which she made it to the round of 32 after advanced to the second round of match play, Tubert is home for a little more than a week before heading to Fayetteville.

“Typical life of a golfer,” said Tubert about keeping busy during the summer. “I still can’t believe I will be heading off for my senior year in college. It just seems like yesterday that I was still at little [John] Burroughs competing.”

Tubert wrapped up play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship on Thursday. In match play, Tubert led for 14 holes, but counted a five on the 19th hole of the round to fall to Cammie Gray of Northport, Ala., in 19 holes. Back-to-back bogeys on the 18th and the 19th holes allowed the match to slip away.

In the first two days of the tournament Monday and Tuesday, Tubert played well in stroke play and entered match play Wednesday as the sixth seed overall. She faced Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, Ga., in a back-and-forth battle that went down to the wire before Tubert emerged with a 2-up victory on the 17th hole.

“The conditions were tough on the first day of the tournament, it was windy and I had some problems and I only hit nine greens” Tubert said. “But things were better on the second day and I played a lot better. My ball-striking off the tee wasn’t great, but I just tried to stay patient, tried to play smart ball and tried to stay in the middle of the green.”

At the U.S. Women’s Open at the Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., in June, Tubert recorded a two-day total of 152 after shooting a 74 on her first day and a 78 on the second day. Unfortunately, Tubert didn’t make the cut for the weekend portion of the tournament.

Although she has taken part in her share of high-profile tournaments, Tubert said she isn’t rattled being on a grand stage.

“I don’t get too nervous,” she said. “I feel like I have a lot of experience and I’ve played a lot of golf. At the U.S. Open I wasn’t nervous at all. I think that’s because I had already played in the LPGA event the last two years in Arkansas and being around the best in the world and then playing in the Curtis Cup in Scotland in front of 4,000 people.

“And I know so many girls out there and that really makes me feel comfortable.”

Last season at Arkansas, Tubert earned National Golf Coaches Assn. All-American honors. It was her third All-American honor. She was also a Rolex All-American at Burroughs.

“I just look forward to my senior season,” she said. “Though I still can’t believe it’s almost here.”