It's a Great Day to be a Beaver!!

I must first apologize for the title. That is written for one person specifically...you know who you are!

Even though I'm a few days late...I wanted to let everyone know how El Paso turned out. Overall, I was very pleased with my tournament and excited to be back out playing, and play well!! I shot 71 (1 under) the first round and found myself in 9th place. That day was highlighted with an eagle on the 2nd hole (my 11th) from 138 yards. I went right at the pin with a 9 iron and it took one hop, hit the pin and dropped. Unfortunately, I didn't see it and couldn't tell it had fallen in. I thought it bounced over, but the cart caddy told me otherwise. There was a few laughs of unbelief and a little celebration. It has been a while since I've done this and it was fun....who can complain about a 0 putt! In the 2nd round I shot 72 and was thankful to finish with that score after a very eventful last hole. I won't give you the whole story, because I don't want to put the whole image in your heads...but let's just say I got a friendly skip from the pond, and a good bounce from the rock on the other edge of the water. :) Good times!! I was in 21st going into the last round and shot another 72 to finish in a tie for 20th. It was my best finish thus far on the Future's Tour. 54 hole event...5 bogeys, an eagle, 4 birdies, and 44 pars!!! SO BORING...haha. I actually wouldn't complain about those scores, just would much rather have had a few more birdie putts drop! It was a fun week seeing some of my friends from the tour and being able to have Jackie caddy. (She is my college golf coach for those who haven't met her.) We had a great time together...and obviously worked well on the golf course too!

I leave tomorrow to drive to Portland and fly out on Saturday morning to go to Phoenix. I am playing in a one-round qualifier for the US Women's Open. I am looking forward to getting to play again and have high expectations for the tournament!

Thanks for your emails...keep 'em coming!

~Kailin

What it's like to be a BEAVER!!

Well, I know it has been a while since I have posted a blog, but to say the least, this last month has been CRAZY and HECTIC, but very exciting and rewarding! I posted last to tell you about my job news and at the end of March I started with Oregon State. I'll kind of skim through the last month to tell you what I've been doing. The team had a tournament in Eugene (which was officially my first day of work) and I was temporarily living in Corvallis. A week later we traveled to Phoenix for a tournament and my mom flew down and met me, at which point we left to drive my car (which had been in Phoenix) to Albuquerque to pack and move my stuff up to Oregon. We made our drive north and I actually left my mom in Boise...I flew out to meet and surprise the team at the Stanford event (which was one of my favorite college courses). My mom finished the drive (what a trooper) and met me that weekend in Corvallis. I have moved into an apartment...or kind of moved in, I am still very much living out of boxes and until today haven't even had a bed!

I am loving my job, loving the team, loving the people I work with, and yes, I guess you could say I'm a little bit excited about all of it!!! I feel like it was a good decision and a good fit. It all feels very natural and meant to be! I am surrounded by black and orange on a daily basis (which I'm getting used to) but I've had no problem defending the Beavers to my Dad (who is a huge Duck fan). I am anticipating late this fall when he comes crying for tickets to the Civil War football game (which is in Corvallis this year)!!! :)

I am in the airport, trying to finish this very quickly, leaving for El Paso, TX for a Futures Tour event. I am very excited to be getting out to play again and obviously will love the change in weather. The tournament is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and they will have the live scoring available at www.duramedfuturestour.com

I promise to give more updates...more often. Thank you all for your emails, they've been very fun!

Birdies, birdies, and more birdies...and GO BEAVERS!!!
~Kailin

BIG NEWS!!!

I will start off with the most recent news first...I won my first professional event yesterday in Phoenix on the Cactus Tour. We were playing at Las Colinas, which is a golf course I knew I liked, I guess I just didn't know exactly how much I liked it. I shot 68 the first day and was in 2nd by 2. The 2nd round, I had 9 birdies and 9 pars to shoot a 62 (par 71) and broke the course record. I then had an 11 stroke lead going into the last round. I shot 69 yesterday to win the event by 9. I had 4 bogeys for the entire round...kinda fun!!!! I should say it was a good way to finish (temporarily).

Now, the other news...I have taken a job as the assistant women's golf coach at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. About a month ago I was informed of an opening and it caught my curiosity. I gave myself a few days to think it over and decided to go ahead and apply to see what happened, if nothing else, it was good experience to go through the process. About a week later I got a phone call saying that I had made it to the final 5 and would be doing a phone interview. After going through that process, the next week I got another phone call saying that they had decided to bring in some other people for on campus interviews and I wasn't one of those people at that time, but that didn't mean I wouldn't hear back from them if they didn't hire any of those people. It had been about 2 weeks and I was pretty sure that it wasn't meant to be and that they had hired someone. Then, on Monday of last week, I got a phone call saying that they wanted to bring me up for an interview. I finished my Cactus Tour event last week (tied for 4th) and flew up to Portland early Thursday morning. After a long day of interviews (very intense) and walking around in shoes that should be against the law....because they hurt your feet so badly!!!, I retired to my hotel room feeling pretty good about the whole day, but not entirely sure. By 8:00 Friday morning before I had left town, the head coach, Rise Lakowske, had called me and offered me the job!!! I took a day to figure things out and make sure that I wanted to do this, and Saturday night I accepted the job.

I am very excited to be closer to home (2 - 2 1/2 hours) and to be back in the college golf atmosphere again. My golf this week after this decision only confirms to myself that I made a good decision and I am very, very happy and excited about it. I am in the airport right now getting ready to fly into Redmond (home) for a couple of days and then I will drive to Corvallis on Saturday morning to start my job! We have the University of Oregon tournament this Monday and Tuesday...I'll be sure and bring my rain gear! I will be at work for about a week and a half and then we travel down to Phoenix for the Arizona State tournament. At that point, my Mom is going to fly in and drive with me to Albuquerque (my car is still in Phoenix) and I will move all of my stuff up to Oregon.

I still have plans to play in some tournaments. I will be playing in the Futures Tour tournament in El Paso in early May, US Women's Open qualifying in May, and the Washington State Open in early June. Other than that, the schedule has not been determined. Again, I can't express how excited I am about this!!! I will still posts blogs periodically, I guess they will just be a bit different!

www.thecactustour.com (click on updates, results, and pictures)
www.osubeavers.com

GO BEAVERS!! ~Kailin

Another lesson learned...

I will get to the lesson I learned in a minute. First, an update on my last couple of Cactus Tour events. February 20-22 we played at Las Colinas and I shot 75-65-73 to finish tied for 5th. That tied my low career round (the 65 that is) although this course was a par 71 rather than a par 72. Still, 65's are fun any day anywhere!!!

February 25-27 I played at Trilogy at Vistancia. I was staying with a friend of mine, who plays for the LPGA, AJ Eathorne, and another player Annie Young stayed with us as well. After the first round, we had plans to shoot 63 (AJ), 65 (me), and a 68 (for Annie) so that we could all be paired together the last round. Well, we didn't shoot those scores, instead 73, 73, 75 respectively, and still ended up being paired together. We had a good laugh about it and knew we would enjoy the round regardless. It was kind of fun because my college coach, Jackie, flew in Tuesday night before the last round to caddy for me on Wednesday and accompany me on the drive back to Albuquerque. AJ Eathorne was her player at New Mexico State a while back, so she enjoyed being able to caddy for me and watch AJ all at the same time. Like I said, the company was great, we had a great time, we just wished the golf had been better that day. I shot 75-73-78 to miss a check by 2 strokes. GRRRR!!!

Ok, so for the lesson I learned. After seeing that I was quite a ways back on the alternate list for the first two Futures Tour events in Florida, I changed my plans around and withdrew my name from the list, so that I could cancel my plane tickets and make plans to play elsewhere. Well, seeing where everything is right now, about a week before the first Futures Tour tournament in Lakeland, it looks as though I would have either gotten in or been one of the first 2 on the alternate list. I say lesson learned because obviously I won't be making those decisions so quickly next time, however, in my defense, I didn't forsee myself getting in and wanted to make sure to have plans to play somewhere else. It looks as though I will get in to the McAllen event, and maybe even the week before in Lafayette. I'm pretty hopeful for the El Paso event too, but will have to wait longer to find out on that one.

I have plans to go home for a couple of weeks for Easter and stuff...so I'm excited for that. It's always fun to go home and see the fam!!! (just for a little while though!)

As always...birdies, birdies, birdies!!
~Kailin

Cactus Tour

A little update on what I've been doing. We had a great time in Mexico in January. I flew home to Bend with my family and headed out of town a few days later to start the season. After about a week in New Mexico practicing, I drove to Phoenix and have since played in 2 Cactus Tour events. The first, February 4-6 and the second last week, February 11-13. The first week we were wearing multiple layers and had hand-warmers in our pockets...I couldn't believe I was in Phoenix. The following week was perfect weather and much more like it. I was still chipping the rust off the first week and didn't play great. Last week was great and I ended up finishing in a tie for 2nd after a well needed 30-foot putt on the last hole for birdie.

Week 1: 77-79-72
Week 2: 71-73-69

The website for information and results is www.thecactustour.com

As far as the Futures Tour is concerned...unfortunately I am much further down the alternate list than I would like. I am 22nd for both of the first two tournaments, and that means that chances are not at all good that I will get in. So, as of right now, my plans are to play in more Cactus tour events until I get into any Futures Tour tournaments.

No exciting or entertaining stories to be told from my road trips yet, but maybe some to come.
I will be adding blogs more regularly now that I'm playing pretty much every week, so be sure and stay tuned to hear the latest.

Birdies, birdies, birdies!!!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year...I'm very behind!!!

Does it seem to the rest of you that Thanksgiving and Christmas and the infamous "New Year's Eve" come faster and faster each year? (I say "New Year's Eve" like that because I dislike the evening very much as it is always such a build up and a huge let down!!!) Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite time of year is I always answer without hesitation...summer!!! If I were to really put some thought into it though, it would have to be winter. I love being home with my family. I love all of our traditions (even though some are done with much less enthusiasm than others...hunting with Dad, no offense Dad!!). Most of all, as much as I complain about the cold weather, I love waking up Christmas morning to a cold, snow and frost covered yard!!! I don't think Christmas would be Christmas for us without the wintry weather to go along with it. I don't think it matters so much what you do for your Christmas traditions, but rather that you have them and that you are around friends and family. It is definitely my favorite time of the year!

So, as you can see, I have had a great time at home the last couple of weeks. I came home the week before Christmas and am waiting anxiously for our annual trip to Mazatlan, Mexico as we leave in about a week, on the 13th. We are all very ready for some warm weather, and knowing how gorgeous and relaxing it is there, it can't come fast enough!!!

My year is not quite as planned out like it was last year. I have limited status, due to my struggle at the qualifying school in November. I have some status based on my finish on last year's money list. Based off of the last few year's information, I should be able to get into most events. And the even better news is, I can improve my status as the year goes on, if I am getting into events and playing well. So...there's the plan!! Right now, I am planning to head back south at the end of the month and spend a chunk of time in Phoenix, preparing for the season and playing in a couple of Cactus Tour events. Our schedule for the Futures Tour is kind of funky this year as we have one event in early March and then a large break until the second nearly a month later. So, as of right now, my plan is to be in that kickoff event and then come back to spend some more time in Phoenix. As I said, it's difficult to plan the year in much detail, not knowing how many events I will get into...but hey, who says a little adventure isn't good for you?!

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season with your families and that 2008 treats everyone very well. I plan to see lots of you this year...if my schedule allows it! So, keep checking your emails because you never know when I could be pulling through your area!

Happy New Year...and we're off to a great 2008!!

The End of a Season

Ok, so if you read probably the last 5 or 6 blogs, they all start with me saying that I have taken too long to post a new blog. Again, I know that I have waited and put this off way too long. I have been done with my official Futures Tour season for over a month now....I know, I know, way too long to not have posted a blog. I guess I will say that in doing this now I have that much more to tell you about!!! (Sounds good anyway, right?!!)

I played my last event in Albany, NY and finished the season much like the rest of the tournaments...less than stellar, and definitely below my standard of where I want to be. It was very weird to drive away knowing that our season wouldn't start again until March. It was also weird to say goodbye to my friends out there. It's weird because we get into such a groove and get so used to seeing each other out there, it's hard to believe that we all have lives outside of that "life."

I had the pleasure of having a guest companion for my long and tedious drive back to Albuquerque from New York. My college golf coach, Jackie, whom many of you have been fortunate enough to meet, came up and made the nearly 2500 mile trip with me. We, as usual, had a great time and made quite the experience out of it. We planned a couple of stops for her to be able to see a couple of Aunts of hers, one of which is 101 years old. I won't go into details, but you can use your imagination, and it was quite comical watching her and her 98 year old sister communicate with each other and still act like sisters do!! I don't know Kristin, I just don't see us doing that. They would probably kick us out of the nursing home for arguing too much!! I also planned a stop in Nashville, Tennessee to see the very first host family that I stayed with about 10 years ago ( we figured out). Joy was pregnant when I stayed with them that summer and we were pleasantly surprised when we received the birth announcement later that year with the name Kailin Bailey on it. Gary and Joy also have a son named Ryan, so it was so fun to get to meet the kids finally and see Gary and Joy after all this time. We also stopped back through McKinney, Texas where I was early in the season to see and stay with my hosts from that week, the Crawfords. Just like before, we had a great time, and quite a few laughs to go along with it!! Probably due to the fact that I waited so long to write this, I really can't think of any super comical or embarrassing stories from our drive, which is very hard to believe. We did have quite a few choice words for my GPS unit, which I have named La Kisha...or something like that. I really don't know how you would spell that name. Anyway, she is very picky and sometimes we didn't want to do what she told us...so we yelled at her!!!

I have been home in Bend the last few weeks and leave next week for warmer temperatures!! It has been much, much, much colder than I ever remember it being this time of year. My mom tells me it's because I'm a wussy after being gone for so long. I am convinced that the weather this time of the year has just changed!!! I am also convinced that we need a warmer house!!! (Kristin will back me up on this!) I have a Cactus tour event in Phoenix followed by Futures Tour Qualifying School again in Florida and another Cactus tour event back in Phoenix...then home for Thanksgiving!! I can't believe it's already nearing the end of October...it feels like 2007 has just flown by. Although I have to remind myself that I spent nearly half of it out driving around and playing golf.

I will probably post another blog after Qualifying sometime. I again want to thank all of you for your continued support and encouragement as I travel down this chosen road of mine. I so enjoy all of your comments on here and your emails from time to time. I had a great time this season and am looking forward to another great year next year...but even greater when I play some better golf...the way that I know how!!!

Happy Holidays coming up to all of you and please be in touch!!

~Kailin~