by Craig Morgan, theSunDevils.com writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Olivia Mehaffey was immune to the pressure outsiders in the U.K. tried to create by advising her to turn pro last year. She wanted to attend college in America. This much she knew.
"Going pro when you're 18 is really young," the Sun Devils freshman said. "You've got the rest of your life ahead of you to play professional golf. I wanted to have the college experience and know what it was like."
Unfortunately for Mehaffey, when she arrived at Arizona State, she brought a different kind of pressure along for the ride: a No. 3 world ranking.
"It impacted her a lot," Sun Devils coach Missy Farr-Kaye said. "She was putting way too much pressure on herself to live up to that ranking. She's such an easygoing young woman to be around, always laughing and joking, but she was very tight on the golf course. She wasn't having any fun."
Mehaffey didn't need additional challenges. She was already adjusting to American culture, American food, American education and a campus and city that dwarfed the small village she grew up in near Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was also adjusting to a different type of golf course than the links style course she calls home: Royal County Down.
"I had a lot of expectations and other people's expectations built up," she said. "A lot of people expected me to come straight in and win right away. I was kind of hard on myself. It didn't really impact certain areas of my game. I just didn't feel free out go out and play."
So Farr-Kaye delivered the more eloquent version of a simple message: chill.
"I just told her it takes time," Farr-Kaye said. "You have a huge adjustment. [Swedish sophomore] Linnea Strom went through the same thing to get acclimated. You don't have anybody to help you with the simplest things like doing laundry, feeding yourself, knowing where you're supposed to be.
"The beauty of Olivia Mehaffey is that she is so intrinsically motivated but with that comes expectations so we're teaching her how to back off herself and not feel that she's failing. I told her 'if I didn't think you were doing what you should be doing I'd call you out' but that's not the case. I'm thrilled with where she is."
Mehaffey, who has played in the No. 4 slot much of the season in ASU's star-studded lineup, recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Clover Cup (T-6th) and the Anuenue Spring Break Classic (5th) in Maui -- ASU's last two tournaments.
Farr-Kaye calls Mehaffey's putting a strength, adding then when she is striking the ball well, "she's almost unstoppable."
When Mehaffey first arrived, the newness of having a driving range (Royal County Down only has a net) led her to over-practice until Farr-Kaye stepped in and told her to play more and put herself in competition-like situations.
"I've got a really good relationship with Missy and with Michelle so we've tried to figure out different strategies with helping me cope," Mehaffey said. "My game is in a really good place now. I just had two good finishes the past two weeks so I feel more like myself and I'm pumped up to be out there. I don't feel flat or anything. I think maybe I just needed a wee bit of momentum and I've got that now."
Farr-Kaye has a point of emphasis for her team: don't focus on outcome goals. As she puts it, they know they're good enough to win tournaments, earn high rankings and win the NCAA title, but there is no sense in talking about it.
"The whole focus for us this spring has been to focus on the things we can control and let everything else go along with that," Farr-Kaye said.
That hasn't stopped Mehaffey from dreaming big dreams when she looks around and sees teammates Strom and Monica Vaughn also ranked in the world's top 20, and players like Sophia Zeeb, Madison Kerley and Roberta Liti pushing the group higher.
"I would never hesitate to say we can win a national championship," she said. "I don't think any other team has three players ranked in the top 20 in the world and we have that. We have the depth as well.
"This was such an individual sport for me before, but it's great having teammates. There are parts to that that are more difficult to adjust to, but if you're having a bad day out there, they lift you up. We've got a really good connection. I think makes us all better."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Olivia Mehaffey was immune to the pressure outsiders in the U.K. tried to create by advising her to turn pro last year. She wanted to attend college in America. This much she knew.
"Going pro when you're 18 is really young," the Sun Devils freshman said. "You've got the rest of your life ahead of you to play professional golf. I wanted to have the college experience and know what it was like."
Unfortunately for Mehaffey, when she arrived at Arizona State, she brought a different kind of pressure along for the ride: a No. 3 world ranking.
"It impacted her a lot," Sun Devils coach Missy Farr-Kaye said. "She was putting way too much pressure on herself to live up to that ranking. She's such an easygoing young woman to be around, always laughing and joking, but she was very tight on the golf course. She wasn't having any fun."
Mehaffey didn't need additional challenges. She was already adjusting to American culture, American food, American education and a campus and city that dwarfed the small village she grew up in near Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was also adjusting to a different type of golf course than the links style course she calls home: Royal County Down.
"I had a lot of expectations and other people's expectations built up," she said. "A lot of people expected me to come straight in and win right away. I was kind of hard on myself. It didn't really impact certain areas of my game. I just didn't feel free out go out and play."
So Farr-Kaye delivered the more eloquent version of a simple message: chill.
"I just told her it takes time," Farr-Kaye said. "You have a huge adjustment. [Swedish sophomore] Linnea Strom went through the same thing to get acclimated. You don't have anybody to help you with the simplest things like doing laundry, feeding yourself, knowing where you're supposed to be.
"The beauty of Olivia Mehaffey is that she is so intrinsically motivated but with that comes expectations so we're teaching her how to back off herself and not feel that she's failing. I told her 'if I didn't think you were doing what you should be doing I'd call you out' but that's not the case. I'm thrilled with where she is."
Mehaffey, who has played in the No. 4 slot much of the season in ASU's star-studded lineup, recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Clover Cup (T-6th) and the Anuenue Spring Break Classic (5th) in Maui -- ASU's last two tournaments.
Farr-Kaye calls Mehaffey's putting a strength, adding then when she is striking the ball well, "she's almost unstoppable."
When Mehaffey first arrived, the newness of having a driving range (Royal County Down only has a net) led her to over-practice until Farr-Kaye stepped in and told her to play more and put herself in competition-like situations.
"I've got a really good relationship with Missy and with Michelle so we've tried to figure out different strategies with helping me cope," Mehaffey said. "My game is in a really good place now. I just had two good finishes the past two weeks so I feel more like myself and I'm pumped up to be out there. I don't feel flat or anything. I think maybe I just needed a wee bit of momentum and I've got that now."
Farr-Kaye has a point of emphasis for her team: don't focus on outcome goals. As she puts it, they know they're good enough to win tournaments, earn high rankings and win the NCAA title, but there is no sense in talking about it.
"The whole focus for us this spring has been to focus on the things we can control and let everything else go along with that," Farr-Kaye said.
That hasn't stopped Mehaffey from dreaming big dreams when she looks around and sees teammates Strom and Monica Vaughn also ranked in the world's top 20, and players like Sophia Zeeb, Madison Kerley and Roberta Liti pushing the group higher.
"I would never hesitate to say we can win a national championship," she said. "I don't think any other team has three players ranked in the top 20 in the world and we have that. We have the depth as well.
"This was such an individual sport for me before, but it's great having teammates. There are parts to that that are more difficult to adjust to, but if you're having a bad day out there, they lift you up. We've got a really good connection. I think makes us all better."