“Usually”, Brigitte Thibault sets off for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. After participating in the first two tournaments, she watches this one on television from her college accommodation in Austin, Texas.
Twice is not a habit, we agree. But with her game and her success with the Fresno University Bulldogs, the Quebecer had managed to earn invitations to Augusta in 2019 and 2021, not forgetting the invitation for the 2020 competition.
In short, still an amateur, Thibault did not receive the privilege of being one of the few to participate in the first three presentations of the prestigious event which crowns its champion on the legendary Augusta National course. They are 10 to try again this week.
Not Bridget. Why ?
His results for six months have not been there. By deciding last summer to head to Texas to line up with the Longhorns, a machine for developing talent, she had uprooted herself from California where she had won and set program records. The Rosemère native also became the first Bulldogs to reach the NCAA National Championship.
She had been around the garden and wanted to experience a new adventure in her last year of college eligibility, she told us this fall. She said she was familiarizing herself with her new environment and taming her new life.
“Sometimes shocking”
A few months later, Thibault feels very well even if the results are long overdue. Since mid-July, it has only one top 30, but it participates in higher events, according to the records of the world ranking.
In his new universe, the 23-year-old athlete currently occupying the 225and world rank has come to terms with many new factors.
Nevertheless, she would like to show a better performance. But she advocates patience, psychological progression and growth.
“I’m not happy, that’s for sure. It is sometimes shocking. But I know that the work and the ethics are there. It’s only a matter of time, especially in golf, she pleaded in a telephone interview with The newspaper a few days before the important championship currently being played in Augusta.
“I’m disappointed not to be there,” she continued. I am realistic. I know my performances weren’t up to par and I didn’t expect to be invited. »
“I have to keep my head up and keep going, put my ego aside and go for my goals,” explained the one who encourages her Texas teammate Sara Kouskova.
Not afraid to put the cards on the table with her university and national coaches, she recently had another summit meeting in order to continue in the right direction.
“We have to be on the same page. The worst thing is to close down and lose the thread. I have all the necessary resources around me. We have to keep moving forward,” she explained.
Better performance
A meeting that paid off as she achieved her best performance with the Longhorns last weekend by finishing 33rd in the Liz Murphey Classic, on the course of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. She was also ahead of Quebecer Céleste Dao by three strokes.
Despite all the pitfalls, Thibault in no way regrets his choice to go into exile in Texas. The next few months could only prove him right to have looked to the future with openness.
His intention to progress to the pros this year is still very much alive.