Kristi Albers prepares for inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Golf Championship
Kristi Albers looked like the 21-year LPGA veteran she is while practicing Thursday at El Paso Country Club.
Albers, a native El Pasoan, is one week away from making a return to high-level golf at the first-ever U.S. Women’s Senior Golf Championship at Chicago Golf Club.
Though she looked sharp Thursday at practice, she knows there’s still a long way to go before she can feel confident competing against other top golfers again.
“I absolutely have no idea,” said Albers when asked about her expectations for the upcoming tournament. “I haven’t played in a tournament of this magnitude in ten years.”
Albers, who retired from the LPGA Tour in 2007, did not have to play to qualify for the inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Golf Championship. Because she is one of the top 150 players on the career money list, she was granted an exemption.
While winning would certainly be fun, Albers says she’s not necessarily approaching this tournament with a do-or-die attitude.
“Yeah, I mean it’s not going to define my career or anything. You know, I definitely have a different mentality entering this week,” she said.
While Albers has a chance to make history, the event itself is already historic in its own right. Though the men’s version of the tournament has existed since 1980, it took until 2018 for women to get their own event.
“I think it’s because we don’t have a real senior women’s tour,” said Albers. “I think we have the Legends Tour, and I’m not sure how many tournaments they have, but they don’t have a whole lot of tournaments. And it’s not televised. You never hear about it. That’s probably one big reason.”
The tournament runs from July 12-15. Rounds three and four will be televised at 2 p.m. MT on July 14 and 15 on FS1.
Albers is hoping to at least make the cut. But no matter what, at least she’s back in the game.
“It’ll be really good to see old friends. It’ll be good to play again,” she said. “And it’ll be fun to play a really, really good golf course.”
