After being on the Duramed Futures Tour for five years, I finally got the win I always wanted at the El Paso Classic!  I have practiced hard and have waited a long time for this win and it feels great. It has been a long road with many ups and downs. It is amazing how the ups makes you keep on going, striving to reach your dream.

My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding coming up the 18th hole. After I hit my five iron a foot from the hole, I knew I was going to win.  It was so overwhelming, I did not know what to do.  After hitting my approach,  all the tension I had experienced throughout the week went away.  It was a very emotional moment.

I putted the ball in the hole to make birdie on the final hole and win by 3 shots at 11 under par.  I had several friends rush onto the green and pour water all over me.  While it was cold, it felt great.

My husband Paul picked me up from the airport the following day. He had arranged a surprise party for me at our local golf course.  It felt great to know how many people wanted to congratulate me.  I have received many phone calls and e-mails from friends and family and through my website.  I love the feeling of winning  and acomplishment but even more to share good results with my family and friends.  

Hi everybody!

Last week I played my first tournament of the year, the Duramed Futures tour in Lakeland, Florida and I am really excited about this upcoming season! Even though I failed to make it back to the LPGA tour by missing the conditional card by one shot at LPGA qualifying school, I am thrilled about the improvements I have made in my game. I started working with a new teacher, Alasdair Dyer, at Barefoot resort in Myrtle Beach last fall. I feel like my swing has improved and that I am starting to understand my swing better. Now it is just a matter of working on the mental aspect of the game .

I had a great off season. I spent a lot of time with my husband and family. I worked really hard on my game and did a lot of fitness training. I also changed clubs to Callaway and I love them! I feel like I am really prepared for this season.

I wanted to tell all of you about a very special trip I took this off season. I went to Tenerife, Spain to play a pro-am to raise money for the Maria Garcia-Estrada Foundation. Maria was my roomate in college for three years, a very close friend and played on the Duke University golf team. Five months after she came over to Sweden to be a bridesmaid in my wedding in 2004  she was diagnosed with cancer at age 23. About 6 months later she passed away after a hard struggle with a rare form of cancer - soft tissue sarcoma. The Maria Garcia-Estrada Foundation was born with the clear vocation of financing and creating research programmes to enhance the knowledge of this disease and develop information on its cure. http://www.mariagarciaestrada.com/

Three of my Duke teammates, Candy Hannerman, Virada Nirapathpongporn and Leigh Anne Creavy (former Hardin) also went to Tenerife. It was the most meaningful trip of my life. I got to see Maria’s family and friends but also I got to see Tenerife, a place Maria loved. She always talked about it and I know she really wanted me to see it. Many of her friends from junior golf were there to play in the pro-am including some big names such as Sergio Garica. The pro-am was top class and a great success in terms of raising money.  

The golf course we played, Abama, was great with spectacular inland as well as ocean views. The volcano Tiede towers above the small island, 12198 feet above sea level and the ocean meets the sky in the horizon. The day after we got there, we took a boat out on the ocean to Maria’s favorite place and spread roses where some of Maria’s ashes were spread 4 years earlier. It was an emotional moment. It was sad but at the same time joyful as we were celebrating Maria’a life.

I hope our trip put a smile on Maria’s face.

Here are some pictures from my trip. I also put them in my photo album in case you wanted to see them in a higher resolution.

pro-am dinner

   Boat ride

Golf course

Right now I am in Lafayette, Louisiana playing my fourth Duramed Futures tour tournament of the season. During last weeks tournament I found out I got into the LPGA tournament in Morelia, Mexico this upcoming week. It is not easy trying to combine conditional status on the LPGA tour with playing on the Duramed Futures tour. It makes it impossible to plan ahead. You have to wait buying plane tickets until the last minute as you do not know whether you are playing the Duramed Futures tour, the LPGA tour or the LPGA Monday qualifier that week. After withdrawing from the upcoming two Duramed Futures tour events, I was on the computer for 5 hours and finally found a flight with the right schedule and price heading to Mexico. I am really excited to play my first LPGA tournament of the year!

I was home in South Carolina a couple of weeks after my first two tournaments of the season. Although I had only been gone for a couple of weeks, it was really nice to see my husband again. I am always so excited to start up each season. However, it has proven to be very difficult for me as I get used to seeing my husband every day in the off season. All of a sudden we are gone from each other a month at the time. Pursuing a dream can both have its up and downs. I am lucky to have a supporting husband!

During my two weeks off I got my new website www.kristinatuckergolf.com up and running. It took a lot more work than I thought but it was worth it. It is really exciting to have my own website. Now my friends, private housing, Pro-Am partners and fans can follow me out on the tour. I have also learned that marketing myself is important on the search for sponsors and this is an avenue to make businesses aware of me.

I am continuing practicing hard and hopefully I will see results soon. I have learned that practicing hard does not always give instant results but it will in the near future. Hopefully it will give results in Mexico!

Until next time!

After three weeks being on the road I am finally home. I spent the last two weeks in Florida playing the first two Duramed Futures tour events of the season. After finishing my round Sunday, I got into my car and started heading back to South Carolina. Eight and a half hours later, my aching body crawled into my own bed. After being on the road the last four years, an eight and a half hour drive does not seem so long anymore. Your own bed sounds so much more appealing then having to make another pit stop at a hotel.

Before playing the first two Duramed Futures tour events, I attempted to qualify for MasterCard Classic in Mexico. Even though I did not make the Monday qualifier, shooting 74 instead of a needed 70, I had a great experience. Other than last years Women’s US Open and two tries at final stage of qualifying school, it was my first LPGA event experience.

I arrived in Mexico City Saturday night. After being greeted by a tournament transportation official, I got into the designated player van heading to the hotel. I saw two police motorcycles following our van and my first instinct was that they were going to pull us over because the driver had made an illegal turn. However, this was not the case. We were given a police escort to the hotel and did not have to stop the entire trip. I thoroughly enjoyed being treated like royalty.

The twenty-five minute drive to the golf course the next morning was an experience in itself as I was able to see Mexico City and its suburbs. Luxurious high rises were replaced by poor communities as we got further away from downtown. Even though I sometimes complain over being away from home so much, seeing the poverty in Mexico makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to pursue my dream and lead the life I do.

The golf course was in great shape and very challenging. It felt like I was hitting the ball a mile as it flew about a club and a half further than at home because we were 8,000 feet above sea level. I wish I could hit it that far all the time! Although I missed qualifying for the event, the experience makes me look forward to my first LPGA event of 2007 more than ever.

Hi everybody! As this is my first rookie blog I think it would be a good idea to introduce myself. I grew up in a golfing family in Stockholm, Sweden. When I was ten years old I was desperate to take up the game. My two older brothers had started playing golf, joining my parents passion for the game. I remember the precise day. My dad would not let me hit a golf ball before I could swing the club correctly. After about one hundred practice swings my dad finally put a ball in front of me. He told me that if I hit the ball further than 40 yards he would give me a dollar. I did it and I was hooked! As practice became a regular routine and scores got lower, I started dreaming about playing on the LPGA tour. I cannot tell you how many times I practiced putting and imagined I was playing in a major tournament. The dream I had 14 years ago has become a reality. I am excited to be a member of the LPGA tour!

Golf has given me the opportunity to travel all over Europe as a member of the Swedish National Team. It has also taken me throughout the United States as a member of the Duke University golf team and the Futures Tour. I received a great education at Duke (go Blue Devils!!!) along with four great years of college life. I met my husband at Duke! Being on the road as a professional for three years has taught me to interact with new people by staying in new private housing each week and playing pro-ams. I have also learned about different cultures through various international players. I could go on and on about what golf has given me but would like you to know that being a professional golfer is not only about golf. It is about the experiences around it. It’s an education in life. The lessons I have learned through golf have made me the person I am today. I look forward to continuing my education throughout my rookie season!