“Letting it Flow” Pays Off for McGill

Denver native posts her best finish on LPGA Tour in 3 years

By Gary Baines

Colorado Golf Journal, Thursday, March 20, 2008

       Jill McGill surpassed the $2 million mark in LPGA career earnings last weekend, which no doubt is of some interest to her accountant, but is of little to McGill herself.

      While McGill’s chosen profession of LPGA Tour player is all about numbers in one form or another — primarily how they add up on the scorecard — these days the Denver native has made a vow to “stay true to the process” rather than getting caught up in a stray shot here or a lip-out there.

    That mind-set is certainly a change for the Cherry Creek High School graduate, who too often in the past was quick to find fault with her game and gave herself too little credit. A fresh outlook going into last weekend’s MasterCard Classic in Mexico, however, seemed to work wonders.

    With husband Patrick Byerly caddying for her, McGill shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round to grab the lead and finished the tournament with a third-place showing, her best in an LPGA event since a runner-up performance in May 2005.

     “It definitely felt great to have a top-five finish; it’s been way too long,” McGill said in a phone interview this week. “It definitely gives me some momentum.”

      The finish did wonders in several respects for the 36-year-old, who now lives in San Diego. Among the most immediate benefits was guaranteeing McGill a spot in the first LPGA major of the year, next month’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, an event  McGill didn’t get into in 2007. And her $76,375 pay day in Mexico vaulted McGill to 12th on the 2008 money list, giving her a jump-start toward regaining her fully exempt status on Tour.

    McGill lost that status by barely finishing out of the top 90 on the 2007 money list; she was 94th. Now, ending the year in the top 30 — something she’s never done since joining the Tour in 1996 — is well within reach.

     Even though McGill isn’t fully exempt this year, based on what’s happened in the past she anticipates getting into every Tour she wants to enter in 2008.

     Although McGill has been in contention for titles on numerous occasions in her LPGA career, one thing that has eluded her is a victory. She’s finished second three times — including at the 1995 Women’s British Open — and third twice, but there have been no cherished “firsts.” McGill believes that has more to do with putting too much pressure on herself rather than too little.

    “I’m so burned out on the whole deal of having to win,” she said. “I’m trying to enjoy being on Tour and that I get to play golf for a living. Would I like to win? Sure. And you should go out with a goal of winning. But if all you think about is winning, you won’t win. I think if you can get out of your own way, though, you can make it happen.”

    While McGill has yet to notch a victory on the LPGA Tour, winning big-time tournaments is certainly not a foreign concept to her. Before turning pro in December 1994, she won two USGA titles, the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1994 U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship. And, on a much smaller scale, McGill also has the distinction of being the winner of the first sanctioned girls high school golf state championship in Colorado, in 1990.

     Fast forwarding back to last week, McGill went into the MasterCard Classic without much to show early in the LPGA season. She finished 42nd in one event and missed the cut in another. But she seemed to get things going in the right direction on Friday in Mexico when she told husband/caddie Patrick that “I’m tired of trying to be so perfect.

    “The goal is to be consistent instead of going through every single swing thought. I know I can play golf. Why do the things that smother it? Accept a round of golf for what it is. It’s so easy to get upset with yourself. Sometimes I don’t give myself enough credit.

Last week was the result of keeping the ball in play, avoiding the big number and not shooting myself in the foot. I wasn’t out there beating myself.”

      Based on early returns, McGill’s new mind-set is paying some dividends. With her 4-under-par total for last week, she finished two shots better than Lorena Ochoa, the No. 1 women’s player in the world.

     “I’m definitely taking the approach of letting it flow,” McGill said. “It’s the first time in a long time I’ve done that. I think it’s a pretty good approach. I get in trouble when I set expectations. I shoot 5 under and think I have to do it again the next day. When I shot 67, the difference between that and a 72 is that some putts went into the hole. The key is to stay true to the process. If (good results) happen, great. If not, it wasn’t meant to be. Some things you have no control over.”