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LPGA Tour rookies chart their own courses, including at Williamsburg’s Pure Silk Championship

Posted at 9:32 AM, May 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-22 09:32:12-04

ELIZABETH SZOKOL, LPGA Kingsmill

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Golf, an individual sport, is is perhaps at its most-isolated state for LPGA Tour rookies.

Of the 144 players competing in this week's LPGA Tour Pure Silk Championship in Williamsburg, 24 are rookies. Among that group are Kristen Gillman, the two-time U.S. Women's Amateur Champion, and Elizabeth Szokol, a former UVA standout. Neither golfer has played the Kingsmill Resort River Course before, let alone taken part in this tournament.

ELIZABETH SZOKOL, LPGA Kingsmill

There are no teammates in golf, thus no veterans to guide the rookies. And with a $1.3 million purse on the line, it's not the seasoned golfers are going out of their way to give the first-timers an advantage.

"I think the biggest thing as a rookie is seeing the courses for the first time," Szokol told News 3. "We have to manage how much playing we do and how much resting we do - and figure all that out."

KRISTEN GILLMAN, LPGA Kingsmill

"If you have any questions, you can go to them for help," Gillman explained. "But you have to reach out yourself," she said smiling. "It's a competition, so everyone isn't exactly trying to help each other out to begin with."

The 15th edition of the Pure Silk Championship presented by Visit Williamsburg begins Thursday. Tee times are available here.