Teaching Professional Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth (PGA/LPGA) did not make the cut on Friday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but it wasn’t for a lack of grit. Connelly-Eiswerth, who teaches at San Jose Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. (North Florida Section) was under the weather for two days at Baltusrol Golf Club, but was determined to get through 36 holes, and she did.
She shot 78 in the second round, missing the cut by four shots. Connelly-Eiswerth was playing in her fifth consecutive KPMG, and led the eight-player Corebridge Financial PGA Team of teaching and club professionals with her round of 73 on Thursday. She prepared as best she could and was ready to gut it out as she headed to the 10th tee shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday. It didn’t help that she tugged her approach shot left and made double bogey to start her round.
The @CorebridgeFin PGA Team members are making moves!
— PGA of America (@PGA) June 22, 2023
What an approach by Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth, PGA/LPGA, from the @NFloridaPGA 👏#KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/LBCEln58Bb
“I was playing well, yesterday especially, and wasn’t feeling very good today,” she said after the round. “I hung through for a lot of it, I hit a lot of great shots and had a great pairing (Azahara Munoz and Brittany Lincicome). I liked the golf course. It got a little nasty with some of the rain, but it was a good test. It was fair. It’s always good to have the experience.”
Connelly-Eiswerth, who also has spent time as a college coach, always brings something back from playing in a major that she can relay to her students. What will the lesson be from this one?
Join us in cheering on PGA Jr. League Coach Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth in the @KPMGWomensPGA! We know some players of hers who are doing the same 👀❤️ pic.twitter.com/upxW9vrXto
— PGA Jr. League (@PGAJrLeague) October 7, 2020
“Your body can do a lot more than you think it can. I’m happy to have finished,” said Connelly-Eiswerth, who had her own gallery that included her parents, in-laws, and aunts and uncles.
“From this week, I think I counted on my preparation and stuck with my plan, especially today,” she said. “I didn’t back off, didn’t let myself fall back into ‘I don’t feel good, I’m not going to make a good swing.’ I did a nice job of committing to my targets and playing golf."
Next up for her: The LPGA Professionals Championship at Kingsmill in Kingsmill, Virginia. If she plays well enough, Connelly-Eiswerth will earn her way into next year’s KMPG Women’s PGA, which heads to Sahalee, in Washington state.
She can’t wait.
