Ebster shares stories, thoughts on her sparkling play at U.S. Senior Women’s Open
Less than 24 hours after a startling 10th-place finish at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, Dana Ebster’s life was back to normal.
On Monday morning, following a late night flight from Connecticut, the 51-year-old from Modesto was heading to Turlock to watch a junior golf tournament, and had some golf lessons to give later in the day.
You wouldn’t know that for the past four days, and after a first-round 67 that put her in a first-place tie with Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, Ebster had become one of the biggest and best stories in golf outside of the Olympic Games.
“It was the greatest week ever,” she said. “In 2000, when I qualified for the U.S. Open, I wanted to go out and prove I belonged. This year, I wanted to go out there and have fun. I wanted to make sure that I look around, take in the scenery, enjoy the fast greens, the people being out there, partake in more things that were going on.
“I think I did. I had a blast.”
The head of the junior academy at Turlock Golf and Country Club and assistant women’s golf coach at Modesto Junior College, Ebster became the media’s feel-good story after her epic opening round and and equally memorable interview that followed at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut.
On Monday, she shared some of the highlights with The Bee.
- Where did the opening-round 67 come from? “I have been playing better as I’ve gotten older,” she said. As Ebster approached 50, she noticed that without the expectations heaped upon her after a successful junior career, she was able to simply enjoy the game. In addition, the USGA added the event to its collection of national championships in 2018. “All of a sudden, I was striking the ball better than when I was on the mini-tour.” She had plans of trying to qualify last year as a 50-year-old before COVID-19 led to the event’s cancellation. Despite a heavy work schedule, she committed to this year. Going that low? Well, she is a former pro after all, and did shoot 64 in a tournament last August in Turlock. She wasn’t too surprised.
How did she get in the tournament? She was a first alternate after finishing second in qualifying in Oregon on July 12. Five days later, she was informed that Golf Channel commentator Kay Cockerill had decided to opt out and head to the Olympics for Golf Channel duties. The two used to compete in Northern California junior golf tournaments. No worries about having to qualify for next year’s event at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio. Ebster’s Top-10 finish automatically qualifies her, and she’s looking forward to playing.
- On her arrival in Connecticut, Ebster said she left her phone on a shuttle, later left her purse behind at a check-in table and had to get a second yardage book after leaving the first behind. “I was just so excited about being there, I kept forgetting stuff.” She chipped, putted and hit balls on Monday, and had practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- She said Brooklawn Country Club reminded her a lot of Pasatiempo Golf Course, the venerable Alister MacKenzie course in Santa Cruz. She said it was hillier, and noticed a lot of players in the locker room getting foot treatment and massages.
- Ebster’s caddie was her son, Chris. According to one former pro looper, caddies can be paid 10% of the payout if their player wins, 7% for a Top-10 finish and 5% if they finish in the money. Ebster earned $20,173 for finishing 10th. Chris’s cut? Ebster, laughing, said, “Maybe a Coke.” She said Chris, a top-notch golfer himself, was key in keeping her focused after she admitted being flustered by the Golf Channel TV cameras and “furry microphones” that followed her as she walked the fairways. “One shot at a time,” he told her. “Fairways and greens.”
- Ebster mentioned in her popular interview on Thursday that she knew a lot of the players in the field from her earlier days in junior golf, at USC and on the mini-tour. She said initially, some weren’t aware it was her because they knew her only by her maiden name of Dana Arnold. Then, word started to spread. Ebster said Tonya Gill Danckaert, who played at the University of Kentucky and was playing at the Open, left a nice note in her locker wishing her luck. Ebster played her final round with Ellen Port, who won the Women’s Trans-National at Modesto’s Del Rio Country Club in 1994.
- On seeing the big scoreboard at 18 with her name next to Sorenstam’s: “I looked up and ... Oh my gosh, I only see this in my dreams. Now, it’s like reality. It’s really happening.” She said she had an inkling during the round she was near the top when her family and friends following her were taking pictures of the electronic scoreboards at a few places along the course. Ebster thought to herself: “I must have made the leader board.” She said Sorenstam and her caddy-husband Mike McGee were gracious. McGee asked if he could take a picture of her and Annika together, and commented what a great story Ebster had become.
- On where she could have improved: Ebster played the final 54 holes in 8-over par. She said over those final three rounds, “I actually played well.” One area both she and Chris felt there was room for improvement was her greenside sand play. She said she could only remember one time when she got up-and-down from the bunker. It was after her first greenside bunker shot landed in another. She got up and down from that trap.
In the end, Ebster said her play was aided by having her friends and family around the whole week. She was effusive in her praise of the financial support she received from members of the Turlock Golf and Country Club, allowing her to fly her family back.
There also was a certain comfort level competing against a lot of familiar faces from her younger days, along with the hospitality from the USGA and Brooklawn staff.
Maybe even more meaningful was the time spent with her family. On Monday morning after the family’s late night flight back home, Ebster said she woke up around 7 a.m. to start unpacking, and Chris and daughter Makena were uncharacteristically up at the early hour.
Recalling the events of the week, one chimed in: “Wow mom, that was awesome.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
