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How a mental health break helped Annie Park rediscover her love of golf

(Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images)

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Annie Park crunched numbers ahead of the weekend at the JTBC Classic, the final tournament before the Chevron Championship, figuring out where she needed to finish to qualify for the first major of the year.

Park’s calculations proved to be perfect after she shot a final-round 68 on Sunday, her lowest total of the year. With that result, she ended up 80th on the CME list and became the last player to make it into the Chevron Championship field.

Sunday’s round was the first Park enjoyed since the 2019 Solheim Cup. The T23 finish was her best since she took a two-month mental health break in the middle of the 2021 season to address her anxieties and doubts about her future in golf.

“I was just at a point where I was so confused about everything and a lot of stuff where I had trouble breathing,” she said. “I felt like I had so much on my plate, I didn’t know how to empty it.”

During her fifth year on the LPGA Tour in 2021, Park felt her habits beginning to catch up to her. Her body started to cry out in response to the stress accumulated from suppressing her emotions. She took medication for three months during the year, treating ulcers and acid reflux in her stomach. Park found she would sob uncontrollably with seemingly no trigger, even when she was driving. Not knowing what was causing her pain only added to the anxiety of playing.

“I don’t want to be on the golf course and bawling my eyes out of nowhere,” Park said.

After the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in the middle of July, Park shut it down, passing on five tournaments and returning at the end of September with four events left on the LPGA calendar.

The first tournament she withdrew from was the Evian Championship, the fourth major of the season in France.

“Why should I travel across the world when I don’t want to be there and be miserable for a week? I don’t want to do that,” she said. “Give that spot to someone who actually really wants to be there and wants to have the experience of it.”

Major championships are worth more points in the CME standings, the currency the LPGA uses to determine a player’s tour status for the next season. With Park’s guaranteed status expiring at the end of the 2021 season, she had to play her way into the top 100 to maintain her card and avoid going to Q-Series, the LPGA’s qualifying school.

She planned to give it her best shot, but even if she missed the mark, Park was at peace with the outcome.

“My ranking does not justify Annie Park,” she explained, “because outside of the golf course, I’m a human being. I’m still a friend, still a daughter to someone.”

The time she spent away from the sport allowed her to explore other passions. Park worked on ceramics, discovered her love of dance, listened to music and enjoyed cycling and working out. Instead of reading up on flight deals for LPGA travel, Park dove into books and articles at her Dallas home. She read one about crying and how the release of serotonin can lead to positive health effects, which resonated with the 26-year-old after she felt she had bottled up her emotions for years.

“It’s OK to be introspective once in a while [and ask yourself], ‘What are you doing? What are you going through? Are you OK?’ That’s a question I never asked myself for the last couple of years,” she said.

When the tour returned to the United States, Park rejoined the competition at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship following the Cambia Portland Classic in late September. People asked her if she was recovering from an injury that led to the break.

“There’s a lot of eyes watching us, and sometimes people have high expectations of you, and if you don’t meet them, you get disappointed,” Park said. “I think that eventually creeps into you judging yourself, expecting too much of yourself, expecting that you need to do this, you have to succeed, you have to win this event, or if you don’t, the world is ending.”

The most important lesson she learned during the two months away was to trust her intuition rather than ignore it. With that guiding her thinking, the USC alum played just well enough in her final four events of 2021 to eke into 98th place on the CME list and maintain her tour card. She wasn’t, however, guaranteed a start at the Chevron Championship, with only the top 80 on the CME leaderboard in 2021 earning entry into this year’s first major tournament.

Park focused on improving her game through the first tournaments of the 2022 season. She worked through mechanical changes during her two LPGA starts in January and early February before taking an eight-week break ahead of the JTBC Classic last weekend. Park retooled her bag, adding a new Scotty Cameron putter. She even got a manicure with a smiley-faced design on her fingernail a couple of weeks before the JTBC Classic, symbolizing the joy she’s rediscovered in golf.

“I think I have that fire again, which I just kind of lost during COVID,” Park said. “I think that fire gives me that thrill of being out on the golf course again. I think that was huge last week, to feel that again.”

Now, ahead of her sixth career start at the Chevron Championship, she has the tools to balance her career and her personal life. And at last, she feels comfortable sharing her story.

“[I wanted to] let other people know they’re not alone,” Park said. “I think that’s the biggest thing that we always forget, is we always think we’re alone. There is a community that goes through it, goes through similar things.

“We’re here to support each other.”

Kent Paisley is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering golf and the LPGA. He also contributes to Golf Digest. Follow him on Twitter @KentPaisley.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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