May 28, 2025 • 37 mins
LPGA player Mariah Stackhouse joins Sarah ahead of this weekend’s U.S. Open to discuss growing up as a golf prodigy, the high cost of being on tour, the injury keeping her out of competition right now and her dream women’s sports collabs. Plus, the Minnesota dynasty has begun, Caitlin Clark is sidelined for the first time in a long time, and college lacrosse hands out a trophy in front of a record audience.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where Liz Sheppers
scored the ot winner to lead the Minnesota Frost to
a second straight walter Cup. We've asked the WNBA for comment,
and if you don't get that joke, honestly, good for
you out there. You're probably touching grass and feeling the
sun instead of living.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
On the internet like us.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It's Wednesday, May twenty eighth, and on today's show, we'll
be bringing you my conversation with pro golfer and LPGA
tour player Mariah Stackhouse ahead of this weekend's US Open.
We talk about growing up a prodigy, the cost of
life on tour, dealing with injuries, including the one keeping
her out of this weekend's tourney.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
And more.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Plus so many champions were crowned over the weekend, Caitlin
Clark is sidelined, and the NWSL's next expansion squad has
its head coach.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Here's what you need to know today. Let's start on
the ice with the PWHL. The Minnesota Frost completed their
title defense, securing a second straight walter Cup with their
win on Monday, Entering Game four on home ice, the
Frost r up two to one in the series and
with eleven twenty four fans cheering them on inside Excel
(01:17):
Energy Center, Minnesota found its first goal in the second
period thanks to friend of the Show Kelly Panic. Ottawa's
Teresa Venisheva answered in the third, setting up overtime for
the fourth time in four games in the series.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
In the n Frost.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Forward Liz Sheppers showed off her clutch gene once again,
scoring the championship winning goal for the second year in
a row. We also got a shout out front of
the Show Matti Rooney, who made thirty three saves for
Minnesota in the win. With the start and the win,
she earned her fifth straight postseason victory, tying the PWHL
record for most wins in a single postseason set by
(01:50):
Boston's Aaron Frankel last year. Two seasons, two titles for
the Frost, we got the beginnings of a little dynasty
cook in here, folks. Crossfield, North Carolina put the cherry
on top of its undefeated season on Sunday, beating Northwestern
twelve to eight to earn the programme's fourth women's lacrosse title.
A record fourteen thy four hundred and twenty three fans
(02:12):
attended the twenty twenty five national Final, obliterating the previous
record of eleven thousand and six sixty eight. The game
was a grind, with both teams notatching their lowest point
totals of the season. There were a couple of really
cool family connections in this one. UNC head coach Jenny
Levy and her daughter, freshman Kate Levy, became the first
mother daughter combo to win the championship, and Kate scored
(02:34):
UNC's second goal in the dub Grad student attacker Ashley
Humphrey hit ninety assists on the season in the title game,
breaking her own nc doublea single season assist record from
twenty twenty two, while her sister, freshman attacker Chloe Humphrey,
recorded her ninetieth goal of the season and NCUBA freshman record.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And there's more.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
The eldest sister of the three, Nicole, is also on
the UNC roster this season, but she didn't play the
championship game. You could say that lacrosse prowess runs in
the family. Two more quick shoutouts from the Lacrosse Weekend.
My friend Stu Gotts's daughter Rachel Wiener, whose Northwestern squad
came up just short of the title, and my Cornell
big Red who won the men's National championship, first title
(03:18):
in lacrosse for Cornell since nineteen seventy seven. And getting
to watch the game with my college friends on Monday
at my friend's lake house was the perfect way to
close out the perfect girls weekend. Some footy news congratulations
are in order for Gotham FC. The NWSL club won
the inaugural CONCACAFF W Champions Cup on Saturday, earning a
one nail dub over Liga MX club Tigris uanl Feminil.
(03:42):
No idea what the CONCACAFF W Champions Cup is. It's
a tournament that brings together the top women's soccer clubs
from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. And you
remember we told you it actually started last season. Okay,
back to the match. So after missing a penalty kick,
Aster Gonzales controlled the rebound and bare married the game
winning goal for Gotham in the eighty second minute. I mean,
(04:03):
who else would it be that lady is on a heater.
With the win, Gotham FC has secured a spot in
both the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup in twenty twenty six
and the inaugural FIFA Women's Club World Cup in twenty
twenty eight. Also got to give a tip of the
cap to the Portland Thorns, who defeated Club America three
nil to take third place in the tournament. More soccer news.
Boston Legacy FC has found its head woman per friend
(04:26):
at the Show Jeff Casouf at ESPN. The club has
agreed to terms with Felipa Pateau, who's been heading up
Portuguese club Benfica's senior team since twenty twenty. Pateau led
the squad to five consecutive league titles and helped Benfica
become the first Portuguese club to reach the UEFA Women's
Champions League quarterfinals in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four. Now,
the thirty six year old, who was nominated for the
(04:48):
Ballon d'Or for Coach of the Year last year, will
be under contract with Boston until twenty twenty seven and
lead the side in its first NWSL season next year.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
A little more NWSL news.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Huge kudos to Barbara Banda in the Orlando Pride three
to one win over the Utah Royals. On Friday, Banda
scored the fastest hat trick in NWSL history, completing it
in the first thirty eight minutes of the match. She
scored in the sixth thirty seventh, and thirty eighth minutes.
It was also the first hat trick in Pride history,
and per opt to Jack, Banda didn't just bury three,
(05:22):
she was on target for all six shots she attempted,
becoming the third player to attempt six or more shots
with one hundred percent accuracy in an NWSL match. To tennis,
many of the WTA's top players remained standing in the
French Open at stad Roland Garros, but a couple players
have seen their tournaments come to a close. World number
nine ranked player Emma Navarro got knocked out in straight
(05:43):
sets by Jessica buzis Manero in the first round, and
just a few weeks after picking up her first WTA
title since twenty twenty one, Naomi Osaka suffered her own
early defeat. She lost to world number ten Paula Bedosa
in the first round, and she had a pretty emotional
press conference after the match. A reporter Naomi how the
tough loss would make her stronger, and here's how she responded.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I hope you can tell me that I think. I'm
not sure. I feel like I learn little things from
each match. I think I lost a tiebreaker in Rome,
and I didn't lose the tiebreaker here, So I mean
I am conscious of things when I'm playing. So maybe
(06:27):
the next match I play, I'll learn little.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Things from today.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
And you know something, I really can appreciate when athletes
show us how much a loss hurts, because that way
we feel even more joy when we get to watch
them win. Naomi's been on this super public journey back
to full strength over the last few years, and it's
been a constant reminder watching her just how hard what
these players do is. So we're sending love your way, Naomi.
You're still a hell of a player and we're rooting
(06:53):
for you. Some WNBA news, second year sensation Caitlin Clark
will miss at least the next two weeks of Indiana
games with.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The left quad strain.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
The injury announcement came on Monday, and of course sent
some folks into a spiral. By all accounts, though the
move is more preventative than anything, as Clark had been
limited in the preseason with what she called tightness in
her left quad. The team didn't officially confirm whether the
two instances were related, but Clark said she had a
pain after their loss to the Liberty on Saturday, and
(07:23):
an MRI revealed the injury. Now this is uncharted territory
for Clark.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
She never missed a.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Game at Iowa nor in her WNBA career to this point.
The Athletic published some comments from Fever head coach Stephanie
White talking about the injury. She said, quote, there's so
many things when you think about Caitlin and her not
wanting to miss games. Obviously everyone wants to watch her play.
But for me, it's maintaining perspective. It's making sure that
we address this in a way that doesn't affect the
long term, that we take care of it, don't over push,
(07:50):
don't overexert, making sure that we take the long game
approach to this so we're not having lingering issues throughout
the course of the season.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Per ESPN's Candor, and the Fever phenom is set to
be reevaluated on June ninth. That's a bummer for me
and Chicago fans as She's said to miss the Fever
Sky game on June seventh that had been moved to
the United Center, and that's part of a real cool
doubleheader with the opening day of AUSL still gonna make
it happen, but we all want to see Caitlin in
that one to the Diamond.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
The D one College Softball Super Regionals are.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Over and eight teams advanced to the Women's College World Series.
The action gets started tomorrow at twelve pm Eastern with
number three Florida taken on number six Texas, followed by
number two Oklahoma versus number seven Tennessee at two thirty Eastern.
Both those games will be on ESPN Coverage moves over
to ESPN two at seven pm Eastern for number twelve
Texas Tech against unranked Ole Miss, and then number nine
(08:43):
UCLA at number sixteen Oregon round things out at nine
thirty pm Eastern. We'll link to the full interactive bracket
in our show notes. Also want to give a shout
out to Tennessee's CARLN. Pickens, who reset the record for
the fastest pitch in college softball history. Now you remember
we mentioned her back in March when she first broke
the record. With a seventy eight point two mile per
hour pitch against Arkansas. Well, Pickens out did herself on Saturday,
(09:08):
throwing a seventy eight point four mile per hour bullet
in the first inning of the Lady Bowls Super Regional
game against Nebraska. Starting to understand why Pickens has been
the SEC pitcher of the year the last two seasons.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
We got to take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
When we come back, I chop it up with most
acts back in a jiff. Joining us now, she's a
professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. A graduate of Stanford,
where she was a four year All American and a
twenty fifteen NCAA team title winner. In twenty eleven, at seventeen,
(09:46):
she was the youngest African American golfer to qualify for
US Women's Open, and was the only Black qualifier in
that tournament. She reached her highest ranking so far in
twenty eighteen, at one hundred and thirty seven in the world.
She's in her gen z era, but she's never given
up the peace sign. And it's Mariah Stackhouse. I'm Mariah.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Hey, Sarah, you do it.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I'm good. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Everyone just heard about your start as a golf phenom,
So I want to go all the way back.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
How'd you get into playing?
Speaker 4 (10:12):
My dad actually got me into playing golf when I
was younger. So I wanted to go wherever he went.
So he left the house, I wanted to go with him,
and so he would often go play golf after work
on the weekends. So he cut down some clubs for me.
Got me started when I was about two years old,
and the rest is kind of history. Started playing tournaments
at six and just kept it going.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
When you say cut down clubs, like what was he
using to break adult clubs into the size that you
could practice with?
Speaker 4 (10:39):
You know, I have no idea, But he was an
architect and he's had a construction company too, so he
had all the tools. So whatever he used, okay, chop
it down, I'm not sure, but he cut some real
clubs and took me with him.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I'm just trying to imagine my dad trying to do that.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Yeah, because the shop, you're right, it's iron, so you'd
have to really have something and like keep it.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Safe, like throw something on the end, not stabbing everybody
when you're trying to learn how.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
To play it too.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Exactly or like stabbing my own arm slinger, right right right.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I mentioned that back in twenty eleven, you kind of
burst onto the scene and you did an interview with
NPR rejecting the comparisons to Tiger Woods. Was that just
about the fact that he had won bigger tournaments at
the age of seventeen than you had yet or was
there something else that you didn't like about hearing that comparison.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
You know, it's not that there's anything that I dislike
about hearing the comparison, you know, at that time, and
honestly still to the present day, there aren't that many
black golfers on tour. So for all those of us
who come up that are younger than Tiger, they're always
going to get that comparison, especially if you've had a
successful junior career. But you know, Tiger is one of
(11:47):
the greatest athletes to ever walk the planet, you know,
So it's honestly just you know, looking out for myself
and allowing myself to kind of carve my own lane
with my own expectations that don't necessarily have to be
as grand as that is, you know. There, like I said,
one of the best athletes to off for play. So
now a little bit of pressure exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
You know, you also said back then, which was all
the way back in twenty eleven, so a long time ago,
that you hadn't experienced the same race hurdles that Tiger had,
nor had you faced gender based hurdles. You're thirty now,
is that still the case for you?
Speaker 4 (12:21):
I think, by and large yes, I think I was.
I was grateful as junior golfer that my dad, especially
on the golf course, was always around me, always protective,
and I think he grew up in murder Beeat, South Carolina.
He definitely did experience racism on the golf course, and
so he was always protective of me and wanted to
make sure that he was there to protect me from
(12:41):
anything that might be said or done to me. So
throughout my junior golf career, I just never had those
experiences because he was always going to be right there
making sure that they didn't happen. And then, you know,
as I got a little bit older, start traveling by myself,
especially turning pro you know, nothing was ever overt you know,
are crazy, which was which was a blessing for Shure.
(13:03):
It would all some microaggressions, like you know, letting players
in that might have their badge on their hit, you know,
but then not one letting my badge count. It's like, no,
we also want to see your idea to get into
the locker room. Little things like that. But you know,
my dad, they had an affirmation written for me that
I would say to myself here every day when I
was young, and part of that was just having pride
(13:25):
and confidence in myself and being happy to be black
and proud of that. And so I think that that's
kind of my internal protection against those sort of things,
and they never really get me outside of myself and
outside of my body or make me feel undeserving of
being in that space.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Oh, I love that, and I love that they had
you before maybe it even was necessary already saying that
to yourself and ready for that, Let's talk about the present.
You're currently sidelined with an injury, which is a bummer.
Tell us about the surgery.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Yeah, I had a pretty like just on a case
and bicep tendonitis, and I took about six weeks off
in the off season. At the start, did my PT
and it just would not get better. So after two
cortisone injections with no improvement. I reached out to my
Stanford coach and the Stanford Sports Medicine Network and they
got me connected with a team here that works with
(14:19):
a lot of athletes, and so I underwent surgery at
the very end of March. So it's been almost two
months now, and I had a bicep toent odisis, which
is basically going in and cleaning up the damage part
of my bicep tendon and then retightening it and then
letting it heal so that I can get back to
working out and swinging paying free. So it's it's honestly,
(14:43):
I like the physical side of sports. So the like
kind of nerd outside of me is enjoyed, like learning
the process and everything that I'm going through and I'm
realizing like pt and like recovery. It's a really cool
space on the side of not being able to play
that has really up. Like the US Open qualifiers came
and went couldn't compete. I'm watching my friends, like, you know,
(15:07):
they had a new and mogural tournament in Mexico and
a couple of my buddies LPJ and EPSOM were there
and I was like, man, you know that would be
that would be cool to be performing getting a chance
to play there right now. But I have a great
team around the agent, sponsors, and they are really pushing
just patience, take care of yourself, heal because we want
you to come back the best that you can be.
(15:28):
So it's been a whirlwind, and I definitely miss traveling
and playing and honestly just seeing our friends on tour.
But it's also been nice to be home and spend
some time with my family, time that I haven't gotten
to spend in years. So I'm just kind of looking
at the silver lining of it and saying, if this
is the situation that I'm in, let's just make the
most of it.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Well, I can tell you, as someone in their forties,
if you really like diving into pt and understanding how
your body breaks down, you're in for a beautiful future
because a lot of us are are there, whether we
like on one.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Are you hoping to be back competing.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
I should be able to make a full swing with
an iron by the end of June, so that's an
after the twelve week mark, I can swing a club
and if that goes well and it's paying free, I'm
hoping to build up over the next couple of weeks
next few weeks, so maybe by the end mid to
end of July be hitting my driver and if that
goes well, just a couple of weeks so strong work
in the gym and working to get my swing speed
(16:23):
back up, which would make the go mid August, so
all things go well, I'm hoping to be back competing there.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
What's the best part about being a pro golfers.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I feel like there's two answers for that. For me. One,
it's just competing and playing golf like as a career.
Every day I wake up and I go to the gym,
and I go to practice and I train, and like,
that's my job is to be as best as I
can be as great as I can't playing golf, And
that's pretty cool. It's the game, Like I said, I
played it since I was two, competitively since I was six.
(16:54):
It's literally been the dream of my life. So the
fact that I get to wake up every day and
do that is a treat. So just competing tournaments and
the training that goes around it, I love the entire process,
but also the travel, like traveling around the country, around
the world, getting to go to all these new places,
I'm a huge foody, so trying cuisines in different countries
(17:16):
is great and I feel like when you're there, it's authentic.
And so those are just the experiences that I get
to have and the friends that I get to do
it with makes it great.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah, the social part has always been a big thing
for you.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I read an interview where you talked about enjoying golf
in part because you could compete and converse. It wasn't
just like basketball where you're playing against somebody but you
can never chat with them because you're midway through, you know,
defending them or driving the lane or whatever. Do you
find at the professional level you can still have those
friendships and really pursue those connections or are people getting
(17:49):
a little competitive for that at this level?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
I think inside the ropes is definitely a bit more
competitive professional golf, and rightfully so, right like, every shot
you hit it it's it's your income, it's your it's
your earnings that you're working towards and your goals. So
I would say that for professional golf, inside the ropes
it's a little bit more serious, but the same thing.
You make friends with people, and so when you get
(18:14):
paired with people that you're good buddies with. There is
still that social element that takes place inside the ropes competing,
but we also get to travel together, and so there
are times when we'll ruin an airbnb together. Throughout the country,
we'll stay at the same hotels and plan dinners and
little excursions, so you definitely get that social aspect, and
I think outside off the course, it's almost even more
(18:34):
important because you're traveling so long, like you could be
going from homes for four to five weeks, depending on
how your schedule shakes, and so you definitely need some
comaraderie and friendship out there so that it doesn't feel
like a lonely career. And so that's something that I
learned quickly my rookie year, is that you definitely need
just friendship and companions to hang out with out there.
(18:57):
And so I've moved forward after my rookie year and
do all that in place, and so now I genuinely
have fun when I travel. It's still work, the priority
is still showing up to the golf course competing and practicing,
but on the relaxed moments, evenings, off days, then we
hang out and we go have fun and explore the
cities that we're in.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
That's awesome. So travel and potential loneliness certainly some drawbacks.
What do you think is the hardest part of being
a pro golfer?
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Hands down, Like, there's just things you miss right there
are you know, milestones and emits and things that will
happen in your friends' lives that you might not be
able to be there for. And I think that that's
the toughest part. But you have to wake up every
day and say you know this. You know, as an athlete,
your career is not your whole life. Like at a
certain point, your body will tell you it's time to
(19:46):
bow out. And so as long as you're passionate about
it and love it, I tell myself, you know, it's
just a sacrifice that has to be made right now
for you to chase your dreams. And as long as
you're happy chasing those dreams and the sacrifice is worth it.
So it's tough. It's tough to miss those things sometimes
of my friends and family, they love and support me,
and they know my dreams and my goals and they're
happy to support And I always understanding of the things
(20:09):
that I might not be able to make.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, And I think it's so hard because usually athletes
are their athletes are entire lives, and it's not up
until the moment that they're done that they're out in
the real world and they really recognize, like, oh man,
how good did I have it? I'm out on a
golf course for my job every day, like in the
sun with my friends competing, playing a game. And then
you go try to have like a desk job and
(20:32):
you're like, oh shit, and like you it's not that
you don't already appreciate it, but you maybe would appreciate
it even more if you'd ever had to do a
couple of years of just everyday garbage before you get
to go back and golf again and real ye, what
a joy it is to just be outside work. And
you know, one of the challenges is certainly the cost
(20:53):
and like competing to make a living, which is so
different than here's your salary for the year, and you
know that it's coming in.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Of course, you got to work hard, but you know.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
In a recent episode of Welcome to the Party, Tesha Allen,
who's on our iheartwomen's sports network, former pro golfer, was
talking to another former pro in Cheyenne. Woods and Chyenne
shared the cost of playing from paying for travel, hotels,
entry fee, caddy fee, and I don't think I really
realized how much is on the golfer to cover. So
can you kind of share the realities of being a
(21:23):
player on the LPGA tour and what you're responsible for.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Yeah, playing on tour, that's definitely a huge part of it,
and I think, honestly, oftentimes it might be a barrier
for some Like I know that I have friends that
have felt like I've had to bow out of the
tour or go on to the next part of my
career because I didn't get the success I needed fast
enough to sustain the cost of playing on tour, you know,
(21:46):
Like you said, caddie is probably somewhere between fifteen hundred
to two thousand a week. Lodging, you know, is probably
somewhere between eight to thirteen hundred, depending on the venue
that you're at. We have an entry fee, which for
LPG I think they're two hundred. EPSEN, which is the
Mini tour, I think it's four hundred. You know, air travel,
(22:10):
rental cars which have also gotten really expensive in the
last few years too, So you have those costs that
add up every single week, and then you have dining
on tour where you have to have to you have
to manage your dinner, your snacks, and make sure that
you're fuel so it can Honestly, a week on tour
can depending can ring somewhere between twenty five hundred to
(22:31):
five thousand. It just depends on how it shakes out.
And I mean that's a lot to manage every single week,
week in and week out. And I'm really grateful that
I have sponsors that have been, you know, great and
supportive of me for all the years, especially now, Like
I think about even on the recovery side, right I'm
not playing, I'm not competing right now, so I'm not
(22:52):
making money on the course, but i also have expenses
in my PT, like I'm going to PT, I'm doing
I'm going to the trainer, I'm doing various workouts just
get back and shape. That's also a lot like weekend
and week out for me here right now at home.
So having that support makes me feel free and able
to do that without like financial burden and stress is huge.
But I mean it's just it's crazy. There's there's nothing
(23:14):
that we have that's just given to us, and so well,
no athlete has anything given to us. But when you're
not on a team, everything is out of pocket for you.
And it's actually an interesting side to that is when
I realized that I needed surgery, I had to reach
out to my Stanford network. Another huge part of that
(23:35):
is you're not on a team, you don't have a
dedicated doctor and medical staff right at home. So I
needed to figure out who I needed to see in
Atlanta to get me through this. And LPGIT were based everywhere,
and so there might be a network of doctors, but
most of the stuff for the tours in Florida, I
need to be at home during doing my PT So
I had to go through outside sources to find someone
(23:58):
here in Atlanta to help me. Whereas if I were
you know, Atlanta Dream or you know, a team here Braced,
they have a medical team dedicated to the team right
then and there to take care of every injury and
thing that pops up. So it's like all the things
that you think come up as an athlete, we navigated
on our own, which is really something.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
So was your medical coverage through the LPGA.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Actually, the LPGA just launched medical coverage for US, I
think towards the end of last season, so this will
be the first fool season with it on tour, and
with like my injuries and stuff with the pastical be yeers,
I don't have full status right now, so I've been
able to take advantage of that. But that was a
huge announcement for us as players last year because I
think that's something that people have really been wanting and
(24:44):
so they came through with that and it's been fantastic.
I've heard that some players as soon as they got
it went and did some reproductive stuff, freezing their eggs
and things like that, which I think is just fantastic.
You know, to have that ability as a player, you
don't know how long your career is going to go,
so you might want to, you know, have those kind
(25:05):
of options available to you. So pretty cool that they've
gotten met through for us.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Back in twenty twenty three, the PGA announced it would
start loaning mail players money if they were new to
the tour to cover uprount costs like five hundred thousand dollars,
and then players could return the money as they won
prize money. Do you know if the LPGA has ever
considered adding something similar to the women's side.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
I don't know, as there's conversations about that in effect,
but I do know that there have been both LPGA
and a few sponsors for certain tournaments have started to
offer stipends for certain events, and so that could be
like a fifteen hundred or two thousand dollars stipend to
offset costs. I know most of the majors do it now,
So if you compete in the major I think for
(25:50):
most of them, you earn two thousand dollars for simply
having a spot in the championship, which is great, and
so a few regular season events have taken that stance
as well. So I think the influence of what the
PGA Tour is doing is solely trickling in. And I
think that the LPGA is trying to do the best
with the with the financial resources that we have available
to figure out ways to start to assist players and
(26:13):
offset some of those costs.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
So players are making money off of obviously sponsors and
good finishes. Does it depend on the tournament how far
down people make money.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
The amount that you make that week is dependent on
your performance entirely, So most some tournaments are sixty some
sixty five and ties. But wherever you are on the
cut after the first two days of the event, only
the people that makes the cut are going to go
on and have an opportunity to earn and so then
depending on the perse size of that influence is payout.
So you have some two million dollar per to we
(26:47):
need two million, five hundred thousand, three million, et cetera.
So the bigger the purse, the bigger opportunity you have
to make a good a good amount at the end
of that week. But if you miss the cut, you
just missed the cut and you have your expenses for
the week, but you get another chance to go and
make it back the next week.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I saw you went down to see some unrivaled action
in Miami. Are there things that you would like to
see golf borrow from other women's pro sports leagues, whether
that's unrivaled or the w NBA and WSL, anything you
see that you're like, oh, I wish we did that.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Honestly, I think following, just like social and branding for
the NWSL and WNBA is incredible and I'd love to
see I mean, golf is it's a trickier sport because
there's no team aspect to it, and so you're asking,
you know, to bring out personalities and get stories from
(27:42):
players who might be a little bit shy and we
don't have that buffer of like a team around them
to help bring you out of the shell. But I
would love to see our tour figure out a few
ways to showcase our players and our personalities and our
stories a little bit more, and you know, start engaging
in trends online that are popular, etc. I just I
(28:05):
think that those those organizations do a great job of
branding and showcasing who the players are, and that's how
you build a following. And so I understand, like there's
no team and it so you have to figure out
a different way to go about doing that. But I
do believe that it can be done and it would
be great for us. I think almost even more important
(28:25):
considering it's not a team sport and it's an individual sport.
So the more that you can get out about who
players are, show their humors, show the things they care about,
man trusted, you start to bring more people in. And
I think in a women's individual sport it's almost even
more important because you don't have that immediate market behind them.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
So speaking of things that you're interested in and people
getting to know your personality, I'm so you get asked
all the time about being a black golfer and all
the other stuff, But there's things you'd rather talk about.
There's things you'd hope that interviewers would ask you. So
what do you want to talk about? What do you
wish folks would ask you about?
Speaker 4 (29:02):
You know, the questions are pretty much pretty much okay,
So I don't know if I have a question about
that offer it. I will say that I love to
like you bringing in other women's sports organizations into this conversation.
Like I'm a huge on sports fan, love soccer, love basketball,
and so I think it'd be cool to sometimes, you know,
have a little bit of a crossover and talk about
(29:25):
the ways that other women's sports and their stories and
athletes inspire us.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
No, I mean I love that, And I think if
I were on the LPGA tour, I would want to
like get involved with the other leagues and do more
collabse and bring those players out to the course and
show them what you do and then maybe you know,
go go check out a dream game and take some
shots and all that other stuff. I think one of
the ways to really involve female golfers in the rest
(29:52):
of the women's sports kind of industrial complex that's blowing
up is to have those crossover events where they show
up in the places people already are and then you
try to pull them over to your sport into what
you do. Are there athletes and women's sports that you'd
love to take out on the course or see in
a pro am?
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Definitely? So obviously I have a season tickets for Atlanta
Dream here. It's a huge dream fan. I know that
Alicia Gay and Ryan Howard play golf, so I think
that that would be a really cool, you know thing
to maybe if we had, you know, a tournament or
a major or something comes through Atlanta, like try to
get them out to the pro am, which I think
they both love to do, you know, and just different
(30:32):
markets that we go to a lot of the women's
soccer and basketball, a few of them actually play golf,
you know, so just trying to like maybe pull them
into our pro ams. I know that the LPGA did that.
I think last fall that Kate and Clark paired up
with Nellie Korda, and I'm like, you know, you get
some of the best in both sports to be playing together, Like,
(30:52):
that's how you do it, That's how you generate a
conversation and kind of get golf in there with the
conversation and the rest of women's sports. And then I
think when something like that happens, it also helps our
brand at Nelly Corda. Last year had one of the
best seasons of any women athlete.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
That's in the world.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
But when it was time to have those conversations about
Athlete of the Year, I didn't hear her name brought up.
And I think that that's just a matter of golf
not being in the conversation with the other athletes as much,
because her name definitely deserved to be in there, because
what she did was unspeakable. Five tournaments and roll multiple majors,
and it's like, how can we get people talking about
(31:31):
women's golf in the same way.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Yeah, totally. Speaking of names, most Stacks we got most Stacks, Berdies,
is your Instagram name? Is that just a play on
words or is that an alter ego for you?
Speaker 4 (31:44):
No, it's a little bit of a player on words.
So Moe was one of my nicknames and we just
shartened it Stacks. But I remember my brother and I
actually trying to come up with a Twitter handle for me,
and we were just like, you know what, you play golf,
you make a lot of birdies, so let's call you
most Stacks Birdie. So basically most Stack and Birdie's on
the course.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I mean, I like it.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I like it for the name, but I also think
most Acts would just be a cool nickname and a
cool altery.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Yes, yeah it is.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
That is my nicknames my friends.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Yeah, And like, you know, you could do a whole
merch line. I don't know, there's something there's Most Acts
sounds like someone who would put together those collabs we
were talking about and find a way to get yourself
into the other spaces. All right, last question, I want
to hear about Underrated Golf Tour. What is it and
what's your involvement in it?
Speaker 4 (32:32):
Yes, so under Golf Tour is Steph Curry's uh tour.
He has it for basketball as well, but Steph really
loves golf and it is passionate about providing opportunities to
our youth, to our junior golfers and getting them on
on you know, tab of this courses. Learning what it
is like to play a tour structure over the summer
(32:54):
owned points which then qualify you for some other Junior
Gloss events. So it's really about going into the kids,
getting them on first class golf courses with storied histories,
and giving them a chance to compete and grow in
the game of golf. And so I love it. KPMG
one of my sponsors, and I I had the opportunity
(33:15):
to get to know Steph his underrated team and get
involved with supporting his event and then supporting the kids,
and it's been fantastic. My favorite part of what we
do is at the Championship in September, once the golf
has concluded. The next day, we have basically a leadership
academy set up for the young players and so their
(33:37):
parents have some informationals. We have some informationals. I'll do sessions,
My dad will come up and do a session with
some of the parents. We have college recruiters, people in
business who can mentor and offer some guidance for the
young golfers. So it's really investing in them as young
athletes but also people, and it's been great. Like these kids,
(33:58):
they love to compete, they're great golf, and I just
feel fortunate to get to play a role in helping
them continue to grow and improve their games, and, like
I said, learn a tour system. Navigating the junior golf world,
it can be challenging for parents who didn't grow up
playing a game of golf themselves and might need some
guidance on how best to move their juniors through it.
(34:20):
So we provide that guidance to both the juniors and
to their parents, and our goal is to get them
to the best school if possible. And if they go
on and decide that they want to pursue a career
as professional golfers, then we hope that we've helped invest
and give them the tools to chase that dream.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I love that it's so important.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
It's really like it's much more complicated than a lot
of other sports to get into, to be able to
afford to try it and to find out if you're
great at it, and then where do you go if
you do find that you have a calling for it.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
So that's really.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Cool, Mariah, so great to talk to you. Heal fast.
I guess enjoy the PT if that's what you're into,
and we look forward to see you back out.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
On the link soon.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
I appreciate it, Sarah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
We have to take another break when we come back.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
One former golfer goes all in on changing the game.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Welcome back, slics.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good game.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Play of the day Watch Little Golf.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Mark your calendars and tune into the US Open starting
tomorrow at twelve pm Eastern. The first round is on
USA Network until six pm, then coverage moves over to
Peacock from six to eight pm. You'll also be able
to catch featured groups hitting the Links at eight thirty
am and two twenty pm at Uswomen's Open dot com
or on the USGA.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
App and Peacock.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh
four fifty seventy and don't.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Forget to subscribe, Rate and revive It's easy.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Watch friend of the show Tisha Allin launching her own brand,
rating ten out of ten fashionable fits for the Links
and the Clubhouse review. Former pro golfer turned content creator
and podcast host Tisha Allen. You've heard her on our
show and on her iheartwomen's sports podcast Welcome to the Party,
has recognized what she calls gaps in gear visibility and
(36:25):
how women are included in the game of golf, and
she decided to do something about it. The first capsule
of her all in Golf brand is now live at
allindolf dot com. That's al Yn Goolf dot com. From
dresses to pants and skirts and t's that say, I'm
not a player, I just golf a lot.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
She's trying to make golf.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
A little cooler, younger, and edgier, and we're here for it.
Congrats Tisha. Now it's your turn slices, rate and review.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Good game, Mariah, Good game, Minnesota,
Frost UNC Lacrosse and got THEMFC you biceps tendonitis. A
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
(37:05):
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
could find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
(37:26):
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where Liz Sheppers
scored the ot winner to lead the Minnesota Frost to
a second straight walter Cup. We've asked the WNBA for comment,
and if you don't get that joke, honestly, good for
you out there. You're probably touching grass and feeling the
sun instead of living.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
On the internet like us.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It's Wednesday, May twenty eighth, and on today's show, we'll
be bringing you my conversation with pro golfer and LPGA
tour player Mariah Stackhouse ahead of this weekend's US Open.
We talk about growing up a prodigy, the cost of
life on tour, dealing with injuries, including the one keeping
her out of this weekend's tourney.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
And more.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Plus so many champions were crowned over the weekend, Caitlin
Clark is sidelined, and the NWSL's next expansion squad has
its head coach.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It's all coming up right after this Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Here's what you need to know today. Let's start on
the ice with the PWHL. The Minnesota Frost completed their
title defense, securing a second straight walter Cup with their
win on Monday, Entering Game four on home ice, the
Frost r up two to one in the series and
with eleven twenty four fans cheering them on inside Excel
(01:17):
Energy Center, Minnesota found its first goal in the second
period thanks to friend of the Show Kelly Panic. Ottawa's
Teresa Venisheva answered in the third, setting up overtime for
the fourth time in four games in the series.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
In the n Frost.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Forward Liz Sheppers showed off her clutch gene once again,
scoring the championship winning goal for the second year in
a row. We also got a shout out front of
the Show Matti Rooney, who made thirty three saves for
Minnesota in the win. With the start and the win,
she earned her fifth straight postseason victory, tying the PWHL
record for most wins in a single postseason set by
(01:50):
Boston's Aaron Frankel last year. Two seasons, two titles for
the Frost, we got the beginnings of a little dynasty
cook in here, folks. Crossfield, North Carolina put the cherry
on top of its undefeated season on Sunday, beating Northwestern
twelve to eight to earn the programme's fourth women's lacrosse title.
A record fourteen thy four hundred and twenty three fans
(02:12):
attended the twenty twenty five national Final, obliterating the previous
record of eleven thousand and six sixty eight. The game
was a grind, with both teams notatching their lowest point
totals of the season. There were a couple of really
cool family connections in this one. UNC head coach Jenny
Levy and her daughter, freshman Kate Levy, became the first
mother daughter combo to win the championship, and Kate scored
(02:34):
UNC's second goal in the dub Grad student attacker Ashley
Humphrey hit ninety assists on the season in the title game,
breaking her own nc doublea single season assist record from
twenty twenty two, while her sister, freshman attacker Chloe Humphrey,
recorded her ninetieth goal of the season and NCUBA freshman record.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And there's more.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
The eldest sister of the three, Nicole, is also on
the UNC roster this season, but she didn't play the
championship game. You could say that lacrosse prowess runs in
the family. Two more quick shoutouts from the Lacrosse Weekend.
My friend Stu Gotts's daughter Rachel Wiener, whose Northwestern squad
came up just short of the title, and my Cornell
big Red who won the men's National championship, first title
(03:18):
in lacrosse for Cornell since nineteen seventy seven. And getting
to watch the game with my college friends on Monday
at my friend's lake house was the perfect way to
close out the perfect girls weekend. Some footy news congratulations
are in order for Gotham FC. The NWSL club won
the inaugural CONCACAFF W Champions Cup on Saturday, earning a
one nail dub over Liga MX club Tigris uanl Feminil.
(03:42):
No idea what the CONCACAFF W Champions Cup is. It's
a tournament that brings together the top women's soccer clubs
from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. And you
remember we told you it actually started last season. Okay,
back to the match. So after missing a penalty kick,
Aster Gonzales controlled the rebound and bare married the game
winning goal for Gotham in the eighty second minute. I mean,
(04:03):
who else would it be that lady is on a heater.
With the win, Gotham FC has secured a spot in
both the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup in twenty twenty six
and the inaugural FIFA Women's Club World Cup in twenty
twenty eight. Also got to give a tip of the
cap to the Portland Thorns, who defeated Club America three
nil to take third place in the tournament. More soccer news.
Boston Legacy FC has found its head woman per friend
(04:26):
at the Show Jeff Casouf at ESPN. The club has
agreed to terms with Felipa Pateau, who's been heading up
Portuguese club Benfica's senior team since twenty twenty. Pateau led
the squad to five consecutive league titles and helped Benfica
become the first Portuguese club to reach the UEFA Women's
Champions League quarterfinals in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four. Now,
the thirty six year old, who was nominated for the
(04:48):
Ballon d'Or for Coach of the Year last year, will
be under contract with Boston until twenty twenty seven and
lead the side in its first NWSL season next year.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
A little more NWSL news.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Huge kudos to Barbara Banda in the Orlando Pride three
to one win over the Utah Royals. On Friday, Banda
scored the fastest hat trick in NWSL history, completing it
in the first thirty eight minutes of the match. She
scored in the sixth thirty seventh, and thirty eighth minutes.
It was also the first hat trick in Pride history,
and per opt to Jack, Banda didn't just bury three,
(05:22):
she was on target for all six shots she attempted,
becoming the third player to attempt six or more shots
with one hundred percent accuracy in an NWSL match. To tennis,
many of the WTA's top players remained standing in the
French Open at stad Roland Garros, but a couple players
have seen their tournaments come to a close. World number
nine ranked player Emma Navarro got knocked out in straight
(05:43):
sets by Jessica buzis Manero in the first round, and
just a few weeks after picking up her first WTA
title since twenty twenty one, Naomi Osaka suffered her own
early defeat. She lost to world number ten Paula Bedosa
in the first round, and she had a pretty emotional
press conference after the match. A reporter Naomi how the
tough loss would make her stronger, and here's how she responded.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I hope you can tell me that I think. I'm
not sure. I feel like I learn little things from
each match. I think I lost a tiebreaker in Rome,
and I didn't lose the tiebreaker here, So I mean
I am conscious of things when I'm playing. So maybe
(06:27):
the next match I play, I'll learn little.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Things from today.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
And you know something, I really can appreciate when athletes
show us how much a loss hurts, because that way
we feel even more joy when we get to watch
them win. Naomi's been on this super public journey back
to full strength over the last few years, and it's
been a constant reminder watching her just how hard what
these players do is. So we're sending love your way, Naomi.
You're still a hell of a player and we're rooting
(06:53):
for you. Some WNBA news, second year sensation Caitlin Clark
will miss at least the next two weeks of Indiana
games with.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The left quad strain.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
The injury announcement came on Monday, and of course sent
some folks into a spiral. By all accounts, though the
move is more preventative than anything, as Clark had been
limited in the preseason with what she called tightness in
her left quad. The team didn't officially confirm whether the
two instances were related, but Clark said she had a
pain after their loss to the Liberty on Saturday, and
(07:23):
an MRI revealed the injury. Now this is uncharted territory
for Clark.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
She never missed a.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Game at Iowa nor in her WNBA career to this point.
The Athletic published some comments from Fever head coach Stephanie
White talking about the injury. She said, quote, there's so
many things when you think about Caitlin and her not
wanting to miss games. Obviously everyone wants to watch her play.
But for me, it's maintaining perspective. It's making sure that
we address this in a way that doesn't affect the
long term, that we take care of it, don't over push,
(07:50):
don't overexert, making sure that we take the long game
approach to this so we're not having lingering issues throughout
the course of the season.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Per ESPN's Candor, and the Fever phenom is set to
be reevaluated on June ninth. That's a bummer for me
and Chicago fans as She's said to miss the Fever
Sky game on June seventh that had been moved to
the United Center, and that's part of a real cool
doubleheader with the opening day of AUSL still gonna make
it happen, but we all want to see Caitlin in
that one to the Diamond.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
The D one College Softball Super Regionals are.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Over and eight teams advanced to the Women's College World Series.
The action gets started tomorrow at twelve pm Eastern with
number three Florida taken on number six Texas, followed by
number two Oklahoma versus number seven Tennessee at two thirty Eastern.
Both those games will be on ESPN Coverage moves over
to ESPN two at seven pm Eastern for number twelve
Texas Tech against unranked Ole Miss, and then number nine
(08:43):
UCLA at number sixteen Oregon round things out at nine
thirty pm Eastern. We'll link to the full interactive bracket
in our show notes. Also want to give a shout
out to Tennessee's CARLN. Pickens, who reset the record for
the fastest pitch in college softball history. Now you remember
we mentioned her back in March when she first broke
the record. With a seventy eight point two mile per
hour pitch against Arkansas. Well, Pickens out did herself on Saturday,
(09:08):
throwing a seventy eight point four mile per hour bullet
in the first inning of the Lady Bowls Super Regional
game against Nebraska. Starting to understand why Pickens has been
the SEC pitcher of the year the last two seasons.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
We got to take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
When we come back, I chop it up with most
acts back in a jiff. Joining us now, she's a
professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. A graduate of Stanford,
where she was a four year All American and a
twenty fifteen NCAA team title winner. In twenty eleven, at seventeen,
(09:46):
she was the youngest African American golfer to qualify for
US Women's Open, and was the only Black qualifier in
that tournament. She reached her highest ranking so far in
twenty eighteen, at one hundred and thirty seven in the world.
She's in her gen z era, but she's never given
up the peace sign. And it's Mariah Stackhouse. I'm Mariah.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Hey, Sarah, you do it.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I'm good. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Everyone just heard about your start as a golf phenom,
So I want to go all the way back.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
How'd you get into playing?
Speaker 4 (10:12):
My dad actually got me into playing golf when I
was younger. So I wanted to go wherever he went.
So he left the house, I wanted to go with him,
and so he would often go play golf after work
on the weekends. So he cut down some clubs for me.
Got me started when I was about two years old,
and the rest is kind of history. Started playing tournaments
at six and just kept it going.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
When you say cut down clubs, like what was he
using to break adult clubs into the size that you
could practice with?
Speaker 4 (10:39):
You know, I have no idea, But he was an
architect and he's had a construction company too, so he
had all the tools. So whatever he used, okay, chop
it down, I'm not sure, but he cut some real
clubs and took me with him.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I'm just trying to imagine my dad trying to do that.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Yeah, because the shop, you're right, it's iron, so you'd
have to really have something and like keep it.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Safe, like throw something on the end, not stabbing everybody
when you're trying to learn how.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
To play it too.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Exactly or like stabbing my own arm slinger, right right right.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I mentioned that back in twenty eleven, you kind of
burst onto the scene and you did an interview with
NPR rejecting the comparisons to Tiger Woods. Was that just
about the fact that he had won bigger tournaments at
the age of seventeen than you had yet or was
there something else that you didn't like about hearing that comparison.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
You know, it's not that there's anything that I dislike
about hearing the comparison, you know, at that time, and
honestly still to the present day, there aren't that many
black golfers on tour. So for all those of us
who come up that are younger than Tiger, they're always
going to get that comparison, especially if you've had a
successful junior career. But you know, Tiger is one of
(11:47):
the greatest athletes to ever walk the planet, you know,
So it's honestly just you know, looking out for myself
and allowing myself to kind of carve my own lane
with my own expectations that don't necessarily have to be
as grand as that is, you know. There, like I said,
one of the best athletes to off for play. So
now a little bit of pressure exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
You know, you also said back then, which was all
the way back in twenty eleven, so a long time ago,
that you hadn't experienced the same race hurdles that Tiger had,
nor had you faced gender based hurdles. You're thirty now,
is that still the case for you?
Speaker 4 (12:21):
I think, by and large yes, I think I was.
I was grateful as junior golfer that my dad, especially
on the golf course, was always around me, always protective,
and I think he grew up in murder Beeat, South Carolina.
He definitely did experience racism on the golf course, and
so he was always protective of me and wanted to
make sure that he was there to protect me from
(12:41):
anything that might be said or done to me. So
throughout my junior golf career, I just never had those
experiences because he was always going to be right there
making sure that they didn't happen. And then, you know,
as I got a little bit older, start traveling by myself,
especially turning pro you know, nothing was ever overt you know,
are crazy, which was which was a blessing for Shure.
(13:03):
It would all some microaggressions, like you know, letting players
in that might have their badge on their hit, you know,
but then not one letting my badge count. It's like, no,
we also want to see your idea to get into
the locker room. Little things like that. But you know,
my dad, they had an affirmation written for me that
I would say to myself here every day when I
was young, and part of that was just having pride
(13:25):
and confidence in myself and being happy to be black
and proud of that. And so I think that that's
kind of my internal protection against those sort of things,
and they never really get me outside of myself and
outside of my body or make me feel undeserving of
being in that space.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Oh, I love that, and I love that they had
you before maybe it even was necessary already saying that
to yourself and ready for that, Let's talk about the present.
You're currently sidelined with an injury, which is a bummer.
Tell us about the surgery.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Yeah, I had a pretty like just on a case
and bicep tendonitis, and I took about six weeks off
in the off season. At the start, did my PT
and it just would not get better. So after two
cortisone injections with no improvement. I reached out to my
Stanford coach and the Stanford Sports Medicine Network and they
got me connected with a team here that works with
(14:19):
a lot of athletes, and so I underwent surgery at
the very end of March. So it's been almost two
months now, and I had a bicep toent odisis, which
is basically going in and cleaning up the damage part
of my bicep tendon and then retightening it and then
letting it heal so that I can get back to
working out and swinging paying free. So it's it's honestly,
(14:43):
I like the physical side of sports. So the like
kind of nerd outside of me is enjoyed, like learning
the process and everything that I'm going through and I'm
realizing like pt and like recovery. It's a really cool
space on the side of not being able to play
that has really up. Like the US Open qualifiers came
and went couldn't compete. I'm watching my friends, like, you know,
(15:07):
they had a new and mogural tournament in Mexico and
a couple of my buddies LPJ and EPSOM were there
and I was like, man, you know that would be
that would be cool to be performing getting a chance
to play there right now. But I have a great
team around the agent, sponsors, and they are really pushing
just patience, take care of yourself, heal because we want
you to come back the best that you can be.
(15:28):
So it's been a whirlwind, and I definitely miss traveling
and playing and honestly just seeing our friends on tour.
But it's also been nice to be home and spend
some time with my family, time that I haven't gotten
to spend in years. So I'm just kind of looking
at the silver lining of it and saying, if this
is the situation that I'm in, let's just make the
most of it.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Well, I can tell you, as someone in their forties,
if you really like diving into pt and understanding how
your body breaks down, you're in for a beautiful future
because a lot of us are are there, whether we
like on one.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Are you hoping to be back competing.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
I should be able to make a full swing with
an iron by the end of June, so that's an
after the twelve week mark, I can swing a club
and if that goes well and it's paying free, I'm
hoping to build up over the next couple of weeks
next few weeks, so maybe by the end mid to
end of July be hitting my driver and if that
goes well, just a couple of weeks so strong work
in the gym and working to get my swing speed
(16:23):
back up, which would make the go mid August, so
all things go well, I'm hoping to be back competing there.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
What's the best part about being a pro golfers.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I feel like there's two answers for that. For me. One,
it's just competing and playing golf like as a career.
Every day I wake up and I go to the gym,
and I go to practice and I train, and like,
that's my job is to be as best as I
can be as great as I can't playing golf, And
that's pretty cool. It's the game, Like I said, I
played it since I was two, competitively since I was six.
(16:54):
It's literally been the dream of my life. So the
fact that I get to wake up every day and
do that is a treat. So just competing tournaments and
the training that goes around it, I love the entire process,
but also the travel, like traveling around the country, around
the world, getting to go to all these new places,
I'm a huge foody, so trying cuisines in different countries
(17:16):
is great and I feel like when you're there, it's authentic.
And so those are just the experiences that I get
to have and the friends that I get to do
it with makes it great.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah, the social part has always been a big thing
for you.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I read an interview where you talked about enjoying golf
in part because you could compete and converse. It wasn't
just like basketball where you're playing against somebody but you
can never chat with them because you're midway through, you know,
defending them or driving the lane or whatever. Do you
find at the professional level you can still have those
friendships and really pursue those connections or are people getting
(17:49):
a little competitive for that at this level?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
I think inside the ropes is definitely a bit more
competitive professional golf, and rightfully so, right like, every shot
you hit it it's it's your income, it's your it's
your earnings that you're working towards and your goals. So
I would say that for professional golf, inside the ropes
it's a little bit more serious, but the same thing.
You make friends with people, and so when you get
(18:14):
paired with people that you're good buddies with. There is
still that social element that takes place inside the ropes competing,
but we also get to travel together, and so there
are times when we'll ruin an airbnb together. Throughout the country,
we'll stay at the same hotels and plan dinners and
little excursions, so you definitely get that social aspect, and
I think outside off the course, it's almost even more
(18:34):
important because you're traveling so long, like you could be
going from homes for four to five weeks, depending on
how your schedule shakes, and so you definitely need some
comaraderie and friendship out there so that it doesn't feel
like a lonely career. And so that's something that I
learned quickly my rookie year, is that you definitely need
just friendship and companions to hang out with out there.
(18:57):
And so I've moved forward after my rookie year and
do all that in place, and so now I genuinely
have fun when I travel. It's still work, the priority
is still showing up to the golf course competing and practicing,
but on the relaxed moments, evenings, off days, then we
hang out and we go have fun and explore the
cities that we're in.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
That's awesome. So travel and potential loneliness certainly some drawbacks.
What do you think is the hardest part of being
a pro golfer?
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Hands down, Like, there's just things you miss right there
are you know, milestones and emits and things that will
happen in your friends' lives that you might not be
able to be there for. And I think that that's
the toughest part. But you have to wake up every
day and say you know this. You know, as an athlete,
your career is not your whole life. Like at a
certain point, your body will tell you it's time to
(19:46):
bow out. And so as long as you're passionate about
it and love it, I tell myself, you know, it's
just a sacrifice that has to be made right now
for you to chase your dreams. And as long as
you're happy chasing those dreams and the sacrifice is worth it.
So it's tough. It's tough to miss those things sometimes
of my friends and family, they love and support me,
and they know my dreams and my goals and they're
happy to support And I always understanding of the things
(20:09):
that I might not be able to make.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, And I think it's so hard because usually athletes
are their athletes are entire lives, and it's not up
until the moment that they're done that they're out in
the real world and they really recognize, like, oh man,
how good did I have it? I'm out on a
golf course for my job every day, like in the
sun with my friends competing, playing a game. And then
you go try to have like a desk job and
(20:32):
you're like, oh shit, and like you it's not that
you don't already appreciate it, but you maybe would appreciate
it even more if you'd ever had to do a
couple of years of just everyday garbage before you get
to go back and golf again and real ye, what
a joy it is to just be outside work. And
you know, one of the challenges is certainly the cost
(20:53):
and like competing to make a living, which is so
different than here's your salary for the year, and you
know that it's coming in.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Of course, you got to work hard, but you know.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
In a recent episode of Welcome to the Party, Tesha Allen,
who's on our iheartwomen's sports network, former pro golfer, was
talking to another former pro in Cheyenne. Woods and Chyenne
shared the cost of playing from paying for travel, hotels,
entry fee, caddy fee, and I don't think I really
realized how much is on the golfer to cover. So
can you kind of share the realities of being a
(21:23):
player on the LPGA tour and what you're responsible for.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Yeah, playing on tour, that's definitely a huge part of it,
and I think, honestly, oftentimes it might be a barrier
for some Like I know that I have friends that
have felt like I've had to bow out of the
tour or go on to the next part of my
career because I didn't get the success I needed fast
enough to sustain the cost of playing on tour, you know,
(21:46):
Like you said, caddie is probably somewhere between fifteen hundred
to two thousand a week. Lodging, you know, is probably
somewhere between eight to thirteen hundred, depending on the venue
that you're at. We have an entry fee, which for
LPG I think they're two hundred. EPSEN, which is the
Mini tour, I think it's four hundred. You know, air travel,
(22:10):
rental cars which have also gotten really expensive in the
last few years too, So you have those costs that
add up every single week, and then you have dining
on tour where you have to have to you have
to manage your dinner, your snacks, and make sure that
you're fuel so it can Honestly, a week on tour
can depending can ring somewhere between twenty five hundred to
(22:31):
five thousand. It just depends on how it shakes out.
And I mean that's a lot to manage every single week,
week in and week out. And I'm really grateful that
I have sponsors that have been, you know, great and
supportive of me for all the years, especially now, Like
I think about even on the recovery side, right I'm
not playing, I'm not competing right now, so I'm not
(22:52):
making money on the course, but i also have expenses
in my PT, like I'm going to PT, I'm doing
I'm going to the trainer, I'm doing various workouts just
get back and shape. That's also a lot like weekend
and week out for me here right now at home.
So having that support makes me feel free and able
to do that without like financial burden and stress is huge.
But I mean it's just it's crazy. There's there's nothing
(23:14):
that we have that's just given to us, and so well,
no athlete has anything given to us. But when you're
not on a team, everything is out of pocket for you.
And it's actually an interesting side to that is when
I realized that I needed surgery, I had to reach
out to my Stanford network. Another huge part of that
(23:35):
is you're not on a team, you don't have a
dedicated doctor and medical staff right at home. So I
needed to figure out who I needed to see in
Atlanta to get me through this. And LPGIT were based everywhere,
and so there might be a network of doctors, but
most of the stuff for the tours in Florida, I
need to be at home during doing my PT So
I had to go through outside sources to find someone
(23:58):
here in Atlanta to help me. Whereas if I were
you know, Atlanta Dream or you know, a team here Braced,
they have a medical team dedicated to the team right
then and there to take care of every injury and
thing that pops up. So it's like all the things
that you think come up as an athlete, we navigated
on our own, which is really something.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
So was your medical coverage through the LPGA.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Actually, the LPGA just launched medical coverage for US, I
think towards the end of last season, so this will
be the first fool season with it on tour, and
with like my injuries and stuff with the pastical be yeers,
I don't have full status right now, so I've been
able to take advantage of that. But that was a
huge announcement for us as players last year because I
think that's something that people have really been wanting and
(24:44):
so they came through with that and it's been fantastic.
I've heard that some players as soon as they got
it went and did some reproductive stuff, freezing their eggs
and things like that, which I think is just fantastic.
You know, to have that ability as a player, you
don't know how long your career is going to go,
so you might want to, you know, have those kind
(25:05):
of options available to you. So pretty cool that they've
gotten met through for us.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Back in twenty twenty three, the PGA announced it would
start loaning mail players money if they were new to
the tour to cover uprount costs like five hundred thousand dollars,
and then players could return the money as they won
prize money. Do you know if the LPGA has ever
considered adding something similar to the women's side.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
I don't know, as there's conversations about that in effect,
but I do know that there have been both LPGA
and a few sponsors for certain tournaments have started to
offer stipends for certain events, and so that could be
like a fifteen hundred or two thousand dollars stipend to
offset costs. I know most of the majors do it now,
So if you compete in the major I think for
(25:50):
most of them, you earn two thousand dollars for simply
having a spot in the championship, which is great, and
so a few regular season events have taken that stance
as well. So I think the influence of what the
PGA Tour is doing is solely trickling in. And I
think that the LPGA is trying to do the best
with the with the financial resources that we have available
to figure out ways to start to assist players and
(26:13):
offset some of those costs.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
So players are making money off of obviously sponsors and
good finishes. Does it depend on the tournament how far
down people make money.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
The amount that you make that week is dependent on
your performance entirely, So most some tournaments are sixty some
sixty five and ties. But wherever you are on the
cut after the first two days of the event, only
the people that makes the cut are going to go
on and have an opportunity to earn and so then
depending on the perse size of that influence is payout.
So you have some two million dollar per to we
(26:47):
need two million, five hundred thousand, three million, et cetera.
So the bigger the purse, the bigger opportunity you have
to make a good a good amount at the end
of that week. But if you miss the cut, you
just missed the cut and you have your expenses for
the week, but you get another chance to go and
make it back the next week.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I saw you went down to see some unrivaled action
in Miami. Are there things that you would like to
see golf borrow from other women's pro sports leagues, whether
that's unrivaled or the w NBA and WSL, anything you
see that you're like, oh, I wish we did that.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Honestly, I think following, just like social and branding for
the NWSL and WNBA is incredible and I'd love to
see I mean, golf is it's a trickier sport because
there's no team aspect to it, and so you're asking,
you know, to bring out personalities and get stories from
(27:42):
players who might be a little bit shy and we
don't have that buffer of like a team around them
to help bring you out of the shell. But I
would love to see our tour figure out a few
ways to showcase our players and our personalities and our
stories a little bit more, and you know, start engaging
in trends online that are popular, etc. I just I
(28:05):
think that those those organizations do a great job of
branding and showcasing who the players are, and that's how
you build a following. And so I understand, like there's
no team and it so you have to figure out
a different way to go about doing that. But I
do believe that it can be done and it would
be great for us. I think almost even more important
(28:25):
considering it's not a team sport and it's an individual sport.
So the more that you can get out about who
players are, show their humors, show the things they care about,
man trusted, you start to bring more people in. And
I think in a women's individual sport it's almost even
more important because you don't have that immediate market behind them.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
So speaking of things that you're interested in and people
getting to know your personality, I'm so you get asked
all the time about being a black golfer and all
the other stuff, But there's things you'd rather talk about.
There's things you'd hope that interviewers would ask you. So
what do you want to talk about? What do you
wish folks would ask you about?
Speaker 4 (29:02):
You know, the questions are pretty much pretty much okay,
So I don't know if I have a question about
that offer it. I will say that I love to
like you bringing in other women's sports organizations into this conversation.
Like I'm a huge on sports fan, love soccer, love basketball,
and so I think it'd be cool to sometimes, you know,
have a little bit of a crossover and talk about
(29:25):
the ways that other women's sports and their stories and
athletes inspire us.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
No, I mean I love that, And I think if
I were on the LPGA tour, I would want to
like get involved with the other leagues and do more
collabse and bring those players out to the course and
show them what you do and then maybe you know,
go go check out a dream game and take some
shots and all that other stuff. I think one of
the ways to really involve female golfers in the rest
(29:52):
of the women's sports kind of industrial complex that's blowing
up is to have those crossover events where they show
up in the places people already are and then you
try to pull them over to your sport into what
you do. Are there athletes and women's sports that you'd
love to take out on the course or see in
a pro am?
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Definitely? So obviously I have a season tickets for Atlanta
Dream here. It's a huge dream fan. I know that
Alicia Gay and Ryan Howard play golf, so I think
that that would be a really cool, you know thing
to maybe if we had, you know, a tournament or
a major or something comes through Atlanta, like try to
get them out to the pro am, which I think
they both love to do, you know, and just different
(30:32):
markets that we go to a lot of the women's
soccer and basketball, a few of them actually play golf,
you know, so just trying to like maybe pull them
into our pro ams. I know that the LPGA did that.
I think last fall that Kate and Clark paired up
with Nellie Korda, and I'm like, you know, you get
some of the best in both sports to be playing together, Like,
(30:52):
that's how you do it, That's how you generate a
conversation and kind of get golf in there with the
conversation and the rest of women's sports. And then I
think when something like that happens, it also helps our
brand at Nelly Corda. Last year had one of the
best seasons of any women athlete.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
That's in the world.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
But when it was time to have those conversations about
Athlete of the Year, I didn't hear her name brought up.
And I think that that's just a matter of golf
not being in the conversation with the other athletes as much,
because her name definitely deserved to be in there, because
what she did was unspeakable. Five tournaments and roll multiple majors,
and it's like, how can we get people talking about
(31:31):
women's golf in the same way.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Yeah, totally. Speaking of names, most Stacks we got most Stacks, Berdies,
is your Instagram name? Is that just a play on
words or is that an alter ego for you?
Speaker 4 (31:44):
No, it's a little bit of a player on words.
So Moe was one of my nicknames and we just
shartened it Stacks. But I remember my brother and I
actually trying to come up with a Twitter handle for me,
and we were just like, you know what, you play golf,
you make a lot of birdies, so let's call you
most Stacks Birdie. So basically most Stack and Birdie's on
the course.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I mean, I like it.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I like it for the name, but I also think
most Acts would just be a cool nickname and a
cool altery.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Yes, yeah it is.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
That is my nicknames my friends.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Yeah, And like, you know, you could do a whole
merch line. I don't know, there's something there's Most Acts
sounds like someone who would put together those collabs we
were talking about and find a way to get yourself
into the other spaces. All right, last question, I want
to hear about Underrated Golf Tour. What is it and
what's your involvement in it?
Speaker 4 (32:32):
Yes, so under Golf Tour is Steph Curry's uh tour.
He has it for basketball as well, but Steph really
loves golf and it is passionate about providing opportunities to
our youth, to our junior golfers and getting them on
on you know, tab of this courses. Learning what it
is like to play a tour structure over the summer
(32:54):
owned points which then qualify you for some other Junior
Gloss events. So it's really about going into the kids,
getting them on first class golf courses with storied histories,
and giving them a chance to compete and grow in
the game of golf. And so I love it. KPMG
one of my sponsors, and I I had the opportunity
(33:15):
to get to know Steph his underrated team and get
involved with supporting his event and then supporting the kids,
and it's been fantastic. My favorite part of what we
do is at the Championship in September, once the golf
has concluded. The next day, we have basically a leadership
academy set up for the young players and so their
(33:37):
parents have some informationals. We have some informationals. I'll do sessions,
My dad will come up and do a session with
some of the parents. We have college recruiters, people in
business who can mentor and offer some guidance for the
young golfers. So it's really investing in them as young
athletes but also people, and it's been great. Like these kids,
(33:58):
they love to compete, they're great golf, and I just
feel fortunate to get to play a role in helping
them continue to grow and improve their games, and, like
I said, learn a tour system. Navigating the junior golf world,
it can be challenging for parents who didn't grow up
playing a game of golf themselves and might need some
guidance on how best to move their juniors through it.
(34:20):
So we provide that guidance to both the juniors and
to their parents, and our goal is to get them
to the best school if possible. And if they go
on and decide that they want to pursue a career
as professional golfers, then we hope that we've helped invest
and give them the tools to chase that dream.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I love that it's so important.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
It's really like it's much more complicated than a lot
of other sports to get into, to be able to
afford to try it and to find out if you're
great at it, and then where do you go if
you do find that you have a calling for it.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
So that's really.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Cool, Mariah, so great to talk to you. Heal fast.
I guess enjoy the PT if that's what you're into,
and we look forward to see you back out.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
On the link soon.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
I appreciate it, Sarah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
We have to take another break when we come back.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
One former golfer goes all in on changing the game.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Welcome back, slics.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good game.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Play of the day Watch Little Golf.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Mark your calendars and tune into the US Open starting
tomorrow at twelve pm Eastern. The first round is on
USA Network until six pm, then coverage moves over to
Peacock from six to eight pm. You'll also be able
to catch featured groups hitting the Links at eight thirty
am and two twenty pm at Uswomen's Open dot com
or on the USGA.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
App and Peacock.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
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Speaker 2 (35:58):
Forget to subscribe, Rate and revive It's easy.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Watch friend of the show Tisha Allin launching her own brand,
rating ten out of ten fashionable fits for the Links
and the Clubhouse review. Former pro golfer turned content creator
and podcast host Tisha Allen. You've heard her on our
show and on her iheartwomen's sports podcast Welcome to the Party,
has recognized what she calls gaps in gear visibility and
(36:25):
how women are included in the game of golf, and
she decided to do something about it. The first capsule
of her all in Golf brand is now live at
allindolf dot com. That's al Yn Goolf dot com. From
dresses to pants and skirts and t's that say, I'm
not a player, I just golf a lot.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
She's trying to make golf.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
A little cooler, younger, and edgier, and we're here for it.
Congrats Tisha. Now it's your turn slices, rate and review.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Good game, Mariah, Good game, Minnesota,
Frost UNC Lacrosse and got THEMFC you biceps tendonitis. A
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
(37:05):
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
could find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
(37:26):
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com