‘Hype man’ Couples helps spark Alison Lee after tough start
Coming off a torrid finish to 2023, Alison Lee was looking forward to extending her fine play into ’24.
But an expected injury in January, occurred when her boyfriend’s dog bit her left hand, left her hospitalized and sidelined. She wasn’t able to make her first start of the season until the HSBC Women’s World Championship three weeks ago, and that left her more shaken than settled.
“Playing in Singapore was really disappointing for me. I only had a couple weeks of practice going into that week, but I didn’t play as well as I wanted to,” she said Thursday after her opening round at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship.
“You know, my biggest fear, too, is losing it, right? Like I had such a great end of the year last year. Golf is such an unpredictable game. Anything can happen. I can have a really good stretch of events and then the next week you can play terribly.”
Lee tied for 51st in the no-cut HSBC event, posting rounds of 79 and 77 in the process. It was a far cry from the way she concluded last year, with a win on the Ladies European Tour and three consecutive runner-up finishes on the LPGA.
And now, was her form gone?
She tried her best to stay positive, knowing it was just one start with little preparation. She also saw her putting coach and her swing coach over the last two weeks.
And, she talked to her “personal hype man”: Fred Couples.
Lee revealed at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship that Couples had reached out to her and told her how impressed he was with her game. The two recently had another positive talk.
“My boyfriend can go on and on and tell me how great I am. Doesn’t mean anything because I’m like, you’re supposed to say that,” Lee said.
“When you have someone like him [Couples] who’s a legend who says all these nice things – he doesn’t have to say any of that – for him to put some time aside and give me a little bit of confidence and tell me things that sometimes I don’t believe myself is a lot. It means a lot to me.”
The good vibes, the encouragement and the practice all helped on Thursday as Lee shot 5-under 66 at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Southern California to sit two off the 18-hole lead.
The UCLA product is seeking her first LPGA title as well as spots on the U.S. Olympic team and the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
“Giving myself a little bit of confidence,” she said, “and thankfully all the hard work I put in is paying off.”