Rachel Heck has long road trip and homework en route to Marathon LPGA Classic

Stanford’s Rachel Heck earned a special exemption to play at the Marathon Classic after winning the NCAA individual title in May. But with the responsibilities that come with playing on the LPGA, typical college demands persist. 

Playing in her third LPGA event, the first goal was to ensure everything arrived to the tournament intact, which called for a lengthy car ride with Heck’s father from their home in Memphis, Tennessee to Toledo, Ohio.  

“Yeah, [the drive] was about 10 and a half, 11 hours, and I was not too happy that we drove,” Heck, said on Tuesday. “But my dad was saying we’ve had too many bad experiences with losing clubs, and he was not about to do that this time at an LPGA event, so we packed up the car and drove.” 

Even though driving added roughly 8.5 hours to their trip, it was better to be safe than sorry. 

“We have the worst luck with flights so we always lose my clubs, and we really didn’t want to do it this time,” Heck said. “I mean, I didn’t want to lose my clubs, but also really didn’t want to drive. I can’t complain. I was asleep pretty much the whole time.”

Full-field tee times from the Marathon LPGA Classic

On top of the road trip, the 19-year-old rising sophomore is taking a summer class so she doesn’t have to take as many during the college golf season. But now with a few LPGA nods, the grind is year-round. 

“I’m taking one (summer class), ECON, just so that way during the season I can take fewer classes,” she said. “I kind of regret it at the moment. But it’s OK.”

So with Heck hitting balls for the first time at Highland Meadows Golf Club this week, she’ll also be hitting the books. 

“I have a problem set due Thursday at like 9:00 p.m,” she said. “I think I have an afternoon tee time, so have to get it done before then. I can’t procrastinate that much.”