Champion Series: 2023 Women’s US Open Champion, Allisen Corpuz
Professional golfer Allisen Corpuz recently appeared as a guest on the podcast, hosted by Tori, to discuss her historic 2023 US Women’s Open victory at Pebble Beach. Joining the conversation was Tara Ransdell, founder of TJ Sport and close friend of Allisen.
Early Days Playing Golf in Hawaii
Allisen first started playing golf at age 4, following in the footsteps of her father who was an avid golfer. She grew up in Hawaii, living on a golf course, so had easy access to develop her skills from a young age by going to the driving range every week.
She began competing in regional junior tournaments at age 7, then started entering national American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events by age 12. Her junior career highlights include being a 3-time AJGA All-American.
Traveling to mainland US tournaments was a significant time and money commitment for her family, typically doing a 6-week stretch of summer events. She verbally committed to play collegiately at the University of Southern California by her sophomore year of high school.
College Golf Career
Allisen discussed her reasons for choosing USC – her father went there, she got to visit and see the campus, and they had just won a national championship in 2013 so had a top program. Over her college career, she became a key part of the team, though struggled at times with the demands of academics combined with 20+ hours a week of golf practice and training.
She shared that her toughest year was junior year. She missed the team cut to play in nationals, so-called her parents questioned whether she could really turn professional. However, she played great her senior year before COVID canceled the rest of the season. She ended up using her extra year of NCAA eligibility from COVID to complete her Master’s degree and further prepare for professional golf.
Decision to Turn Pro and Qualifying School
Allisen credited guidance from a former college teammate, Victoria Morgan, for convincing her to take a chance at professional golf before moving on to alternative career options. Victoria had tried the pros briefly herself before attending law school, and reminded Allisen she would always have opportunities to pursue other careers later if golf didn’t work out.
After completing her Master’s degree in 2021, Allisen successfully navigated all three stages of LPGA Tour qualifying school to earn her tour card for 2022 as a rookie.
Successful Rookie Season on LPGA Tour
As a rookie in 2022, Allisen exceeded her goals and expectations by maintaining full status all year and finishing 33rd in season-end points to keep her tour card. She discussed the importance of getting off to a good start in those first few tournaments to set up her year with solid status for entry into more events.
Some keys to her successful first year included not trying to play too many events in a row, instead targeting 3 tournaments at a time and taking breaks. This helped manage the demanding travel schedule. She also focused a lot on taking care of her body and fitness.
Of the 23 tour events she played as a rookie, Allisen estimated she played her best golf in maybe 4 total tournaments. She noted it is rare for anyone to put together 4 really solid rounds week-to-week.
Health and Preparation Leading up to 2023 US Women’s Open Victory
Coming off a recent tournament in Michigan, Allisen dealt with some travel issues returning home to California. She unfortunately didn’t practice much before arriving at Pebble Beach due to developing allergy issues from the weather conditions there. As the week went on she actually got progressively sicker each day.
Despite being under the weather, she altered her practice schedule to conserve energy for tournament play. Her mental coach also helped her maintain her perspective on focusing only on what she could control.
Final Round Mindset and Experience
For the final round paired in the last group, Allisen felt both extremely nervous but also remarkably calm throughout the whole day. She leaned on her caddy Jay to help redirect her mind away from nerves back toward her game plan. Seeing a par putt lip out and then trickle in on the 2nd hole also seemed meant to be.
Maintaining her focus while also battling lingering illness symptoms proved mentally and physically exhausting, as evidenced by her fitness tracker showing a highly elevated heart rate for 7+ hours. She avoided checking leaderboards all day, sticking to her own score and hitting one shot at a time.
Walking up the 18th hole with a comfortable 3-shot lead thanks to her spectacular play all week, Allisen blocked out any hesitation over hitting the driver – instead, she ripped it right down the middle en route to sinking her championship-winning putt.
Reflection on What the US Women’s Open Win Means
Allisen stated that even months later, being introduced as the 2023 US Women’s Open champion hasn’t gotten old. She sees the victory being a massive confidence booster as she continues striving to establish herself on Tour.
Additionally, the win gained Allisen entry into the 2023 European Solheim Cup team event. It also significantly raised her world ranking up to #8, providing eligibility for more elite events.
However, she noted that even with all her recent success she may still go her whole career without another win. Referencing the Pebble Beach win in particular as so special because of sharing the experience with close family and friends on-site.
Key Relationships and Influences
Allisen travels full-time with her mother, who takes care of logistics and “non-golf” responsibilities so Allisen can focus on playing. Her father helps manage travel planning and scheduling remotely while maintaining his job back in Hawaii. Both parents actively support her career transition after traveling together so much through junior golf.
In terms of golf instruction and mentorship, Allisen has developed a great rapport with caddy Jay since first linking up with him for a tournament in early 2022 after randomly reaching out looking for someone to carry her bag. Their player-caddy partnership clearly works perfectly, as evidenced by her phenomenal performances since they began working together.
Grind of LPGA Tour Travel and Play
Regarding the busy LPGA schedule, Allisen emphasized focusing on proper rest and recovery – strategically scheduling events close together geographically, never doing more than 3 tournaments consecutively if possible. She has learned after previous years of over-packing her schedule that playing too much golf with insufficient off weeks will eventually catch up both physically and mentally.
Her practice routine in advance of tournament rounds involves arriving at the course about 2 hours prior, warming up for 30 minutes followed by 40 minutes of full swing, 10 minutes chipping then 15 minutes putting before proceeding to the 1st tee.
Through her first couple seasons of professional experience, the 25 total events and demanding travel requirements mean that realistically Allisen only plays her best golf across all 4 tournament rounds, 4 different weeks out of the year. Remaining patient through inevitable ups and downs every season is an ongoing process, aided by her dedicated team and healthy mindset focusing on continual development.
Goals for the 2024 Season and Beyond
After a few weeks completely off now in the brief offseason, Allisen will conduct a deep statistical analysis examining her performance metrics from 2022 - analyzing what went well and what areas need improvement. This will help shape her training approach for next year.
She already has an initial 2024 tournament schedule mapped out, while leaving flexibility to adjust based on qualifying or not for Olympics and Solheim Cup team events. Making the Olympics and getting picked again for the Solheim Cup are two of her biggest goals as she starts ramping up preparations for the 2024 campaign over the next couple of months.
Conclusion
In summary, Allisen Corpuz produced a truly sensational performance en route to winning the 2023 US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach in her second full season on the LPGA Tour. As covered in this episode recap, she overcame difficult odds and weather to cap off years of hard work chasing her golf dreams.
Entering 2024 with significant momentum from last year’s successes, expect Allisen to continue regularly contending with her elite ball-striking skillset and grit through ever-present pressure. Her tight-knit support crew surrounding her on and off the course should also keep facilitating optimal focus toward maximizing her long-term potential.
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