Oct. 13, 2010
Sarasota, FL – Not much has changed for New Mexico women’s golf alum Jodi Ewart. She’s still golfing, working out and still has an British accent. The only things different in her life are that she now resides in Sarasota, Fla., and no longer needs to attend classes. Since turning professional in May 2010, Ewart has needed to find hobbies to fill in the spots that were once filled with classes and school work during the last four years at UNM.
“I live about a mile from the beach so I like to hang out there when I’m not golfing and I’ve definitely been catching up on the hours of TV that I lacked in college, too.” Ewart said.
Aside from, “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” and reality shows ranging from Man vs. Food, Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious, Ewart seems to be happy with her new Sarasota beach life.
The 2009-10 Mountain West Conference Female Athlete of the Year moved to Sarasota after graduating from UNM in May with a degree in Psychology. She has been training at the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton and working hard to become a better golfer and athlete.
Ironically, it took Ewart a couple of months before actually arriving in Sarasota because she was competing on the Duramed Futures Tour during the summer. She drove more than 8,000 miles in a three-month span, going across the Midwest and East Coast before finally settling at her new home in Sarasota. It is amazing that Ewart accumulated that many miles in one summer considering she never owned a car or drove during her four years at UNM.
“The longest part of driving was leaving Albuquerque to attend my first event in Iowa, and then while I was going to another tournament, my friend and I drove through six tornado warnings in a thunderstorm,” Ewart said.
During her travels over the summer, Ewart competed in 11 events and earned five top-10s, with her best finish third place at the Falls Auto Group Classic in London, Ky. The tour season came to an end earlier this month and Ewart finished 23rd in the Duramed Futures Tour money list at a little more than $20,000. Her finish on the money list guarantees exempt status through the first round of LPGA qualifying school, which means she will play in the final stage of qualifying in December at LPGA International in Daytona Beach.
If Ewart qualifies, she will earn her LPGA tour card and be able to play her way into the world rankings and, ultimately, play towards her career goal of becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world.
“I do miss New Mexico and all my friends there, but I like Florida and I am getting the training I need to make myself a better player.”