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Katie Rudolph remembers the first time she saw her prized pupil, Megha Ganne of Holmdel, New Jersey, swing a golf club at a driving range at age 8.
“She was striping 7-irons,” recalls Rudolph, a First Tee coach and chief operating officer of The First Tee of Metropolitan New York. “I stopped dead in my tracks and said, ‘Who is this kid?’ Everything was perfect in her swing.”
Ever since, Rudolph has been the only instructor for Ganne. The 16-year-old has progressed to become a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt finalist, having lost a heartbreaker (in 19 holes) in the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, shot a tournament-record 62 at the Girls Junior PGA Championship, scored an invitation to the 2020 Augusta National Women’s Amateur (since postponed) and received a sponsor’s exemption into the ShopRite LPGA Classic scheduled for late May.
From Weequahic Park Golf Club, home base for First Tee Newark, Ganne hits balls out of an indoor studio into snowbanks during the winter. Up until a couple of years ago, she viewed growing up in the Northeast as a disadvantage.
“I used it as an excuse for why I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be,” she said.
And now? She realizes she’s continued to make steady progress all year long.
“I think the difference is I don’t see my results while I’m making a swing change in real-time because I hit into a net,” she said. “When you hit a bad shot, you’re less inclined to go back to what was working. Since you don’t see the results, you trust it more than if you did.”
And just as Rudolph fondly remembers her first time seeing Ganne swing a club, Ganne hasn’t forgotten her first experience at First Tee with Rudolph.
“You told me we were playing for $1 million,” Ganne reminded Rudolph. “That continued and now Katie owes me $34 million.”
Rudolph sheepishly grinned and replied, “I have every intention of paying you back. Just as soon as I win the lottery.”