[jwplayer 99uv18CN]
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Zach Wright felt like once he got past the par-3 13th on Orange County National’s Crooked Cat course, he could breathe a little easier. In the final round of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School, Wright reeled off four birdies in the five closing holes, diving to 14 under and effectively securing eight guaranteed starts for the 2020 Korn Ferry season.
“I had two par 5s downwind, just had to keep breathing and I knew I’d be OK,” said Wright, who played those last five holes in a combined 10 under for the week.
That’s where his caddie came in. Wright had fiancée Lindsey Weave on the bag at Orange County National, who should know something about the pressure that comes with Q-School. She was a little over a month removed from a top-5 finish at the LPGA Q-Series, an eight-round monster played at Pinehurst Nos. 6 and 9. Weaver secured full status for the upcoming season.
At his own Q-School, Wright found that Weaver was good for reading greens and confirming lines, but also keeping him calm. This is the third time in four years he has played final stage.
“More than anything, she’s kind of there for support and help with emotions,” he said.
It’s not often that a relationship blossoms across two professional tours. The past month is a good example why. Weaver caddied for Wright at a second-stage qualifier in San Diego, then flew directly to Pinehurst for her own Q-School. The couple, who lives in Phoenix, spent the past week in Orlando.
“It was exciting because it all worked out the way it was supposed to,” Weaver said.
Wright and Weaver met as kids playing junior golf in Arizona and ended up dating in high school. Weaver feels like they’ve known each other forever, but when they went to different colleges – Wright to LSU and Weaver to Arizona – they saw each other less frequently. When the Wrights moved to Iowa while the Weavers moved to Ohio, logistics became even harder.
“We weren’t in the same state anymore, it was like we were never going to see each other,” Weaver said. “We just reconnected a little over two years ago.”
It was perhaps easier in 2018, when Weaver was on medical leave with an injury for much of her LPGA rookie season. Wright was playing the Mackenzie Tour in Canada, and it was often a relatively short drive from Weaver’s parents’ house in Ohio to see him.
If you want to make it work, Weaver says, it works.
“This past year was really our first year both full schedules trying to make it work,” she said. It ended with a proposal.
Wright had the ring since February but didn’t pop the question until this fall on a trip to Napa. Weaver expects a long engagement. There’s much to plan amid a full schedule of golf.
With full LPGA status, Weaver plans to start her season at the new LPGA event in Boca Raton, Florida, on Jan. 20 before spending two weeks in China and a week in Australia. By mid-March, she’ll be back in Phoenix for the Founders Cup.
“We live like two minutes from that course,” she said.
It’s one week, hopefully, they’ll be together.
[opinary poll=”does-purse-size-make-a-professional-even” customer=”golfweek”]