Vancouver's John trusting the process in first professional season on Epson Tour

Leah John knows that the standard answer for on what her goals are as an up-and-coming golfer should be something like "top 15 on the Epson Tour" or "get my LPGA card."

But, if she's being honest, she'd rather just refine her process.

"I am just really focused on getting me and my game the best it can be, and then seeing where that takes it," John said on Wednesday. "I have always believed that things will work out the way they want to if you put in the work and make a plan and just stick to it.

"I know it's kind of a lame answer. I know the proper answer is 'be the best golfer in the world,' but really it's to be the best I am right now."

The 24-year-old from Vancouver turned pro this spring after graduating from the University of Nevada and has seven Epson Tour events under her belt since late April. She's made the cut three times, including a tie for eighth at the Twin Bridges Championship on July 19.

"I think the thing that I'm still trying to figure out is the difference between playing to win versus playing not to lose, and kind of how you work around that and using pressure to fuel you," she said.

The top 10 at Twin Bridges in Guilderland, N.Y., is the perfect example.

John needed a good showing or she'd have to go to the LPGA and Epson Tour's Qualifying Tournament Stage 1. She started the final round with back-to-back bogeys and briefly got down on herself but, by sticking with her process, she bounced back with four birdies on the final seven holes to earn her first professional top 10.

"You can't think about it at all but you want it to happen, right?" said John on the difficult balance of staying present while trying to achieve goals. "You have to dial into the process more and more.

"So learning that, there's so much your mind kind of can help you get away with. This is the thing my coach (Jennifer Greggain) and I talk about all the time: trusting your mind, trusting your brain, to create what you want, and not getting in its way."

John will be back in action on Friday at the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Ind. She'll be joined by Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Thibault is 114th on the Race for the Card points list, Szeryk is 117th, John is 120th and Kwon is unranked.

LPGA TOUR — Rookie Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., leads the Canadian contingent into this week's FM Championship. She's 93rd on the Race to CME Globe rankings heading into play at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. Hamilton's Alena Sharp (113th) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (141st) of Sherbrooke, Que., are also in the field.

PGA TOUR — Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., is the lone Canadian in the Tour Championship at East Lake golf Club in Atlanta. The final event of the season has the top 30 players on the PGA Tour start with a score based on their rankings. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will tee off on Thursday at 10 under, No. 2 Xander Schauffele begins at 8 under, and so on. Pendrith, who starts tied for 21st, will start the tournament at 1 under.

PGA TOUR AMERICAS — Matthew Anderson of Mississauga is second in the Fortinet Cup standings, heading into the second last event of the PGA Tour Americas season. He can gain some ground on John Keefer of the United States at this week's CRMC Championship in Brainerd, Minn. There are 13 Canadians in the field at Craguns Legacy Course.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2024.