DALY CITY, CALIFORNIA | You’d expect nothing less from a 19-year-old. Rachel Heck is still smiling as her whirlwind tour continues, albeit with some slightly different results as the storm peters out.
On Thursday, the best female college golfer in the country, who just wrapped up her freshman year 30 minutes down the road at Stanford, showed up at Lake Merced Golf Club late in the morning and tried to stick to her normal routine. She’s accustomed to tour ranges, having played in the U.S. Women’s Open in 2017 and 2021, the Evian Championship in 2018 and the ANA Inspiration in 2019. But she isn’t accustomed to the rigor of tour life, the grind of learning courses, adjusting to green speeds, calming any hiccups in your swing, then fighting to make a cut and finish strong on Saturday and Sunday, only to start the entire process again two days later.
Heck is learning. “I’m coming off a long stretch and I’m so exhausted,” she said before the opening round of the Mediheal Championship, Heck’s fifth event in a row going back to the Pac-12 Championship, which she won, the NCAA Regionals, which she won, the NCAA Championship, where she was individual medalist and the U.S. Women’s Open, where she made the cut and finished tied for 35th with Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko, Jasmine Suwanapura, María Parra and Céline Boutier, who have 22 LPGA Tour wins and two majors between them.
“I think I have just gotten a little bit of everything in the past few weeks that’s really going to help my game in the future,” Heck said. “NCAAs, I got that experience of playing with the pressure of having the lead. Then last week I was playing on the biggest stage in golf and right on the cut line. I’ve just put myself in all these different situations and I’m learning from all of it, every unique situation. I am going to take these experiences and it’s really going to help me in the future.”
Heck got a little lost in the Megha-mania last week as 17-year-old amateur Megha Ganne captured the imaginations of golf fans around the world. Ganne played her way into the final threesome and finished as low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open with as magnetic a personality as seen in golf since Jordan Spieth was a rookie. But Heck doesn’t lack on the charisma front. She’s hasn’t declared a major yet. But she is in the Air Force ROTC program at Stanford and hopes to become the first LPGA Tour player to simultaneously serve as an active-duty Air Force Reservist.
“She has a bright future out here,” Ko said, when asked about Heck. “I’ve heard she’s staying in school, which is great. But whenever she decides to come out here, I think she will do quite well.”
Heck wasn’t thinking about that future on Thursday as she rolled putts on the practice green before her 12:48 tee time with Mina Harigae and Michelle Wie West.
“It was really funny,” Heck said. “I was taking a nap (on Wednesday) because, like I said, I was exhausted, and I woke up to a text from Michelle. It said, ‘Yay, see you Thursday.’ I was like, ‘What? No way.’ Then I checked the pairings and saw we were paired together.
“If you’d told me a few years ago that I would be playing with Michelle Wie West at a LPGA event and I’d figure out that I’m paired with her by a text from her, I would not have believed you. It’s crazy. I’m so excited.”
Heck’s story is compelling, now because the game hasn’t become a grind for her. Everything is new, and fresh, and, in her word, “awesome.”
It appears Heck might have finally run out of gas. She opened with a double bogey on Thursday and never appeared in sync. But she had a rough start last week at Olympic Club, too.
“Had a nice comeback on Friday to just barely sneak inside the cut line,” she said of her U.S. Women’s Open experience. “Then the weekend was a blast. No pressure. Just so much fun. And on Sunday I was paired with Lydia Ko, which was amazing. She was absolutely incredible. She is one of my biggest role models, so to actually be able to play with her on Sunday at a U.S. Open was unreal.
“When Lydia and I came out of the scoring tent, all the fans were waiting outside. I said (to Lydia), ‘OK, take a picture with me first before you go to your other fans, because I’m your biggest fan.’ So, yeah, when you’re playing that well and giving you the opportunity to play with players like her, that is the real reward of it. It’s awesome.”
Heck’s story is compelling, now because the game hasn’t become a grind for her. Everything is new, and fresh, and, in her word, “awesome.”
“Oh, my gosh, it’s been a blast,” she said. “I’ve just soaked it all in. Runs like this don’t come often in golf, so you’ve just got to enjoy every second of it while it’s happening. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself and just enjoy it.
“Every pro (congratulated me). I think I saw Lexi (Thompson) first and she said, ‘Oh, my gosh, congratulations Rachel.’ I was taken aback. And then we were on a par-3 waiting and Danielle Kang was in the group behind me and came up and said, ‘Hi, Rachel. I really wanted to meet you and say hi.’ I was like, ‘I want to meet you. I’m a really big fan.’
“The Kordas were in the next group and I was walking up the fairway while they were going back to the tee and Jessica said, ‘Hey, Rachel,’ and I’m just fan-girling over here seeing all my idols say hi like it’s casual.
“It’s really cool how much the pros care about women’s golf and amateur golf as a whole. They’re so welcoming at every professional tournament I get to play. It’s such a great experience. Just a little taste of tour life, seeing how the pros do it.”
Then she looked out at the Lake Merced course and, for a second, thought about the week ahead. “It’s definitely tiring,” she said. “I have so much respect for what they do week after week.”