During her recent appearance at the CN Canadian Women’s Open, NFCA spokeswoman and Athlete for Awareness Sarah Jane Smith sat down with the Toronoto Sun and discussed what is being called her breakthrough year on the LPGA tour.

The Foley effect

Smith credits coach after surge up the leader board, tie for low round of the day

By KEN WIEBE, QMI Agency

“Sarah Jane Smith quickly went from nearly being out of the competition to surging right into the heart of the action.

Smith was nearly felled by a falling branch on the 11th hole Thursday but survived the scare and heated up on Friday, cruising to a 6-under 66 to tie for the low round of the day at the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open at St. Charles Country Club.

‘I had a good chat with my coach about my swing,’ said Smith, who sits 66th on the LPGA Tour money list with $73,875 through nine events. ‘I was hitting it everywhere and usually I hit my driver pretty straight. I was all over the place. My stats said seven fairways but I think they were being generous. I was a little out of synch. (Friday) was much better.’

Thanks to the beauty of technology, Smith was able to have some video of her swing shot and sent it to her coach, Canadian swing guru Sean Foley, who offered some analysis on Thursday night.”

After a somewhat difficult start at the August 26 – 29, 2010 tournament, which took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sarah Jane rallied to finish tied for 30^th overall with a final score of +1.

“After struggling mightily in 2008, Smith enlisted the services of Foley roughly 18 months ago and has seen a dramatic turnaround in her game.

‘He’s great, we had to keep it in the commonwealth,’ said the Australian, who moved her home base to Orlando, Fla., so she could be closer to Foley.

‘We worked on my swing initially when I started with him, I had just missed seven cuts in a row, so he had me go see a life coach, but he worked with me on my golf. I talk to him a couple times a week and he’s been amazing.’

‘It had got to the point where golf was dictating my day. If I played bad, it was a bad day. Obviously, it’s your job, but it shouldn’t affect you that much.’

Smith, 26, was a competitive swimmer until the age of 12, but that’s when she started focusing on golf instead.

‘I loved swimming, but I started playing golf with my dad and I got to the point where I had to choose one or the other,’ said Smith, who represented her state in Australia in the pool before shifting full-time to the links.

The start of her pro golf career was stalled a little bit after Smith got into a car accident in 2003.

‘It wasn’t serious, said Smith, who turned pro in 2004. ‘I broke some bones in my hand. I had about three months off completely, but I had a really good surgeon and it’s stronger than ever.’

Smith’s goals for the remainder of the season are simple.

‘I finished 103rd on the money list last year, so I only had partial status this year,’ said Smith. ‘Obviously, the goal is to regain full status and hopefully, get into the season-ending events.’

‘If we keep going, we’ll get that done.’”

To read theToronto Sun article in full, click here.