Anne-Catherine Tanguay (who goes by “AC”) grew up hitting colored golf balls off a mat when it was snowing in Canada. She also remembers using a snowmobile at the soccer field to pack in the snow in order to practice.

“That is how passionate my family was for golf,” said Tanguay, after carding a 4-under 68 to share the lead at the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic.

Tanguay posted birdies on two of her final three holes to close in a share of the lead.

“It was really fun today, I had my mom on the bag for the first time ever,” said Tanguay, whose mom Lucie pushed the cart and really helped her. “She ended up making a few good calls and I used her advice a few times.”

On the 12th hole, her third of the day, Tanguay dropped a winding 40-50 foot putt.

“I had a good read on it from Haley’s (Italia) chip and I just putted it in,” said Tanguay while laughing. “It is also the hole that my host family is on so we thought that was fun too.”

Although she hasn’t posted a top 20 finish yet, Tanguay is enjoying year one as a professional.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I just think it is so much fun because you are doing what you did for your whole life except now you are getting paid for it,” said the 24-year-old. “I didn’t know how I’d handle the pressure of playing for money, but my mom used to always throw fun bets at me so that has prepared me.”

Lucie also introduced her to the game of golf.

“I was 10 years old and my mom got my siblings and I into golf,” explained Tanguay. “She wanted us to learn so that when we were older and were business people we could go play in company outings. I’m very competitive and golf just clicked when I was 13.”

Tanguay played college golf at Oklahoma. She was connected to Oklahoma through a fellow Canadian golfer and the head coach, Veronique Drouin-Luttrell, who is also from Quebec.

“She (coach) used to be on the Canadian National team and actually at my first Canadian Amateur she was competing in the field,” said Tanguay. “There was the comfort with the coach and one of my teammates, but my main criteria was the practice facility, which was amazing.”

Three of the six at the top of the leaderboard are Canadian.

AC Grew Up Hitting Golf Balls On a Mat in the Snow

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