YORKSHIRE-BORN LPGA TOUR PLAYER RETURNING TO VENUE FOR 2008 CURTIS CUP APPEARANCE

       JODI EWART SHADOFF, returning to Old Course, St Andrews where she played for GB and I in the 2008 Curtis Cup match against the United States

FROM THE LPGA TOUR WEBSITE
Yorkshire-born Jodi Ewart Shadoff gave up her belly putter two days before last week’s LPGA Tour Marathon Classic and finished a career-best tie for third. That should come as no surprise considering how quickly the native of England has developed.

The 25-year-old grew up in rural northern England, was introduced to golf by her grandfather and her parents are trainers for thoroughbred horses with her father being a former boxer and jockey.
 Shadoff wanted to attend college in the United States and chose the University of New Mexico, because of similarities to her homeland, and she became an All-American golfer and received academic honors in Albuquerque (Psychology degree). Her husband, Adam, was a sportscaster in Albuquerque. They married earlier this year and now live in Sarasota, Fla. 
With last week’s finish and a tie for fourth at the U.S. Women’s Open three weeks before, Shadoff has risen to No. 46 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. She is just outside of the qualification standards for the International team in the Solheim Cup, but a good performance at the Ricoh Women’s British Open could lift her into a first-time spot on the team or catch the attention of International Captain Liselotte Neumann, who has four Captain’s picks.
“I’m playing well right now,” Shadoff said after a bogey-free 66 (another career best) in the final round of the Marathon Classic. “Anything can happen. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed, and hopefully I’ll be in Colorado in a couple weeks.”
The putter change occurred after becoming disenchanted with her putting statistics. She switched to the belly putter in October 2011 and was a rare LPGA player who used an anchored stroke, even though she was anticipating returning soon to a standard putter to comply with the 2016 deadline for no anchored strokes. 
 She has the other parts of her game in sync – ranking second in Greens in Regulation (74.9 percent, trailing only Suzann Pettersen’s 75.1) and 10^th in Driving Distance (265.4-yard average).

“I was going to wait until this offseason, but it became so frustrating last week (at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic),” Shadoff said. “I was nervous switching. I kind of made it out to be more of a big deal than it should have really been. It wasn't a big deal for me. It was just the short putts that I was kind of worried about. But it's been good. Now my tempo is good. I’m finally getting my putter on plane.”
The Old Course at St. Andrews, the site of the Ricoh Women’s British Open Aug. 1-4, is just over four hours north of her hometown, Northallerton in Yorkshire, and a spot where Shadoff played in the 2008 Curtis Cup (0-1-2 record in American win). Returning with a sharp golf game makes it a complete homecoming.
“It’s a huge confidence boost,” Shadoff said. 
“I’m hitting the ball great finally; putts are dropping in. I can’t wait to get out there. It’s my home major, with my ties to Ricoh too, it’s going to be special at St. Andrews.”