For more than a decade, Amelia Garvey has had a dream.
New Zealand's Amelia Garvey hits a tee shot during the LPGA Tour NZ Open in 2017. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
This week, after 12 years of toil, that dream becomes a reality when the 20-year-old New Zealand golfer plays in a major for the first time.
Garvey's qualification for the US Open, coming by virtue of a world amateur ranking of 21, was confirmed almost a month ago.
But only when tournament week arrived in Houston, Texas, had it finally started to sink in.
"It's unreal," Garvey said on Tuesday, less than three days out from her first appearance at one of the women's game's five biggest events.
"I've known for a while now but I was standing on the range this morning a little starstruck, to be fair.
"One of my goals this week is to just be in the moment and enjoy things. It's really easy to get caught up on wanting to perform and do well but I really want to look back on this week and enjoy myself.
"It's my first major and hopefully not my last so at the end of this week I just want to make sure I haven't let that, thinking about that eight-year-old who has always dreamed about this moment, slip by."
Good advice in that regard was close at hand.
The Cantabrian would be the first New Zealander other than two-time major winner Lydia Ko to feature at a women's major in more than four years.
The pair hit balls beside one another at the driving range on Tuesday and were set to play a practice round together at the Champions Golf Club on Thursday.
"Just being able to have Lydia as a mentor [is great]," Garvey said.
"She's only 23 but she's done this a lot more times than any other 23-year-old so just being able to have another Kiwi like her that flies our flag with a lot of pride and she'd do anything she can to help someone like myself or other young New Zealand girls out.
"Making the most of that relationship and asking her questions and learning from one of the best in the world is just a really cool opportunity."
Photo: Photosport
An opportunity Garvey had now she had been cleared to play in a country where the Covid-19 pandemic continued to surge.
While both Covid tests she had been required to have had come back negative, she hadn't been taking any risks that might jeopardise the milestone moment.
"It was gonna be my worst nightmare if I tested positive and not even get to play the tournament because I had to be in quarantine for two weeks, so I'm glad that's out of the way and [it was] definitely nerve wracking wait for the results to come back.
"I've just been really playing it safe. Wearing masks every time we're inside and not going to any supermarkets [because] we're getting food provided for us at the course.
"Just basically going in between the golf course and the hotel. It is a little bit boring but you got to do what you got to do, I guess."
And that wasn't just because Garvey didn't want to miss out on finally making her major debut, after narrowly missing out on the chance several times before this year's US Open.
The senior at the University of Southern California, who was back in the US after an eight-month stint at home due to the pandemic, was set to graduate in May.
She then planned to turn professional, with the LPGA Tour's qualifying or "Q" school running from August through till December.
A good result this week, Garvey said, would make that process of earning a Tour card easier.
"Q school goes off world ranking as well. So, if I were to finish in the top five in the world amateur rankings I'd be able to skip stage one and two of Q school and go straight into stage three.
"That's one of my goals until I graduate is to get my ranking up into the top five and try and be able to skip those first two stages. This tournament would definitely help that so definitely a lot of good incentives to play well this week."
Make the cut, as she hoped to, and stay in the moment, as she was determined to, and Garvey's long-held dream would be realised in more than satisfactory fashion.
