From Down Under to Under Dog

I gotta tell you. It's tough to sit in the office after two long days out on the course. The steady supply of caffeine was good, but I couldn't wear shorts or my new US Girls' Junior hat! Thankfully, I could take a few long breaks and walk across the street!

I was mistaken when I said none of "my girls" made the cut into the final 64. I neglected to look up the girls from my first round on Monday. Lo and behold, Miss Maisie Filler was in AND seeded 12th. Not bad!

So when I saw she was almost to the halfway point of her match play round today, I headed over to the course to catch her on the turn.

Got to see her putt on 9 and tee off on 10. She probably didn't recognize me without my pony tail, baby blue attire, and iPad hanging around my neck. But I said good luck, finish strong, and "I'd love to be scoring for you today!" Then the dawn of recognition, a smile, and a thank you.

Then back to the office for me. The match was tied up after 17 holes and I was trying to get back over there to see the finish but I had a meeting! The nerve of having actual meetings and work at work!

So I got over there too late and saw on the leaderboard she won! I ran into her caddy and he said, "Oh I bet I'll see you again." I thought maybe she left but I spotted her on her phone and shouted a "Good job, Maisie!" to her. She's probably convinced I'm stalking her, but hey, very few girls have any fans there!

Since my co-worker Lisa and I were already over there, she said, "Let's follow my girl on her last 2 holes before we go back." She had picked a golfer from Australia to cheer on. I figured why not, especially since I had my good camera with me in the afternoon. So we watched the last two holes and were reminded once again that anything can happen on the golf course.

The Aussie, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, 17, had a bogey-free 65 earlier this week to earn the No. 2 seed for match play today. But after sand trouble on 18 (above), forcing a 19th  hole, I was there when she was defeated by the No. 63 seed (who earned her spot in that playoff last night). One of Maddison's key take-aways from her week in Stevens Point, though? She was thrilled to survive "a tornado in America" over the weekend!

It wasn't really a tornado. But I must say (because I love puns) that the underdogs were taking the match play round by storm today. No. 1 seed still No. 1 but there were several upsets. Tomorrow it goes down to 32 playing in the match play format in the morning, then 16 playing in the afternoon. Should be some exciting stuff.

Going to bed so I can go to work (real work) early enough to escape for Maisie's tee time at 8:02 a.m. Forgive me for begin a fan girl!

Don't forget – you can watch, too! Free and open to the public. Fox Sports (FS1) will televise and live stream on Friday and Saturday.