Three years after she became a national story by playing golf on the ultimate stage, two years after her mother died from a long bout with breast cancer and 21 months after she walked away from a game she thought she might never play competitively again, Dakoda Dowd is back.
She is returning to the amateur golf circuit after a long break to grieve and reflect on the loss of her mother, Kelly Jo Dowd, who helped bring public awareness to breast cancer prevention before the disease claimed her in May 2007.
Last month, Dowd, only 16 years old, played in her first amateur tournament since coming back and just missed the cut.
"I know my game has a long ways to go," Dowd said. "I know I have to shake off the rust from not playing competitively for so long.
"But this is a start."
The lasting memory of Dowd came in 2006, when the Ginn Open outside Orlando, Fla. extended the golf phenom a sponsor's exemption. It was her mother's dying wish to watch her daughter play against the LPGA Tour's best.
And Dowd responded, nearly making the cut.
Her inclusion in the tournament was a flash-point moment in her career that helped build mountains of goodwill and some level of celebrity.
Soon after, Dowd receded from the public consciousness.
She played in charity events and practiced a few times each week. But Dowd used more of her spare time to devote to her mother before she died.
And she was no longer living in a cocoon of golf. After being home-schooled for years, Dowd attended Tarpon Springs High as a freshman two years ago. She went to football games and homecoming dances.
"I just wanted to live life as a teenager," Dowd said.
That meant not playing competitive golf.
"Competitive golf is very draining," said Mike Dowd, Dakoda's father. "And Dakoda was going through an extremely difficult time. She became a very public figure and had a lot of people watching and asking questions as her mother battled breast cancer.
"After her mother died, Dakoda basically said, 'Just get me out of here.'"
Dowd acknowledged that her first attempts at practicing after her mother died were more difficult than she expected. The simple act of walking to the driving range was fraught with emotion and memories, she said.
"My mother is always with me, but probably even more so on the golf course," Dowd said.
Four months ago, Dowd decided she wanted to resume her career.
She decided to go on not just for rah-rah reasons but because golf is what defines her.
"I loved the game too much to give it up completely," Dowd said. "I knew that if I wanted to someday play professionally I was going to have to get back out there. There's a lot of catching up to do."
Dowd does not just want to end her golf exile. She is determined to return as if she never left.
She is attending night school at Palm Harbor University. That allows her more time to practice and play in 18-20 amateur tournaments this year. Dowd hopes to nearly double that total the following year.
Her family is starting over, too. Mike Dowd has a fiancee, Tara Erikson. The couple recently had a boy, Bode.
And Dowd will be a stepsister to Eleanore, 8, Erikson's daughter from a previous relationship.
The five live in the Innisbrook Resort, where Dowd continues to practice.
"I feel like everything is starting to come together. Before I used to play for my father. And then I was under a lot of media pressure playing for my mother.
"Now, I'm playing for myself."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
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