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her ribs. This all came to a head at the Canadian LPGA Tour stop where during the du Maurier Classic playing partner Meg Mallon convinced Eathorne she was done. It sidelined her for a month and through rest and therapy she rebounded and came back strong. The following season in 2000, Eathorne met fellow Canuck and lifelong friend Gail Graham. She was like a big sister to Eathorne and they travelled many stops together and shared countless laughs. She played well breaking the top 5 at an event. Another trusted Canadian friend, was tour veteran Dawn Coe – Jones. Eathorne has many fond memories of the two girls sharing a room and desperately trying to find a hockey game on their lap tops. "AJ had incredible drive as a young player- almost fearless-and such an awesome zest for life. It was fun for me to see a young player from a small town succeed. We will always be great friends - she is the type of friend that you can go forevere wtihout talking to, but when you do, it is like you haven't missed a minute, said Gail Graham. The next few years Eathorne was averaging a top 10 finish each year but just struggled for that breakthrough win. Two big road blocks impacted Eathorne mid-career. She separated from her long-time coach who was battling personal issues and the impact of the split caused her to struggle with her game. Eathorne changed coaches and started to get excited shooting a career low round in 2003 of 62 and had multiple top 10 finishes in 2005. Unfortunately, AJ had been plagued wtih growing wrist pains. She mistakenly tried to Caddying On The PGA Tour Vs The LPGA Tour CADDYING FOR FRIEND GRANT FUHR LED EATHORNE TO LOOP FOR PGA TOUR PLAYER KRIS BLANKS play through it, and in 2006 she was saddled with wrist surgery. Had it been fixed earlier it could have made a big difference to her game. Eathorne didn't want to hit the ground anymore impacting her ability to achieve solid contact. The result was a lack of confidence and she played the last few years without a lot of belief in herself. Eathorne recalls, "I got to the point that I realized I don't really want to do this anymore. I made $60,000 and spent $50,000 then I made $40,000 and spent $50,000. This it is not what life is about. You start to really struggle. Your sponsors go away and after backing goes away and you are just left with your income and with a lot of pressure on yourself to try and make that one putt. I am single. I don't have anyone to lean on. I've never asked for help from my parents. Never wanted to. I needed to figure it out on my own. So I felt like I banged my head against the wall for a couple months and finally said, No this is not it." In 2009 Eathorne played the odd event A.J.'s Fitness Tips "There is a big difference caddying on LPGA Tour vs. PGA Tour. There is so much more emotion on the LPGA. It's just a female thing. Women are more emotional by trait. You can't say certain things, can't yell as much or do some things you'd like to do. On the Men's tour, it is yell it out; hug it out. With females, it is 'I am going to hang onto this for a couple days and I will probably get over it. I will let you know if I get over it, maybe." Golfers hear about the importance of fitness. What would you tell the average golfer is most beneficial: "Stretching is huge. I have had more injuries due to not stretching enough. We overuse in one way or another the wrong muscles, or over-use one side of our body. If you can work back the other way, if you swing right handed swing left handed to loosen up. Everything now is core. Core is huge. You don't want to have legs stronger than upper body because one takes over. "Many players just hit weights. You have to do cardio too. Raise your heart rate. If I feel like I could go for a 3- 4 mile run after my round, not like 'phew I made it to the finish line, the 18th hole,' you are going to play better. It is stamina beyond the 18th, hole not just to the 18th hole. Once I figured that out I was a lot better off. " A.J.'s Advice To Pro-Am Partners "Pro Am partners always try to hit it so hard, trying to play someone else's game. If you just slow down and play including the Canadian LPGA Tour stop back at Priddis Greens near Calgary, but her heart wasn't in it. She didn't want to practice because if the practice didn't pay off and she failed it made the situation worse. To help make ends meet and in a desperate need to figure out what she wanted to do, Eathorne worked five different jobs that year. They ranged from bartender to web sales for a computer company. She quickly realized she highly disliked an indoor office. So back to the course it was for Eathorne, but this time as a caddie. Eathorne met NHL Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr through mutual friends in Phoenix where they both reside. An avid golfer Fuhr played almost daily and Eathorne started to tee it up with him three times a week. Fuhr's calming attitude and demeanour was just what Eathorne needed. He constantly told her, "No one cares if you play good or bad. They just like you. It won't matter if you play or not. Just enjoy whatever you're doing". Later that year Fuhr invited Eathorne to be on his bag for the Wayne Gretzky Nationwide event held in Ontario. A self-proclaimed hockey fanatic (she is a Vancouver Canucks fan through and through), Eathorne was in. They had a fantastic week. Even though Fuhr didn't play well she found she was giving back to him what he had given to her; positive encouragement. She told him that no one cares how he plays. She realized, "I enjoy helping people out and being that positive rah rah person for them." Continued On Next Page within yourself it is so must better." A.J.'s Advice To Elite Canadian Juniors Considering Turning Pro "Play your own game and have a game plan set out BEFORE you go out on tour. Understand that being a professional is not just about the golf. You need to be strong mentally. Get enough sleep. Be strong physically and set time aside for working out. It is tough being on the road and fitting all those things in. Set the schedule BEFORE you head out and stick to it." VISIT WWW.PREDATORRIDGE.COM'S BLOG SITE FOR MORE POSTINGS FROM A.J. EATHORNE AND OTHER STAFF 35 IMAGE COURTESY NICOLE MARTINEZ