LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Blair O’Neal hasn’t played much golf since finding out that she’s pregnant. Morning sickness hit hard that first trimester. The pro-am round at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions marked her sixth round in sixth months. Had the tournament been held just a few weeks later, she probably wouldn’t have played.
But the timing worked out. She feels strong and can’t wait to create a special memory inside ropes as the only female in the field’s celebrity division.
“I figured it would be a really cool experience to be able to look back on and say that I did it with my little baby,” she said with a smile that lit up the Four Seasons Orlando.
LPGA TOC: Tee times
O’Neal, who lives in Arizona with husband Jeff Keiser, is due to give birth to a boy on April 13, the Monday after the Masters. She taped several of Golf Channel’s “School of Golf” shows with Martin Hall earlier this week and will tape more after the TOC so that they’ll be stocked up while she’s on maternity leave.
“It’s funny because everyone thinks ‘Oh, that baby bump, it’s going to help you hit the ball farther.’ No, no, no,” said O’Neal. “That’s not how it works guys. It’s the opposite.”
Six months into her pregnancy, she’s about two clubs short.
O’Neal, 38, played collegiate golf at ASU and started a modeling career after college. In 2010, she won the Golf Channel’s Big Break Dominican Republic and then played on the Symetra Tour for several seasons for joining the “School of Golf” show in 2015.
She plans to take a few months off after welcoming her bundle joy. But then it’s back to work.
“I absolutely am coming back,” said O’Neal. “I’ll be a working mom, and I’m just going to figure out how to balance it. I love to work.”
High on the list this week at the Diamond Resorts is keeping stocked up on snacks and rest.
“To be really honest,” she said, “I have to know where all the restrooms are because I have to go to the bathroom like every 30 minutes. That’s real talk.”
