To a golfer like Susy Grunden, winning is great but not necessarily everything. Giving up, however, is out of the question.

“I come from a family of eight,” Grunden said. “Every single one of us hate losing, love to win and will work until we reach success.”

The Krum, Texas native attributes her “never-give-up” mentality to her upbringing. Ricky Grunden, Susy’s father, said her discipline in the game is something that came naturally with the value of strong character.

“Our focus has never been on being competitive for the sake of winning,” Ricky Grunden said. “Our focus has always been on the character of the individual and not compromising.”

This persistent spirit has kept the sophomore golfer busy over the summer. She followed a record-breaking freshman season by participating in several summer tournaments. Now, Grunden is going to the United States Women’s Amateur Golf Championship in Charlotte, N.C. from Aug. 9-15.

Grunden shot a 75 in the qualifying sectional in Houston on July 19, allowing her to tie for third place. After qualifying, Grunden is looking forward to the Championship’s challenge at the Charlotte Country Club.

“I’ve been qualified for two weeks now, so I’m more over the excitement and ready to go play,” Grunden said. “This time last year, I never thought I would have the chance to qualify for it.”

Women’s golf coach Stephanie Young said it was exciting to see Grunden’s dedication to the game pay off, giving her a national spotlight for her talent.

“She’s going down there with a mission, a purpose and a plan,” Young said. “I think she can be very, very successful down there and it’s certainly going to be a great experience, no matter what.”

The golf experience will involve a 6,560 yard course with 156 players, with two 18-hole rounds of stroke-based qualifying medal play. Sixty-four players will qualify for a six-round, single-elimination hole-based match play.

Grunden believes the best 64 players are going to shoot 75 or better in the qualifying rounds. She said making the cut will increase her confidence, because she has maintained a consistency of roughly 72-75 for the summer.

Training has been a crucial factor to Grunden’s success. Having participated in tournaments for six years, she practices with a swing coach, Chris Como. While she practices her short game frequently, she said the especially long Charlotte course makes it important to work on her distance. She intensified her training to prepare for the July 19 qualifier, spending 5 hours daily on the golf course practicing her fundamentals.

Grunden’s swing coach is confident in her ability to succeed under pressure.

“I’ve seen situations where people get frustrated, and Susy instead gets more determined,” Como said.

Keeping her mental game sharp has been crucial to her success, especially in the qualifier, also boasting a long course.

“I like to go into tournaments well prepared, so then I can just relax and play during competition,” Grunden said.

Her father, whom Susy calls her “mental coach” and will caddy for her at the tournament, places great importance on keeping a level head on the course.

“At the end of the day, my expectation is that she plays her game, relaxes and just enjoys it,” Ricky Grunden said.

It is likely Grunden will do just that, as she is already expressing excitement to play with the Falcon golf team at the beginning of the year, and said that the team will start to be seen as a competitor in every tournament.

“I know my confidence will be very high after coming off such a good summer,” Grunden said. “I believe this because of the hard work that everybody is making to improve their game and the new freshmen that we have coming in.”

Grunden believes her team experience as a Falcon has changed her game for the better. Grunden mentioned this is the first time she has played on a team and credited much of the team’s chemistry to coach Young’s guidance.

“After coming back home and talking to all my friends about their freshman year experience and their team chemistry I believe that I am on the best team possible,” Grunden said. ” … It will help prepare me for North Carolina because of all the support I have coming from my teammates and coach.”

Ricky Grunden also believes the team atmosphere has helped his daughter. He said the team is “really engaged,” and that after she returned home for summer, her already high work ethic reached new heights.

“I’m intensely proud of her and her team,” Ricky Grunden said. “We’re thrilled to be representing BGSU in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.”

Both her Texas and Bowling Green coaches are proud as well, and expressed confidence in Grunden’s playing style.

“Her qualifying is just one small step in reaching her overall potential as a golfer,” Como said.

“It’s just another event, all things considered,” Young said. “She just plays the same way she always does.”