Ashley Grier Carries PGA Legacy into Third KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Ashley Grier is a veteran in every sense of the word. The PGA Professional has competed in not one, but three majors, including two back-to-back KPMG Women’s PGA Championships in 2018 and 2019. Beyond that, to say she grew up around the game would be an understatement. Golf literally planted itself in her front yard.

“My father, David Grier, has been a PGA Professional for about 40 years. When I was young he and my mom bought a golf center and our house was on the property,” Grier told us. “So we had a miniature golf driving range and an 18-hole putting par-3 course in our front yard.”

Grier and her sisters grew up utilizing those resources almost daily, so it’s not surprising that they took to the game. Ashley played on her high school's all-boys golf team, then went on to play collegiately at Jacksonville University before beginning her professional career. Eventually a friend of hers convinced her to go through the PGA program and follow in her father’s footsteps.

Ashley’s role is now Assistant PGA Professional at Overbrook Golf Club under Eric Kennedy, who at one point worked for her father. The job is one that allows her to balance both her love of competition and administration.

“Obviously golf is in my family, so I wanted to stay around golf. I still love to compete so it’s nice to be able to work and still compete in some big tournaments as well.”

Now, she is in the throes of balancing those two things as she prepares to compete in her fourth Major Championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next week, and this time she’s going in with a different mindset.

“The first [major championship] I played in, I felt very overwhelmed just by the length and the fact that it was a major, it was sort of intimidating.,” she shared. “But now that I know what to expect it’s better. If I can go out and stick to my game, it’s just another tournament. That’s kind of how I need to approach it to remain level headed.”

Not that being a veteran has made her jaded. She is still just as excited to get the chance to compete against some of the highest ranked golfers in the world, and more importantly to learn from them.

“To play with some of the best players in the world is also amazing. It’s cool to be able to see what they’re doing that I may not be doing and to see what I can learn from them.”

As for her expectations? That mindset has changed as well. “I’d like to go into it this year with the mindset that I can play just as well and I can make the cut and believe that I can,” Grier said “It’s important to give myself a chance instead of putting myself out of it before I even start.”