Golfer Amy Olson took the course for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open in July for the seventh time in her career while facing a unique challenge.
At seven months pregnant, Olson competing at Pebble Beach, one of golf’s greatest stages, was headline news. Her story was covered extensively even before she teed off, giving Olson a “renewed faith in humanity” due to what she perceived as a celebration of life.
“I didn’t even expect the reaction when I played in the U.S. Open, seven months pregnant,” Olson told Fox News Digital. “I didn’t expect that to get as big as it did. And to me, that was the most encouraging thing. It was like people are celebrating life no matter what your belief is on it or whatever.
“You’re excited about the fact that I’m playing at seven months pregnant. And there’s something different about that than when you’re just playing another tournament.
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Amy Olson of the United States walks to the 18th hole during the first round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links July 6, 2023, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“I’ve played six other U.S. Opens in my career, and I never received the attention — especially leading up to the tournament — that I did this year. So, to me, that tells me that our culture intuitively knows there is something special and that life does matter even before it’s born. So, to me, it was like, ‘OK, I have a renewed faith in humanity.’ And that was exciting for me.”
Olson said her fellow competitors were nothing but supportive on the course.
“It was so supportive. Everybody was really excited for me, really proud of me,” Olson said. “I received nothing negative, honestly. Like nothing negative the entire week, especially from my peers. Everybody just wants to come up and touch your belly, which is a little bit different. That’s not a normal experience on the golf course.”
While Olson had the support of her competitors and a good amount of media attention, not all the angles of Olson’s story made headline news, according to Steve Eubanks, a former senior writer at Global Golf Post.
Eubanks told TheBlaze he was tasked with writing a preview piece covering the U.S. Women’s Open and chose Olson as the subject of his article.
Amy Olson of the United States hits a tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club June 15, 2023, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
During his discussion with Olson, the LPGA golfer expressed her Christian and pro-life views, diving into the “irony” of the coverage of her competing while seven months pregnant, which coincided with the one-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned.
Roe V. Wade was overturned June 24, 2022, and Olson teed off for the first round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open July 6, 2023.
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In the interview with Eubanks, Olson also discussed the challenges of being an outspoken Christian.
According to Eubanks, the staff at the Global Golf Post “went ballistic” after he filed the story to the editorial team.
“About five hours into the editing process, I got calls from the editor saying, in his exact words, ‘The staff is going nuts. They’re saying we can’t run this. I was fighting very vociferously to get it run, saying, ‘It’s news; we’re a news outlet.’ And the point I wanted to make — if she had said exactly the opposite, I still would have fought to put it in,” Eubanks told “TheBlaze.”
Amy Olson of the United States plays a shot from the 15th tee prior to the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links July 5, 2023, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
After several “back-and-forth phone calls,” Eubanks claims the editor-in-chief of Global Golf Post called and said, “‘The only way we will run this piece is if we take out the abortion and the Christian stuff.'”
Eubanks said he resigned on the spot after 12 years with the publication.
“That was anti-news and quite frankly anti-Christian. And I just couldn’t abide either of those, so I knew on the spot that I had to walk away,” Eubanks told “FOX and Friends.”
Asked her reaction to the piece not running, Olson told Fox News Digital she didn’t necessarily approach her interview with Eubanks wanting to discuss her views, instead wanting to discuss the two different experiences one year apart.
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“Steve is a writer who has written articles about me in the past,” Olson said. “I know his style. I know he’s fair. And so I felt comfortable speaking about the experience that I’d lived through in the last couple of years. One being, and just to put it succinctly, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, it seemed like you could only talk about the woman. You couldn’t talk about the unborn baby involved. And then, all of a sudden, a year later, everybody wants to talk about this unborn baby that I’m carrying with me as I’m playing in a major championship.
“And I just spoke to him about that difference,” she added. “It wasn’t even so much about my views on it, just that I was experiencing two very different things within a year.”
Amy Olson of the United States after hitting her second shot on the second hole during the first round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links July 6, 2023, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Olson said she was “very shocked” the story did not run while also “extremely impressed” with Eubanks for wanting to tell her entire story.
“I was, No. 1, very shocked that it didn’t run, because I’m kind of the opinion that media wants to run anything that’s going to get clicks and gain eyes,” Olson said. “And I figured that would. But then I was also extremely impressed with his, I guess his commitment to journalistic integrity and wanting to tell the full story and not editorialize. And so, to me. that was a huge stand of courage on his part.”
Global Golf Post had not responded to a request for comment by time of publication.
According to Eubanks and Olson, the story was picked up by a writer from USA Today Golfweek, which planned on publishing a piece on “the interview that never ran.”
Eubanks told “TheBlaze” he and Olson were interviewed for the story, which never made it to publication.
Golfweek and USA Today had not responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital by the time of publication.
Olson was surprised by this because she had been quoted in a June 2022 story in Golfweek in which golfers of differing opinions on the overturning of Roe v. Wade were interviewed.
Amy Olson of the United States walks to the 18th hole during the first round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links July 6, 2023, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“The article that had been written in 2022 had expressed both opinions,” Olson told Fox News Digital. “There were athletes that came out in favor of Roe v. Wade being overturned and then others that were outraged about it. So, they kind of shared a really even perspective.
“And when they wanted to interview Steve and I about the story not running, I honestly thought that this was a no-brainer. And so when that one got shut down, I was like, ‘What is going on here? Maybe there’s something a little more.’”
Olson hopes being outspoken will encourage others to stay strong in their beliefs.
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“I would love to see people being more comfortable sharing,” Olson told Fox News Digital. “And even if it’s disagreed with, I just think we should be able to have the conversation in a rational and an open dialog. It’s the only way you find out if you’re wrong about opinions is by hashing it out with people that disagree with you. We shouldn’t fear that.
“I think the biggest thing to me is that little girl, that little boy out there who is thinking, ‘I think this way, but I don’t see anyone else that believes this.’ And maybe having one voice or one person that they hear, that can encourage them to stay strong in their belief.”
Olson missed the cut at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open and is now on maternity leave.
