After a string of injuries and the loss of a loved one during a "challenging" second year of her golfing scholarship at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, Lucy Owen should be entitled to put her feet up on her visit home to CHB.
But instead the aspiring 21-year-old golfer is busy working on her game, looking for work, and working to raise the $12,000 she needs for her travel, accommodation and living expenses when she returns to the US in August.
Though her US$23,000 ($32,448) scholarship covers her tuition costs, Lucy said restrictions to her US student visa meant she would only be able to work part-time on campus - even if she had time for a job.
"We have work-outs every morning, then typically classes every day from 9am till 12.30pm, and then four hours of practice every afternoon until after 5pm.
"Then we normally play a round of 18 holes on the weekend, with only one day off. It's a fulltime job - my days are already jam-packed."
To help, a third Lucy Owen Fundraising Tournament will be played at her home course at Waipawa Golf Club next Monday, June 5.
Lucy said she was enjoying working with her old coach Brian Doyle and looking forward to catching up with friends and supporters at the tournament at her home club, where she has been the open women's champion for the past four consecutive years and holds the course record - a score of 68.
"It's normally a really good day - I have lots of fun catching up with people and playing. I really appreciate the support," said Lucy.
Apart from being her club's champion, she was also the 2014 NZ Maori U19 women's golf champion, 2013 Hawke's Bay Maori women's open champion, as well as being a regular Hawkes Bay/Poverty Bay representative player and regional age-group champion.
Those on-course results earned Lucy her golfing scholarship to UALR back in 2015, where for the first 18 months she maintained an impressive 4.0 grade-point average.
Back home for summer break before the start of her third year, Lucy admitted her second year had been a challenge due to injuries and the death of her beloved grandfather.
She said she started the year in good form but picked up a foot injury just before the first tournament of the season, for which she had qualified in second place, and was in a moon boot for nearly a month.
After returning from injury she managed to qualify for a further two tournaments, before she was saddened by the news last November of the death of her UK-based grandfather, Monty, who introduced her to the game.
"I probably would never have played golf if it wasn't for him.
"I used to go out with him and Nana all the time and used to drive the golf cart until I was strong enough to hold a club.
"He bought me my first set of golf clubs," said Lucy, who started playing golf competitively at 13.
After returning to the US following a visit home at Christmas, she injured her back in a car accident when she and her teammates were on their way to a tournament.
She managed to play through the pain and finish the tournament and others that
followed, but admitted the injury affected her golf.
Despite the setbacks, Lucy still managed to qualify for eight out of a possible 11 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Level 1 tournaments staged in her university's Sun Belt conference during the year.
"Which was great, a lot more tournaments than I qualified for in my first year," said the psychology major.
She was proud she had been able to maintain a high standard of academic achievement, given the high workload.
For 2016/17 she was not only named on UALR Chancellor's list for academic excellence for both the Fall and Spring semesters, she was also presented with a certificate at the Sun Belt Conference National Golf Tournament for outstanding work in the classroom, qualifying her for the commissioner's list for academic achievement.
"When I am struggling sometimes [with the workload] I think about how lucky I am to be over there learning and playing golf," she said.
"It's an amazing opportunity."
To sponsor a hole or play the tournament ($30 per player, which includes dinner) phone 027 360 4406 or (06) 858 8248 .