Gerrod Chadwell

When I called Stacy Lewis to talk about playing the Chevron – her goodbye major – while four months pregnant with her second child, I figured she'd have a thought on how to make things better for those who come behind her. That's been the way she thinks for a long time. Sure enough, Lewis had ideas about IVF and maternity leave and what could be done to make it easier for the athlete and promote family. Lewis didn't come to the LPGA like this. She grew into a player who found her voice and understood the value of using it. She will be hard to replace. *** Stacy Lewis had given away the baby clothes and was set to put daughter Chesnee’s crib up on Facebook Marketplace the next day when she came out of the bathroom looking like a ghost. “We were done,” said husband Gerrod Chadwell of trying to have a second child. And then, a miracle. With shaking hands, Lewis showed Chadwell the news they thought would never come: She was pregnant. When the two-time major champion, two-time Solheim Cup captain and former No. 1 tees it up in what could be her final Chevron Championship, she will be four months pregnant. “It was really hard. I mean, it was hard,” said Lewis of the three years they tried to have a second child. “It was hard seeing other people be pregnant and, you know, you want to be happy for them, but at the same time, you're kind of sad inside that it's not me.” When 41-year-old Lewis announced her retirement last year at the LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, it was supposed to be a weeklong celebration of what she’s meant to the tour and Razorback community. But then bad weather forced officials to cancel the tournament, the first time that had happened on tour since 2007, when Lewis was declared the unofficial winner of the same event while a senior at Arkansas. With Lewis growing up in The Woodlands, Texas, Chevron will give her another chance to say goodbye at the major that kickstarted her career in a city that’s close to her heart. When Hurricane Harvey wrecked Houston in 2017, Lewis pledged to donate her paycheck that week from the Cambia Portland Classic to relief efforts. She’d go on to snap a three-year streak of runner-up finishes, 12 to be exact, with an emotional victory. The winner’s check was $195,000, and her sponsor, KPMG, matched it. It’s one example of a career spent thinking about the bigger picture. “I do hope, in the most humble way, that she’s celebrated,” said Chadwell, head women’s golf coach at Texas A&M. “She’s made that place for everybody that’s playing that week.” Full story below: (Courtesy Gerrod Chadwell)