'I love the first thing in the morning when he smiles': LPGA Tour player Brittany Altomare of Shrewsbury enjoys life as a mom

It would have been appropriate for Brittany Altomare to play on Labor Day weekend in her first LPGA Tour event since giving birth to her first child.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

The Shrewsbury native had hoped to play in the FM Championship, the inaugural LPGA Tour event at TPC Boston in Norton, Aug. 29-Sept. 1, but she decided against it.

Altomare gave birth to her first child, Wyatt , on March 7, and she simply isn’t ready to play on the LPGA Tour yet.

“It’s a little too early,” she said via phone last week from her home in Tampa, Florida.

Altomare grew up in Shrewsbury and hit golf balls off home plate at Fenway Park last October to help publicize the FM Championship, but it has taken her longer than she expected to regain her strength and skills since giving birth.

She started practicing in the beginning of June, and she played in an Epson Tour event, the Hartford Healthcare Women’s Championship July 12-14 in Milford, Connecticut. She shot an even-par 72 in the first round, but rain forced her to play her final 30 holes of the 54-hole event on the last day.

“I don’t think I was in quite the physical shape to do that,” she admitted.

She carded a 2-under 70 in the second round, but could only manage a 5-over 77 over her final 18 holes to finish tied for 69th at 3-over 219.

“So the last 18 was pretty tough,” she said, “but I learned a lot about where I was at and what I need to do going forward, but the biggest thing for me was getting my strength and stamina back along with my swing speed.”

It was her first Epson Tour event since she won the 2016 Guardian Retirement Championship in Sarasota, Florida, in a playoff.

Altomare, 33, is allowed to play in three test events on the Espon Tour or mini tours that consist of at least three rounds before she returns to the LPGA Tour. She hopes to play Nov. 19-24 in the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational, an unofficial event which pits players from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Fran Quinn of Holden has played in that event several times.

Altomare also would like to play in another Epson Tour event in Florida in February while the LPGA Tour competes in Asia before she returns to the LPGA Tour in March. The 2025 LPGA Tour schedule has not been announced, but she could end up returning about the time Wyatt celebrates his first birthday.

“I’m looking forward to playing again while not pregnant,” she said.

That should seem so much easier.

“I hope that’s the case,” she said.

In the meantime, she’s working out, practicing and enjoying spending time with her husband, Steven Stanislawzyk , a fellow Shrewsbury native, and their young son.

“It’s awesome,” she said. “I think I wanted to be a mom for quite some time now. It’s great. I love the first thing in the morning when he smiles. It’s just the best. Or if I come home after not having seen him for a while because I’m training and he sees me and smiles, it just melts my heart.”

Altomare has recorded seven holes-in-one, but she ranks being Wyatt’s mother as “way better.”

Altomare said she knew Steven would be a great father because she saw how he acted around his nieces and nephews.

“I feel like I’ll be the strict parent,” she said, “and he’s definitely going to be the more laid-back parent. He’s been great. It’s fun seeing him as a dad. You know each other as boyfriend-girlfriend and husband-wife, and now you get to see each other as parents, which has been a lot of fun.”

Altomare said playing in Connecticut last month showed her that it was possible to play as a mother and that she hadn’t lost that much off her game.

No matter how well Altomare plays on the golf course, she can look forward to Wyatt smiling afterward.

“It’s something else to focus on other than just golf,” she said. “Sometimes, it gets lonely and monotonous. So now I have something else to focus on, which will be nice.”

Altomare plans to bring Wyatt on the road with her, and he’ll be in good hands with Bardine May , who has served as director of the LPGA Tour’s Child Development Center for more than 20 years. Steven started a new job in December in a corporate office in the auto industry and will have to pick and choose which events he can attend.

Wyatt accompanied Altomare to the Epson Tour event last month, but day care wasn’t provided. So Altomare’s father, Tom , came along. Wyatt did well on his first flight.

“I don’t know if it’s tricking me into thinking this is going to be a lot easier than it really is,” Altomare said, “but we’ll see how it goes.”

Last year, Altomare missed the cut in 12 of her 17 events and earned only $39,029, a little more than a tenth of what she pocketed the year before. But she was pregnant for the final seven months of the year.

“I thought it would be a lot easier than it was,” she said. “I was really wrong. I definitely underestimated how hard the first trimester was, between being tired and nauseous and just not feeling like yourself.”

Altomare attributed her tough season in part to being pregnant, but she pointed out that other LPGA Tour players have experienced success after giving birth.

“Everybody’s pregnancy is totally different,” she said. “ Lindsay Weaver-Wright played way better pregnant than when she wasn’t pregnant. I was like, ‘I don’t know how she’s doing it.’ That was incredible to watch.”

Altomare believes she also needs a new attitude.

“For whatever reason,” she said, “I just started getting harder on myself and just kind of getting down instead of fiery like I used to be. I don’t know if that was a combination of me wanting to start a family and struggling with the concept of starting a family but also not wanting to lose my career, which was something I struggled with for a little bit.

"But once I decided that this was what I wanted to do, I felt a little better about it. I’m really happy, and I’m really looking forward to being a mom on tour, and I do think it’s possible. Playing in Connecticut gave me hope. It got me excited for next year.”

Altomare’s goal is to play well enough to make the U.S. Solheim Cup team in 2026. She compiled a record of 4-3-1, including 2-0 in singles, in the 2019 and 2021 Solheim Cup.

Altomare has earned $3.3 million in her career, including posting 17 top-10 finishes. In 2017, she finished second in the Evian Championship, one of the LPGA Tour’s major events, after losing a playoff to Anna Nordqvist .

Altomare is confident she can be successful again on the LPGA Tour.

“I’ve never had this amount of time to work on my game, strength and speed,” she said. “Part of the reason why I made this decision not to play at TPC Boston is because I feel like I should take advantage of this time that I have and not rush back into it, especially if my body’s not ready.”

Altomare won’t go to TPC Boston, but she does plan to visit Cape Cod and Central Mass. during the week of the tournament. Not all of Steven’s family members have met Wyatt, so they’ll get the chance then.

FM signed a five-year deal to sponsor an LPGA Tour event at TPC Boston and recently shortened its name from FM Global. Last month, FM announced it had added another $300,000 to the purse, boosting it to $3.8 million, the largest on the LPGA Tour outside of the majors and tour championship.

“It’s definitely going to be a special event,” Altomare said, “and it will be nice to have women’s golf back in New England again. It’s a bummer that I won’t be able to play, but I’m so excited for the girls and the tour to come and see what New England has to offer.”

Westborough native Alexa Pano is scheduled to be among the 144 golfers who will tee off at TPC Boston. Altomare has met Pano, but she didn’t know she spent her early years in Westborough until this columnist told her.

Altomare is especially impressed with Megan Khang of Rockland because she spends her winters in Massachusetts and can’t practice outdoors in warm weather.

“I would be horrible for the first half of the year,” Altomare said.

This will be the first LPGA Tour event in Massachusetts since Meg Mallon , a native of Natick, won the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open at the Orchards Golf Club  in South Hadley.

The Worcester area has enjoyed a prominent role in hosting LPGA Tour events. Pleasant Valley CC in Sutton hosted LPGA Tour events from 1962-1974 and again in 1999. From 1967-1968 and 1970-1974, PV was home to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Worcester CC hosted the 1960 U.S. Women’s Open.

TPC Boston also hosted 17 PGA Tour events, including 13 FedEx Cup Playoff events, from 2003-2020. Now it’s home to the LPGA Tour.

“I’ll be there next year,” Altomare said.

Ideas welcome

You can suggest story ideas for this golf column by reaching me at the email listed below. Comments are also welcome.

—Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @BillDoyle15.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'I love the first thing in the morning when he smiles': LPGA Tour player Brittany Altomare of Shrewsbury enjoys life as a mom