Neither my mother or father played golf growing up, but we lived on a golf course. For my 8th birthday I asked for golf lessons . . . and the rest is history. Thanks to the game of golf, I’ve learned that if you work hard, ANYTHING is possible. One of the most exciting aspects of leading the Girls Golf movement is sharing my love for the game of golf and inspiring little girls to dream BIG!
I started golf at age 13 because my brother and grandad played. I loved to be good at sports so being good at golf was a great feeling and turned into my life’s passion! I came to the U.S. for university and after a successful collegiate career turned professional to make golf my career.
At the age of 5, I started taking golf lessons at our small-town driving range with Donna & Paula, both LPGA Professionals. While they sculpted my swing, they also taught me that golf was a challenging and rewarding sport through encouragement and teachable moments. Learning golf in such a welcoming environment led me to continue to take lessons and compete in small junior tournaments with newfound best friends. Baseball eventually took over but not before golf took root as a sport that I loved. Girls Golf is such a powerful and meaningful program that has a lasting impact on the lives of the participants. I am proud to do my part in making golf more accessible to every girl who wants to play.
I started playing golf at the age of 9 with my dad, godfather and twin sister on Sunday afternoons. It was bonding time for our family…my mom would even walk and keep score. I loved being on the golf course and continued to play growing up, eventually playing for my high school team and then in college. Golf has brought so many great things to my life. I got my first job out of college at LPGA International in Daytona Beach Fl which led me to connecting with my amazing teammates today at LPGA Headquarters. Working for LPGA and the Girls Golf program has been a dream come true for me as I am able to help grow the game I love.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, I was introduced to golf at the age of 12 by my grandfather. Lucky for me, golf is a year round sport down there! So, I knew I wanted to pursue it as a hobby and as a sport. My first lesson was taught by Chi-Chi Rodriguez’s brother, Jesús. I ended up playing throughout grade school, as a member of the Puerto Rico Junior Golf Association, playing in tournaments throughout the entire Island. Although my frequency of play went down once I attended school in the cold winters in Connecticut, the passion never left me. Since golf is a mostly mental game, it taught me patience and persistence are needed values in life. And ultimately lead to where I am today, working for such a wonderful organization with a passionate mission for the discipline of golf.
I was introduced to golf by my dad when I was around 10 years old. It started out with an empty can of baked beans placed into the ground in our backyard for me to practice with and evolved into a father-daughter bonding activity at a par 3 nine hole course. My first set of clubs were from a second hand shop with real wood! From there, an early love of golf started to develop, but it wasn't until I was 14 years old when I made the boy's JV golf team (since there was no girls golf team) that there was no turning back from this game. A real passion had formed. Throughout my teen years I worked part time in a golf shop during the summer, played in the MET PGA Junior Golf Tournaments, was a walk-on at my college, and now am living my dream of working for the LPGA! Golf is an invaluable sport and it has taught me so many life lessons. It's my true passion in life and I hope to inspire and empower more girls to pick up this game--it's one of the few sports you can play for life!
As you can see from the picture of my dad and me, golf has been a lifelong passion of mine. Growing up next to a golf course, I always went out with my dad and his friends to play, but I never took it too seriously. A call over the middle school speakers begging for girls to play on the golf team changed all that. I played in middle school, high school, college, and everything in between and had some huge successes! All of that did not come without struggle, though. Being from a small middle Georgia town without a support system to foster the game for girls has always made me want to give back to the game that has provided and continues to provide me with a sense of belonging. I can’t wait to lift up, inspire, and foster the next generation of golfers!
Growing up, I played every sport under the sun. It wasn’t until a family dinner at Olive Garden changed everything for me. The UConn Women’s Basketball Team walked in, and I realized at 5’4” that golf was my sport! I played competitive golf for 10 years all over the East Coast and met some of my greatest friends. After college, I was able to join the LPGA Professionals as an instructor before joining the LPGA Foundation team. This was a perfect match after years of working as a board member in this space, running my own charity events and being a lifelong LPGA fan!
My mom found a local LPGA Girls Golf of Phoenix program when I was young and thought it would be a good way for me to make friends. But I never really took the sport seriously until high school, where I realized a golf scholarship could give me a ticket to college. Through dedication and hard work, I was able to turn one of my goals into a reality and committed to play Division 1 golf at the University of Nebraska Omaha under an athletic scholarship. I took a chance and moved to a brand new state in pursuit of my goals and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Now, I have come full circle as I work for the LPGA Foundation, and get to inspire the next generation of young golfers and help them achieve their own goals.
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