Next up on our player diary series is Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino who recalls the moment one year ago when her life changed after she stormed to victory on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in her homeland.
Peláez had limited status on the LET after not performing how she would’ve wanted at Q-School and was invited to the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open but came into the tournament off the back of two missed cuts.
However, the Spaniard had an excellent week with rounds of 69-67-63-66 to clinch a six-shot victory which give her full status on Tour and she ended the year fifth on the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol.
One year on from that magic moment in Madrid, the 25-year-old looks back on that special week in Spain…
I was coming back from a couple of tournaments on the Epson Tour. I got the invitation and I think I flew into Madrid two days before the tournament started. I was kind of jet-lagged but not much.
I also didn’t make the cut for both events on the Epson Tour, but for some reason my game was feeling so confident. I couldn’t explain to anyone why my score was what it was when I felt like I could be shooting 15-under. Everyone was saying ‘if you say so’.
That week I remember texting my brother saying I just need a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, and he told me I would get it sooner or later. He caddied for me that week and we were just having fun.
We were gifted with an invitation. It wasn’t like I felt like I didn’t belong there, but I didn’t have the experience of being on Tour yet. For me I was taking it as look at these players and these players and I saw some of my friends. I thought it was so nice to see my friends, play in Spain, have my brother on the bag, my coach is coming. Woo! Life is so good.
I wasn’t thinking about if I win, I can get my LET card and if I finish top-10 I can go the next event. I wasn’t thinking about that, I was enjoying every single thing that was happening to me that week. I played great and I was able to keep my mind in place.
Everything changed. I knew I was playing really good golf, so it wasn’t a surprise for me but when you’re invited and you play against professionals that have been on Tour for so long, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I shot over-par on one of the days but for some reason, I knew I was ready and I believed so. I finished it and I had a really good week and outcome.
When I was playing it was just me and my brother in our bubble. I could see the crowd and I could hear the crowd, but I was so focussed on my game and my feeling and what we had to do that I didn’t have time to focus on what was happening.
Once I was done, I will confess that I did look through all of the videos and I get goosebumps every time I hear the crowd and how they were cheering for me. It’s one of the events in Spain that I’ve seen so many people cheering and coming out to watch women’s golf. It was crazy. I was very lucky that I was able to be in that tournament and witness that crowd.
My life changed 360! I remember signing my card and Brandon, from the LET, said you have to decide by midnight whether you want to travel to Bangkok or you give up your spot for another player. After that everything changed in a professional way, I could play every single event. I could organise my calendar with the events that my coach could come to. Having zero access to full access changed in a very drastic way but for a good reason.
You can hear more from Peláez about her golfing journey, representing Spain, Solheim Cup hopes and much more on this week’s episode of the LET Golf Podcast.
