Given the recent growth of Latinas’ participation in golf and the golf industry, it is not unusual to have eight Hispanic players at an LPGA Tour event. Having three Latina caddying at this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G though, is not as common.
“It is a new world for me. I am here to support Robbie on her first year on Tour,” said Amanda Reyes-Martin, caddie and partner of Italian Roberta Liti. “This is her one big shot at it, so we prepared as much as we could.”
Amanda, born and raised in Cuba until she was 12 years old, relocated with her family to Canada, studied to be an architect and ended up as a project manager in Sarasota, Fla., where she met Liti, whose nickname is Robbie.
“I would be at work with my three screens, and then there would be a fourth one just with the leaderboard up there,” said Amanda, who transitioned from blueprints to yardage books in recent years.
Laura Gonzalez Escallon, born in Colombia and raised in Belgium since she was 10, went from having someone carry the bag for her to carrying the bag for other players. “I never thought I was going to end up being a caddie on Tour,” said Laura, who is looping for two-time major winner Brittany Lincicome at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Laura had a notable amateur and professional career, winning the 2008 Girls Amateur Championship, being named 2011-12 Big Ten Golfer of the Year with Purdue University and capturing two victories on the Epson Tour, until a wrist injury and painfully slow recovery process kept her away from competition.
“I realized I did not want to play anymore, and I really like being able to apply everything I did as a player to help another player,” said Laura.
The third Latina looping in Rogers, Ark., Paraguayan Milagros Chaves, caddied for the first time for her friend and countrywoman, Sofia Garcia, at the 2023 LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakelei in Hawaii.
“We had a great time with that first experience,” said Milagros, roommate and co-competitor for many years of Sofia on the Paraguayan national team and Epson Tour.
“I really like caddying, and it is an option I would like to explore,” added Milagros after an uneventful season on the Epson Tour and at LPGA Qualifying School. “The advantage for women caddies is that we have a similar game, and I can offer my perspective as a player.”
Milagros, Laura and Amanda are part of a group of around a dozen women and a dozen Spanish-speaking caddies working for LPGA Tour players this week. It is a sharp contrast to the male circuit, with few Hispanics or women caddying in any regular week on the PGA Tour.
“They have been very welcoming from the very beginning. There are quite a few Latino caddies out here, and there’s this kind of different camaraderie,” said Amanda. “I am trying to absorb everything I can from the guys and the ladies on the bag.”
Laura said the caddies were a little confused at the beginning because they did not know whether she was going to get back to playing or not. “Since I made the decision to caddie full-time, they have been really kind,” she explained.
“Now I have to analyze the courses I have played from a different point of view. It is easy to recall where you should land the ball, but I don’t remember where not to go, and I find that very important,” added Laura about her new duties and mindset.
Amanda also uses her background to her advantage. “Sometimes I look at the greens as paraboloids and I can use my knowledge of geometries and topography,” she said about the technical and psychological demands of her new job. “There are a lot of transferable skills. I have also learned a lot of patience to see things her way and just help in any way I can.”
For Milagros, strategy and encouragement are also the key combination for being a great caddie. “After a week caddying, I realize a lot of new things about strategy,” Chaves said. “And supporting my player also shows me that I should treat myself as a player with the same kindness”.
Experiencing the LPGA Tour as a caddie has also reaffirmed these three Latinas’ love for the game of golf. “These are all women just giving their all to thrive and write history. I love that,” said Amanda.
SOURCE: LPGA
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