NATCHEZ — Mariel Galdiano of Orlando confirmed golfers in Natchez the way it’s completed on Monday.
She shot a gap in a single at Beau Pre Nation Membership on the sixteenth gap whereas enjoying within the Ladies’s All Professional Tour Professional-Am Match.
The occasion was the kick off to the annual WAPT Benefit Well being Natchez Basic at Beau Pre. Groups of 4 native golfers had been paired with one skilled for Monday’s Professional-Am.
Benefit Well being is the title sponsor for this yr’s WAPT event. The Markets was the title sponsor for the Professional Am event on Monday.
This event is Galdiano’s second in Natchez. She performed in final yr’s WAPT event right here.
Galdiano, a local of Pearl Metropolis, Hawaii, graduated from UCLA with a level in sociology in 2020, which she attended on a full-ride golf scholarship. Galdiano turned professional within the fall of 2020.
Galdiano has been enjoying golf since age 5, when her father, Roger Galdiano, put a plastic golf membership in her fingers. She started taking classes at age 7. Her father is in Natchez this week, working as her caddy.
“I didn’t even know the ball had gone within the gap,” she mentioned, after cooling off from Monday’s scorching warmth on the course. “I heard a girl screaming and cheering and that’s how I knew.”
She got here to Natchez immediately from Pinehurst, N.C., the place she performed within the U.S. Ladies’s Open.
“I missed qualifying by three pictures,” she mentioned Monday.
The event kicked off in earnest on Tuesday morning. The occasion options 69 skilled golfers, all who’re attempting to earn their approach into the Women Skilled Golf Affiliation. Grand prize for the winner of the event at Beau Pre this week is $10,000.
Katie Markham, WAPT’s event director, mentioned Natchez is a favourite location among the many professional golfers.
“They love the hospitality right here. Natchez is certainly certainly one of our favourite locations,” Markham mentioned. “They love going into the espresso store downtown — Natchez Espresso. Individuals know who they’re and greet them and make them really feel welcome. In truth, I feel the women are going to carry their Bible research there this week.”
She mentioned many of the girls on the tour are latest school graduates — common age of about 25. They start event play in March and proceed via August. The tour championship would be the final week of March in Beaumont, Texas.
“Who is aware of? Perhaps it’ll in the future be in Natchez,” she mentioned.
Natchez hospitality
Golfers and membership members gathered out again of the Beau Pre Clubhouse Monday night, the place sponsors Concordia Financial institution and Belief and United Mississippi Financial institution had tented areas with large followers going to supply slightly reprieve from the late afternoon warmth. They made their well beyond barrels of iced down drinks to tables and tables of meals — charcuterie, barbecue, each sort of aspect possible and a plethora of desserts — served buffet model, courtesy of The Markets. The unfold earned rave evaluations.
The golf event is certainly one of Sue Loy’s favourite instances of the yr. She was in cost this yr of putting a number of the gamers with host households in Natchez.
“We have now 49 golfers in particular person houses,” Loy mentioned. She has three golfers staying in her dwelling. It’s her third yr as a bunch.
“There are additionally golfers in accommodations and at B&Bs. Together with households, there are most likely 125 individuals in Natchez for this event,” she mentioned.
“The perfect factor about that is these women are so cool! They’re so grateful, they usually love their host houses. And their host households love them. They’re from all around the world — Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand — in every single place.”
The golfers will play Tuesday and Wednesday. Then the sector might be minimize and solely the highest 28 % will proceed within the event.
“They’re all leaving to go to Dallas subsequent,” Loy mentioned. “As soon as we acquired concerned with this, we had a lot enjoyable. We even dug deeper this yr as a result of we get pleasure from it a lot.”
Loy, who helped recruit sponsors for the occasion, notably lauded Benefit Well being and Brad Yarborough of Natchez Ford.
“The hospital acquired trainers out right here. They handled 45 individuals in the present day,” she mentioned. “The women completely beloved that. To them, it was the perfect factor since sliced bread. Certainly one of them mentioned, ‘Nobody has ever completed that for us earlier than!’ ”
Loy mentioned Yarborough’s sponsorship of golf carts at this yr’s event was a much-needed assist to the golfers.
“His sponsorship means not one of the women needed to pay for his or her follow spherical carts, which is a large assist as a result of they’re on tight budgets,” she mentioned. “These skilled golfers a lot respect Brad Yarborough.”
“We get connected to those women. I’ve three staying with me and two are repeats. I instructed them, ‘OK, similar bedrooms as final yr. You realize the foundations. Something within the fridge is truthful recreation. Make your self at dwelling.’ We observe them on the tour after they go away. It’s simply a lot enjoyable.”
