University of Richmond Athletics
Elsa Diaz Readies to Compete at Kingsmill Championship
05/16/2018 | Women's Golf
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Last week in Tallahassee, Fla., one of the all-time great careers in Richmond women's golf history came to a close when Elsa Diaz finished off a birdie on the 54th hole at NCAA Regionals. Just over one week later, her journey as a professional golfer begins on Thursday morning with familiar surroundings at the Kingsmill Championship, hosted by Kingsmill Resort where Elsa had the opportunity to play, competitively, several times throughout her collegiate career.
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After receiving a sponsor exemption into the field, Elsa joins a pool littered with many of the best players in the world for her first LPGA event. Elsa's career stroke average of 78.22 ranks fifth all-time in the Richmond record book and her 77.80 average during her senior season is 12th all-time to go along with multiple round and tournament scores that rank among the best in program history. Her 68 (-4) at the Boston College Intercollegiate in the fall is tied for the lowest score ever achieved by a Richmond Spider.
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"I think what this opportunity gives a student-athlete like myself is the ability to measure my game against the best in the world," Diaz said of her opportunity. "I see these girls playing so well on television and I want to know where I stand and being able to play on a course like this against the best in the world will really tell me if I can play and how much more I need to work on my game."
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Throughout her life, the San Antonio native has been afforded the chance to learn from world-class athletes across all sports. Her family is close friends with three-time NBA Champion, Bruce Bowen, who she refers to as "Uncle Bruce" and has forged relationships with PGA Tour greats Rory McIlroy and Robert Wrenn. She even shot a commercial with Jack Nicklaus in her youth. This weekend she will be side-by-side with individuals she has aspired to emulate for years but advice from those very players are what is giving her calm in the moment.
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Elsa sought council from longtime, and well-know, tour player Natalie Gulbis: "Well, she was great because she asked great questions and approached me right away," Gulbis said of Elsa's eagerness to seek advice. "That's something that I resonated with because that's what I was like when I came out on tour. I remember being so excited to see Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon and Juli Inkster and ask them a thousand questions. So, my advice is to just take all of everything that golf has to offer and just appreciate it. I was actually talking this morning with a couple veteran players. Through the game of golf, the opportunities and the people that I've met has just been like nothing I ever could have imagined."
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This is an event that Elsa has been working towards, not only this year but her entire collegiate career. She has regularly referenced her sister, Sara, as someone who helped her sort through the tangled web of tracking down an exemption to play in this event. Elsa is the only player in program history to this point to be a part of three Patriot League Championships after playing side-by-side with her sister during her freshman campaign.
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"Elsa getting a chance to play in an LPGA event is very excited for her and our program," Richmond head coach Ali Wright said. "I just couldn't imagine a better way for Elsa to start her professional career. She graduated on Sunday. gets to play on Thursday and Friday and hopefully beyond that gets to continue into the weekend. I'm sure she has busloads of people that will be showing up to watch her so I think the tournament definitely picked a good representative for their sponsor's exemption. For our program, I think it says a lot that we've been able to produce someone worthy of that kind of recognition.
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Tee times for Round One will begin at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday morning with Golf Channel TV Coverage beginning at 10:30 a.m. and running until 12:30 p.m. Play will continue with the same tee schedule on Friday morning before the field is cut down after two rounds of play. The event will conclude with 18 holes on both Saturday and Sunday to determine a champion.
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After receiving a sponsor exemption into the field, Elsa joins a pool littered with many of the best players in the world for her first LPGA event. Elsa's career stroke average of 78.22 ranks fifth all-time in the Richmond record book and her 77.80 average during her senior season is 12th all-time to go along with multiple round and tournament scores that rank among the best in program history. Her 68 (-4) at the Boston College Intercollegiate in the fall is tied for the lowest score ever achieved by a Richmond Spider.
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"I think what this opportunity gives a student-athlete like myself is the ability to measure my game against the best in the world," Diaz said of her opportunity. "I see these girls playing so well on television and I want to know where I stand and being able to play on a course like this against the best in the world will really tell me if I can play and how much more I need to work on my game."
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Throughout her life, the San Antonio native has been afforded the chance to learn from world-class athletes across all sports. Her family is close friends with three-time NBA Champion, Bruce Bowen, who she refers to as "Uncle Bruce" and has forged relationships with PGA Tour greats Rory McIlroy and Robert Wrenn. She even shot a commercial with Jack Nicklaus in her youth. This weekend she will be side-by-side with individuals she has aspired to emulate for years but advice from those very players are what is giving her calm in the moment.
Â
Elsa sought council from longtime, and well-know, tour player Natalie Gulbis: "Well, she was great because she asked great questions and approached me right away," Gulbis said of Elsa's eagerness to seek advice. "That's something that I resonated with because that's what I was like when I came out on tour. I remember being so excited to see Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon and Juli Inkster and ask them a thousand questions. So, my advice is to just take all of everything that golf has to offer and just appreciate it. I was actually talking this morning with a couple veteran players. Through the game of golf, the opportunities and the people that I've met has just been like nothing I ever could have imagined."
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This is an event that Elsa has been working towards, not only this year but her entire collegiate career. She has regularly referenced her sister, Sara, as someone who helped her sort through the tangled web of tracking down an exemption to play in this event. Elsa is the only player in program history to this point to be a part of three Patriot League Championships after playing side-by-side with her sister during her freshman campaign.
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"Elsa getting a chance to play in an LPGA event is very excited for her and our program," Richmond head coach Ali Wright said. "I just couldn't imagine a better way for Elsa to start her professional career. She graduated on Sunday. gets to play on Thursday and Friday and hopefully beyond that gets to continue into the weekend. I'm sure she has busloads of people that will be showing up to watch her so I think the tournament definitely picked a good representative for their sponsor's exemption. For our program, I think it says a lot that we've been able to produce someone worthy of that kind of recognition.
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Tee times for Round One will begin at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday morning with Golf Channel TV Coverage beginning at 10:30 a.m. and running until 12:30 p.m. Play will continue with the same tee schedule on Friday morning before the field is cut down after two rounds of play. The event will conclude with 18 holes on both Saturday and Sunday to determine a champion.
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Players Mentioned
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