Qualifying for the US Ladies’s Open has begun at The Membership at Mediterra in Florida as gamers compete for the prospect to tee it up with the world’s finest at Pebble Seashore in July.
Among the many rivals is a participant aiming to turn into the youngest in historical past to qualify for the Main. Brazilian Bella Simoes solely turned 9 final August, however she obtained qualifying below manner with the primary shot, which instantly demonstrated her assured swing and talent to carry her nerve below stress.
Qualifying for the 2023 #USWomensOpen has formally begun! 9-year-old Bella Simoes hit the primary shot. Observe alongside @FSGA ➡️ https://t.co/622czXdhXk pic.twitter.com/4aYolLLL21May 9, 2023
The file is at present held by Lucy Li, who certified for the 2014 match, which she competed in aged 11, however Simoes will beat that by a ways if she achieves her intention this week.
Simoes started enjoying golf aged simply two and, by the point she was 5, she had begun competing in tournaments. Per her Instagram account, she is now sponsored by TaylorMade and has even performed with World No.7 Lexi Thompson, who certified for the US Ladies’s Open when she was simply 12.
It didn’t take lengthy earlier than Simoes’ skill started translating into trophies, both, and she or he has received the US Youngsters Golf World Championship three years in a row, most lately final August.
Whereas Simoes’ achievements within the recreation are spectacular, qualifying for one of many girls’s recreation’s most prestigious tournaments at one of many world’s most iconic programs would absolutely surpass all of them thus far.
In an interview with The Tee Instances journal final yr, her coach Don Regulation described her qualities. He mentioned: “Bella is the actual deal and if someone from over right here goes to play on the LPGA Tour it’s in all probability this one proper right here. She works out 5 days every week and mentally she is extraordinarily sturdy, which makes her very laborious to beat and never afraid of competitors.”
Whether or not or not Simoes qualifies for this yr’s Main, it’ll actually be fascinating to see how she progresses within the recreation within the coming years.
