From Speed to Swing: Trailblazing golfer-racer Bao drives Legends Tour back home
For Nguyễn Gia Bảo, golf has always been more than a game. It's a way to stay rooted in her heritage, dream beyond borders, and inspire change - especially for the next generation of players.
This November, all those threads will come together in one powerful moment as Vietnam prepares to host one of the most prestigious senior golf events in the world: the Legends Championship Vietnam 2025. The European Senior Tour event for professionals aged 50 and over returns to Vietnam from 28–30 November, two years after its inaugural staging in Southeast Asia.
Bao played a key role in helping bring the tournament back to her home country, working closely with the Legends Tour team from her base in Dubai to support its return.
While Bao originally came to support the event in 2023, she unexpectedly found herself on the course, playing alongside the very legends she once admired from afar.
'I was just there to meet the legends,' she recalls. 'Then suddenly, I was offered a slot by the President of the Legends Tour himself... Honestly, I was afraid — my handicap was higher, and I felt pressure representing Vietnam on a live global stage. But their belief in me gave me the courage to say yes.'
That moment, playing alongside major champions and Ryder Cup icons, was a turning point. But for Bao, who has spent over 17 years in the game, it was also a continuation of a lifelong journey.
A Dubai-based entrepreneur and passionate sportswoman, Bao plays her golf at the Emirates Golf Club, where she continues to compete in regional amateur events. She is also the founder of The Golf House Vietnam, an academy focused on developing grassroots golf in her home country, which she plans to open in Dubai in the future.
Bao the Trailblazer
Beyond golf, Bao is a trailblazer. She became Vietnam's first female professional race car driver, representing the country at the FIA Motorsport Games in France in 2022 - a remarkable pivot from her early fear of speed to competing internationally in a male-dominated sport. Her journey began as a personal challenge, evolving into professional training across Europe and the U.S., and eventually reaching the global stage.
'If you want to be a warrior, then be a warrior,' she says. 'You just need the will inside you. Golf can teach you that kind of strength.'
Her golfing resume includes standout victories at the Mercedes Championship Vietnam in 2013 and 2016, and a divisional win at the World Mercedes British Open in 2017. Most recently, she finished Top 3 in the Best Amateur category at the 2023 Legends event.
Bao's vision for Vietnam's golfing future is shaped by her wide-ranging experiences - from her years on the fairways to breaking barriers on the racetrack. With success in business, including ventures in leather footwear and furniture export, she exemplifies the kind of multidimensional resilience she hopes to pass on.
'I want to help create golfers with the spirit of warriors - not just technique, but the perseverance and mindset to succeed. That's how we grow the game in Vietnam,' she concludes.
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