Latest news with #MariaFassi
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
After losing LPGA card, Maria Fassi learned how to look inward and stop self-sabotaging
After losing LPGA card, Maria Fassi learned how to look inward and stop self-sabotaging Maria Fassi hit rock bottom last year when she lost her LPGA card. Then came the hard conversations – with herself and her team. "I think I was sabotaging myself a lot," said Fassi ahead of the 2025 Meijer LPGA Classic. Six years ago, the powerful Mexican player was on top of the world. She didn't win the Augusta National Women's Amateur but became a fan favorite and overnight star after finishing runner-up to Jennifer Kupcho. A month later, she won the NCAA championship in front of a home crowd in Arkansas and kicked off a professional career that many thought might change the tour. Perhaps it's not surprisingly to learn then, that the now 27-year-old put a lot of pressure on herself. Fassi now finds herself in Grand Rapids, Michigan, playing on a sponsor exemption due in part to the actions of Brittany Lincicome. After the two-time major winner accepted a sponsor exemption of her own to the Meijer, she learned from her friend and former caddie Michelle Simpson that Fassi wasn't in the field. (Simpson now loops for Fassi.) Lincicome realized that she could get in the field using her status as a past champion and didn't need the exemption. She called the tour to make the change and offer a suggestion. "Her and my caddie are very good friends and they were just trying to help me out," said Fassi. "I know I needed a little more this year, the extra help, and it's nice to know that I don't only get it from sponsors, but from fellow competitors and players." The Meijer mark Fassi's fifth LPGA start to the season, and while the scores aren't yet where she'd like them, she's starting to regain some of her confidence. Fassi credited her team for helping to hold herself accountable. For example, when she'd practice last fall, she might be at the golf course for several hours, but wasn't putting in the work in the right places. Her team got right to the point: Stop wasting time. Identify what needs to improve and get to work. "Drills are very boring," Fassi said. "It was not what I wanted to do, but it was what I had to do. "You know, that's more on the golf side. On the mental side, just like stopped lying to myself about things that I was not doing and I was, again, lying to myself, saying that I did do them or something like that. Instead be like OK, you can't expect for something different if you're continuing to go down the same hole ... it was painful looking inward because there was a lot of things I didn't like to see, and I was very angry with myself." But the hard process was worth it, and on the other side, one of the most naturally talented athletes on tour found a way to enjoy the game again. "I'm just proud that I'm showing up for myself and showing up for my team in a positive way," said Fassi, "and not kind of shooting myself in the foot before I even start."
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Retired Lorena Ochoa still an inspiration for Mexican golfers at LPGA's Riviera Maya Open
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, México — Lorena Ochoa retired from professional golf 15 years ago, yet her impact on Mexican players on and off the course still looms large. Eight Mexican golfers will compete in the Riviera Maya Open at El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba starting Thursday, and all will be trying to follow in the footsteps of the former top-ranked Ochoa as the LPGA returns to Mexico for the first time since 2017. 'She meant everything, every time I see her, and whether I'm having a good year or bad year, I'm like, it's your fault that I'm here,' said Maria Fassi, the 2019 NCAA Division I women's individual champion while at Arkansas. 'It really is. I wouldn't have even thought about playing professional golf if it wasn't for her.' Ochoa was the world's top-ranked player for 158 consecutive weeks, from April 2007 until her retirement in May 2010, and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022 . The 27-year-old Fassi, who was the Mexican Amateur champion in 2015 and 2016, qualified for the tournament alongside Gaby Lopez and Isabella Fierro, while Carolina Rotzinger, María Balcázar, Clarisa Temelo; Fernanda Lira and Andrea Ostos were invited. 'I was fortunate enough to meet her at a young age. We had a good relationship since I was like 10 or 11', Fassi added. 'It was cool being able to pick up the phone and ask her a question. I hope that she knows that she's the reason why the eight of us are here'. The 43-year-old Ochoa is attending the tournament to promote an association called Xuntas, which she created to promote women's golf and to guide golfers from the amateur circles to the pros. 'We have 45 girls in Xuntas and they are like sponges, they are not shy and they want to learn from the best,' Ochoa said. 'It is something really nice, I am trying to do as much as I can to help the new generation of Mexican players.' The highest ranked Mexican player in the LPGA this season is Lopez, who is ranked 59th and works with Ochoa in Xuntas. 'We are committed to helping girls and teenagers, we want to accelerate their technical and mental development, aspects that are fundamental', said Lopez, who has won three times on the tour, most recently in 2022 . 'This type of support didn't exist when I started, and I'm convinced it will allow them to change their lives.' The other Mexican player who has played recently on the LPGA is 24-year-old Isabella Fierro, who make her debut last year, but lost her card and is aiming to get it back. 'The transition from amateur to professional was big, and Gaby and Maria have been helping me. I love that we are three Mexicans and hopefully that number can grow,' Fierro said. 'As for Lorena, I speak with her twice a week, she helps me a lot, she is an inspiration every day, not just on the golf course.' The LPGA signed a five-year contract with the organizers and many local girls will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the best golfers and perhaps be motivated to play the sport in the future, just like many of today's golfers did in the past. 'Lorena is the GOAT (greatest of all times). She's probably the reason I started playing golf', said Albane Valenzuela, who was born in New York and whose her father, Alberto, played with Ochoa in the 2001 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. 'My dad won with Lorena back in the day and me growing up and as a teenager, she always took time to talk to me, brought me golf balls, brought me her polos, and I just always had very fond memories of her', Valenzuela said. 'I think she's the most gracious, humble champion that golf has ever produced.' ___ AP golf:
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Retired Lorena Ochoa still an inspiration for Mexican golfers at LPGA's Riviera Maya Open
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, México (AP) — Lorena Ochoa retired from professional golf 15 years ago, yet her impact on Mexican players on and off the course still looms large. Eight Mexican golfers will compete in the Riviera Maya Open at El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba starting Thursday, and all will be trying to follow in the footsteps of the former top-ranked Ochoa as the LPGA returns to Mexico for the first time since 2017. 'She meant everything, every time I see her, and whether I'm having a good year or bad year, I'm like, it's your fault that I'm here,' said Maria Fassi, the 2019 NCAA Division I women's individual champion while at Arkansas. 'It really is. I wouldn't have even thought about playing professional golf if it wasn't for her.' Ochoa was the world's top-ranked player for 158 consecutive weeks, from April 2007 until her retirement in May 2010, and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2022. The 27-year-old Fassi, who was the Mexican Amateur champion in 2015 and 2016, qualified for the tournament alongside Gaby Lopez and Isabella Fierro, while Carolina Rotzinger, María Balcázar, Clarisa Temelo; Fernanda Lira and Andrea Ostos were invited. 'I was fortunate enough to meet her at a young age. We had a good relationship since I was like 10 or 11', Fassi added. 'It was cool being able to pick up the phone and ask her a question. I hope that she knows that she's the reason why the eight of us are here'. The 43-year-old Ochoa is attending the tournament to promote an association called Xuntas, which she created to promote women's golf and to guide golfers from the amateur circles to the pros. 'We have 45 girls in Xuntas and they are like sponges, they are not shy and they want to learn from the best,' Ochoa said. 'It is something really nice, I am trying to do as much as I can to help the new generation of Mexican players.' The highest ranked Mexican player in the LPGA this season is Lopez, who is ranked 59th and works with Ochoa in Xuntas. 'We are committed to helping girls and teenagers, we want to accelerate their technical and mental development, aspects that are fundamental', said Lopez, who has won three times on the tour, most recently in 2022. 'This type of support didn't exist when I started, and I'm convinced it will allow them to change their lives.' The other Mexican player who has played recently on the LPGA is 24-year-old Isabella Fierro, who make her debut last year, but lost her card and is aiming to get it back. 'The transition from amateur to professional was big, and Gaby and Maria have been helping me. I love that we are three Mexicans and hopefully that number can grow,' Fierro said. 'As for Lorena, I speak with her twice a week, she helps me a lot, she is an inspiration every day, not just on the golf course.' The LPGA signed a five-year contract with the organizers and many local girls will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the best golfers and perhaps be motivated to play the sport in the future, just like many of today's golfers did in the past. 'Lorena is the GOAT (greatest of all times). She's probably the reason I started playing golf', said Albane Valenzuela, who was born in New York and whose her father, Alberto, played with Ochoa in the 2001 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. 'My dad won with Lorena back in the day and me growing up and as a teenager, she always took time to talk to me, brought me golf balls, brought me her polos, and I just always had very fond memories of her', Valenzuela said. 'I think she's the most gracious, humble champion that golf has ever produced.' ___ AP golf:
NBC Sports
30-03-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
LPGA stars get the need for speed in Ford's Mach-E
LPGA stars Maria Fassi, Megan Khang, Lauren Coughlin, and Maja Stark get the need for speed with Ford Brand Ambassador, Hailie Deegan, in the all-new Mustang Mach-E GT.
