Lauren Walsh will be turning professional this summer after enjoying a fairytale ending to her Wake Forest career with victory at the National Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A player for the big moment, Walsh, much like she did a year ago in the 2022 ACC Championship triumph, captured the title-winning point in a 3&2 victory on 16 as the Deacs ran out 3-1 winners over USC.
We made history!! 👊🏻🎩 https://t.co/mTSCMVWMWk
— Lauren Walsh (@llaurenwalsh) May 25, 2023
“To close out my college career on this note is incredible,” said Walsh in the searing mid-thirty Celsius desert heat.
“It’s such a long exhausting week. I think it’s something like eight rounds in 7 days so that’s a lot of golf but it’s why we put the work in, why we practice every day and it makes all those hours worth it.
“I’ve absolutely loved my four years at Wake Forest. I’ve loved being a part of this team. My coaches have made me a better person and a better player, as have my teammates so to finish it out with a win at the National Championships is just incredible. I couldn’t ask for more.”
The Senior from Castlewarden will soon graduate and turn professional, fulfilling a lifelong ambition and leaving behind the comfort zone of an incredible college career.
“I am turning pro this summer and I’m so grateful that my coach has nominated me for the LPGA event this summer,” said a beaming Walsh.
“I’ll be turning pro and able to play in that which is so special and I’m so excited to do it.”
Of her upcoming move to the paid ranks, Walsh accepts that there’ll be a lot of unknowns but has no doubt that the team around her will help with the transition.
“It is a daunting transition but I’ll always have these girls to rely on,” Walsh said. “My coaches here, my coaches back home. My family. I’m very fortunate to have a great team around me so while it is a daunting next step, I’m really excited for it.
“The goal is to get on the LPGA Tour and hopefully in a year’s time I can join Leona and Stephanie and play my way on there.”
Walsh and Wake Forest’s victory marks the first national championship in programme history and women’s golf becomes the sixth Demon Deacon program to win a national championship, the first since men’s tennis in 2018 and the 10th overall for the school.
“We are absolutely thrilled to bring a trophy back to Wake Forest University and the community there in Winston Salem,” said Head Coach Kim Lewellen. “What better way to do it than to have Emilia Migliaccio who came back for her sixth year to be sitting beside me and sharing that experience with.”
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