Article by David Harris
Barbadian golfer Emily Odwin will create history today, Thursday when she tees off in the US Women’s Open at Erin Hills Golf Course in Washington County, Wisconsin.
Odwin, 21, a junior at Southern Methodist University (SMU) will become the first Barbadian to play in a US Open golf tournament.
Odwin will play at the tournament as an amateur, she qualifies for the tournament after an outstanding performance at the prestigious Olympic Club Lake Course in San Franciso earlier this month; after delivering a composed and consistent showing across two 18-hole rounds to finish at three-under-par tying for first place with American Sarah Lim.
Spaniard Paula Martin Sampedro who finished one behind Odwin and Lim also qualified for the Open.
Odwin, a former student of St Winfred’s School and Queen’s College grew up on the West Coast in St James, she loved to swim at the age of four. Odwin enjoyed all kind of sports and even got a brown belt in karate.
She became interested in golf after watching Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth on television with her father.
At the age of 11 Odwin began to focus her attention on golf, the competitive scene for sport was limited with few official tournaments, and even fewer competitions for girls to participate in. Odwin needed to find alternatives to push herself:
“As I got older and as I got better, it was tougher for me to find competition and I had to travel outwards. I started to come to the United States, or I had to go to Europe. When I was at home, I started having to play with boys a lot. I would have to play in their division off their tees. There are not a lot of girls playing golf in Barbados and there weren’t a lot of competitive opportunities back home”, Odwin told journalists in the United States.
Odwin is proud of her culture and plans to wear an embroidered flag of Barbados on her polo shirt at the US Open.
“I just want to inspire kids back home that golf is possible. You never know how far you can go until you try”, Odwin said.
