EVANS, Ga. — Emilia Migliaccio was a teenager when she first came to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Now, she’s a 24-year-old married woman with several jobs in television broadcasting and a part-time amateur player who just remarkably beat a bunch of full-time players to snag another tee time at Augusta National on Saturday.
Migliaccio’s road to becoming the only player to tee it up on all five editions of the ANWA was, as she says, not a straight line. After thinking in a straight line for so long – the steps of her golf career ascending naturally, almost inevitably, to the LPGA – life took a drastic turn.
Migliaccio decided not to pursue professional golf, just as 2017 NCAA champion Monica Vaughn had done a few years prior. Rachel Heck, the 2022 NCAA champion, recently announced her plans to forgo a professional career in a poignant essay.
“It’s crazy how much pressure people feel at this level to go pro,” said 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Jensen Castle.
When Castle won the Women’s Amateur, she had no thoughts of turning pro. But suddenly people were asking if she planned to finish the year.
“What do you mean am I going to finish the year?” Castle would say. “I’m going to finish the next three.”
While Castle, a fifth-year senior at Kentucky, does now plan to turn professional in May, she understands and respects why her Curtis Cup teammates have made other plans.
In fact, Castle believes that Heck’s essay detailing her decision will change lives.
“She’s inspiring a lot of other people to do other things,” said Castle.
Monica Vaughn and Janet Mao
When Monica Vaughn Fisher withdrew from LPGA Q-School seven years ago, she became the first NCAA champion to forgo a professional career before it even started since the NCAA started crowning them in 1982.
Fisher worked as a college coach at Oregon before taking a job in fundraising and becoming a mom to son Cosmos. Growing up playing volleyball and basketball in high school, Vaughn loved being part of a team. Professional golf was never really the goal.
Heck, however, wanted to be the best in the world. That was the goal from an early age. But as the injuries piled on and she found other interests, Heck began to realize that she didn’t want the lifestyle of a professional golfer. She didn’t want to live on the road and in the public eye. She no longer dreamed of winning a U.S. Women’s Open and getting into the LPGA Hall of Fame. What’s more, she…
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