Uwadia letting golf speak for itself in final push at Q-Series

Anita Uwadia is the latest Nigerian on the LPGA trail

“Let the golf speak for itself. I like that quote.” That’s the gameplan for 23-year-old Anita Uwadia, as she takes on the second week of LPGA Q-Series, fighting to become an LPGA Tour rookie next season, reports lpga.com.

A four-year player for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, Uwadia embarked on her first professional season in 2020, earning Epson Tour status through Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in 2019.

“You know, to be here and to be able to be doing it, it’s quite nice. In terms of tournament, of course you know it’s a life-changing experience getting your card and so on,” said Uwadia, who also made her LPGA Tour debut at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational after winning the inaugural John Shippen Invitational alongside Shasta Averyhardt.

“At the same time, you don’t want to overplay it and make it bigger than it actually is, because it’s just another tournament.”

She struggled in her rookie season on Epson amid the COVID-19 pandemic and missed the cut in all three of her Tour appearances. But 2021 was a breath of fresh air.

Making the weekend in eight of 12 events, Uwadia posted two top-15 results in her last five starts to ultimately finish the year 73rd in the Race for the Card, getting straight through to Stage II.

In a competition where only 47 of the 179 qualified for made it into Q-Series, Uwadia said she never looked at a scoreboard and put less pressure on herself as opposed to 2019 – but the nerves were still ever-present.

“That’s one of the hardest stages. To be fortunate enough to be part of the 40 girls that made it out or 29 or whatever it was, that’s just great. You know that you can play. It’s basically a confidence booster,