Journeys: Maria Fassi

Maria Fassi - Dreaming of the LPGA Tour since age 7

- Alan P. Pittman

I GREW UP IN PACHUCA, MEXICO, a small town an hour and I a half northeast of Mexico City. We had one golf course, a nine-holer called Club de Golf Pachuca. I started playing when I was 7, and even then I had dreams of playing on the LPGA Tour. I’ve imagined making putts to win U.S. Opens and holing bunker shots to get into playoffs. I’ve seen myself holding so many trophies. I’ve always believed that one day I’d be here.

IT ALL STARTED WHEN I FOLLOWED MY TWO OLDER BROTHERS TO THE GOLF COURSE. I loved watching them hit balls. One day someone at the course said, “Hey, you’ve been coming for a while, you should give it a try.” So I did, and I fell in love instantly, even though I couldn’t break 100. By that time, my brothers had lost interest and had switched to soccer, but I stayed.

I LOVED THE GAME EVEN ON BAD DAYS. That was nice. My favorite way to play was cross-country. There weren’t many people out there, so I could go from No. 1 tee to No. 4 green and hit over trees. I’d hit these super huge slices or pulls or whatever. Just to have fun. You get bored of a nine-hole course when you play it every day. That helped me learn different shots.

OUR FAMILY LIFE HAS ALWAYS REVOLVED AROUND SPORTS. My father, Andrés, runs a couple of soccer teams— one in Pachuca and another in Argentina. My brothers [Sebastian, 26; Juan Pablo, 25; and Franco, 15] have always been into soccer. My mother, Fabiana Alvarez, raised us and went wherever our tournaments took us.