beauty and brains. The LPGA

and Ladies European Tourrookie from Spainwas intownfor aweek ofpractice at theprestigious Laguna NationalGolf Club and to get herselfacciimatised with the weatherin Asiabefore she played at an

LPGA tournament event inTaiwan.

The highlyphotogenicblond recentlymade the head-lines when she posed for theESPNMagBodyIssue. Herbold move (CamilloVillegasalso appeared in a similarspread in the past) made a

statement about herbeliefin the meaningbehind thepicture - that is, ofbeing an

athlete who is passionate andcommitted to a healthy life-sryle. "I hope that young andupcoming athletes will see me

as a role model and inspira-tion in the future," she said.

Belen staned golf in a smalltown in Cadiz, Spain at theage ofeight. Back in zoo6 hergolfcareer took a big turnafterwinning the British GirlsAmateur Championships,British Ladies OpenAma-teur Championships and theEuropean Ladies AmateurChampionships inthe same

year. It gave her a chance and

exposure to playinthe U.S.

and caught the attention ofcollegiate coaches. "Itwas a

dream come true for me whenI got agolfscholarship to USCin Califomia. Not onlycan Icontinue to play at a high levelof golfbut also get averygoodeducation for the future."

She continued to excel ingolf during college and wonthe NCAANational Cham-pionships. She graduated inInternational Relations lastDecember and at the same

time qualified for the LPGAand LET tour.

ELEN Mozohas it all. She is

not only a greatgolferbut also has

According to Belen turningprofessional is easybut thetransitionwas difficultbe-cause she felt that she needed

excessive practice to be per-fect. "For some reason that Icannot explain, I thought thatI need to make big changes

in mylife to excel on the tourandbe like the otherbig name

players."Duringthe last six months

onthe road she leamed averyvaluable lesson. She realised

that you do not reallyneed tochange and be someone else tobe able to compete on ahigherlevel. "I already got there withmyown talent, skills and dedi-cation. These should be able totake me to the next level."

Having a team on your side

is also abig change in her life.Belenwas luclryto get agreatagent who takes care ofherschedule and travel plans.

She also found her new swingcoach Mike Adams who is

among golf 's elite instructorsin the world. Golf Digest has

ranked him in the world top

50.She is a strongplayer and

she feels confident with herlonggame. Sheknows thatshe needs to getbetter on hershort game to shoot lowerand more consistent scores

on tour. "I have been workingwith Mike on my short game

and also onyardages to get

more accurate aroundthegreens. We were also workingon my shaping the ball because

I know that this will give me

accuracywith my shots." Dur-ingthe offseason she is goingto put more focus onher put-tingto build confidence. "Iwant to feel that everytime Imake a stroke the ball is goinginto the hole."

Another part ofher team

is her nutritionist Robert

Yangwho is with the TitleistPerformance Institute. Lately,

he was able to discoverthatshe was gluten and lactose

intolerant which meant thatshe cannot eat bread, pasta, ce-

real, milk, yogurt or foodwithcarbohydrates.

"These foods made me

tired and gave me stomachproblems, and I was unable tofunction roo per cent on thecourse. I had to make changes

to my dietwith more fats andprotein. Now, I feel strongerthan everbefore."

For her the most importantpart ofher team is herboy-friend and familywho have

always been there to guide

and support her. "They are thepeople that keep me mentallystrong and focused on mygame."

Qualiffing for both tourswas a great feat and it gave

her a chance to play titerallyaround the world. "Playingin the United States is a great

experience for me since

the courses are in pristinecondition and the crowd is

always huge. Europe is funwhere I get to see differentcountries, currency, cuituresand languages. It is also

familiar a place for me where Iget to playon courses togetherwith people that I grewupwith."

Asia is quite new territoryfor her. She is learning to love

this part ofthe worldwhereshe feels "people are friendly,hospitable and respectfirl".Even ifthe fans don't recognise

her they've given her tremen-dous support that she feels likeshe is "somebody''.

Belenwas especially amazed

with Singapore. "The ciryis a

combination of NewYork and

Los Angeles butwith a clean

and safer environment. I had

a great time in Orchard Road

shopping and seeing so manypeople. No one seemed to be

in a hurry and they eventookthe time to smile and sayhi toa stranger." She was also im-pressed with Laguna NationalGolf and Country Club withtheir great facilities and warmhospitality.

One thing is for sure thelovely senoritawill be back

next year to see and learn moreabout Singapore. c

/ GOLF DIGEST SINGAPORE / IO9PHOTOGRAPHS BY ,/ RUBY CHICO KURTELIUS JANUARY 2O]2