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Ari Gutierrez Teeing off At LPGA Qualifying

Ari Gutierrez became the first Laredo lady golfer to qualify for the LPGA
Developmental League this fall. She has earned a place to play with the best
lady golfers in the world in 2011. Speaking with Ari she said "I a waiting for the
final list of golf championships but I may end up playing from 6 to 10 tournaments
in 2011. I know I will be at the San Antonio and Brownsville tournament for sure."

We asked Ari to take us on what she went through and how the LPGA qualifying
school process went for her. She said "My experience in Florida can be
described in one word, surreal. I teed it up alongside some of the best women
golfers in the world. Women from Canada, Sweden, Japan and Argentina just to
name a few. Now being 5'8 is considered to be average in size here in Laredo,
but in Florida among my fellow competitors i was one of the smallest ones! I
have to admit it was a bit intimidating to begin with. I have never seen such fierce
competition or will to succeed in any tournament that i have played in. These 308
women had the same goal as me and it was difficult knowing that if i lost focus at
any time that could be the end of the road for me. It was both physically and
mentally draining but i knew i had to stay focused and could not lose faith in my
abilities.

Every woman out there has game but you need to not worry about what they're
doing and just focus on what you can control...yourself. My golf coach Rudy
Gonzalez drilled this in my head the last couple months before the event.
Although golf is considered to be an individual sport, I can honestly say that
without the help Rudy gave me or the support I received from my family and local
golfers I would not have made it through the qualifier. I give thanks to God
everyday for the tremendous opportunity he presented me with. I also would like
to give thanks to all the local golfers and businesses who showed their support
along the way. It was an amazing experience that I was always remember and
now I will start preparing for the 2011 season of the LPGA Developmental Tour."

Ari the regional qualifier in high school out of The J.W. Nixon went on to play at
the University of Texas at Brownsville is now Laredo first and only Ladies
Professional Golfer playing on the LPGA. .