The story of Fátima Fernández Cano is a full circle. She has made it a full circle. A year ago it was full of edges, it was a story that hurt, even bled, but with a hammer and chisel she has gradually eliminated the peaks and now she has a perfect figure. The hammer and chisel are hope and perseverance. And, above all, a medical diagnosis that changed her life…
Fátima won this Sunday the Guardian Championship of the Epson Tour and has secured the card of the LPGA Tour for 2025. In three days, on September 12, it will be a year since she entered terrified into a doctor’s consultation with an ultimatum: if you don’t find what’s wrong with me, my career is over. “I told him literally,” she recalls to Ten Golf this Monday, with a grin from ear to ear for the victory in Alabama. It was the last chance she gave herself after consulting many other opinions without luck. “If I think about that conversation with the doctor and now I look at the trophy in my hands, I really don’t know where to start from the amount of feelings I have. I’m super happy,” she says.
Emotions are surfacing and it’s no wonder. She can hardly sort them out in her head. “I’m happy, proud and grateful. It’s been a year and a bit, almost two years, very hard because of the injury (it was in the wrist) and there are a lot of people who were always there with me. I have a team that I don’t even deserve, so I’m proud and, above all, very grateful,” she explains.
The victory, the third of her career on the Epson Tour, has been a consequence of her golf. She has been playing very well for many weeks and, simply, this week everything fell into place. “It was a very solid tournament. I’ve been playing very well for months. I think I missed only about five greens all week and almost all of them were on the edge. I don’t remember the last time I made an approach. The main mistake of the week was, curiously, on the first day, on the 18th. I missed the tee shot, lost it in some bushes and made a double bogey, par with the second ball. It’s the only big mistake of the week. Also, as always, some putts went in,” she points out.
When Fátima talks about solidity, it’s no joke. On Saturday, in the second round, she hit no less than 18 greens and putted for birdie from less than seven meters on 16 occasions. A pile driver. On Sunday, perhaps because of nerves and the situation, she didn’t leave them so close, she wasn’t so accurate, but she played well again, consistent and avoiding problems. The crucial moment of her victory came, precisely, on the 18th, where she made a double bogey on Friday. It’s best if she tells it…
“Hole 17 is a par that turns to the left and was being played with wind from right to left. If you fly over a water hazard, you can shoot for the green in two. However, the driver has been the club that has been less fine this week. I didn’t trust it and went to the right, so I couldn’t shoot in two. I shot the third with the wedge, but I didn’t make the birdie putt. I had a one-shot lead before going out to the 18th, but I knew that behind me they could still make some birdies, especially on the 17th, so at least I had to make par. The 18th has a narrow fairway, with bushes on the left and a bunker on the right. The driver, again, was not very fine, and I ended up in the bunker, very close to the slope. I couldn’t shoot for the green. The second shot was to place it on the fairway and I left myself 80 yards to the flag. I left it two and a half meters away. It’s funny because last week I missed a putt of a meter and a half on the last to force a playoff and this time I told my caddie that we were going to make it. In. Luckily for me, Ingrid Linblad, who was coming from behind and arrived at the 18th tied, hit her tee shot into the bushes, had to play short and couldn’t make an approach and putt from the fairway. That’s how it ended. Cool for me. It was very nice to make that par putt. I wanted to get to -15, I thought that could be the good result, but in the end -14 was enough. Very happy,” she points out.
Life has taken a spectacular turn in just two months. “In July the goal was to keep the Ladies European Tour card, which I think is on track (she is in 42nd place and the top 70 keep it) and to finish in the Epson Tour among the top 35 to go straight to the School Final. Now, however, the LPGA card is already made. I want to secure the Top 10 (it’s almost virtual) and, why not, since we’re here, go for the Number One of the circuit. There are two tournaments and the final left. Let’s not stop dreaming.”
Victory anywhere is always something very special, but even more so for Fátima for having achieved it in Alabama, where she resides and very close to where she studied at the University. “Many friends have come to see me and that makes it even more beautiful. It was great to be able to do it here, in front of the people who support me and love me a lot,” she concludes.
So is the story of Fátima. A full circle story. But not an easy one.
