Carlota Ciganda and Carla Bernat will be the two representatives of Spanish golf at the Chevron Championship, the first women’s major of the season, which starts tomorrow in Texas. The young winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is having an incredible experience and, although she admits feeling a bit “intimidated” by the level of her rivals, she is aiming for her “small goals” in the tournament this week.
How have the last few weeks been for Carla after winning the ANWA? “A lot of training for the upcoming tournaments, very happy to have the opportunity to play the four majors and to enjoy them. Between training, classes, people wanting to talk to me, lots of advice I’m getting for what’s coming… My head is quite busy, but good.”
Her arrival in The Woodlands this week wasn’t as expected, although it’s gradually improving: “Well, I arrived yesterday alone, as my caddie hadn’t arrived yet. I was here training for a while by myself, with the bag given to me by the Tour. And I felt a bit, I mean, uff, I seem a bit like a kid, carrying my bag and all, but today quite well. We arrived early at the course, at the gym, I’ve seen several important people there in the gym. Today I feel more comfortable.”
The level of the rivals is daunting for the young Spanish golfer… “I mean, intimidated because everyone here knows how to play, but I’m eager to measure myself against them.” But with Carlota’s help and a tremendous pro-am ahead this Wednesday, she hopes to start warming up: “Yesterday I played with Carlota, 9 holes. Jorge Parada came with us too, he was helping us a bit and I really enjoyed it. I had never played with her and, well, you know, a top-notch person. She has helped me a lot with future matters and such. And today we play pro-am, with a somewhat unexpected pro-am, with Nelly Korda, Alexis Thompson, and the owner of Chevron, right? Basically, and nothing, warming up a bit, looking forward to it.”
Carla‘s main goal this week is to enjoy the experience. But, of course, without giving up on anything, with her well-known competitive spirit: “I want to enjoy it. I want to learn a lot from all these great players and obviously do the best I can, as I also have my small goals.”
For Carlota Ciganda, the Chevron, like the rest of the majors on the calendar, is always special. Although she approaches it with a bit more optimism after her good performance in the tournament a year ago: “Happy to be here, the Majors always motivate me a lot. Looking forward to it, I like the course, I’ve played well here the last two years and I’m eager for Thursday to come and compete.”
Her memories on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course are good, and she feels she has chances. In 2024 she was close to winning, and this year she will try again: “When you play well on a course, the memories are good. Last year I played very well, I was up there and fighting on Sunday, I finished four or five shots behind Nelly. But I think it’s a course that suits me, so I’m looking forward to it.”
