There are two words that perfectly define the mood of Fátima Fernández Cano over the past seven days. The first is disbelief and the second is excitement. “It’s been some time now, but I still find it hard to believe that I finished third in the Epson ranking and secured the LPGA Tour card,” the Galician golfer tells Ten Golf in the midst of some well-deserved holidays.
It may sound like a sports cliché, but in Fátima’s case, it’s a genuine reality. “In August last year, I was quite convinced that I would have to stop playing golf and even started thinking about what I could dedicate my life to,” she explains. It all stems from a strange injury to her right elbow that took a long time to diagnose, leading to the darkest thoughts. From doctor to doctor, until in October they found the solution and she underwent surgery. She never thought, not even in her sweetest dreams, that a year later she would have the American circuit card in her pocket.
It was never the goal of the season, Fátima reveals. “I had been competing for almost two years with pain and not playing well. I had mental wounds that hadn’t healed. Many bad moments in my head. It was very hard to overcome that. The goal this year was to try to keep the LET card and finish the year among the top 35 in the Epson to directly play the LPGA School Final.” However, everything accelerated in the summer.
The year’s process has been very exciting. It started slowly, with many nerves, not playing badly, although she admits she lacked patience in the first weeks. She had some anxiety to do well, but at the same time felt that extra happiness just from doing something she thought months ago was over forever.
Gradually, the pieces started to fit together. “In June in Italy, I started playing very well, and in Switzerland, I was close to winning. That gave me an extra boost of confidence, and perhaps the technical key was that I started hitting the driver better. In the LET, I had the work well advanced, and that gave me extra security and more freedom in my game. I went to the Epson with the idea of seeing how it goes and by the end of the year, I would focus on one circuit or another. It went very well, I finished third, fourth, I was already among the top 35, and suddenly the victory at the Guardian Championship came. That changed everything because the possibility of getting the LPGA card through the Epson was very real. We changed the goals on the fly, and everything went well, except the last one: I wanted to finish as Number One in the ranking. I missed a few weeks,” she says with a smile.
Fátima aimed not to get too emotional during the LPGA Tour card ceremony. She failed. It was impossible. After everything she had been through, she had to let all those feelings surface. It was the moment to remember all those who had been with her in good and bad times. As soon as she secured her return to the elite, her phone didn’t stop ringing. There were thousands of messages and calls back and forth. If she had to choose whom she made the first three calls to, Fátima is clear: “Patxi Amatriain, my long-time coach from Fuerteventura. We go there from time to time to set things straight. He knows me very well and has helped me a lot. The second to my uncle Bruno. He was very close to me during the injury. I stayed at his house. He helped me a lot when I didn’t even know what was going to happen with my life. The third to Eric Williamson, director of Shoal Creek and my boss when I worked in Birmingham, Alabama. When I was at my lowest, lost with my swing, at the bottom of everything, he knew how to hit the right note. I remember calling him after scoring 89 strokes, not knowing what was happening to me, and he said: before hitting another ball, go see a doctor. He was right,” she recounts.
The player from Santiago de Compostela has requested an invitation to play the Aramco in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will compete in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España in Guadalhorce, Málaga. That’s how she will end the season. There are months ahead to balance work with rest and disconnection. “I used to think that if I went five days without playing golf, I might forget my swing, but now I’ve realized how important it is to also take a break.
Fátima has always dreamed big. No one can beat her in ambition. There, on the horizon, of course, are the Solheim Cup, the Olympic Games, as well as playing and doing well in the Majors, however, if there’s one thing life has taught her in recent months, it’s to take it step by step. All the good that comes is a consequence of the now. “I’m not going to obsess over big goals. Of course, I want to play all that, but you have to go shot by shot, enjoying the moment. I focus only on what I want to control, and, for example, I want to improve things in my golf, like distance control with the wedges and the game around the green. I know that will give me more freedom to hit shots at the flag. I’m a player who makes a lot of birdies and also a lot of bogeys, and this is what I want to improve, not making so many. I wouldn’t mind gaining more distance with the drive either, but above all, distance control with the wedges,” she assures.
And all because she is eager to remove a huge thorn, although that will come later. “I first ascended to the LPGA in the COVID year and could only play one tournament, the next I had the injury and couldn’t play to my full potential. Now, finally, I want to prove that I have enough game to compete in the LPGA and not just keep the card, but climb the rankings and fight for victories.” There lies the challenge. That is the great excitement. Now yes, Fátima.
