Teeing it up this week at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, Gianna Clemente and Aubrey Tucker will showcase their talent alongside an equally talented 132-player field. Both golfers, invited to play in the event by title sponsor, Florida’s Natural, have impressive backgrounds in the game, albeit short ones.
Last year, 14-year-old Clemente had a whirlwind summer starting with a sixth-place finish at the AJGA’s KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational, followed by two runner-up results at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and 73rd U.S. Girls' Junior. In August, the Ohio native decided she was ready for an even bigger stage and set out to Monday qualify for an LPGA Tour event, the CP Women’s Open in Ottawa, Canada. That first successful attempt turned into a second, then a third and, suddenly, Clemente rose to national prominence as only the second player in history to Monday qualify for three consecutive LPGA Tour events. Hee-Won Han first did so in 2001.
“That was a crazy three weeks. To be able to Monday qualify like that is very difficult but they were absolutely amazing experiences,” said Clemente. “It was a lot of fun just seeing the crowds, signing the autographs and just being in front of the cameras. It was an amazing experience. I took a lot of things away from it and I’m excited to be back out here again.”
Clemente missed the cut in all three LPGA events, and also missed the cut in her first professional appearance at the Epson Tour’s 2022 Twin Bridges Championship back in July. But the No. 1-ranked golfer on the Rolex AJGA Rankings is determined to end that trend as she joins a professional field once again this week in Winter Haven, Fla. The up-and-coming star has won four times on the AJGA, including two AJGA PING Invitation victories. In 2021, she was the youngest-ever winner of the event at just 13.
“The AJGA and junior golf circle is a lot different but obviously I’ve played in a lot of events and I think just all of those experiences – I’ve had those experiences where I’ve succeeded and those experiences where I’ve failed – when you combine those I think that’s when you get the most success,” Clemente said. “I’ve felt both of those outcomes. And those experiences have led me to where I am today.”
On the other hand, 19-year-old Aubrey Tucker is teeing it up in her first professional event. She only started playing competitively five years ago when her stepdad introduced her to the game. Most of her experience comes from playing on the North Texas PGA Junior Tour where she found a lot of success. She won her first two events on that tour back in 2018 and saw 16 top 10s in 2019, including three wins.
In 2020, she recorded seven top-10 finishes. She secured three top-10 finishes in 2021 and, of the six events she played that year, she didn't finish outside the top 15. This past season, she competed in three junior golf events finishing T13, 17 and T9. With such success, Tucker decided to turn professional and not play college golf.
When she learned she was named one of the sponsor invitees at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, she couldn't contain her joy.
“When I got it, I was over the moon — I couldn’t believe I got in and I’m still living off that high. I'm excited to play here," Tucker said. “I’ve been so excited since I heard I got in, and I've just been working hard to get my game up to tee it up with them.”
While Tucker is new to professional golf, she will have someone with her on the course who has plenty of experience in her caddy and coach, Gavin Coles, who played on both the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tours. He knows firsthand what it's like to play at a high level and will be there to help Tucker through it all.
“She works really hard, I’ll say that. She’s the kind of player that is out on the course six days a week, eight hours a week chipping and putting and just working,” said Coles, who is also Tucker’s coach as well as her caddie. “As someone who went from relative obscurity in Australia to playing on the PGA Tour in the span of a few months, I’ve experienced about every emotion there is to experience on the golf course… I’m hoping to help Aubrey through all those emotions and help her manage all that as she’s playing in her first professional event.”
)
)
)
)
