Arkansas is a special place for Maria Fassi. That might seem odd to say about someone who hails from Pachuca, Mexico, which is over 1,000 miles away from Fayetteville, Ark., the 26-year-old’s current residence, but it’s a fact.

Arkansas is Fassi’s home now just as much as Mexico.

She attended the University of Arkansas from 2015 to 2019 and won the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship as an individual in her final year. Fassi claimed back-to-back ANNIKA Awards in 2018 and 201, becoming the first athlete to earn the accolade in two consecutive years, and was a two-time All-American during her time as a Razorback.

Fassi also got her first taste of professional golf life when she was a collegiate athlete, getting the opportunity to tee it up in the 2016 and 2018 editions of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G as a sponsor’s exemption before joining the LPGA Tour in 2019.

The Mexico native decided to settle down in Fayetteville after graduating from Arkansas, making her college hometown her new home base as she kicked off her professional golf career.

As her life as a pro athlete progressed, Fassi found herself wanting to grow the game and give back to her adopted community. Inspired by her cousin Josefina, who is mute, deaf and suffers from brain paralysis, but who wanted to take up golf after watching Maria play, Fassi decided to start The Maria Fassi Foundation and Fassi’s Friends. Her organization is committed to giving both disabled and able-bodied children the opportunity to learn about and play golf by providing free classes in the Northwest Arkansas area.

She holds a Fassi’s Friends event each year at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, doing so again this past Wednesday before the start of this year’s tournament, and enjoys getting to interact with the community that always shows her a tremendous amount of support.

“This is our fourth year of the foundation,” Fassi explained in her pre-tournament press conference. “We had a very successful event (Wednesday) night at Top Golf. A lot of new faces, which you always love to see new people. A lot of familiar faces as well, which means a lot because their continued support has helped us change a lot of families' lives and encourage people and kids to learn a little bit more about golf and get comfortable in what maybe could have been an uncomfortable place for them to be.”

“It's been so cool to see the foundation continue to grow. I couldn't do it without all the amazing people I have behind me, sponsors and individuals that donate. It's pretty cool to see a lot of the people kind of make my dream their own as well.”

Fassi also has an annual tradition of inviting some of the kids who participate in her Fassi’s Friends golf classes to walk inside the ropes with her on the 17th hole at Pinnacle Country Club and have them help her call the Hogs, a well-known tradition at the University of Arkansas.

“For me, it's very special because I get to share that with a lot of the kids from my foundation,” said Fassi. “A lot of them probably won't have the opportunity to play inside the ropes or probably wouldn't ever have the opportunity to become professional athletes, but if they can have this experience with me and through me, I know it makes their day and makes my day even more so than theirs. The first year we started with five, seven kids, and I think last year we had 20 or 30 kids that were one day walking with me.

“I think that the people really enjoy it as well. I know the kids look forward to catching me on 17, especially since we get to call the Hogs. The whole state gets behind the University. Seeing their support not only when I was in school but as a professional never ceases to amaze me and humble me every day that I get to experience their love.”

Maria Fassi with kids

But Fassi doesn’t just show up to participate in what’s now her hometown event each year. She’s here to compete, and that’s exactly what the local favorite did on Friday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, kicking off her week in Rogers, Ark., with a 7-under 64 to sit one shot off the lead early at Pinnacle Country Club.

After having a bit of an up-and-down start with one birdie and two bogeys in her first four holes, Fassi settled in, collecting eight more birdies throughout the rest of her first round, three of which came consecutively on holes 10, 11 and 12. It’s the first time that Fassi has shot a round of 64 or better since she carded a 62 in the first round of the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican in 2022 and is just the third time in Fassi’s career that she had fired a round of 64 or better on the LPGA Tour.

And while her low-scoring day was, of course, an enjoyable one, Fassi was even more grateful that it came when she was playing alongside amateur sponsor exemption Maria Jose Marin, who is currently a member of the University of Arkansas women’s golf team.

“It was awesome. Getting to play with Maria was awesome as well,” said Fassi. “I think that helped both of us to enjoy it a little bit more. To have some of the current Razorbacks be on the tee there in the morning was very special. For me, it was a great day. It didn't start the way that I would've hoped, the way maybe we had planned, but we kept our heads in it, kept fighting.

“We kept hitting good golf shots one at a time. Birdies started to pile up and add up. I’m extremely grateful to be here, extremely grateful to see the support and the love that I constantly get out here.”

The 2024 LPGA Tour season has been a tough one for Fassi, as she has made only six cuts in 17 total starts this season. Four of her missed cuts had come consecutively until last week’s Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, where Fassi battled through neck and back pain to play the weekend for the first time since June, ultimately recording her second top-20 result of the year just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.

That solid T19 showing bolstered Fassi’s confidence as she readied herself for this week’s 54-hole event in Rogers, Ark., and the form she found in the Buckeye State has clearly carried over to this week at Pinnacle Country Club.

Her nine-birdie 64 in front of an adopted hometown crowd will certainly be keeping spirits high for Fassi as she looks ahead to the next 36 holes, good vibes she will work to keep rolling on days two and three at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship,

“We made nine birdies today. I had been playing good,” said Fassi. “I played very good last week in Cincinnati. We had a bad day on Saturday, but overall, I know my game is as good as it's ever been. I think my mind, my heart is also as good as it's been in a long time. So I'm happy we're seeing some of those results that we want.”

Former University of Arkansas Razorback Maria Fassi Fires 64 on Day One in Rogers

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