Historic Brownsville Open: Retamoza looks to rebound after 2008

HARLINGEN - Violeta Retamoza is simply looking for a second chance.

Retamoza was born and raised in Aguascalientes, Mexico before moving to the United States in 2002. She finished her high school education in Phoenix before moving east to the University of Tennessee to play golf.

She remained in Knoxville until 2006 when she graduated and hit the pro circuit as a member of the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

It's been an up-and-down career for the 25-year-old golfer now living in San Antonio.

"I just need to get my confidence back," said Retamoza, who picked up golf as a recreational sport at the age of eight. "I have to start thinking that I can play and I'm here for a reason. I need to tell myself that I am getting back to the LPGA."

After graduating from Tennessee, Retamoza enjoyed a stellar rookie campaign on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, finishing in the top five on the money list. That finish earned her a card on the LPGA for the 2008 season.

But her first go around in the LPGA didn't pan out as she'd thought. Players are supposed to finish in the top 80 on the money list in order to keep their cards, and Retamoza didn't.

She actually doesn't even recall where she finished on the money list, but she is hoping that her second season on the FUTURES tour leads her back to the LPGA.

"It was rough," Retamoza said of 2008. "I couldn't keep my card. It was just a very bad year for me."

Retamoza was supposed to play in the Louisiana Pelican Classic this past weekend but the tournament sustained rain delays.

Retamoza will make her fourth tournament appearance this week at the Historic Brownsville Open at Rancho Viejo Resort and Country Club.

Retamoza has yet to make a cut this season, but she's confident that things will soon change for her. She just has to remember shy she loves golf so much.

"The competition," Retamoza said. "The competition against the field, the course and myself. Now I just have to stay focused everyday and know that every day is a different day. And I have to go out and give it 100 percent and play as if it were my last."

Eladio Jaimez is a sportswriter for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (9560 430-6285 or via e-mail at eladioj@valleystar.com.

BIOGRAPHY

Violeta Retamoza

Hometown: Aguascalientes, Mexico

Birth Date: July 20, 1983

Birthplace: Aguascalientes, Mexico

College: University of Tennessee

Degree: Finance

Turned Professional: 2006

Joined FUTURES: Jan. 24, 2007

Career Earnings $50,748

Career Best Finish 1st (2007, Alliance Bank Golf Classic, Syracuse, N.Y.)

FAST FACTS

- Semifinalist at the 2000 U.S. Girls Junior Championship.

- Recorded 15 top-10 finishes in collegiate competition, including four wins

- Three-time Southeastern Conference All-Conference first-team selection (2003, 2004, 2005)

- Named the 2005 SEC Player of the Year

- 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour Rookie of the Year

- Finished 4th on the 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour season-ending money list to earn exempt status for the 2008 LPGA Tour season

- Member of the LPGA Tour (2008).

Source:Duramed FUTURES Tour