Alexa Pano is just 18 years old and a rookie on the LPGA Tour. It only feels as though we’ve known the young woman from Lake Worth, Florida, forever.
In a way, that’s because we have.
Pano has been in golf’s auxiliary spotlight for more than a decade, popping up at consistent intervals along the trail from junior to professional ranks. Her steady progression through golf’s stages skipped only one phase – college.
“I’ve just kind of always wanted to play professional golf, and I wanted to do it as soon as I could,” said Pano.
She waited until last April to abandon her amateur status at age 17 to compete in one more Augusta National Women’s Amateur. More than any female in history, Pano has basically grown up in front of our eyes at Augusta National. It was a destiny she expressed before there was even an opportunity for women to compete there.
When Pano first appeared on the golf scene in 2012 in the Netflix documentary series “The Short Game,” which was released in 2013, she was just 7 and competing in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship – an event she would win a record five times. In the film produced by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, the precocious Pano declared she wanted to be the first woman to play in a tournament at Augusta National. That dream seemed silly at the time since Pano said it months before ANGC admitted its first two female members.
Pano practically willed it into existence. She became the first player to compete in three Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National, winning her age group twice, in 2016 and ’17. In 2019, she was the youngest player (14) to compete in the inaugural ANWA, an event she competed in three times, finally making the cut in 2022 to play her last competitive round as an amateur on the course that hosts the Masters.
“Ever since I was a little girl I’d always dreamed of playing and competing on Augusta National,” she said. “I mean, when I was 5 years old, and I barely knew what I was talking about.”
Pano’s ultimate dream was playing professionally, and she doggedly pursued that path. She was the youngest golfer (age 11) to play a Japan LPGA Tour event at the 2016 Yonex Ladies Open to signal her eagerness to rise through the ranks. At 13 she played in her first LPGA event and at 14 qualified for her first U.S. Women’s Open.
“I made up my mind that I wanted to turn professional after competing in professional events as an amateur. … I just really love the professional golf world and I wanted to get to it as soon as possible.” – Alexa Pano
So it came as no surprise when she bypassed the collegiate route and went pro at 17, an age when most teenage girls are more worried about prom dresses.
“I made up my mind that I wanted to turn professional after competing in professional events as an amateur,” Pano said. “That decision mainly came from me, my dad, my coaches, agent and stuff. I feel really confident in the team that I have around me and it was a personal decision and I just really love the professional golf world and I wanted to get to it as soon as possible.”
Her immediate experience on the Epson Tour only validated her decision. She’d already played in seven LPGA events as an amateur (including two U.S. Women’s Opens), with a career-best finish of T41 in the 2020 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Those experiences girded her to feel comfortable on the Epson, making 16 cuts in 18 starts with five top-10 finishes to collect $76,195 – her debut season including a pair of runners-up at the 2022 Garden City Charity Classic and Carolina Golf Classic.
In her first try at the LPGA Q-Series she finished T21 to earn LPGA membership for the 2023 season.
“I feel like the Epson Tour was a great place for me and I feel like I gained some really good experience,” Pano said. “I couldn’t be more excited for (the LPGA season) and to learn more and experience more this year.”
The part of tour life that is hardest for even older rookies to adjust to is life on the road, but Pano was more than ready for it, mixing pro exemptions with her extensive junior schedule for as long as she can remember.
“I was really lucky with the exemptions that I was able to get and had some really helpful people help me out there,” she said. “Yeah, it was a great thing for me getting to see what I was getting into before turning professional. It gave me a lot of experience.”
Pano debuted as an LPGA member in March at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain, tying for 57th and earning her first official LPGA check for $4,586. She missed subsequent cuts in the DIO Implant LA Open and Lotte Championship at Hoakalei.
Despite her age, Pano felt as if her debut season – with her father carrying her bag – took forever to arrive.
“It kind of feels like I’ve been working towards this for a really long time, so it’s been a very long time coming,” she said. “I’m very excited for the opportunity and excited that the season is finally here.”
Her goals as an 18-year-old playing against the best female golfers in the world are reasonable.
“I think, same as last year, just to try and be as positive and learn as much as I can and obviously play good golf to the best of my ability,” she said. “I went out on Epson last year with just an open mind and was trying to get acclimated and adjust. And I think that’s a big goal for me, but I also do want to win so that’s my biggest goal this year.”
Pano came close to experiencing what it’s like to win last year in Kinston, North Carolina. She held a two-shot lead going into the final round but got caught by fellow phenom Lucy Li – a Junior Solheim Cup teammate and another LPGA rookie this season – who eagled the first playoff hole to leave Pano wanting with her second professional runner-up finish.
She’s still too young to be bothered by a missed chance before she was even old enough to vote.
“Pro golf is a different situation than amateur golf, and I think each week that I was playing, I learned a little bit more about myself or a little bit more about my golf game.” – Alexa Pano
“I think each event taught me a lot,” she said of her rookie close calls. “Carolina is definitely one that stuck with me, but it’s all in the past. And I feel like my game improved a lot each week being out there and just learning how to deal with different situations.
“Pro golf is a different situation than amateur golf, and I think each week that I was playing, I learned a little bit more about myself or a little bit more about my golf game. And that’s all I could ask for in my first year.”
Though she didn’t qualify for the season’s first major at the Chevron Championship, Pano will tee it up again this week against an elite field at Wilshire Country Club in the JM Eagle LA Championship. She’ll try to keep applying all the lessons learned that have brought her this far this soon.
“I think staying focused like week to week and on what I can control, and a little bit of … not being too hard on yourself and being really patient is a big deal out here,” Pano said. “You learn that, and I think my year on Epson taught me how to handle that. I’m really grateful for that experience and going to take a lot of what I learned and put it towards this year.”
Like country lyrics go, it may feel like forever ago that we knew Alexa Pano, but she’s still got forever to go.