Colombia’s Giraldo Fulfills Lifelong Goal

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | As a little girl, Valentina Giraldo’s goal was to play golf in the United States.

She watched Tiger Woods play in the Masters and Lorena Ochoa dominate the LPGA and told herself that one day she wanted to do that.

The native of Ibague, Colombia, thought it might never happen.

Now, at 22, she has played college golf and earned a degree in business management from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. And this week she’s playing in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

“This means a lot,” Giraldo said. “Playing golf at a high level has been my dream since I was 10 years old.

“I get to play where the Masters is.”

That will be the theme this week at the 54-hole stroke-play championship put on by Augusta National Golf Club. After playing the first two rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga., near Augusta, all 72 competitors will play a practice round at Augusta National on Friday – whether or not they are among the top 30 who advance to Saturday’s final round at the home of the...