For some, internships are temporary, résumé-building experiences that quickly fade into the background as a career develops. For others, internships can directly lead to something life-changing.
Just ask 28-year-old Caila Roberts.
She went from being a college intern at the American Junior Golf Association to her current role as tournament director for an innovative new LPGA event — all in less than eight years.
The improbable journey started when Roberts was an internship-seeking junior at Elon University, a two-hour drive from where she grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. A non-golfer from a family of golfers, she had become interested in the AJGA at a career fair and decided to apply for their 2016 traveling operations internship. When she attended Intern Recruiting Weekend during the interview process, Roberts realized she was the only one without a golf background. On top of that, she was coming to the game as both a woman and a minority.
None of that stopped Roberts from getting hired as an operations intern, and she would soon make a name for herself within tournament management circles.
“I knew I wanted it to be in sports, but I hadn’t quite landed on where that was,” Roberts recalled. “I did the AJGA internship and I think I knew halfway through that first one that everything was just kind of making sense.
“I really loved a lot of the different aspects of it. You’re on the golf course every single day, you’re traveling a ton. I loved all of that and the people.”
Roberts completed a second AJGA internship after graduation before being hired to work full time at the organization. Her roles there included tournament assistant, tournament director for the 2021 Mack Champ Invitational — an event hosted by the Cameron Champ Foundation — and regional manager of the Northeast and then the Northwest. She contributed to the success of tournaments by working with sponsors and helping locate golf courses for future events, among a long list of other responsibilities she had to manage.
A rising star who displayed a phenomenal work ethic and drive, Roberts grew interested in opportunities beyond the AJGA. In 2022, she joined Excel Sports Management as tournament director for the first LPGA Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in Cincinnati, Ohio. And then, last November, she became tournament director for the inaugural Mizuho Americas Open coming to Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. The event will be held later this month, beginning May 29.
Making that job even sweeter for Roberts is the event’s distinct format involving her old employer. In addition to the regular LPGA field, the Mizuho Americas Open will concurrently host an AJGA Invitational with 24 of the top-ranked female AJGA golfers who will be playing for their own individual title. The AJGA players will be grouped together during the first two rounds before competing alongside LPGA players on Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s our title sponsor’s first dive into the sports sponsorship world, and they knew they wanted to make it different,” she said. “Not only do they have Michelle Wie West as a Mizuho ambassador, but they also brought her on board to be the tournament host. Having the AJGA girls also makes a ton of sense as the Fireman family (owners of Liberty National) has hosted a few AJGA events at Liberty in the past, and they support the AJGA’s ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence) Grant financial assistance program. It all just kind of pieced itself together.”
Roberts still maintains plenty of AJGA connections since she left the organization 18 months ago.
“You can’t go anywhere in the golf industry without meeting someone who did an internship or worked at the AJGA,” she said. “They hire over 100 interns each year, so they end up getting jobs as tournament directors, rules officials, at the USGA, PGA of America, PGA Tour and really everywhere. It’s been especially fun with my current position to reconnect with some old friends.”
“You can’t be what you don’t see. There have been women ahead of me who have done this and kind of paved the way, whether on the playing side or the business side. I think it’s my job to continue to open that door wider to show young people that having a job like this is absolutely a possibility.” – Caila Roberts
She won’t have much time for reunions given her responsibilities, however.
“My job is really overseeing kind of every single aspect of the tournament,” Roberts said. “I work extremely closely with the title sponsor, help find other sponsors, and oversee corporate hospitality and the operations department — really, all the moving parts of having a spectator event.”
It takes a certain type of person to handle such a tall task at such a young age.
“Caila is a really well-rounded individual, but one of her best traits is her ability to keep a calm demeanor no matter the situation,” said Kevin Hopkins, vice president of Excel Sports Management and executive director for the Mizuho Americas Open. “She sets the tone for our entire staff and in all communications with our players, sponsors, fans and the team at Liberty National. She is able to seamlessly multi-task across different areas — sales, operations, hospitality, volunteers — and does it with a smile.”
Roberts is not too busy, though, to realize that a female minority in a high-profile job can have a far-reaching impact in the golf world.
“You can’t be what you don’t see,” she said. “There have been women ahead of me who have done this and kind of paved the way, whether on the playing side or the business side. I think it’s my job to continue to open that door wider to show young people that having a job like this is absolutely a possibility.”
The impact she can have on the golf community goes well beyond just planning tournaments. Roberts is part of making the game more welcoming for people of all backgrounds.
“She has the potential to be a trailblazer in our sport,” said Hopkins. “She was the tournament director for the Mack Champ Invitational on the AJGA, whose mission was to put on the best tournament for juniors from diverse backgrounds, and she always views the game and her events through a lens that wants to bring young golfers of all backgrounds to the game.
“The sky is the limit for Caila, and she can go as far as she wants in golf or beyond. She is a natural born leader, and we are lucky to have her on our team.”