FGCU golfer from mexico making big strides in her game

An FGCU Eagles golfer has come a long way geographically and personally to develop her game. She shared her own confidence with us for her game on the course, and she has been rewarded, clinching a spot on a team to represent the Eagles in a PGA tournament.

FGCU golfer Michelle Reyes found her passion for the game as a child in Mexico.

“I was 10 years old, and I lived right next to a golf course,” Reyes said. “I grew up in Mexico in a small city called Villahermosa.”

Her sport remains the same, whether she’s in the United States of her home country. But that’s not to say her transition to FGCU was an easy ace.

“It’s actually funny,” Reyes said. “When I got here, I barely know too much English.”

Now, Reyes has adapted, and she’s excelling among her PGA golf management peers.

“She’s beaten all the men in our program, so she’s a bit of a celebrity at this point,” said Marty Hall, the assistant director of the PGA program at FGCU.

And Reyes recognizes her own progress.

“My game so far has been really good,” she said.

Most recently, Reyes set a program scoring record at a local golf course.

“It was a 7 under because we were doing a par 73,” Reyes said. “It was pretty cool.”

The score earned her a spot on the five-member FGCU golf team that will compete in the annual PGA Golf Management Jones Cup tournament at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie.

There will be 18 PGA program teams across the nation competing for the Jones Cup next week, Nov. 18 to 20. Reyes and her teammates will look to play their best for themselves while also defending the FGCU Eagles’ 2018 Jones Cup victory.

“It’s really special that Michelle will be on the team,” Hall said. “She’ll be one of only two women in a field of 90 players.”

Reyes continues to reflect positively on her game, and she knows where she wants to be in the game of golf in her future.

“My game’s been good,” she said. “I definitely would love to become part of the PGA and become an instructor.”