On the 73rd hole of the inaugural SKYiGOLF Championship, Alana Uriell (Carlsbad, California) hit her second shot from the fairway to 10 feet and proceeded to bury the eagle putt to win a sudden-death playoff against Lauren Coughlin (Charlottesville, Virginia) and Julieta Granada (Asuncion, Paraguay).
Trailing by one shot entering the final round of her professional debut, Uriell fired a 5-under par 67 this afternoon to get to 12-under overall. The rest is history.
“I’m going to remember making that eagle putt for a long time,” said Uriell. “I was definitely nervous, but really the best part was that I embraced the nerves, visualized the shot and it turned out really good. If you told me this before the week started, I wouldn’t believe you. It feels really good and it was such an honor to play in this tournament.”
The win means a lot more to Uriell than receiving a trophy in her first start as a pro. When she was 14 years old, the University of Arkansas alumna lost her mom, Barbara, to breast cancer. This victory was for the woman who raised her and there’s no doubt an angel was on Uriell’s side today.
“She was really the person that encouraged me to play golf and inspired me,” Uriell said. “Standing here today, it’s safe to say that I made her proud and that makes me really happy.”
