When the ladies gather at the Chapala Country Club at Vista del Lago on March 9 for Ajijic Rotary Club’s 2013 International Women’s Golf Classic they’ll be excited to meet well-known Mexican professionals Shanti Granada and Alejandra Martin del Campo.
But eyes in the know will be focused on 13-year-old golf prodigy Emilia Monserrat “Monzie” Contreras Fernandez.
The youngster, who has placed high in tournaments in Mexico and in the United States, will be part of a lucky team competing in the Rotary Club Classic.“There was actually an argument between teams wanting her to participate with them,” said Sandra Loridans, one of the tournament’s organizers.
Contreras was born in Guadalajara and lives in San Antonio Tlayacapan. She began playing golf, tutored by her father, at the age of six. Besides having obvious talent, the youngster practices for three hours each afternoon, except Sunday.
But Sunday isn’t her day of rest. That’s when she plays two rounds of 18 holes with her father.
This regimen has been de rigueur for seven years, except for 2011 when her parents limited her golf because her grade point average at the Roosevelt School had dropped from 9.7 to 8.6.
“My grades are very important,” Contreras says. “With good marks and my track record with the Golfo Amateur de Occidente, I’ll have a good chance to get a scholarship to a good university in the United States. I know people who aren’t as good at golf as I am who have already received scholarships.”
Contreras says driving is her strong suit. “They are very straight, but they could be longer,” she says. “You don’t have to be big to make long drives, but you do have to have powerful thighs.
“I have the biggest problem with putting. I started out not paying much attention to the way I was holding the club and my body, so now I have to unlearn my bad habit.”
The young golfer has every intention of becoming a professional golfer like her idol Lorena Ochoa.
“But that will have to wait until after I finish university,” she adds. “My mother is adamant that I finish college.”
Between now and then, Contreras has her heart set on competing in tournaments abroad, and having a shot at being on the Mexican team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. (Golf will be included in the 2016 Olympics, for the first time since 1904.)
Meanwhile, Contreras continues with her schedule of school, golf, homework and sleep. The golfing part of the schedule is supported by the Chapala Country Club, allowing her to use the course for free any time she wants to and helping her with some of the expenses of traveling to competitions.
So, when you’re out on the Country Club course this weekend, besides keeping your eye on the ball, keep your eye open for this promising prodigy. Those interested in supporting Contreras’ career financially should contact this reporter at 766-1167.
The International Women’s Golf Classic is a charity benefit and all proceeds will be designated by the Rotary Club of Ajijic to their local service projects. These include improvements at Hope House Shelter for Boys, the Love in Action Shelter for Children, Tepehua Community Center Medical Clinic and Soup Kitchen, Have Hammers …Will Travel, sponsorship of a soccer league for at risk boys in San Juan Cosala, the Ardat hospital and school dog therapy program and the Education Scholarship Foundation for needy children.