GRAPEVINE, Texas (KXXV) — The first professional victory is under former Baylor golfer Sera Hasegawa's belt — taking home the trophy at the Texas Women's Open.
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Hasegawa found herself in a four-way sudden death tie going into the final round.
She finished with a 14-under par — a victory she didn't coming.
"I didn't check the leaderboard, so I didn't know what's going on. But I also expected, like, other people playing better. Then four of us are tied together. So I'm like, wait, no way. Like, no way I'm gonna get close to win," Hasegawa said.
Sera recently graduated from Baylor. I reached out to Bears women's golf head coach Jay Goble and he tells me, "Sera is extremely talented, and it is not surprising to see her win on the professional level. Sera can accomplish anything she sets her mind to in the world of golf."
"I actually went down to Waco before the tournament, and he was always saying Baylor is like always home for you, you can come back anytime and practice," Hasegawa said.
"That's kind of made me like really feel safe and so glad to graduate from there," she said.
This is the first tournament win as a professional for Hasegawa. The process of being a professional golfer brought challenges.
"I hated it at all, I'm like, I don't want to spend my time traveling by myself. I felt so miserable like that I don't have anyone to grab dinner together, or even like, you know, hanging out between the tournament," she said.
"I just needed a little bit of time to accept playing for money, instead of like playing for fun. So, it was like a little bit tough transition, definitely. But now I'm so excited about what's gonna happen next," Hasegawa added.
Sera's next tournament she will be competing in will be in her hometown of Gifu, Japan.
