Eleven-year-old golf powerhouse Angelina Pacheco brought home the second-place prize at this year’s U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, where she represented our region of Lake Nona for the third consecutive year. The tournament took place over the course of three days, beginning on July 30, and involved hundreds of competitive golfers aged 12 and under from all around the globe. These skilled kids gather in Pinehurst, North Carolina, every year to compete with the best junior golfers in the world.

Angelina ranked second out of 75 girls in her age group. Her hard work and devotion manifested into a beautifully played tournament; she led in first place for over half of the championship and came to second place by the third day of competition. A brief scroll on her Instagram, run by her parents, will show you the extensive amount of practice she has put in over the years. Angel Pacheco, father of the young golf pro, proudly says, “If I let her, she would go twice per day to the golf course.”

Angelina is a full-time homeschooled student. She spends her time playing with slime, making videos, and golfing (of course!). In addition to conquering golf tournaments, she sets her aspirations high: She has her sights on Harvard or Stanford to continue her golf career through higher education. Afterwards, Angelina’s primary goal is to play for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) professionally.

Her confident and dedicated spirit is evident in everything she does, with her father, Angel, and mother, Evelyn, being a significant factor in this. Angel is a large part of his daughter’s passion for the sport, having been the one to put a plastic club in her hand when she was 1½ years old. Throughout the duration of her childhood, her dad would take her to the golf course with him and gradually teach her how to play a full nine-hole game. 

“He would let me hang out in the cart and do things I wasn’t allowed to do anywhere else, like chew gum or drink soda,” said Angelina. Since then, her life has orbited around golf. She looks forward to the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship every year. “I love the nine-hour drive, meeting my friends from all over the country, and the competition. There is no place like Pinehurst,” said Angelina.

She said her family drives up to North Carolina a few days before the competition begins so that she can spend some extra time having dinners and play dates with her friends – and practicing. Every year, Angelina travels to the tournament location and devotes extra time to studying the course by playing several practice rounds. “This is where I learn the course and get an understanding of what I have to do to succeed,” she said.

This talented young lady hopes to play golf for the rest of her life. With the immense amount of talent, self-discipline, and work ethic in a person so young, she will surely do great things from here. As much as her parents would like her to saddle a well-paying job as a lawyer or a Wall Street banker, they continue to support her and provide an ideal environment in which to foster her talents. “She’s so committed, and we are very proud,” Angel said.

This young, victorious golf competitor has a decorated resume of tournaments and competitions, and she aspires to keep it growing. The region of Lake Nona is fortunate to be represented through this talented girl in the 2020 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, and we are excited to see her future accomplishments. I believe most people would agree with the one word Angelina Pacheco would use to describe herself: “Determined.”