Giulia Sergas: “ I would like to help the team to win the Solheim Cup!”
If there is one thing that has never been lacking in Giulia Sergas, it is enthusiasm. When she finds something that she likes, she definitively goes for it. Whether it is downhill on a snowboard or parachute, she will search for a coach and will move to a country that offers more career opportunities, even if it is overseas, although this could deprive the comforting protection of her family and friends. Giulia is pure energy, and never stops to remind herself that she is a lucky person, because she is living the life she wants to live. “At home everyone supported me, and no one has ever asked why I made certain choices,” she says. “Anyone who knows me knows that the challenge is my life.”
Giulia is 33 years old and with so many thousand miles in her luggage, millions of balls hit on golf courses around the world, with an amazing amateur career and highly ranked in both the Ladies European Tour and LPGA rankings. And now, with the possibility to participate in the Solheim Cup, the second Italian after Diana Luna in 2009, in the team of 12 that will face the European verus the Americans in their home from 16 to 18th August at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colorado, and defend the possession of the title.
It’s a long trip that led from her city, Trieste, closer this goal. Giulia is currently in sixth place in the ranking of LET Solheim Points, and 53th in the Women’s World Rolex Rankings. But, going back to when it all began, we find a ten years old child who was for the first time with her mother at the Golf of Trieste Padriciano looking for her grandfather, a member of the club. “Mom said to me, ‘You know that here plays a boy who is the best of all?’ In fact he was not really that good, but I do remember that I was very impressed, “says Julia. “I remember clearly thinking, ‘One day I would like me to be the best of all too.”
The amateur career includes the blue shirt of the national outfit that Giulia wore for five years during which she won many titles. One of most important one was the European championship in 1998. The results convinced her to turn professional in October 1999, the year after Bill Johnson won the Rookie of the Year Award, awarded to the best professional debut in the Ladies European Tour . In 2002, she played the LPGA Qualifying and since then, Giulia’s life is divided between Europe and the United States, including satisfactions and some errors: “I never had to prevent my parents from following the early years in the LPGA Tour, I needed a support and instead I wanted to make mistakes and learn everything alone, wasting time and energy. ” Of the Ladies European Tour, regrets “the possibility to have a coach of the national team: the girls are followed in all the events and I am not … and this is something that I do not like, unfortunately.”
“I live in Arizona, not far from the border with California,” she explains, “desert, cactus, sun … and many golf courses.” Her good results recently had also impressed her: “The beginning of the year was full of surprises; I did not think to do just so many good results. Because during the winter I changed my usual routine of the past years – I spent two months in the mountains in Cortina d’Ampezzo, without even touching a golf club, and once back on tour, I did not have any expectations, I just wanted to have fun and play “. It is the philosophy that is starting to work that I learned working with the two coach from Vision54, the school of Swedish Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, which combines teachings on the technical side of the course to the mental and emotional to express the full potential of each player. “They have an avant-garde method and I am perfect with it. There is also Massimo Scarpa, the coach of the Italian National team and I completely trust his judgment on my swing, but the thing I like most about my relationship with him is to discuss tactics and how to deal with different types of shots and set ups.” But, apart from this, there is also inner peace that helps Giulia: “I score me 10/10 vote in this matter … and if some morning is 9, then I start work immediately to reach the praise again.”
Giulia may not be able to participate in the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters, the penultimate tournament before the selection of the team, but we will see her at the Old Course at St Andrews for Ricoh Women’s British Open, from 1st to 4th August, when will be announced the 12 chosen – eight qualifying via rankings and four picked by the captain Liselotte Neumann. “I would love to be at The Solheim Cup, of course, but not for the fact itself of joining the team. The thing I care most about is to play well in order to help the team win. If I am part of the team, will be a consequence of my good game.” And Giulia could be a great ace up one’s sleeve for Liselotte, because Giulia loves match play. “I know Lotta well and she is a woman who I like very much, she is respectful and very experienced. We are friends from longtime, since she was also playing in the tour – and this reminds me that I’m at my twelfth year in the LPGA. “
With the maturity of experience, Giulia now wants to make her contribution to the growth of women’s amateur golf in Italy. And she is doing it with a really nice initiative, the Scholarship “Giulia’s Little Sister”. Angelica Moresco, winner of the National League Trophy Girls-Marazza played at Villa Condulmer a few weeks ago, will have the opportunity to practice together with Giulia, dress (outside the national events) with her sponsor’s clothing and she is also invited to three events ‘Audi In City Golf’ which Giulia is the ambassador. But the most important of all is that she will be able to follow her as her guest inside the ropes during the practice rounds at the Evian Championship (September 10th to 11th). “I was in Malaysia having dinner with Karrie Webb,” says Julia, “and she was explaining me all her initiatives for young people in Australia, and this made me think about what I could have done for the young Italian golfers. I thought it would be useful to create a bridge between the two worlds, between amateurs and pros. With Angelica, my ‘little sister’, we’ve exchanged several emails and she is so excited to come with me to Evian. I think she does not know anything else of what’s going to happen, the rest will be quite a surprise, even the practice days with me. She will play together with me when possible, and will have a personally autographed book from my coach Vision54, together with my help to grow with her golf “.
Giulia does not stop there: “Other future projects? Become ambassador of indoor golf! Together with the Brilliant8 (www.brilliant8.com) I would like to promote golf on artificial surfaces: less cost, zero maintenance, indoor game when it’s snowing outside … so a pro will no longer be forced to go live in the heat for training; especially if, like me, it is passionate of skiing”
