Pelaez Plays for More Than Herself

Ana Pelaez is playing for more than herself and her team this year. She is also playing for a friend. The South Carolina junior golfer from Malaga, Spain, and her teammates are carrying driver covers in their golf bags in tribute to Iowa State golfer Celia Barquín Arozamena, a long-time friend of Pelaez and fellow Spaniard, who was murdered on a golf course in Ames in September.

“Seeing (the club cover) makes me happy,” Pelaez said. “When I carry my bag, I’ve always had the habit of touching a head cover. So now it’s like I’m touching her. It’s a happy moment. Now I say, I’m going to hit these shots for her and hope it turns out well.”

The club cover resembles the Spanish yellow and red flag, and “Celia” is written across the top.

“All of my teammates carry the cover in their bags,” Pelaez said. “She was very special to me. My dad and (South Carolina Director of Golf) Puggy (Blackmon) talked about doing something to honor her.”

Barquín Arozamena’s body was found in a pond near the ninth hole on the Coldwater Golf Links course in Iowa where she was practicing by herself. Collin Daniel Richards, a homeless man who was camped in a wooded area near the course, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Barquín Arozamena won the Big 12 women’s championship in April and was the ISU’s 2018 female athlete of the year.

“I still cannot believe it,” Pelaez said. “We were playing in a tournament (Annika Intercollegiate in Minnesota), and I got a message from my dad. He said, ‘call me whenever you can!’ I was thinking something happened to my family. Then my brother texted me and said, ‘this is going to be a hard time, but we’re all here.'”

Pelaez called her dad and received the news.

“I kept saying no, no. I was crying and crying,” Pelaez said. “I couldn’t say a word.

“Someone told me that I needed to play for her because that’s what she would love for you to do today. It was very hard. We’re not allowed to have cell phones on the course when we play, and I’m used to that. But that day was hard because I don’t know how my mom is doing. I don’t know how my dad is doing, or how my brother or sister is feeling. When I had to hit a shot, my mind was picturing my friend suffering. I had to start over in my routine with my shot. I had to play for my team, and I had to play for her.”

“This has changed me in so many ways.”
– Ana  Pelaez

Pelaez first met Barquín Arozamena at the age of nine.

“We had a Spanish golf camp, and it was very special. That was the first time we met each other, and over the years we played each other in tournaments,” Pelaez said. “We used to see each other all the time. We used to talk about a lot of things together, especially this last summer. We were playing in the European Individual Championships, which she won. Every afternoon we would have a conversation about our lives.

“We talked about our majors, how golf was at our schools, what are plans were for when we were done. We talked a lot about our lives, our families and our friends, music, and pretty much everything.”

The two played in the same tournaments in the summer for the Spanish Federation over the last several years.

“If I was done with my game, I would go watch her,” Pelaez recalled. “If she was done with hers, she would watch me.

“She was funny. She was the kind of person you admired. She was a role model. She would set up a goal and go for it, no matter what. Her smile was just awesome.”

Pelaez hasn’t read any accounts of what happened, but she admits that it has given her pause about going out to a course to practice by herself in what has always felt like a safe environment.

“I haven’t practiced by myself since, and I don’t think I will for quite a long time,” Pelaez said. “I was a player who used to practice with music, but I won’t do that anymore. I used to go by myself on the golf course, but now I don’t.”

As Pelaez moves forward, she has a new perspective about what’s important.

“This has changed me in so many ways,” Pelaez said. “When you’re here (in school), you think you’re so stressed because you have an exam next week, or you have an argument with someone, or you get too focused on things that are not a big deal. I used to get very overwhelmed about so many exams or missing classes with an upcoming tournament.  Now, I try to communicate with parents every single day. Now, I realize that I have the opportunity to go a tournament, and I’m going to enjoy it. I’m going to come back and take one thing at a time.”