Ana Pelaez Wins Santander Madrid Tournament

MADRID, Spain – While the Gamecocks battled Ole Miss at the East Lake Cup, South Carolina senior Ana Pelaez picked up a win on the Madrid Santander Golf Tour.

Pelaez entered Wednesday’s final round in third place after notching 3-under 69 in the opening round, and she caught fire in the final round to secure the win. The Malaga, Spain native birdied her first two holes, and added a third birdie on the eighth hole to finish the front nine at 3-under. Pelaez kicked it into high gear on the back nine, notching birdies on 12, 15, and finally on 18 to finish with a 6-under 66 and earn the win, besting her opponent by one stroke. 

“At first I came out very calm, then it was a roller coaster because we traded the lead,” Pelaez said after the tournament. “When I saw that at the end only Carolina [López-Chacarra] and I were left at the top, I took it as match play. It was very exciting because we were two amateurs fighting for the win.”

Pelaez is set to re-join the Gamecocks ahead of the spring portion of the schedule in early 2021. In her four years in the Garnet and Black Pelaez has earned two All-America honors, she holds the fourth best scoring average in program history (73.80) and she earned medalist honors at the 2017 NCAA Columbus Regional.