Women's Golf Signs Galdiano & Legaspi
November 12, 2015 | Women's Golf
UCLA Women's Golf on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
UCLA head women's golf coach Carrie Forsyth has announced the signing of a pair of standouts to National Letters of Intent. Mariel Galdiano (Pearl City, Hawai'i/Punahou HS) and Clare Amelia Legaspi (Quezon City, Philippines/St. Paul College, Pasig) will each join the Bruins starting in the fall of 2016.
“Both Mariel and Clare are excellent additions to our team,” Forsyth said. “We are excited about the depth they will bring to our program.”
Galdiano, currently the sixth-ranked golfer in the Golfweek Girl's Junior Rankings, is a three-time Rolex All-American, earning First Team honors for the first time in 2015 after receiving Second Team accolades in 2014 and 2013. Galdiano's busy summer of 2015 included an appearance at the U.S. Women's Open, where she finished 42nd (+6, 286). It was her second go-around in the U.S. Women's Open after also playing in the tournament in 2011 at the age of 13. Galdiano won the 2015 Canadian Women's Amateur by one shot over her future teammate Bethany Wu to earn a spot in the LPGA Canadian Pacific Women's Open.
“Mariel is one of the top players in the class of 2016 and has represented Team USA well in the last few months with victories at the Junior Solheim Cup and the Spirit International Amateur Championship,” Forsyth said.
Galdiano was the runner-up at the 2015 Junior PGA, also reaching the round of 32 at the U.S. Women's Amateur and the round of 64 at the U.S. Girls' Junior. She finished inside the Top 15 in all six of her AJGA events this year, including a third-place showing at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship. At Punahou, Galdiano is a three-time Hawaii High School Athletic Association champion.
Legaspi, whose high school doesn't have a golf team, has a wealth of experience on the international stage playing for her home country. She won individual gold medals for the Philippines at the 2013 Asian Youth Games and the 2014 Southeast Asia Amateur Golf Team Championship (Santi Cup), as well as a team gold medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games. Individually in 2014, she was tied for eighth at the Queen Sirikit Cup, 11th at the Asian Games and 21st at the World Amateur Team Championship.
“Clare is a standout junior with world experience,” Forsyth said. “She won multiple events on the AJGA and represents the Philippines on its national team, playing full time in America during the summer.”
Ranked 12th on Golfweek's recruiting list, Legaspi won the Toyota Tour Cup Series Invitational, the Ping Phoenix Junior and the AJGA Junior at Gainey Ranch in 2014. She also had two other finishes in the top five in AJGA events and advanced to the round of 16 at the '14 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
“UCLA is my dream school,” Legaspi said. “Ever since I was young, I always wanted to go to this school. It is one of those schools that has a good academic and athletic program. Having balanced academics and athletics is what I was looking for in a university.”