ROGERS — Azahara Munoz wanted to be with her family during a time of mourning instead of playing golf in late May.
Munoz’s grandmather, who was like a second mother to the Spanish golfer, passed away a few days before the start of the Sybase Match Play Championship in Gladstone, N.J.
Munoz admitted that she had no desire to play in the LPGA event, but her family encouraged her to skip her grandmother’s funeral and tee it off as usual.
“It was hard, but I almost didn’t come to the tournament,” Munoz said. “So once I went to the tournament, I just promised myself that I would play for her and for sure I was never going to give up and just try my best to play for her.
“So that’s what I did, and I think that helped me a little bit.”
Munoz remained focused despite the distractions, and with her family unable to be in attendance, she won six matches to earn her first career victory at the Sybase.
The 24-year-old Spaniard had been gradually getting closer to earning an LPGA Tour win and silencing those who wondered when she would finally hoist a tournament trophy.
Munoz admitted that winning on the Ladies European Tour in 2009, before she was even an LPGA rookie, led some people to have too many expectations for her. But she showed signs earlier this season that she wasn’t far off, tying for second at the LPGA LOTTE Championship in late April and taking fourth a week later at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.
But things finally came together for her in May, thanks to her ability to hit accurate shots, keep her composure and outlast Candie Kung in the final match.
“It’s huge because I was close a lot of times, but I could never really do it,” Munoz said. “Everybody’s always asking, ‘When are you going to get your first win?’ It’s already been two years, so it was really nice.”
The Sybase victory helped vault Munoz to third on the LPGA Tour’s money list with $739,587 and No. 18 on the Rolex player rankings. She hopes to add to both this week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club, where she teed off Friday morning in the tournament’s opening round.
Paula Creamer, who knows a thing or two about winning with nine career victories, said she’s not surprised Munoz now has an LPGA title on her resume. Creamer figured it was only a matter of time before the “feisty” former Arizona State golfer would break through with her style of mistake-free golf.
Creamer said Munoz’s experience with playing in last year’s Solheim Cup, where she posted a 2-1-1 record, helped her win in a match-play format at Sybase.
“She’s a good player. She’s long, she’s a good putter, she doesn’t make many mistakes and she was a good collegiate player as well,” Creamer said. “So we’ve always been expecting her to do well and now she’s living up to her expectations for sure.”
Munoz said she has made some changes to her swing that has allowed her to hit the ball farther and put her into contention most weeks. She has four top 10 finishes this season, giving her reason to believe that she can be a factor in every tournament she’s in as long as she plays her game.
“I’m not surprised,” Munoz said about her season so far. “I’ve been working really hard, and I knew eventually it had to come all together and start playing better.”