The Women’s Amateur Latin America championship (WALA), presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation, was established to nurture talent and provide a pathway for the region’s elite women amateurs to the international stage. With Mexico this week hosting the fifth staging of the championship, its own evolution has neatly mirrored that of the career of one Emily Odwin.

Odwin is a trailblazer for her country. The 21-year-old is making her fifth successive appearance at the WALA and is the only player from Barbados competing at PGA Riviera Maya. Given her home country has a population of 282,580 and only around 4,500 golfers playing some format of the sport, she continues to make waves just like those that lap the sands of the Caribbean island. Next year she will finish her sports management studies in her senior year at Southern Methodist University in Texas and turn professional, having secured a foothold by recently reaching Stage 3 of LPGA Q School.

As the first golfer from her country to qualify for any major championship when she played in the US Women’s Open at Erin Hills in the summer, Odwin will soon chase her pro dream. The WALA, it’s fair to say, has helped provide a platform.

“I’ve now played in the Women’s Amateur Latin America championship five times and played in the junior event before it, when it was known as the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America,” she explains. “I think I’ve been to all except one event over the years.

“I have this week circled on my calendar every year. It’s just a really fun week and each year the field gets stronger. I’m really happy to be here again. I know The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation work hard to make this the premier event for us in Latin America. It’s just such a good week.”

Odwin thinks back to where it began for her, picking up a club for the first time aged eight and developing her skills over Royal Westmoreland. She has represented Barbados in regional and international events since she was 11. Fast forward a decade and now she aims to inspire others.

Back in 2019, she was winning titles such as the Royal Westmoreland Ladies Open, the Caribbean Amateur Junior Championships and the HJGT Tournament of Champions.

“Golf can be a hard sport just to start, like with getting clubs and so on,” she admits. “It’s a challenge many countries have to tackle. I was really lucky that I had parents (father, Eddie and mother, Orna) who supported me and let me try different sports, picking what I enjoyed doing the most and what made me happy. I hope people back home being able to see me compete, and hopefully doing well at certain events, shows them that there is an avenue in golf that is possible.

“Representing my country means everything to me. I’m really happy that this championship gives a stage to do that. I wear it on my chest, it’s on my golf bag, I’m just really proud to fly the flag in places where it may not have been flown before. I hope I’m inspiring people.”

From the 196 players who started the LPGA Q School journey this year, most of them professional players, only the top 45 advanced to the third and final stage. Yet Odwin is putting professional golf on hold, instead committing to her studies and those who have placed faith in her.

She said, “I made it to Stage 3 of Q School. I have a job next year, which is going to be quite nice! It’s exciting. My coaches at college are some of the best people I know and they have done so much for me. They always show up for me, whether at the US Open or flying down here for one of my practice rounds this week. To me, it didn’t feel right to leave and turn pro now. I’ll come back in the spring and then turn pro as soon as we’re done. I was always going to be a Senior this year and it was just a question of when I leave. I’m going to miss the start of the season but then have the second half and hopefully have ten to 15 starts. I’ll give it a go and see what happens.”

Her experience at the US Open in June gave her a taste of the big time, as well as creating headlines back home. Odwin continues, “It was really cool. My phone was blowing up! I probably still have texts that I missed. It was blowing up with people back home offering their support. I feel it, even being so far away. At the end of the day, if I can get one more girl into golf I’ve done a good job.”

Odwin’s game continues to develop and improve, as evidenced by five top-ten finishes at collegiate level in 2025. She even found herself in Nairn in the Scottish Highlands last summer for The Women’s Amateur Championship, developing new shots, handling certain conditions and enjoying new experiences.

“I love an R&A championship, what can I say!” she laughs. “I’ve been playing in them for a really long time. The Women’s Amateur Championship is always held on such a good course, whether it be Nairn, Portmarnock or Prince’s in recent years.

“Next year is going to be at Muirfield and I can’t believe I’m going to miss that one. The more I can play in places that expose me to a lot of different things that I’m not used to, compared to living in Texas or back home in Barbados, it’s only going to serve me well for my professional career.”

Odwin’s results at the WALA have steadily improved since her debut in 2021 – 25th, 10th, 10th, 2nd. Can she go one better this year in Mexico after finishing runner-up to Clarisa Temelo at Lima in Peru 12 months ago? “Let’s hope so,” she smiles.

Perhaps her football team, Arsenal, can inspire her – teams in London chasing their own silverware. She even uses an Arsenal ball marker on the greens.

Odwin explains, “I used to play football when I was younger and at the time my favourite player was actually Wayne Rooney. I always wanted to be a forward, but I was put in defence and it wasn’t fun! I wanted to be like Wayne! I stopped playing as I didn’t know if it was an avenue as a girl I could take back home.

“But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, I didn’t have too much to do and started watching the WSL and found a love for the Arsenal Women’s team. I follow the men’s side as well. They get under my skin and frustrate me at times but maybe this is the season for the men in the English Premier League.”

Odwin visited England when she saw the Women’s Euros to continue her football fix. Travel seems part of her DNA. How far she travels in the world of professional golf we all wait to see. 

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