Lizette Salas Wrestles Free of Personal Struggles in Runner-Up Finish at KPMG Women's PGA
Last year, at age 31, Lizette Salas found herself in a dark place and thought she’d had enough of professional golf. The game was doing more to her than it was for her and retirement looked like her best option.
But the emotions of golf can turn on a dime and Salas’ last two weeks have proved to her that she is where she belongs. Salas was runner-up to Nelly Korda at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday, which in many ways was a victory.
“I didn't think I could get out of that deep hole (last year),” she said. “I think I'm back.”
Salas finished three shots back of Korda and both players battled down the stretch, each competing for their first major championship victory. “I'm really grateful for being in this position and for fighting until the end.”
Salas credited her coach and agent from preventing retirement but, like players on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour in the last couple of weeks, she spoke up about her issues with mental and emotional health.
“I think a lot of us take our mental health for granted, and me coming from a Hispanic culture, it's very hard to talk about it,” she said. “The scariest part for me is I felt like I was alone, and now hearing the chants and everyone pulling for me, it was just a magical week.
“It just shows that we don't get a pass on anxiety or depression or anything like that. I think all of us speaking out shows how brave we can be, how vulnerable, it's scary to even talk about it, but I think it just shows the rest of the world that we're just like everyone else and that we can all come together and help each other out and overcome whatever it is that is going on.
Salas thought for a number of years that she didn’t get the credit she deserved for her success after joining the LPGA Tour in 2012 after her college career at the University of Southern California.
“Before, I was tired of playing with that chip on my shoulder, and now I own that instead of running away from it,” she said. “I played great this week, and I think this is the start of something great.”