Latino Excellence Podcast: Clarisa Temelo

University of Arkansas golfer Clarisa Temelo, the first Mexican to win the Women’s Amateur Latin America, is making her LPGA debut at The Chevron Championship.

For about a decade, Clarisa Temelo has placed a special ball marker on the right side of her visor. Whether she’s playing on a golf course in her native Queretaro, Mexico, at the University of Arkansas, throughout the Southeastern Conference or in international competition, you can always spot her beloved green, white and red ball marker.

Temelo left Mexico last fall to pursue her golf and educational career at Arkansas. Although she speaks to her parents often, they’ve not visited her. She has juggled life as a college freshman on her own, seeing her parents only during her visits back home during the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.

Temelo, one of eight amateurs competing at The Chevron Championship this week, keeps Mexico close to her heart. Temelo has worn the ball marker with Mexico’s tricolor flag as a tribute to her homeland since she was 9 years old.

“I love representing Mexico, saying that, yeah, I’m Mexican,” she says. “I always play with this mark. And yeah I love being like, ‘Hey, yeah, I’m from Mexico.’”

With Latino Excellence Podcast host Jesus Ortiz, Temelo discussed her career, her pride in representing Mexico, her freshman season at the University of Arkansas, her LPGA dreams and much more.

The Latino Excellence podcast can be found on Apple , Spotify and YouTube.