Wake Forest Sports Information
D E PA R T M E N T S S P O R T S
‘SOMETIMES DREAMS CHANGE’ For one young Cary golfer, the grass looks greener away from the professional fairways BY KURT DUSTERBERG
F
or the past decade, the game of golf has provided countless thrills for Emilia Migliaccio. As her skills improved, she left behind local events to participate in national tournaments. She loved the travel, the suitcase life and especially the hotels. She practiced in 100-degree heat with a zest for the game that few could match. The payoff was a dizzying amount of success. By the time Migliaccio graduated from Wake Forest University in May, she was one of the top collegiate players in the country. She won several college tournaments, played in two U.S. Women’s Opens and traveled the world to play in the most prestigious golf events. Her world ranking climbed as high as No. 3. At the start of her senior golf season, her dream of playing professionally on the LPGA Tour was likely to come to fruition within a year.
Then Migliaccio decided she was finished with competitive golf. Such a life-changing decision doesn’t come easily or without self-examination. The 22-year-old Cary resident is upfront about that. “I’m not uncomfortable talking about it, not afraid to be vulnerable,” she says. Perhaps that is because Migliaccio’s life is already rich with other storylines. Her passion for writing led to publishing a novel, “Just An Illusion,” in 2018. At Wake Forest University, she was the leader of a studentathlete community service group. “She’s wanting to give a little bit of herself to a lot of people,” says Demon Deacons women’s golf coach Kim Lewellen. “She serves people and she has a big heart. She wants to make sure she can share that with people.” We asked Migliaccio about her decision and accomplishments, and what we learned was that she doesn’t take any of them lightly.
I understand you first sta ted wondering about your future in golf last summer when you were playing in the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship. What happened? I birdied the last three holes to finish eve par but I didn’t feel that sense of triumph I thought I would feel. That was the first time had thoughts of, “I don’t know if I want to do this as a career.” I think a lot of it was because I was playing in my last college year and I’m going to go to [LPGA qualifying] school next year. I was putting so much pressure on myself that I wasn’t able to perform. It took a while to really listen to my heart, because you don’t know if you’re thinking this because you’re not playing well. I made the decision at the end of January. In the middle of the first tou nament I said, “Coach, all I’m thinking about is, I don’t want JULY/AUGUST 2021
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