Lacey Agnew, Makes it to the LPGA!
by Rashida Mickens

Lacey Agnew was born a competitor. From a very young age, she was bouncing a basketball and dreaming of becoming a professional athlete. “Whether flipping quarters or running down the street, I’m competitive. I always had the mindset that I was going to try to be an athlete and had confidence that I was going to do it at that [professional] level,” she said.

With hard work, a competitive edge, and a slew of loyal supporters, today the dream is a reality as she prepares to debut as a pro-golfer on the LPGA tour.

As the world watches, many will be rooting for the girl from Clayton County who transformed herself from a struggling player into an accomplished athlete – a true display of fortitude.

Although high performance has always come natural for Agnew, the road to becoming a pro golfer was a long and arduous one that began on the open green, where her father, Wes Agnew, and her uncles lost entire afternoons to the game, and where she first realized her love for the sport.  Golf, however, would prove to be the one sport that tested Agnew’s athleticism.

Initially, she struggled to keep up with many of the girls whose introduction to the game started years before, in their pre-adolescence period. “It took me until my junior year in college to get that confidence and calmness that the other girls had since a very young age,” explains Agnew. Her father, who was always there to lend support through the physical and emotional demands of Agnew’s sprints to her goals, encouraged her to hang in there with the game. “My parents never pushed me to do sports; they just encouraged me to do what I wanted and make sure that I loved it. I’m blessed to have such supportive family and friends.”

Agnew maintained a positive attitude, enjoyed the challenge, and proved that she could excel in the sport. In her senior year of high school, she sunk a birdie in the 18th hole of a tournament, earning Woodward Academy a state championship. Even with the success, she still lacked the confidence that came so naturally to her in other sports, until 2009, when, while playing golf at Florida State, she met coach Leigh Mills. “She believed in me and had confidence in me,” Agnew explains.  Mills taught her to stop chasing after the perfect shot and just enjoy the game. In the first tournament of her senior year, Lacy shot under par for the first time, and her name was etched in history as she tied the FSU all time low round of 65. “Leigh would always say, you have the ability just go do it,” recalls Agnew. That was enough to change her golf game, forever. 

Surreal – that is the word Agnew uses to describe the moment when she qualified for the LPGA tour. “That last week was a long, grueling process that tested my mental and physical ability. It truly was a marathon, not a sprint. It showed me a lot about myself and what I’m capable of.”

In March, she will be starting The Tour, living the life every young adult dreams of – traveling around the country, following her dreams and doing what she loves. Until then, she is enjoying some well deserved downtime before practice begins: playing golf with her dad and spending Sundays at her church – First Baptist Church of Jonesboro.  And when her feet hit the grass at her first LPGA event, Agnew reveals “I’m going to enjoy it, every minute of it because you never know when it will be your last time to play.”