Hours After Fellow Native’s Historic Win, LPGA Legend Michelle Wie West Instills Confidence into Another Rising Star

With the completion of the US Women’s Open, the USGA now sets its sights on the US Adaptive Open Championship. No, this is not an ordinary event. This is the tournament that showcases the world’s best golfers with disabilities. The competition will be held at Pinehurst No. 6 from July 10–12, 2023. Any golfer, whether a man or a woman, a professional or an amateur, with a physical disability — whether a sensory impairment (vision) or an intellectual disability — is eligible to play.

For Honolulu-born Michelle Wie West, the event is something to be proud of. A couple of days after bidding farewell to professional golf and after Allisen Corpuz’s triumph at the US Women’s Open, another Hawaiian is set to make Wie West proud and she couldn’t contain her excitement. Let’s find out more what it’s all about!

LPGA Legend rooting for fellow Hawaiian

It’s a very good time for Hawaiians. Honolulu-born Allisen Corpuz just won the US Women’s Open and broke the 7-Year American Curse. And now another Hawaiian, Amanda Cunha, the World No.1 visually impaired golfer, is all set to stake a claim for the US Adaptive Open trophy.

Also Read: Moments Before the $2,000,000 US Women’s Open Feat, Allisen Corpuz Nearly Fell of the Leadership Helm Due to an Unexpected On-Course Affair

USGA posted her pictures on Instagram and wrote: “Amanda Cunha is a trailblazing collegiate golfer, and she hopes her second #USAdaptiveOpen journey will encourage others to follow.”

Michelle Wie West, LPGA legend, also took to Instagram Stories and penned down, “Let’s keep this Hawaii win streak alive!” Coincidentally, Cunha will play on the same golf course where Wie West won the 2014 US Women’s Open. Let’s learn more about 18-year-old Cunha.

Tough ride and plenty of determination

Cunha’s life is filled with some of the toughest ordeals. A few years ago, Cunha was diagnosed with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. This illness caused her eyesight loss, and in just one year, she went from being fully sighted to legally blind. She had to learn everything all over again but she was unable to give up golf. In her quest to make golf more accessible to her, her father joined her team. He became her caddie and her eyes on the course, of course.

Playing golf again was the most challenging task for her. “Being able to golf with the vision impairment has been the biggest challenge at first because I couldn’t see the green. I couldn’t see the flag from a certain distance. I was always trying to look for it, even though I knew it wasn’t there. After a lot of hard work and keep practicing at it and trying to get muscle memory back, was super great,” Cunha spoke of her ordeals.

Definitely, Cunha is one of the most inspiring golfers out there. Her journey teaches us that we can achieve anything if we go after it wholeheartedly. That obstacles of any kind don’t matter.

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Are you also rooting for Amanda Cunha? Let us know in the comments.