Flying the South African flag high almost literally is golfer Kaiyuree Moodley.
After jetting off to the United States of America, the former Lonehill resident is excited to complete her studies and focus on her golf career while abroad at the University of South Carolina.
Majoring in psychology and minoring in criminology, Moodley intends on going pro as soon as she gets her degree.
“For right now, I will just carry on playing with the [university] team and of course go pro later on. I’m also just trying to enjoy whatever we have left of college life,” she said.
A long way from home, Moodley said she was grateful to be surrounded by such an amazing team and atmosphere.
“Campus is beautiful and we are really privileged as student-athletes to sort of have our own space. I have such an awesome team so the experience has really been amazing so far. Being so far away from home, they really make me feel so welcome,” she said.
With a determined team, Moodley said in this short time she had set some new goals for herself.
“We have such a strong team here at the university and four girls out of the team of eight received an invitation to The Augusta National Women’s Amateur golf tournament in Georgia. It’s a really big deal because the PGA Masters, which is one of the biggest tournaments played by men, is played on that golf course.”
Moodley added that scoring an invitation to that tournament was definitely one of her goals.
“I have been working towards it for such a long time and now being on the team and being surrounded by so many other talented girls, I think that it’s definitely something I want to do in the future. I’ve also realised some fitness goals too.”
After being in the States for just over a month, Moodley said she did miss home and of course her mother’s food. Adapting though, Moodley added that she would like to visit during her break in May this year.
“Of course, if Covid-19 allows I’ll be back home to visit soon. The biggest thing for me now is to just stay safe. We get tested regularly which I am happy with. Everyone has a common goal and people should not be reckless.”
Moodley added that she never thought that she would live through a pandemic in her lifetime. Her words of advice was to keep on keeping while fighting the virus as a unit.
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