By Junior Long Beach State women’s golfer Jasmine Leovao has started the 2024-2025 season just as she finished the last, by dominating the competition.
Leovao posted a round of 66 and placed second overall among 85 golfers to kickstart the fall 2024 season at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, hosted by the University of New Mexico. Leovao’s performance greatly contributed to The Beach taking first place overall out of 15 teams.
She backed up her performance in New Mexico by tying for 11th overall at the Leadership and Golf Invitational, hosted by the University of Washington.
Following that, Leovao jumped up six spots and crept her way into the top 10 in the final round at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Colorado hosted by Colorado State by posting a 70.
“I’ve been doing all the right things [over the summer], and was finally able to perform and put it together in the tournament,” Leovao said.
The Oceanside local is in her third year and has accomplished plenty as an underclassman, including:
- 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year
- 2023-24 First Team Big West
- LBSU low round record holder; 64(-8).
Leovao was so focused on her personal game that she hadn’t realized she was making history in the record books for LBSU athletics.
Although she said her driver is the best part of her game, Leovao said that there is still a lot of work to do. She is focused on improving her game with every opportunity and building on the foundation she has set for herself.
“The most important hole is the one right in front of you,” Leovao said.
She emphasized the idea of keeping her swing thoughts simple and committing to create consistency for herself and being able to convert at crucial points.
Leovao’s “what’s next” mentality allows her to focus on what she can control for the remainder of the course.
Long Beach State junior Jasmine Leovao finished in a tie for ninth place at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Colorado. She climbed six spots on the leaderboard with a final day -1 to do so. Photo credit: LBSU Athletics
LBSU women’s golf head coach Alyssa Waite said that Leovao being a multi-sport athlete in high school sparked her interest in recruiting her.
“It isn’t just all about how to hit a golf ball,” Waite said.
Waite emphasized that playing other sports can greatly affect a player’s journey in becoming the best athletic version of themselves. From the start, Waite noticed the strength and flexibility that Leovao gained from competing in various sports.
“As much as I believe in [my players] as a coach, getting them to believe in themselves allows them to be more successful,” Waite said.
Regarding gameplay, some of the best advice Waite can give her athletes is to focus on commitment. It is something Leovao and the rest of her teammates work on every day and has been instilled in their mindset.
