Ani Gulugian: The Future Face of UCLA Golf

By Shahane Arayi
ShahaneMartirosyan@gmail.com

Where we [Armenians] come from, the words "bogey," "double bogey," and "putting" are words often not used in conversations since we [Armenians] do not play a sport [golf] that involves a club and a tiny little ball that rolls on the greens into a hole.

This is why I was delightfully surprised when one of my co-workers informed me that a young woman named Ani Gulugian will be joining the top-ranked UCLA women’s golf team this upcoming year. While I did not know who Ani Gulugian was at that time, I knew without a doubt that she must be Armenian from her last name. My co-worker confirmed my thoughts… Gulugian is an Armenian from Irvine.

As a former Daily Bruin Sports writer, I often covered the UCLA women’s golf team, but I never would have thought that one day I’d see an Armenian girl alongside the most delicate and toughest athletes at UCLA. In fact, I do not know a single Armenian young lady who plays golf, not to mention at a collegiate level. My curiosity led me to research Gulugian and see who she is and if she, in reality, will indeed be playing golf at UCLA starting next September. The UCLA women’s golf website confirmed what my co-worker had told informed me about Ani Gulugian.

Head Coach Carrie Forsyth had announced earlier this month, that Gulugian signed to a National Letter of Intent to play golf for UCLA. “We’re thrilled to sign Ani Gulugian to a Letter of Intent,” Forsyth stated. “Ani is the top recruit in her class, and she’s going to be a tremendous asset to our program. She’s an All-American, and a member of the 2009 Junior Solheim Cup Team. She is the leader of her University High School golf team, and is a true team player and perfect fit for our team.”

Gulugian, a 17 year-old high school senior at Universal High School in Irvine, has made a great impression not only on Forsyth, but also on the whole golf world. She is a member of the victorious 2009 Junior Solheim Cup team, the biennial match play competition featuring the 12 best female junior golfers from Europe and the United States. She has earned First-Team American Junior Golf Association All-American honors last month after recording five top 10 finishes on the junior circuit in the last 12 months. According to GolfWeek, one of golf’s most popular and respected journals, Gulugian ranks third nationally.

While Gulugian’s accomplishments are countless, some of her most impressive results are a third place finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in June; a tie for third at the Thunderbird International Junior and the 2008 Polo Golf Junior Classic. She has also won the California Interscholastic Federation – Southern Section, Southern Regional Championship, one of her tougher plays. Gulugian had initially tied by firing 67, 4 under par with Vatananugulkit. The two went head to head on a sudden death playoff. Most assumed that Vatanugulkit won the championship, however Gulugian’s 20-foot downhill putt in a sudden-death playoff gave her the title. Her play, which has since come to be known as the heart stopping putt, has been one of the more recent accomplishments by the young star golfer.

Previously, Gulugian’s impressive results have led her University High School squad to the team title. Her results qualified her for the 2009 United States Amateur at Old Warson Country Club and U. S. Women’s Open at Suacon Valley over the summer. “I was kind of in shock when I found out that I was going [to the U.S. Open]. I was like, ‘Whew, I made it.’ And then I was like, ‘I made it!’ It still hasn’t completely hit me what I have done. It probably won’'t until I am actually there… well, maybe not until it’s over," Gulugian told the Orange County Register.

Gulugian’s accomplishments put her on top of her game; her advancement within the past few years are only small signs of the greatness she is capable of. After discovering an Armenian on the UCLA women’s golf team, I decided to further research Armenians and their participation in the game of golf. The results astonished me. It turns out, golf is becoming immensely popular in the Republic of Armenia. As a matter of fact, a golf federation was opened and officially registered in Armenia a few years ago. This is a refreshingly clear sign that the game of golf is not only growing in the Diaspora, producing the likes of the lovely Ani Gulugian, but is also becoming a noteworthy aspect of Armenian life miles away in our homeland.