THE LOVE OF THE GAME: Maria with her cousin Josefina (left); Josefina went to all of Maria's tournaments and developed an affection for the game, but trying to find someone who was willing to teach her how to play golf was nearly impossible.

lence took root and the lampoon in the opening paragraph of this story starts to make sense.

The seven-year mark was a tipping point in the life of Maria Fassi. She admits that it was at this stage in her life where she consciously began, in her words, to "organize the steps that would allow me to achieve my dream of playing on the LPGA Tour." Practice she did. Utilizing the tools for success endowed to her by Andres Fassi, Maria progressed at an amazingly dizzy pace toward her goals and dream of playing golf at a professional level. After performing exceptionally well at the junior level, she was recruited by multiple colleges to play for their team. A fellow Mexican golfer encouraged her to accept the full scholarship offered to her by the University of Arkansas. She went on to win multiple tournaments while in college in addition to the highest honor in Mexican amateur golf in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Her dream was finally realized when Maria Fassi turned professional and earned her LPGA Tour Card in May of 2019.

After her first year on the professional tour, Maria was forced to concede to the fact that something else had been tugging at her soul. She recalled that, going all the way back to her childhood, there were friends in her immediate circle who did not "look or act like the rest of us." She recounted that they were just part of her life and incorporating special needs kids into their daily activities

required no specific extra efforts. This all changed when Maria's cousin Josefina Gomez wanted to learn how to play golf. What the majority of society considers "abnormal," the special needs community deems unique, with a strong emphasis on the "special" in special needs. Josephina is deaf, mute and is challenged with a form of intellectual disability. Maria and Josephina were inseparable. She went to all of Maria's tournaments and began to develop an affection for the game while watching her cousin play. It was around this time that two more dreams evolved. Josephina wanted to learn the game of golf. Trying to find someone who was willing to teach her how to play golf, according to Maria, was nearly impossible. "This is messed up," she shared with me during our chat. The seeds of her benevolence began to take root and materialized in the form of The Maria Fassi Foundation and her golf clinics called "Fassi's Friends".

Maria loved playing golf and as a natural born competitor, she loved pursuing the victory. Watching Josephina struggle to achieve her goal brought her to the realization that she longed "to play for something bigger than herself." The passion in her demeanor was palpable when she related, "I realized that I needed a greater purpose and something bigger than the game itself to play for." Sprung from this passion was "Fassi's Friends".

In March of 2021, The Maria Fassi Foundation officially became a nonprofit benevolent organization. Fassi’s Friends provides not only a place where special needs kids could learn how to play golf, but a safe place for them to congregate, socialize and just act like kids. Her five- week golf clinic, as Maria states, “is designed to teach the basics of the game of golf to special needs students in much the same way any other student would be taught.”

By holding charity events, soliciting donations from people who understand the importance of such an organization, and partnering with The First Tee, she is able to provide a golf education to special needs children, as well as the less privileged at no cost. The impact of such generosity is not merely experienced by the student. When Josephina Gomez began to play golf on the local courses, her motivation and drive were contagious. Others in the community were inspired to say to themselves, "I can do this." More dreams were realized because of Josephina, Maria and Fassi's Friends. Maria is fond of articulating that in addition to kids just having plain fun, Fassi's Friends offers therapy through sports and competition.

The pleasure of getting to spend two hours with this remarkable young woman was all mine. Her zeal for the cause of the special needs community was beyond inspirational. Her closing words to me encapsulated who she truly is, "Fassi's Friends is not simply to make me feel better, it is a cause I sincerely care about." •

ABOUT FASSI'S FRIENDS

Fassi's Friends is a golf clinic for disabled and full-bodied kids to come together and learn the game of golf. The Maria Fassi Foundation's goal is to create inclusion for kids of all abilities to come together to learn and grow the game of golf through Fassi's Friends. To donate, please reach out to olivia@fassisfriends.com or call 214-801-4419

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Carl Lange is an Emergency Medicine physician practicing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery and works with University of Pittsburgh Physicians at The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.