Dual (Epson Tour/LPGA) status professional Ani Gulugian, a California born and raised Armenian-American, was befuddled. In Canadian Lakes, Michigan – a suburb of Grand Rapids with a population less than 2,000 – somebody requested to play in the Tullymore Classic pro-am with her.
“I was like ‘who wants to play with me in the middle of Michigan’ because I thought it was random,” said a half serious Gulugian, who is hoping to be the first Armenian to play on the LPGA. “I actually had to switch my times for the week to accommodate, but it turned out for the best.”
That’s how the story begins. It was 18 holes, 4 hours, 70 plus shots, food and drink and countless conversation. Gulugian described it as a fairly ‘normal’ pro-am experience.
Sometimes the pro-am experience turns into something more. The gentlemen that requested Gulugian is Vartan Kupelian, a longtime golf writer, former President of the Golf Writers Association, a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame and a fellow Armenian.
“I noticed Ani’s name and we Armenians, when we see another Armenian the antennas go up,” said Kupelian, who has covered five Olympics, the World Series and the Super Bowl during his career. “The next thing I know, a young lady walks up to me at the pairings party introduces herself and says we’re playing together.”
Gulugian and Kupelian hit it off immediately. After the pro-am, Kupelian told Gulugian to keep in touch and let him know if there is anything he can do to help her. The two stayed in contact by exchanging emails from time-to-time.
Then, Kupelian’s phone rang and it was Ani’s dad, John.
“Us paper guys are curious and we ask questions and her dad was looking for exposure and I’m looking for an angle,” said Kupelian. “Frankly, I don’t have anything that separates her from all the other girls out there, until he told me the Arnie story. When he told me the Arnie story, I was like ‘OK, this is different’ and I knew I could build a story.”
The Gulugian family met the legend Arnold Palmer when Ani was very young and they snapped a picture with arguably the greatest golfer of all-time holding baby Ani.
Fast forward to January of this year and Kupelian knew he had a story and it was time to find an outlet that would pick it up. Kupelian was out at Starbucks one day and ran into Alex Miceli, the publisher of Golfweek Magazine. He told Miceli about the Arnold Palmer connection and Miceli said that Golfweek.com would love to run the story around the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is this week. The story ran on Monday (http://golfweek.com/news/2016/mar/14/lpga-tour-ani-gulugian-golf-life-arnold-palmer/).
“It is amazing where the sport can lead you and all the different connections you can make, you just never know,” said Ani Gulugian. “Instead of dreading these things, I think everyone should embrace it. Even if nothing happens, you make contacts and experiences and I think that is a great thing.”
The story and relationship doesn’t stop with the article, which is great exposure for a rising professional. Vartan’s daughter, Lisa, added Ani on social media and then Vartan connected the two thinking Lisa may be able to help Ani off the course.
“We got into contact and I really, really like her,” said Gulugian. “She’s got a very outgoing personality and she told me that she wanted to help me because social media and marketing is her area of expertise. It has evolved into a relationship where she is representing me and I feel comfortable because she has my best interest at heart.”
The two have actually never met in person to date, but Gulugian said she feels like she has known her for a long time.
“With our nationality, when you find another Amenian, they instantly become family,” said Gulugian. “When we were playing, it was natural and normal and we just had a lot of fun. The relationship just stems from that.”
Four hours and 18 holes has turned into a lifetime friendship and an off course relationship that is helping Gulugian achieve her dream of playing on the LPGA.
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