Slovenia’s Ana Belac took the Epson Tour by storm in her rookie season.
Belac first earned Epson Tour membership for the 2020 season after finishing in a tie for 61st in Qualifying at the 2019 LPGA Qualifying Series. Her rookie year was a shift from a normal season on Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but despite the new environment and global health crisis, Belac managed to end the season with four top-10 finishes, including a win at the Carolina Golf Classic. Her performance earned Belac Epson Tour Player of the Year honors, as well as 2020 Gaëlle Truet Rookie of the Year honors.
“Everything happened very fast,” Belac remembered. “One moment, I was on my way to a college tournament. A few hours later, the rest of my senior season at Duke was canceled, and a few days later, I made a decision to turn professional after getting my Tour card at 2019 Q-School. In a way, my total inexperience and cluelessness were what helped my game. Since dealing with all the off-the-course stuff took up so much of my attention, I was just happy to play golf and enjoy my time on the course.”
Her first-place finish in the 2020 Race for the Card earned Belac a spot on the LPGA Tour for the first time during the 2021 season. In her rookie year on the biggest stage in women’s golf, the Slovenia native made half of her cuts and recorded a T4 finish at the Volunteers of America Classic. The next two years were up and down for the Duke University grad, who had to return to the LPGA Qualifying Series to maintain her status on the LPGA Tour.
The 2024 season has seen Belac compete on the Epson Tour once again, and right from the jump, she was eyeing more than just a return to the LPGA Tour.
With the 2024 Olympics slated for August, Belac was determined to represent her home country in Paris, France, and was willing to do whatever it took to do so, traveling all around the world to play tournaments and try to gain the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings points she needed to qualify.
“After losing my LPGA Tour card last year, I decided to get status on (the Ladies European Tour),” Belac explained. “At first, it was just to have more playing opportunities and leaving my options open. After a few LET events, I realized that if I kept playing well and planned my schedule well, I was on a good path to getting a spot in the Olympics.
“The biggest challenge was putting together a schedule that made sense in terms of travel, balancing not skipping too many Epson Tour events while allowing myself some off weeks to recover. The plan on paper looked quite manageable, but I quickly realized how tough it is on your body to change time zones almost every week, eat different foods and sit on planes for 16-hour flights.”
But it all turned out to be worth it.
By the end of the qualification period, Belac was well within the cutline to represent Slovenia in Paris and will be heading to the Olympics for the first time in her career. This is not her first time representing her country, however, as Belac competed for Slovenia in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and also won two bronze medals at the 2018 Mediterranean Games with partners Vida Obersnel and Pia Babnik, the latter of whom will also compete in Paris. Most recently, she was on the International Team for the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup, helping lift the team to victory.
“I was dreaming of becoming a world-class skier and representing Slovenia in the Winter Olympics, so it’s a really cool feeling that I will end up playing in the Olympics and fulfill my childhood dream,” said Belac. “My favorite memories representing Slovenia were playing in the Youth Olympic Games in 2014 in Nanjing (China) and at the Mediterranean Games, where I won two bronze medals in 2018. It’s always an honor and privilege representing my country and wearing the national colors.”
Belac currently sits at No. 15 in the 2024 Race for the Card despite only playing in eight of 13 events. In those eight events, she has not missed a cut and has tallied four top-10 finishes, one of which was a runner-up result at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. The Slovenian plans on competing on the Epson Tour for the rest of the season as she is in hot pursuit of her LPGA Tour card, but right now, all eyes are on the bright lights of Paris for the 27-year-old.
“It’s been really rewarding to put myself in contention on several occasions this year, so I’m hoping that I can finish off the season strong and hopefully get my first win after four years,” said Belac. “The Olympics are already quite unique in terms of pretty much everything else off the course, so when it comes to my game on the course, the best thing I can do is just play golf as if I was playing in any other tournament, and then see where I stack up against the field.”
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