01대학 무대 평정한 메이시 페이트, '전설' 소렌스탐 주최 대회서 LPGA 데뷔
미국 대학 골프 명문 웨이크포레스트 대학교의 올아메리칸 출신 4학년 메이시 페이트(Macy Pate)가 스폰서 초청 선수 자격으로 LPGA 투어 '디 애니카 드라이븐 바이 게인브릿지 앳 펠리컨'에 출전한다. 이번 초청권은 최근 열린 2026 애니카 인터콜리지에이트에서 10타 차 대승을 거둔 웨이크포레스트 팀에 부여된 스폰서 초청권으로, 킴 루엘렌 감독과 동료 선수들의 만장일치 지지를 통해 페이트에게 전달됐다.
페이트는 대학 무대에서 검증된 차세대 유망주다. 지난 시즌 잭슨 T. 스티븐스 컵에서 대학 첫 승을 올렸으며 NCAA 랭킹 21위로 시즌을 마쳤다. 오거스타 내셔널 우먼스 아마추어 2회 참가, ACC 올팀 3회 선정을 비롯해 고교 시절 노스캐롤라이나주 역대 최저타 기록인 57타를 작성하는 등 화려한 이력을 자랑한다.
대회 호스트이자 '전설' 애니카 소렌스탐은 "메이시는 대학 골프의 리더이자 최고 선수 중 한 명으로, 수년간 눈부시게 성장했다"며 "그의 첫 LPGA 투어 데뷔가 이 대회에서 이루어지게 되어 매우 기쁘다"고 축하했다. 페이트 역시 "우상인 소렌스탐의 대회에서 LPGA 첫 무대를 갖는 것은 꿈만 같다"며 기쁨을 전했다.
오는 11월 9일부터 15일까지 미국 플로리다주 벨에어의 펠리컨 골프클럽에서 열리는 '디 애니카'는 2026 LPGA 투어 최종전을 앞두고 열리는 페넌티메이트 대회로, 메이저를 제외하면 최대 규모인 총상금 325만 달러가 걸려 있다. 페이트는 이번 출전을 통해 세계 정상급 프로들과 기량을 겨룰 예정이다.
02Original (English) — LPGA
Wake Forest Captured its First Team Title of the 2026-27 season and Fourth ANNIKA Intercollegiate Team Win; Head Coach Kim Lewellen Selects Pate as Sponsor Invitation
Tampa Bay’s Premier LPGA Tour Event, The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican to Take Place Nov. 9-15 at Pelican Golf Club
will be competing against the world’s best professional golfers when she tees it up as a sponsor invitation at
The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
, taking place Nov. 9-15 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.
At the 2026 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, which concluded last week in Minnesota, a sponsor invitation to The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican was on the line to a player from this year’s winning team. Wake Forest captured the championship by 10 strokes, the program’s first team victory of the 2026-27 season and their fourth ANNIKA Intercollegiate title overall. Wake Forest women’s golf coach Kim Lewellen selected Pate as the recipient for the sponsor invitation. She finished T5 at 2-under par at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M.
“We are excited for the opportunity for Macy to play her first LPGA Tour event at The ANNIKA in November,” said Lewellen. “Winning the ANNIKA Intercollegiate as a team allowed the team and coaches to vote for one player to participate in this prestigious event. It was unanimous that Macy would take this honor. She has been a wonderful representative for Wake Forest golf and athletics. We look forward to her participating and showcasing her skills with the best in the world.”
Pate will make her LPGA Tour competition debut at The ANNIKA in November.
We are very excited to have Macy compete at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican,” said Annika. “She is a leader at Wake Forest and one of the top-ranked college players in the country. I have enjoyed seeing her develop over the years and her hard work has paid off. For her to compete in her first LPGA Tour event at The ANNIKA is very special.”
A fourth-year senior and a Pre-Season All-American at Wake Forest, Pate recorded her first collegiate win her junior year at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, ultimately finishing the season ranked No. 21 in the NCAA Scoreboard/Clippd Women’s Golf Rankings. A two-time participant in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and a three-time All-ACC team member, Pate had a decorated junior career, including being named Carolinas Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022 and holds the record for the lowest round in North Carolina High School history with a 57.
“I’m so incredibly excited for this opportunity,” said Pate. “Annika is one of my idols, and it has been my dream to compete on the LPGA Tour. To be able to tee it up in my first LPGA Tour event at Annika’s tournament is special. This is going to be an amazing taste of what the future holds. Thank you Annika, the ANNIKA Foundation and The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican for the incredible opportunity.”
The ANNIKA, Tampa Bay’s annual LPGA Tour event and the penultimate event on the 2026 LPGA Tour schedule, is hosted by World Golf and LPGA Hall-of-Fame member Annika Sörenstam and taking place Nov. 9-15 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. The tournament will offer a $3.25 million purse – one of the largest outside the major championships – with proceeds from the tournament benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation.
South Carolina’s Louise Rydqvist (2023 and 2024) and Wake Forest’s Anne-Sterre den Dunnen (2025) competed in The ANNIKA via sponsor invitations from the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M.
Linn Grant captured her second LPGA Tour win in 2025 at The ANNIKA by three strokes at 19-under par, one shy of the tournament record. It was the second time Grant received a trophy from Sörenstam. Grant won the Scandinavian Mixed in Sweden when Sörenstam and Henrik Stenson were co-hosts. World No. 1 Nelly Korda is a three-time winner at The ANNIKA (2021, 2022 and 2024). Lilia Vu captured her fourth LPGA Tour win at The ANNIKA in 2023 and Sei Young Kim won the inaugural event in 2020.
For more information on The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, visit
The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican