Pratima Sherpa is not your typical aspiring Tour pro for many reasons, the latest of which occurred Tuesday on the back of the driving range at Medalist Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida.
It was on the back of the range that the 18-year-old from Nepal spent 30 minutes with the greatest golfer of this generation, Tiger Woods, using his clubs and getting personal tips from him on how to hit the ball farther.
Inspiring day working with my @TGRFound team and meeting Pratima Sherpa, an amazing young woman from Nepal. We can all learn from her perseverance, hard work and determination. pic.twitter.com/rV5KAtKzzl
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 24, 2018
Sherpa was in the United States for the screening of the ESPN Short “A Moutain To Climb,” which documents her life growing up living in a maintenance shed behind the third green at Royal Nepal Golf Club in Kathmandu, Nepal and her aspirations to become the first women golf pro in the country.
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Woods first heard about Sherpa’s story a year ago via an article by Golf Digest. He had written a letter to Sherpa encouraging her to keep following her dream. When a donor to Woods’ TGR Foundation, David Fontanilla, saw the screening of “A Mountain To Climb” at the Tribeca Film Festival last week, he paid for Sherpa to travel to Florida for a clinic Woods was to be putting on for his foundation. The personal lesson was an added bonus.
“Pratima is simply incredible,” Woods told ESPN.com’s Bob Harig via email. “I read her story and I was amazed. The chance to meet her and talk to her was really inspiring. It was great to witness her journey and to see the happiness she exudes.”
Following the lesson, Sherpa and Woods shared a cart to the other end of the range where Woods gave his clinic for the sponsors and donors of the TGR Foundation. During the larger clinic, Woods again had Sherpa stand up and hit balls.
“It’s special she was here for a day with my foundation,” Woods said. “It demonstrated to all of us what hard work and belief in yourself can accomplish. The story of her journey is inspiring. We can all learn from what she’s done.”
As for Sherpa, she’s heading home to Nepal this week, but not after an experience she’ll never forget.
“This was the best day of my life,” she said. “I was so happy to meet Tiger.”
You can watch “A Mountain To Climb” in its entirety at the top of this page.
