Pratima Sherpa is SBART Women's Golfer of the Year

Pratima Sherpa has seen many mountains growing up in Kathmandu, Nepal where she first learned how to play golf using a club fashioned out of a tree branch by her father.

She traveled nearly 8,000 miles to attend school and play golf at Santa Barbara City College last fall. And she almost reached the top of the California Community College women's golf mountain, finishing fourth in the CCCAA State Finals at Morro Bay GC with two rounds of 74.

Sherpa has been named Women's College Golfer of the Year by the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table.

She grew up in a maintenance shed behind the third hole at Royal Nepal Golf Club. Her father, Pasang Sherpa, works as a security guard at the course and her mother, Kalpana, is a maintenance worker.

She entered her first tournament at age 11 and in a span of six years won 33 trophies. Her dream is to be Nepal's first-ever female golf pro and to represent her country internationally.

The freshman recorded her best round -- a 1-under 70 at Buenaventura GC -- in her second collegiate round on Aug. 26 in the South Coast Classic. She was the medalist in WSC No. 6, shooting even-par 72 at San Dimas Canyon.

She went on to finish fourth in the 36-hole WSC Finals, sixth in Southern Cal and fourth in the state. She guided the Vaqueros to second place in the WSC (40-10) and seventh in the state championships.

She received a full scholarship from Cal State L.A. and will transfer there as a sophomore in the fall.

"Pratima had a great season, finishing fourth in the state," said SBCC coach Chuck Melendez. "She was tremendously focused at the end of the season.

"She's one of the best players I've coached in my 40 years of coaching. She has great character and every attribute you could imagine. It was so fun to be part of her success at SBCC."

  
Pratima Sherpa with her parents at the Royal Nepal
Golf Club: her mother Kalpana and father Pasang, who
taught her how to play golf.