Quick Facts
Biography
Valery Plata (born 2 June 2001) is a Colombian professional golfer and LPGA Tour player.
Early life and amateur career
Plata was born in Florida, United States, but is a Colombian citizen, growing up in Bucaramanga, Colombia, as a neighbor to Mariajo Uribe, winner of the 2007 U.S. Amateur.
Plata qualified for the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, and represented Colombia at the 2017 Junior Golf World Cup in Japan. She won gold at the 2017 Youth South American Games in Chile. With the Colombia team she won the South American U-15 Team Championship in 2015 and 2016, and the South American U-18 Team Championship in 2017 and 2018.
She attended Michigan State University between 2018 and 2022. Playing with the Michigan State Spartans women's golf team, Plata was a three-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, and named Big Ten Player of the Year in 2020 as a sophomore. In 2021, she won the Big Ten's Mary Fossum Award, an honor given to the Big Ten Conference player with the season's lowest stroke average to par.
Plata played in the Meijer LPGA Classic twice as an amateur, in 2021 and 2022, and made the cut in her first LPGA Tour start. She won the 2021 Women's Amateur Latin America in Argentina, which gave her a place in the field at the 2022 Evian Championship and the 2022 Women's British Open.
Plata represented Colombia at the 2022 Espirito Santo Trophy. At the 2022 Bolivarian Games in Valledupar, Colombia, she won the individual bronze and the mixed team gold, together with Camilo Aguado, Santiago Gomez and Mariajo Uribe, who also is her mentor.
Professional career
Plata turned professional in November 2022. She finished tied 3rd at LPGA Tour Q-School to earn an LPGA Tour card for 2023.
Amateur wins
- 2015 South American U-15 Championship
- 2016 Torneo Internacional Infantil y Juvenil, Colombian Junior International, Abierto Eje Cafetero
- 2017 Torneo Internacional Infantil y Juvenil, Nacional Juvenil Copa Arturo Calle, Juegos Sudamericanos de la Juventud
- 2018 Nacional Juvenil Copa Arturo Calle, Torneo Aficionado Copa Fortox Bucaramanga
- 2019 Abierto de Golf Ciudad de Bucaramanga, Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invite
- 2021 Indiana Invitational, Women's Amateur Latin America, Patriot All-America Invitational
Source:
Results in LPGA majors
| Tournament | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | |
| U.S. Women's Open | |
| Women's PGA Championship | |
| The Evian Championship | CUT |
| Women's British Open | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Team appearances
Amateur
- South American U-15 Team Championship (representing Colombia): 2015 (winners), 2016 (winners)
- South American U-18 Team Championships (representing Colombia): 2017 (winners), 2018 (winners)
- South American Youth Games (representing Colombia): 2017
- Junior Golf World Cup (representing Colombia): 2017
- Bolivarian Games (representing Colombia): 2022 (winners)
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Colombia): 2022
Source: