| Valery Plata | |
| Birth Date: | 2 June 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Hialeah, Florida, U.S. |
| Residence: | Floridablanca, Colombia |
| College: | Michigan State University |
| Yearpro: | 2022 |
| Tour: | LPGA Tour (joined 2023) |
| Prowins: | 1 |
| Futwins: | 1 |
| Nabisco: | DNP |
| Lpga: | DNP |
| Wusopen: | DNP |
| Wbritopen: | CUT: 2022 |
| Evian: | CUT: 2022 |
| Award1: | Big Ten Player of the Year |
| Year1: | 2020 |
| Award2: | Big Ten Mary Fossum Award |
| Year2: | 2021 |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Valery Plata (born 2 June 2001)[1] is a Colombian professional golfer and LPGA Tour player.[2]
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.[3]
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.[2]
Plata turned professional in November 2022. She finished tied 3rd at LPGA Tour Q-School to earn an LPGA Tour card for 2023.[4] [5]
| Tournament | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | ||
| Women's PGA Championship | ||
| The Evian Championship | CUT | |
| Women's British Open | CUT |
Amateur
Source:[3]