Overview: One of Clemson’s top players in history, four year starter who never missed a tournament…played 40 in a row between 2016-17 and 2019-20…finished with a 73.75 career stroke average, fifth best in Clemson history, third best among players who played more than one year…second in tournaments played in school history with 40 and tied for second in rounds played with 115…second to Alice Hewson in under par rounds with 26 and second in rounds at par or better with 38…had 81 rounds at 75 or better in 115 total rounds, also second best in school history…second in rounds in the 60s with 14 and in top 10 finishes with seven…played on three NCAA Tournament teams, there was no NCAA Tournament her senior year due to the pandemic…starter on Clemson’s first NCAA National Tournament team in 2016-17…joins Alice Hewson as only Clemson players in history to shoot at least one round in the 60s in four different seasons….also joins Hewson as only Clemson women’s golfer with at least one top 10 finish in for straight seasons …three-time Academic All-ACC…three-time member of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association’s Academic Scholars…. had 313 birdies to rank second in Clemson history behind Alice Hewson (378)…also had four bogeys…had career best 65 in second round of Battle at the Beach as a junior, on the way to medalist honors…that win took place in her home country of Mexico.
2019-20: Had 73.94 stroke average to rank second on the team, she played all six tournaments and 18 rounds…shot 75 or better in 15 of 18 rounds…had two under-par rounds and one at par…had her top finish of the year in her final career tournament, she was eighth at the FSU Matchup to lead Clemson to a tie for third place…had her best tournament of the fall at the Mason Rudolph where she finished 19th with a 219 score, three-over-par…was 28th at Schooner Classic, her tournament included a 69 in the final round…finished first or second among Clemson players in four of the six tournaments… had exactly 10 birdies in each of the first three tournaments, her 53 birdies led the team in the abbreviated season…her score counted in 16 of the 18 team rounds….had 4.80 stroke average on par five holes….had best score of the day four times and was best at a tournament once.
In 2018-19: Had second best stroke average on the team with a 73.03 figure…played in all 11 tournaments and 31 rounds…had team best seven rounds in the 60s, tied for second in Clemson history for a season, and posted a pair of top 10 finishes, including a victory at the Battle at the Beach, a tournament played in her home country of Mexico…second to Alice Hewson in rounds under-par with 11.. second on the team in score vs. par per round at +1.42…had career best and Clemson record tying 65 in second round at Battle at the Beach, a big reason she won the tournament…that tied for the best round of the year by a Clemson golfer, Ivy Sheperd had a 65 at the Clemson Invitational in the spring…there were five rounds registered at 67 or better during the year and Valdes had two of the five…her 207 at Briar’s Creek tied for the low 54 hole score by a Clemson golfer this season…had just two top 10s, but they were both top 2 finishes…won the Battle at the Beach in Mexico November 2-4 when she had rounds of 74-65-69…that was obviously quite a comeback after the opening +3 score…finished at five under par 208 to become just the fourth Lady Tiger in history to win a tournament…finished second at Briar’s Creek in the spring with a 54 hole score of 207, nine under par….that is her career low for 54 holes…had career best 17 birdies for the tournament and that was the most by a Clemson women’s golfer in a tournament all year…Clemson’s top player at the ACC Tournament with a 20th place finish with 223 score…had a 71 in the final round for the best score of the tournament by a Clemson golfer on the Sedgefield Country Club Course in Greensboro…second best Clemson golfer at the NCAA Regional in Auburn, Alabama with a 228 score…had the high score for the first round, then was Clemson’s best player over the last two rounds with consecutive 74s….had 74.2 stroke average in first rounds and 73.0 in final round…led the team in stroke average on par three holes at 3.02…had 4.18 on par fours and 4.88 on par five holes, second best on the team to Alice Hewson…led the team in having the best score of the round with 11 times…Clemson’s best player in three tournaments…had 71.06 driving accuracy and had 69.7 percent greens in regulation, second on the team…ranked #110 player in the nation by Golfweek/Sagarin.
In 2017-18: Ranked #120 in the nation by Golfweek and #133 by Golfstat…finished season with 73.63 stroke average, third on the team…played for the Clemson team in every tournaments, 30 rounds in 11 tournaments…her stroke average is seventh best in Clemson history…had a .676 finish percentage, eighth best in Clemson history…her score counted in 28 of 30 rounds…had 83 birdies, seventh best in Clemson history for a single season…had 3.13 scoring average on par three holes, 4.16 on par four holes (6th best in school history), and 4.94 on par five holes…finished the year with six top 25 finishes….Clemson’s first or second best player in each of the first five tournaments of the year…had career best 67 in the third round at the Schooner Classic at the University of Oklahoma…shot career best 207 and had career best fourth place finish…shot nine under par for her first six rounds of the year…opened the year with 213 score and 22nd place at Mason Rudolph….had solid tournament at the Landfall Tradition, she was Clemson’s top player with a 145 score, one over par, and finished 18th…finished tied for sixth at the Houston Dickson with a 71, she helped Tigers to team championship…had 25th place finish at Clemson Invitational and 25th at the ACC Tournament…finished 34th at the NCAA Regional, highlighted by a second round 69.
In 2016-17: Second on the Clemson team to Alice Hewson in stroke average with a 74,28 figure…ranked #190 in the nation by Golfstat as a freshman…set Clemson season record with nine rounds of even par…added five rounds under-par for 14 total rounds at par or better…that is still the fourth most in a season in Clemson history…played 36 rounds to tie for the Clemson record for a season…had .645 finish percentage…had her best performance at ACC Tournament at Pawley’s Island where she had three consecutive rounds of even par 72…that 216 total was good enough for eighth place, highest finish in history for a Clemson women’s golfer at the ACC Tournament…the 216 score was also a Clemson record for the ACC Championship…played a big part in Clemson advancing to the NCAA Championship tournament with a 223 total in Athens…she finished 30th overall, but her second round 69 was the best of the day for a Tiger and tied for the best round of the tournament by a Clemson golfer…she joins Alice Hewson as only Tiger women’s golfers to shoot in the 60s in an NCAA Tournament…Clemson’s top player at the NCAA National Tournament at Rich Harvest Farms near Chicago, she finished 57th…had final round 76 that included four birdies….that tied for the best round at the national tournament by a Tiger on the course that had an average score of 79 for the tournament….had two top 10s and five top 25 finishes in her 12 tournaments as a freshman….set Clemson record with four consecutive birdies in one round…had two rounds in the 60s, a career best final round 68 at the Gator Invitational on March 12, and the 69 at the NCAA Regional in Athens…second on the team in birdies with 89, that is still fifth most in a season in school history…terrific getting out of the sand she converted 55 percent of the time for par out of the sand as a freshman, second in the nation among teams that use the golfstat computer rankings….first on the team in par three scoring average with a 3.15…had 4.92 average on par five holes…had best round of the day nine times and was Clemson’s top golfer at the ACC Tournament and the Gator Invitational…had just one eagle, but it was in the NCAA Regional when she chipped in from eight yards off the green…led the Clemson team in greens in regulation at .684….led team in greens in regulation on par three holes at 68 percent.
Prior to Clemson: Only two-time winner of the Sea Pines Junior Heritage at Harbortown…won the 2015 event on the second playoff hole…former Tiger men’s player Bryson Nimmer won the boys division that same year…played in the 2015 and 2016 Wyndham Cup…had a 3-1 record for the East team at the 2016 event at Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn… won the 2014 Sea Pines Junior Heritage by five shots…in summer of 2015, shot a final round 65 to win the Porter Cup and it was the low round of the tournament by any golfer…that was her first amateur win in a field that had more than just junior players… played in the 2015 U.S. Amateur and reached the first round of match play…..a veteran of match play events on the international level, Valdes played on the winning Mexico team and took medalist honors at the Juniors Americas Cup in 2013 and 2014 and she won individual honors both years….in fall of 2015 she represented the championship team from Mexico at the Spirit International…. Valdes has been on the world junior stage for many years…. in 2011-12 she played in 11 tournaments and finished in the top six in all 11… in 2012-13 she had three first-place finishes, including the College Classic at Duke and the Carolinas Championship of Kiawah Island….in 2013-14 she won four times in five events….played in the Spirit Cup for Mexico in 2015…that team won the team title for the women’s division…grew up in Morelia, Mexico, same area as Lorena Ochoa, who has been a prime motivator for her golf career….spent her senior year of high school at Bishops Gate Golf Academy in Orlando, Fla.,,,Valdez played in the 2010 LPGA Lorena Ochoa Invitational at the age of 13…home course is Tres Marias in Mexico
Personal: Born Feb 5, 1997….majoring in sports communications at Clemson…attended high school grades 9-11 at Heritage Academy and senior year at Montverde Academy.
Personality Profile
Who is your favorite Professional Golfer: Jason Day
Favorite Athlete Outside of Golf: Roger Federer
Favorite Course I have Played: Black Diamond (Florida), Tres Merias (Mexico)
Toughest Course I have played: Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C.
All time low round before Clemson: 65, Niagara Falls Country Club, Women’s Porter Cup
My best shot ever: Made eagle on par five hole at AJGA Sergio Garcia. Made a bunker shot on the fly.
Best part of my game: Irons
I need to improve on: Putting
My best club is a: 7 iron
Who has had the most influence on my golf career: Lorena Ochoa
My dream foursome is myself and: Lorena Ochoa, Jason Day and Jack Nicklaus
