Karla Elena Vázquez Setzer grew up in southern Mexico near Villahermosa, Tabasco. Her hometown had one golf course with only nine holes.
But Vázquez Setzer had aspirations of golfing in the United States at a high level. When she was in fifth grade, she told her grandfather that she needed to prepare for an English exam because it would help her learn the language needed to succeed in college.
“I was one of the pioneers, if you will, in my golf course … [because] I play golf at a high level and I go to college,” Vázquez Setzer said. “I was the first one at a D1 school.”
The Maryland graduate student started golfing at six years old and played in her first tournament just three years later. She then competed for the Mexico National Team, an important step toward her goal.
Maryland coach Kelly Hovland said she values international recruits who have competed for their country’s national team.
“If you’re on a national team, that means that an entire country is putting resources into the development of your game,” Hovland said. “Almost every player I have on my roster was in some way on a national team.”
The new landscape of college golf also benefited Vázquez Setzer’s dream. Coaches have prioritized recruiting international players, which has led to the expansion of women’s golf worldwide.
“Women’s golf in the United States is just not very good right now … all the talent is international, so that’s where the college coaches are going,” Hovland said.
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Vázquez Setzer earned a spot in national events by performing well on a regional tour as a kid. She was later invited to compete in international events for Mexico and eventually rose to the No. 2 national ranking in the 2018-19 season.
She played in her first international event in San Antonio, Texas before competing in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships in Pinehurst, N.C. when she was 13 years old.
Vázquez Setzer said travelling internationally convinced her to prioritize golf over other sports. She remembers breaking into tears when her parents told her she was invited to a tournament in Belgium. She kept in touch with fellow golfers she met in these tournaments, including a girl from Finland whom she exchanged gifts with.
Vázquez Setzer even met professional golfers at the Amundi Evian Juniors Cup in France and attended the LPGA major that was played on the same course.
“I remember a player from Colombia — Mariajo Uribe,” Vázquez Setzer said. “She came to one of my teammates and I in a tee box in the middle of a tournament because we were holding the Mexican flag and she started to speak to us in Spanish in the middle of her round.”
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Vázquez Setzer began her collegiate golf career at Charlotte, before transferring to Maryland after one season.
Hovland said Vázquez Setzer has been invested during her time at Maryland. The graduate student even became president of WorldWide Terps, an organization that helps international athletes adjust and form connections. Vázquez Setzer said she feels a similar level of pride and desire to perform well competing for Maryland that she felt representing her country.
“Usually golf is viewed as an individual sport, but when you’re playing for your country, that side of a team sport comes to light and it definitely helped prepare [me] for college,” Maryland golfer Daniela Burgos Ortega, who also competed for Mexico at the junior level, said.
Vázquez Setzer’s enthusiasm for the school has also benefited Hovland’s recruiting. Ortega said talking to the graduate student helped her decide to transfer to College Park this past offseason.
“She does most of the recruiting,” Hovland said. “When I bring a kid on an official visit, you give them to Karla and they’ll get the real experience of what it’s like and what’s possible here at the University of Maryland.”
Vázquez Setzer has taken an onus to help young golfers back home as well. She worked as a golf instructor for kids in Mexico. She said she saw herself in the kids and wanted to teach them lessons that she wishes she had learned at their age.
Vázquez Setzer also used her experience to mentor younger teammates, including Ortega. She said she’s enjoyed having a teammate with shared experiences whom she can connect with.
“Knowing that I have someone that I can speak [to] in Spanish every day makes me feel like I have a piece of Mexico in Maryland,” Vázquez Setzer said.
