Sara Ovadia

Leadership is a quality that is valued highly by coaches and teammates alike, and this inductee to the Hall of Fame has it in spades.  Sara Ovadia not only led by example during her high school, collegiate, and professional golfing career, but now guides student athletes as a coach.  She’s never backed down from a challenge, and her accomplishments on and off the course speak for themselves.

A four-year letter winner at Dos Pueblos High School and team captain in her senior year, Sara was not only a Channel League champion, but also helped the team earn four CIF Northern Division titles and two CIF Southern Section titles.  During these years, she competed on the American Junior Golf Association Tour, earning two fifth-place finishes.

Her dedication to her craft and her education continued at Columbia University where she not only earned a double major in Philosophy and History, but also served in the leadership role of Team Captain from her sophomore year through graduation.  Her proudest achievement came in 2007 when she was the Ivy League Individual Champion and helped the Lions capture the Ivy League Team Championship. Even in victory, she had to overcome the challenge and disappointment of just missing out on qualifying for the 2007 NCAA National Championship, citing that moment as the toughest in her competitive career.  She was a Connie S. Maniatty Award Finalist for Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete and was the first golfer to be inducted in the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame.

Sara played professionally on the LPGA’s developmental tour over the course of four years and has continued competing to this day in SCPGA club professional tournaments.  She Monday qualified for the LPGA Safeway Classic in Portland, Oregon and because the first Columbian golfer to compete in an LPGA tournament. Most recently, she’s earned SCPGA Women’s Matchplay Champion titles in 2017 and 2018 and was the 2018 SCPGA Women’s Team Champion and Associate Player of the Year.

Despite the effort and time commitment it takes to compete professionally, Sara continues to display her strong work ethic as an assistant coach for the Girl’s Golf and Basketball teams at Santa Ynez High School and as a golf professional at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc, CA.  She lives with her wife, Ashley Coelho, in Buellton, CA and continues to make her mark as a leader, competitor, and incredible asset to our community.