Summerlin girl, 6, to take shot at international golf

Look out, LPGA Tour professionals. In time, Summerlin resident Gabriella Collelo may be leading the field on a golf course on a Sunday.

Gabriella is only 6, but she has ambitions to take the sport’s top titles. She’s already won more than half a dozen tournaments in her age group, and she is getting attention from invitation-only tournaments.

She has been invited to Sydney for a tournament in December, as well as January’s Copperhead Classic in Palm Harbor, Florida. Gabriella also plans to travel to Italy for the Venice Open in August, where she’ll face international competition.

It’s not just tournament organizers who are noticing Gabriella. David Jaramillo, vice president of finance for landscaping company Par 3, recently contacted the family, and the company is now her sponsor.

Gabriella already has the confidence of a champion. Asked who would win a match between her and LPGA Tour pro and 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie, she didn’t hesitate.

“I would beat her,” Gabriella said, solemnly. “She can’t putt.”

Her father, Tom Collelo, noticed his daughter’s ability when she was 2½. He took her to a park near their home, where she picked up a plastic golf club and began hitting a ball that was on the ground. A couple years later, he had her try out one of his clubs.

“She could hardly lift the club; it was so heavy for her,” he said.

But there was something there that her dad, a professional bowler, recognized.

“There’s so much similarity (between) bowling and golf,” Collelo said. “You have to have your arm close to your body; you pull your arm perfectly back; you keep your head down so you don’t rise up. Tempo, timing, so many things.”

He bought her a set of clubs better suited to her height. Rex Lindquist, PGA instructor at Angel Park Golf Academy, gave Gabriella her first lessons.

“She really didn’t have a swing,” he said. “It was a strong swing, but uncontrolled.”

But Gabriella quickly picked up on some basic principles.

“Don’t open your wrist, don’t lift your head and make sure you have a good follow-through,” she said.

Instructional videos also have helped aspects of her game, including bunker shots.

Lindquist said Gabriella takes direction well, soaking up information like a sponge. Her chances of going pro?

“As hard as she works, if she keeps it up, there’s a possibility for sure,” he said.

Because so few youngsters are in the game, Gabriella faces only a handful of competitors at tournaments. At 4 feet 6 inches tall, she can hit a ball up to 100 yards. How does she celebrate her wins?

“He gets me a Slurpie,” she said of her father. “I like lemonade, purple and blue.”

Off the course, she’s a first-grader at Vassiliadis Elementary School. Her bedroom is done in white and pink. In one corner is a play set from Disney’s “Frozen.” An autographed photo of Phil Mickelson, a gift for her sixth birthday, is propped near the golf ball that marks her first tournament win June 25, in Las Vegas. Phil Mickelson and Wie are her favorite golfers.

The family spent $10,000 to install a 35-foot-long putting green in the backyard. Gabriella is out there every day. She does 120 stretching exercises daily, a 30-minute routine, and hits balls for up to three hours after school.

What’s her ultimate goal? She hesitated.

“You mean, after winning (multiple tournament) titles?” Gabriella Collelo said. “I want to open the G.C. Golf Academy … here in Las Vegas.”

Contact Jan Hogan at jhogan@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2949.