Tiger Heroine: Former golfer Clemson saves the woman from drowning

The first few evenings on the shores of Loch Lomond Lake are generally peaceful and relaxing, but for former Clemson golfer Ana Paula Valdes, one evening recently it has turned into a matter of life or death.

Valdes is one of the best players in Clemson’s history. Valdes was a four year old who never lost a tournament and played 40 in a row between 2016-17 and 2019-20. He finished with a career average of 73.75, fifth best in Clemson’s history and third among players who have played for more than a year. Valdes is second in the tournaments played in the history of the school with 40 and tied for the second in the rounds played with 115.

Valdes is also a first year player in the Women’s All Pro Tour and participates in the NWA Charity Classic in late June in Bella Vista, Arkansas. He had just completed a round of tests at the Scotsdale golf course. After the round, Valdes and his boyfriend, Alberto Doniga, retired to the home of the host family Kathy and Maurice King, who live high above Loch Lomond.

“So, we did a test drive. We played 18 holes, the practice session for the tournament. And on the way back, I mentioned to people how lucky it was that I was there at that very moment because on the way back, a Mexican friend asked me for a ride, “Valdes told TigerNet.” So we literally said ‘Oh my God, now we have to wait. ‘ So we sat in the car for 30 minutes waiting for my friend. And then on the way to the accommodation, he says, “Hey, is it nice if we stop in Walmart to shop?” And we say, “Yes, we too could buy food and so on.”

“We have food to eat, we dropped them. We are finally going home and discussing that we should eat inside or outside the veranda because it was a beautiful day. So, we decided to eat outside. We sat down. It is literally when it happened, we sat down, we were about to start eating food and things like that. “

A golf cart carrying a local woman was out of control.

“And suddenly, I hear a noise and I said to my boyfriend, I was like ‘Oh my God, it’s a falling tree’ because it looked like a break in the wood,” said Valdes. “I turn around and literally see the cart lose control going down the hill. I saw that she was a lady and that’s when I literally started running that way. “

The wagon jumped off a railway junction, took flight, and then crashed into a wooden fence as it rolled along the embankment towards the lake. Valdes jumped out of her, told the host family to call 911 and ran 300 yards on the lake with Doniga not far behind.

“I had to run to some stairs and then when I got to the stairs, it took me to a dock. And then from the rowing dock, I saw the lady and she was maybe 30, 40 yards from me, “Valdes said.” That’s where she ended up in the water. Since the cart itself didn’t go in the water, it went through the front and it was thrown into the water. After that I literally jumped into the water and started swimming in its own way.

“Everything has been so fast. And I remember shooting away, as I said, because I had a feeling it would be pretty bad. So I got there first. I arrive at the rowing pier and the first thing I look at is the trolley. But I haven’t seen anyone. I was like, oh my lord, where’s the lady? Where’s the lady? I looked out and she passed out in the water and I could only see her bottom stick out. I thought oh my god, it might be gone. But that’s why I was like, I have to go there and check if he’s okay. So yes, the thought that she was gone went through my head. ”

Valdes grabbed the unconscious woman and started trying to revive her.

“I swam because it was deep enough, so we couldn’t really hit the bottom for the most part. I swam in her own way, “she said.” I get there and I tried to get close to her face and try to lift it and lean it against my chest. And she was unconscious, she wasn’t responding and that was when I started talking to her and shaking her a little. and I thought, “You are fine. You are fine. You will be fine. And then I started to exert some pressure because I knew that he was probably breathing water. And he had water in his system and it was then that I was able to press a little down. I’m not exactly sure what I did, but all I know I did something that made her throw up the water or get the water out of her system.

“And that’s when I felt that the deep breath he took and I thought,” Oh my God, thank God it’s alive. “It was then that he started breathing and wasn’t really responding at that moment, but I was like, “You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. And then at that point, it’s hard to keep it up. So it was when I started asking for help, so that my boyfriend and our host family would come down as fast as possible. And that’s when my boyfriend barely heard my screams and knew it would be pretty bad. ”

Doniga jumped into the water to help the woman ashore.

“He sprinted on the stairs, all downhill. And then he jumped into the water with me and we both started swimming to the rowing pier, where we were able to hang on to a canoe that was there, “said Valdes.” There was a canoe and when we did brought there the lady reacted a little. we were hanging on the canoe until the paramedics entered because we could not take her out of the water. She was not very willing to move because everything was bad enough. She was obviously very physically injured. it was a lot of blood, it was kind of a graphic. So we didn’t want to move her much because we didn’t know the extent of her injuries. “

Paramedics have arrived and taken the woman to the hospital, where she is recovering from surgery. Valdes had no news from the woman but was in contact with her two daughters.

“It was very exciting,” said Valdes to meet the woman’s daughters. “The surgery went well and she will face recovery for a while. He will be in the hospital for the next few weeks. ”

Valdes said he doesn’t feel like a hero: he was in the right place at the right time.

“He is quite crazy. The people around, the neighbors said that she lives alone and that nobody would hear him, “he said. “We were so lucky that we were eating outside, because if we were inside, we wouldn’t have seen it and we would have just thought it was something in the woods, you know? So it was just a matter of luck. Like I said, we were so lucky that we were there at the time and that we were able to react in the way we reacted. So, I’m just very thankful for everything that happened that led me to be in that place at the time. “

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