The Distance Between Dreams

At the Ford Championship Presented by KCC in Gilbert, Ariz., Nelly Korda removed any doubt who the best player in the women’s game is when she added a third consecutive win to her season. Lilia Vu, Lexi Thompson, Yuka Saso, Lydia Ko and Carlota Ciganda were among the players trying to stand between Korda and total dominance. Ultimately, no star would shine bright enough to prevent Korda from adding to her trophy collection. When all the putts had been holed and the damp applause subsided in the rainy desert, the player who finished second wasn’t a star at all. About two years ago, Hira Naveed was down to her last few entry fees on the Epson Tour and considering a career change. On Sunday, she came closest to catching Korda.

When she teed it up at Seville Golf and Country Club, Naveed, 26, was making only her second start on the LPGA Tour. She had missed the cut by a shot in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship the week before at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. It was a full-circle moment for Naveed, who attended Pepperdine and played her first collegiate event at Palos Verdes in 2015. The significance of that was not lost on Naveed, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants who moved to New Zealand in 1995, and three years later to Australia to give Naveed and her older sister, Alina, a better life. 

Hira’s dad, Naveed, worked odd jobs throughout the girls’ childhood – whatever he could get to make ends meet. Hira’s mom, Azra, worked for the Australia Post, a job she holds to this day. Naveed and Azra struggled their way into the middle class, teaching Hira and Alina of being thankful for what they had. Neither parent was an athlete, and Hira became the family’s first when it was clear she had an aptitude for sports.

At 9, Hira started swinging a golf club and became hooked. She knew instantly the game was for her. At 11, she won her first tournament. Her parents recognized her skill and encouraged her to continue competing. 

“It definitely wasn’t easy,” Naveed says. “But I’m really lucky that my parents wanted their kids to have it better than they did, especially coming from a country like Pakistan where women aren’t necessarily encouraged to follow their dreams. They supported me since Day 1, and even with financial constraints, they never made me feel like I couldn’t keep striving for my dream.”

From a young age, Naveed loved working on her game. She believed in herself and the shots she was hitting. She believed that one day those shots would soar high above fairways on the LPGA Tour. 

Early in her final year of high school, Naveed left for San Diego to compete in the Junior World Championships. She opened with a 1-under 71 at Torrey Pines, which was enough for college coaches to take notice. She plummeted down the leaderboard after a final-round 82, but she was now being recruited by Pepperdine. Naveed decided that was the school for her – a bittersweet moment for her parents, but exactly why they had left Pakistan 20 years earlier. 

Naveed was a good college player, improving each year. She was a four-time all-conference selection with the fifth-lowest scoring average in program history. She graduated in 2019, but her first year on the Epson Tour was curtailed by the pandemic. 

In a shortened 2020 season, Naveed made four of seven cuts and $10,662. In her second season, she made only two cuts and barely over $3,500. In the second half of the 2021 season, she missed six straight cuts and failed to post an under-par round in four events. Naveed was paying her own way, playing for small purses, and without any sponsors. She was dangerously low on money, halfway around the world in the midst of the pandemic, and competing in small towns on uninspiring golf courses. She felt lost. 

“It was definitely hard at first,” Naveed says. “Covid definitely messed my rhythm up, and I had a really tough year in 2021. I basically thought I was done and didn’t want to continue playing and somehow was convinced out of it. I definitely leaned on my close family and friends for support, and they really helped me get out of that dark period in my life.” 

She hit the reset button to continue the chase. With her bank account down to the last few entry fees, she decided there was nothing to lose, so she let go of expectations. 

“Once I was able to separate my identity from golf and realize that there’s more to life than just the game, I was really able to grow and evolve as a human being, and just a change of perspective really helped,” she says. 

Staying in host housing when she could reduced her expenses, and a top 10 in the second event the following season, and the $5,452 that came with it, kept her going. She recorded three top 10s that season and maintained her new perspective, rediscovering a love for the game. That led to a breakthrough in 2023, as she racked up five top-five finishes and missed only one cut in 21 starts. Naveed finished 30th on the season-long points list – not good enough to earn an LPGA card, but good enough to make her believe again.

She took that belief to the RTJ Trail in Mobile, Ala., for LPGA Q-series, where the top 45 and ties would earn LPGA status. Her opening rounds were solid, much like her play in the season leading up to them. She stood barely inside the top 45 entering the final round at 8 under par, which would be the score needed to secure an LPGA card. Naveed didn’t sleep well the night before the final round, and her nerves drove her out of bed early the next morning. It was the most important round of her life, yet the challenge was to play like it was any other day. 

Once she teed off, the nerves disappeared and were replaced with a calm belief. Naveed opened with three birdies. She knew it was her day. 

Naveed enjoyed every shot of the final round, embracing the opportunity. She shot a 7-under 65, her best round of the year – and perhaps her life given the circumstances. She finished 15th and realized a dream that had been 16 years in the making. 

“I felt relief as soon as I finished and called my family in tears,” Naveed says. “It was an extremely special moment that I will never forget. It was a culmination of a lifetime’s worth of blood, sweat and tears.” 

Naveed took to social media and wrote a deeply moving post inspired by gratitude, thanking the many people who had been a part of her journey and success: all the coaches who helped along the way, her American “family,” her friends, her agent, her sister and her parents. She flew home to Australia to celebrate with her parents and prepare for the season. She decided her first LPGA event would be at Palos Verdes Golf Club, where her college career had begun. 

After Naveed finished her second round, it seemed as if she might make the weekend, but the cut moved late and bumped her out. At the Ford Championship, Naveed posted a 5-under, 36-hole total, and when the projected cut moved to 6 under, she had a sinking feeling. When the cut moved back in her favor, she breathed a sigh of relief. Naveed had made her first LPGA cut and had an early Saturday tee time. 

She played without expectations through the calm morning and caught fire over her last 12 holes, making seven birdies in a 7-under 65. The wind kicked up in the afternoon, slowing the leaders, and Naveed climbed the leaderboard. She would enter the final round within striking distance of the lead.

The night and morning before the final round played out much like the night before the final round at Q-series. A restless night led to an anxious morning. She reset before heading to the 1st tee, reminding herself to shed expectations and play freely. Naveed hit her opening shot and settled into a focused zone. She birdied the 2nd hole, added another at the 5th, and turned in 2-under 34. 

The back nine on Sunday can hit a rookie in contention hard. But Naveed had come so far to arrive at this moment. What she lacked in LPGA Sunday experience she made up for with resilient life experience. 

“I made some really good saves on the back and then the birdies in the last couple holes were really sweet,” she says. “Again, I wasn’t expecting much. I was just enjoying myself and trying to do the best I could in the conditions we had.” 

At the par-5 18th hole, she missed an opportunity to pull closer to Korda, but her par was crucial in avoiding a six-way tie for second, which would have cost her about $90,000. Naveed signed for a 6-under 66 and a 72-hole total of 18 under. Korda birdied 16 and 18 to secure a two-shot victory. 

Naveed called home to her mom and dad. 

“They were ecstatic,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my parents smile the way they did on Sunday. It meant everything to me. It was a big week not just for me but also for my family. For where they come from, the community we are a part of, it was a big deal and something they’re really proud of.” 

The congratulatory messages came flooding in from around the world. Family members of her mother and father sent messages from Pakistan lauding her for making their country proud. 

Naveed pocketed almost $207,000 for the runner-up finish, more than double her career earnings on the Epson Tour. She vaulted from 542 to 106 in the world, moved to 18th in the season-long Race to CME standings, and will now get into bigger events later in the season. It won’t change her approach to golf or her goals, however. Naveed will continue enjoying the ride and be grateful for every opportunity. 

“As long as I can enjoy myself every week and keep growing and learning, I’m satisfied,” she says.  

Naveed celebrated by flying to Switzerland to visit Alina, who earned a PhD in cancer research and now works for a pharmaceutical company there. The two have traveled far to achieve their dreams – and the dreams of their parents. 

“We definitely got our grit and hardworking attitude from our parents,” Naveed says. “We saw how tough they had it and just how hard they worked, and we never took it for granted. We made sure to become something like they had envisioned and today, they can proudly say they raised two amazing women who have already achieved such heights in their respective careers.”

Naveed’s success began long before she earned her LPGA card. It was set in motion when her parents took the risk of uprooting their lives with hopes of what could be. Naveed’s achievements are proudly hers, but her story and dreams are shared – and her inspiring journey is only beginning.