Nina Rodriguez is one of the six women cast members of Big Break Ireland, which premiered on the Golf Channel on Sept. 20, 2011. She might be the one who was least-known prior to the show, but is almost certainly the one least experienced in golf.
That's because Nina was a gym rat, not a range rat, as a kid. Growing up, basketball was Nina's game. She didn't turn her attention full-time to golf until she was 19. She hadn't even begun playing golf until her junior year of high school.
Once she realized her talent, she played golf for Mt. San Antonio Junior College in California and then moved on to San Jose State University.
"It was a huge adjustment switching from basketball to golf," Rodriguez told the Golf Channel. "Basketball is such an active and contact sport, where in golf, patience is key. I wasn't used to that."
Rodriguez turned pro after college and played first on the Cactus Tour, then had full status on the Futures Tour in 2011. Her best finish of this season was a tie for 19th place at the Santorini Riviera Nayarit Classic in April.
