Soon, Charles bought Uwadia her own set of Callaway clubs and some Wilson golf balls. She started practicing at the local course nearby. It wasn’t anything fancy and nothing more than your local muni, a club where you hit off mats at the driving range and whose greens weren’t green but rather brown and sandy, so much so that you had to rake your line before putting to give your ball any chance of going in.
She devoured “Golf Digest” magazines and golf books, mimicking the swings she saw on the page, trying to make written word and multicolor ink come to life in her living room. An eventual family move gave Uwadia access to the Ikoyi Club, a nicer facility where she began to really hone her game, and as she progressed, Anita’s father came to her with a question that would ultimately transform her life.
“I had a friend who plays professionally now. He liked to go to a little clinic with him and some other kids and he just suddenly stopped coming to the clinic. My dad found out from his dad that he went to America,” said Uwadia. “So, my dad asked me, ‘Do you want to go to America to play golf?’ I didn't really think much about it. I didn't think you could have a career in golf. I didn't think about a college scholarship because I didn't know all those existed. We don't have access to that kind of information in Nigeria.
“So, I'm like, ‘Do I want to come to America? Sure,’ because I watched a lot of “Disney Channel” when I was young. When you're back in Nigeria, America seems like this country where you walk outside, and you can just pluck money from the trees. That's what they make it sound like in Nigeria, and so that's the only reason why I wanted to come. I didn't think much about (getting) to practice every day, or I get to become this amazing golfer. I wanted to be an accountant when I was young.”
Uwadia moved to the United States by herself at just 12 years old, a rather adventurous undertaking for a pre-teen. She settled in South Carolina and attended Hilton Head Preparatory School for the rest of her formative years. She would go on to earn a spot on the University of South Carolina women’s golf team, and spent four years as a Gamecock, earning WCGA All-American Scholar honors all four seasons.
While golf was fun and would ultimately become her career, college allowed Uwadia to pursue and study her other passions, namely theater and acting. She has that “it” factor, a deadly combination of warmth and wit, and an outgoing, bubbly personality that allows her to befriend virtually everyone with whom she crosses paths. So, it’s no surprise that she’s found herself in the literal spotlight a time or two.
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