How do you qualify for a golf tournament like the Shoprite LPGA (or Ladies Professional Golf Association) Golf Tournament? Well, for most players, you have to play at a certain level to qualify for the tournament. But for Sharmila Nicollet, it was all luck and a whole lot of votes! This year, the Shoprite LPGA Golf Tournament saved one spot in the tournament for the person who received the most votes in a Twitter poll. Nicollet got 39% of the votes, beating three other people to get the spot.

But the win wasn’t without any controversy. Some people felt that awarding the spot to someone based on popularity instead of golf ranking was a gimmick. Others didn’t mind and thought that gimmick or not, the Twitter contest got people more interested in golf and the tournament. Either way, Nicollet is excited to be participating in the tournament and said, “I’m following my dream. I want to be given opportunities to do my best and that’s what I did. You can’t say anything about the criticism, you just have to take it in the right spirit and try and ignore it.”

Interesting Fact: If you think Sharmila Nicollet is an amateur (or an inexperienced player), she’s not. She’s been playing golf since she was 11 years old and won her first tournament when she was 15 years old. In 2009, she became a professional golfer and qualified to play for the Ladies European Tour. And as for other sports, well she’s good at those too. She was a state-level swimmer and played basketball and tennis for fun!

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