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There is a honeymoon period in which you join the first real job of every twentysomething. there noHowever, the job is that they join a honeymoon every 20s. Not to mention, as with emerging golf broadcast star Emilia Miliacio, two of them.
People keep asking us, Is this your honeymoon? “ she said, laughing, from her hotel in stunning Pebble Beach Monday morning. “At this point, we’re just beginning to say yes.”
Migliaccio and her new husband, Charlie, are just hours away from one of the busiest weeks of their young lives. But in the meantime, they’re living every golf fanatic couple’s wildest dream: an all-expenses-paid two-week vacation to a slice of golf called Monterey, California on the heels of their wedding day.
“We actually left two days after the wedding,” said Miliccio, shortly before announcing a list of playdates the couple have played since last Monday that includes Pebble Beach, Monterrey Peninsula Country Club, Spyglass Hill and, most recently, West Coast granddaddy’s golf course, Cypress Point.
“She was very A generous wedding gift,” she said. “I feel like we’ve been here for a month now, we’ve just done so many wonderful things.”
The days are only going to get longer here for Emilia, the 24-year-old Wake Forest graduate and NCAA women’s golf champion. Come Thursday, the honeymoon will quickly return to Earth when Milicchio begins the first of four long days working two jobs at the US Women’s Open.
1st: Announcer for NBC Golf’s premium coverage. Second: the competitor in the national championship.
Migliaccio’s USWO double feature is believed to be a first in golf broadcasts, where players post-round appearances are common but after the round broadcast tasks incorrect.
“I saw Christy Kerr the other day, and she kept telling me, You need to restMiliaccio says. “She kept telling me, Anytime you have free time, you need to rest.”
Comfort, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn, doesn’t come easy. The root of Migliaccio’s wild week appears to be a combination of good luck and good golf — two things that have come in droves since her second-place finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2021 helped her take up golf. Career back on the map. After that finish, Milicchio went back to school for two years after graduation and found herself a fixture on the Wake Forest and Curtis Cup teams, winning the NCAA Team Championship and Cup in the past 12 months.
The timing couldn’t be better for Milicchio’s off-track efforts. An avid reader and sharp communicator, she had always dreamed of working as a golf writer or broadcaster. She parlayed her ANWA success into an internship at Golf Channel, where some flirty introductions led to her first live performance for the network. As its good golf stretch continued, opportunities from NBC piled up. Before long, she received an invitation to cover this year’s US Women’s Open, in Pebble Beach, for the network.
But there was a catch: Milicchio was scheduled to play a qualifier at the event, and like every US Open qualifier hopeful, there remained a chance — however small — that she could get one of the few on-field spots reserved for the qualifiers. . Out of an abundance of caution, she asked the NBC production coordinator if she would be allowed to compete in the event And Work at NBC. he laughed.
“We love that.”
Playoff day came, and Miliccio arrived at the Starmount Country Club in Greensboro with a bundle of confidence. What followed, she says, was pure magic.
“I was in such a flow that day. I mean, I hit it all right,” she said. “I hit 36 greens.”
She shot 68-65 in the 36-hole qualifier and quickly realized her lead in the US Women’s Open was doubled. Not only will she be heading to Pebble Beach in the aftermath of her wedding for a busy week with NBC, she’ll also be competing in women’s golf’s biggest event at one of the most famous courses in the world.
“I don’t think the feeling of doing double duty really hit me, and it didn’t surprise me when I qualified,” she said. “I was really excited because I was going, oh my God, I’m going to play and broadcast. I got to do what I really wanted to do. That was my goal, my dream, and I don’t think it’s going to hit me until Thursday.”
What will it look like on Thursday? Mostly like chaos. Migliaccio will call the featured groups on Peacock most mornings before turning her attention in the afternoon to golf, where she spends 4:18 p.m. EST. On Friday mornings, she’ll tackle her second round duties before moving to Peacock again to cover feature sets. In an ironic twist, the early late tee time may have been an advantage for Emilia. Unlike most golfers, short successive rounds should help her do a better job in the split.
“I think I’m doing a good job of breaking it down,” she said. “I would say that at this moment 80% of my preparation is preparation for the tournament. But I hope that playing can also help me be a better commentator.”
It helps that she has some experience doing this sort of thing. A similar situation occurred at the Curtis Cup last year, and again earlier this year at the Augusta National Amateur. She would have already done double duty at the US Women’s Open had it not been for her failure to qualify for last year’s tournament at Pain Needles.
More of these things have happened to Migliaccio in the past 24 months than most people ever experience in their lives, and a natural question follows: Could it be Emilia? very good to broadcast? She doesn’t think so.
“I’m just excited because the more players get to see my face, the more I can develop those relationships,” she said. They will learn that I am not just an announcer; I’m also a good player, and I didn’t turn out to be a professional. So I hope that continues so I continue to gain some kind of respect from the players.”
It’s hard to say what Migliaccio’s golf future holds, but she seems to have a clear head about the whole ordeal. You will be a member of the golf media, not a professional golfer, in the long run. There will be no honeymoon period with playing professional golf this honeymoon. unless…
“The game is good,” she said with a chuckle. “As long as I can block everything else. We’ll see.”
We will already.