This past weekend, Caroline Westrup birdied her final hole at the Symetra Tour event in South Dakota. The Sweden native won the event by two strokes for her first professional title.

With dreams of playing in the LPGA Tour, Westrup majored in Sport Management and minored in Communication. The student athlete played for the Florida State University Women’s Golf Team and is considered the greatest golfer in FSU’s history. She’s the only four-time All-American and four-time All-ACC selection in history.

Her education has been an integral part of her golf career. She is continually marketing herself and the sport of women’s golf, using the skills she sharpened at Florida State.

“I have to be able to communicate with people I meet everyday.  I play a lot of pro-am tournaments and have to be able to entertain the (amateur golfers).  I’m also a part of a marketing group for the tour that works on getting more exposure for events.  I do different community outings to market the tour and myself.”

Winning the event is a “life changer” for Westrup, putting her in a strong position for a full LPGA Tour card next year. She earned a record $31,500 and jumped from 56th to 14th on the money list. The top 10 at the end of the season receive 2015 LPGA Tour cards.

After missed cuts in her previous three starts, she came close to throwing in the towel. After some relaxation time with her family, she got back in the swing of things and birdied her final hole.

“It’s just amazing to stand here today thinking I was going to quit playing like a month ago,” she shared. “And here I am today with my first win. I could not be more happy and I would not been able to do this without my coaches and parents and friends.”