As Sergio Garcia took his first major title by winning the Masters, he was cheered on by fiancee Angela Akins. Judging from interviews given by Akins and information in the public record, the 31-year-old has lived an interesting life that also involved a lot of golf.
Who is she?
Angela Akins is a reporter for the Golf Channel.
Where is she from?
Akins is from Marble Falls, Texas.
Is Akins a golfer?
Definitely yes. Akins transferred from Texas Christian University to the University of Texas, where she played for the UT women’s golf team.
"[My teammates and I] created some lasting memories when we were at Texas," she said to TexasSports.com. "We worked very hard every day practicing and staying in shape, but we were always having fun."
She told the Statesman in 2015 she still plays golf regularly. Akins (in 2015) was the women's club champion at Spanish Oaks Golf Club in Austin and played with what the paper called "a stout handicap of 3."
Credit: CURTIS COMPTON / AJC
Credit: CURTIS COMPTON / AJC
What else connects her to UT?
Funny you ask. According to the TexasSports.com interview, her father was Marty Akins, an All-American quarterback for Texas. She said he introduced her to the Longhorns at a young age.
Oh, and her grandfather is legendary Texas high school football coach Ray Akins.
“When I first got my chance to interview at Fox Sports Southwest, I was asked if I knew anything about football and I just had to laugh,” Hamann said in her Statesman interview. “About the only sport I love more than golf is football, and Texas football is the best.”
That’s a lot of famous relatives.
And we haven't even said that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is her cousin.
Where has she worked as a journalist?
According to her Golf Channel page, Akins was a reporter and co-host for several FOX Sports Southwest programs. These included "Fox Football Friday," a live four-hour highlight show of Texas high school football, and "Access Golf," a half-hour golf lifestyle program. She also covered college football for Conference USA and the Southland Conference.
She joined the Golf Channel in 2015 as a reporter, on-air personality for the evening news program and interviewer for the PGA Tour.
Akins credits UT with helping start her journalism career.
“Our professors taught us how to be the best journalists, how to report objectively and with integrity and how to represent The University of Texas when we ventured into the world,” she said. “Without the support I received from my family, professors, coaches, the academic staffs in the athletics and communications departments and my teammates, I would not be where I am today.”
Does she still live in Texas?
Taking a job with the Golf Channel required moving to Florida, she said in her interview with TexasSports.com. Akins said she misses her home state.
“In my opinion, Austin is the greatest city in the world,” she said. “We have the best food and music and there's so much to do. I miss running around Lady Bird Lake, playing golf on all the great courses and all the amazing outdoor activities the city has to offer. Every year I try to make it back to several UT football games and support the Longhorns. And I watch a ton of Texas sports on television.”
When did Akins and Garcia get engaged?
The two announced they were getting married in a tweet in January.
Do they play golf together?
Absolutely. Akins' Twitter and Instagram accounts are full of adorable pictures of the two of them having fun and playing golf together.
Sergio said from a golfer’s perspective, he appreciates having Angela and her father Marty around.
"It definitely helps, there's no doubt about the background that the whole family has," Garcia said in a Golf Digest interview. "Marty is a very, very positive, very, you know, outspoken and very, very confident kind of guy, and it definitely helps when he's encouraging you and things like that. Those things are nice to see. Angela is the same way. They are all very competitive. So you know, they are positive things to help out, for sure."
Show me some of these adorable photos, please.
Of course.
When are they getting married?
The Sun says they are scheduled to be married after the Open Championship in July.
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