Placing the most international personalities of the Dominican Republic at the heart of Larimar City & Resort is one of our missions, to show the world why this country is so special. That's why today we sit down with the country's male golfer who has reaped the most success in the history of the sport in the DR — something that, far from putting pressure on Willy, fuels him to keep paving the way in this country.

A country that already started in golf 105 years ago thanks to the Americans. That may be why, at 17, our beloved Willy returned to Florida to become a professional, a sport he had been playing with his father since he was a toddler — literally. We asked him about his earliest golf memories and they are always on the course with his father and uncle: great mentors to fall in love with a sport — family.

He's a CRESO athlete, backed by countless companies across the country to develop his career as an Olympian. And when we ask him about the ambition to win new titles, he tells us with extreme clarity that his goal is to win a medal at the various upcoming Games: 2026 in Central America, 2027 in Lima, and 2028 in Los Angeles. As you can see, it's a challenge he isn't afraid of and that he has already planned to achieve.

About his journey to becoming a professional player, we ask him and he speaks of different figures who significantly shaped his transformation. He talks about the process — about how the only way to win the battle is by "burning the boats." How visualizing the process day by day, week by week, month by month, allows you to reach the goal you set yourself five years out. He also talks about teamwork in one of the most solitary sports there is. A mental game of silence and solitude for 4 or 5 hours on the course, that only works if you've surrounded yourself with a top-10 team that lifts you to another league.

Different nationalities, techniques, categories, varied professionals shape this player into a persevering, ambitious, strong, passionate man hungry for wins — but with a smile that disarms and extreme warmth. He is a flag bearer of his country: kindness fills him when he speaks of his homeland. Its people, climate, and home have marked his life, and he represents it excellently with that Dominican warmth.

We ask him about iconic moments. He tells us about magical golf courses, at the foot of a volcano or in the most beautiful Italian lands he knows. But without a doubt, what changed how he understood his career was his grandmother, Socorro Castellanos. She said to him: "My boy, you have to change, you can't miss the most beautiful part of your career." Traveling the world more than 35 weeks a year, with nearly 74 flights this year, he had to be able to "live." That is, to enjoy outside the course so he could fill himself with life when he stepped onto it. It was his grandmother who told him to get to know each culture, each cuisine, each people, and he says that day changed his life. Thanks to her (now from heaven), he has friends in every country, cultures, and favorite restaurants wherever he goes. He could run a food blog. As for the more distant future, he speaks generously about giving back to those who didn't have the same opportunities to become great international players like him — to use his legacy to nurture new Dominican golfers who can also reach the top.

We don't know if he'll retire as a pro player at some point, because he's passionate about this sport. What we do know is that he will never stop bringing passion to what he loves most: golf. Whatever way, whatever ranking he holds globally, we know he'll keep being that great guy we'd all want as our best friend.

Thank you, Willy, for showing yourself as you are, for letting us show the world the top Dominican of one of the most beautiful sports there is: golf.

Macarena Perona

Communications

LARIMAR CITY