Canada's Costabile takes next step in golf journey alongside mentor Sharp at Pan Ams

Before Selena Costabile ever gripped a seven-iron or putter, her fingers danced on a piano keyboard.

The 25-year-old professional golfer and classically trained pianist says music was her first love, and a hobby she maintains to this day both from her apartment in West Palm Beach, Fla., and back home in Thornhill, Ont.

But golf isn't some pastime — it's been a job for Costabile since she turned pro at just 18 years old.

Now, she's hoping to hit all the right notes when she makes her Pan Am Games debut for Canada in Santiago, Chile. Costabile will compete alongside fellow Canadians Alena Sharp, Myles Creighton and Etienne Papineau when the tournament tees off Thursday at the Prince of Wales Country Club.

Live coverage will be available through the tournament's conclusion Sunday on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

Costabile currently plays on the Epson Tour, where golfers compete to earn LPGA status. She told CBC Sports that a tournament like the Pan Ams can help her achieve that goal.

"Every tournament I feel is an experience that can help you move forward no matter what it is," she said. "But something like this, where you know the pressure will definitely be on you, you want to perform and play well for your country and kind of navigating that pressure as well as just trying to play my best, I think will give me good experience."

'We all stick together'

Costabile and Sharp, the 42-year-old from Hamilton, Ont., have become unlikely friends on the golf circuit, with the latter embracing the role of mentor.

Part of that leadership role included coming to the Pan Am Games – an event normally reserved for up-and-coming athletes as opposed to two-time Olympians like Sharp.

Still, Sharp said it's important for her to be there with her protégé.

"I've been through it all, so if I see any of the players struggling, I'll just be there with words of encouragement and try and get them to talk about it because it's better to get it out," she said. "And then knowing that they're not alone and the mental battles that this game provides for all of us. If it was easy, everybody would play."

Sharp and Costabile housed together at tournaments throughout the year, where the younger Canadian said she made sure to take in as much wisdom as possible.

Costabile said Sharp "embodies" the idea that golf is a journey.

"You just keep going, you persevere and pick yourself back up and try again. And that's really what I feel like is inspiring the most about Alena and what I've been able to learn from her," she said.

Sharp said she might offer to go to dinner or play a casual round together when she sees Costabile struggling. But Costabile also has piano to fall back on.

"It's just so soothing. It's calming and, yeah, I've loved playing and I still try to play," she said.

Podium goals

Sharp, however, isn't just there to teach. Like Costabile, she has designs on the podium — especially coming off a successful season.

The Canadian won her first tournament since 2014 on the Epson Tour in June and missed one cut all year after switching coaches and revamping her swing in the off-season.

"I guess this year shows me that I still have it. I'm 42, but I don't feel my age. I feel young, especially being around the younger kids, and I hit it far enough and I think my mental game is still strong," she said.

"So I believe in myself and that's huge. And in professional golf, you have to believe in yourself and trust the process."

Golf will only be contested in men's and women's individual stroke play in Chile, doing away with the mixed team event in which Canada, with a completely different group of players, won bronze four years ago in Lima.

Costabile hasn't performed as part of Team Canada since the 2014 world junior championship.

"It's always super important to be able to represent your country," she said. "And so it was not a very hard yes to say. It was pretty easy — and especially knowing that Alena will be on the team."