There are phrases that effectively usher some of the world’s great golfers into a room.

Adam Scott, these days, is always preceded by “Masters champion…”.

Peter Thomson, rest his soul, was for 50-odd years known as “Five Time” in deference to his handful of Open crowns.

For her magic, Karrie Webb is often welcomed by “World Golf Hall of Famer…”.

And now there’s another.

Almost by definition, Daniela Darquea is preceded by “The first Ecuadorian to…”

Every time she tees it up somewhere around the world, it seems Darquea breaks new ground for her proud South American nation.

Everyone who has made it to Magenta Shores this week has a story to tell, but for Darquea, it’s certainly unique.

As a four-year-old, her parents became non-golfing members of the Arrayanes Country Club on the mountainous outskirts of the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.

She briefly watched the sport from afar, then asked her parents if she could give golf a shot.

“I saw it for the first time, and I was like, `That’s what I want to do’, and they supported me,” Darquea, 30, said today after her stellar opening round of six-under-par 66 to share second after round one of the Australian Women’s Classic.

“I was very lucky that they were very supportive of it. Obviously, they didn’t play golf or anything. It’s not popular (in Quito) at all, so yeah, I was lucky they supported me.

“I was really young, (but) I just loved it.”

The challenge then was simple.

But her unfaltering desire to get better was the forerunner of all the “firsts” that lay ahead.

“It was really hard to hit the ball. That really caught my attention. I was like, `It looks easy’, (but) it’s not very easy.

“I was really enjoying literally trying to hit the ball. And I was so young. It was a challenge, I think. That was the main thing.”

By age 17, she had savoured her first amateur win in the United States, where she later became the first from her nation to attend the University of Miami for golf and become an All-American in her sport – and, for the record, as an academic.

She was the first Ecuadorian woman to reach the LPGA Tour, to win on the Epson Tour and now the first on the Ladies European Tour after being the medallist at last year’s Q-school.

Not bad for a young woman with no homegrown role models.

Having said that, she found some legends in other Latin American nations to whom she could aspire.

“(Colombia’s) Mariajo Uribe was someone that I really looked up to. I grew up watching her win the US amateur and then make it on the LPGA.

“Obviously, when I got there, I became really good friends with her, so that was really cool.

“Obviously, Lorena Ochoa, she’s Mexican, was the best in the world at one point. So I had references from Latin America, just not from Ecuador, unfortunately.”

Australian Women’s Classic – Leaderboard

Having been prominent throughout and eventually finishing in a share of 16^th at last week’s Ford Women’s New South Wales Open, Darquea looked for that small edge to conquer this week’s tournament.

And it was to none other than Uribe, who saluted at this very course when it hosted the state championship two years ago.

“I messaged Mariajo earlier this week, and I was like, `Hey Mariajo, what’s the key to the course?’” Darquea revealed.

“She was telling me just be safe on the first few holes, and then obviously you can be very aggressive on the back nine.

“So I listened to her, and I was very disciplined at the beginning of the round, and everything worked out fine.”

Let’s just hope that somewhere in Quito or Guayaquil or Cuenca, or anywhere else in Ecuador and its sparse selection of about eight golf courses, a young girl will watch and become the “second Ecuadorian to…”.  

“Hopefully, I can be a good reference for the girls coming back in my country,” Darquea said with genuine passion.

“Absolutely. I think that’s the main reason why we play sports and we do what we do.”