Carlota Ciganda, 2025 Meijer LPGA Classic winner
Carlota Ciganda, the 36-year-old LPGA golfer, has made West Michigan her home with the help of Bob and Gretchen Partridge. Coming off of her 2025 Meijer Classic win at Blythefield Country Club, this relationship with the Partridges stands out as her home away from home for the talented Spanish golfer.
For the past 10 years, Ciganda has made her home in the Partridge household, going back to her first appearance at the Meijer LPGA Classic, where she tied for first and lost in the playoffs. Her original host family that year had run into a hiccup, so the Partridge couple stepped up to take her and another tournament player for the duration of the four rounds.
“Well, Gretchen, my wife, was approached by her best friend, Lynn Hernandez, who was in charge of the host family search,” Bob Partridge said. “So, in 2016, Lynn calls Gretchen and says, ‘Hey, we’ve had a mix-up on one of the houses, can you take two people?’ Sure, so we get Carlota, and Julia Molinaro, who was also on tour and a teammate of Carlota’s from Arizona State. Immediately, we hit it off.”
The small act of kindness became a relationship so strong that it lasted for years, leading up to the 2025 tournament. Although Ciganda went into last year’s Meijer Classic with only two major wins, she walked away with the trophy at the end of the tournament, marking her third major win and finally avenging her appearance in the 2016 tournament, where she lost by one. This win meant more than just putting her name back on the radar, though. Following this tournament, Ciganda left her trophy in the Partridge’s basement, where they would then honor her as one of their own.
Treasured keepsakes
“When she left her trophy, I cried because I thought, this is only her third win, and for her to give us the trophy is so touching,” Gretchen Partridge said. “We created a little homage to Carlota with her trophy, caddie card, and wedding pictures, and invite so we can have it up for everyone to enjoy and see in our golf room in the basement. We are just so happy with it.”
With the bond the couple has built with Ciganda and her husband, LPGA caddie James Longman, over the years, they also earned an invite to their wedding, which was filled with dancing, celebration, and another side of Ciganda they weren’t used to seeing.
“Aside from the language barrier, we had the most amazing time,” Gretchen Partridge said. “With how the seating was, we actually ended up at a table of English speakers, some of whom we knew, but it was just beautiful. It was also such a party; it went until at least three in the morning.”
Gretchen and Bob Partridge with Carlota at her wedding
Carlota told us, ‘Spaniards know how to have fun, and she was right.’ The food was amazing, the flowers were incredible, and she was just beautiful. She had custom outfits made for her and she just looked amazing.”
For the 2026 tournament, a strange twist of fate allowed Longman to watch Carlotta all four rounds. Longman normally caddies for LPGA legend Lexi Thompson, a regular at the Meijer in spite of her semi-retirement status. But Thompson had to withdraw from the tournament on Wednesday due to a hip injury.
Bob Partridge and Longman followed every hole with Ciganda. Bob noted that having Longman around on the course was a blessing because he knew how much it meant to him and Ciganda to experience each round with her.
Although tying for 32nd with a final score of six-under par and not coming up with the same results as the year before, Ciganda proved she’s still competitive and can be a threat to win any week.
“She is reaching her late 30’s now which is older for many tour players in terms of age,” Gretchen said. “It takes more for her to stay in shape and to keep up with the younger ladies, and my hope for her is to just prove that she can still play the game she loves. She cares so much about this sport, and I don’t know how much longer she will be playing, but until she reaches that point, I just hope she continues to prove herself to everyone and that she gets to share her love of golf with the people who support her most.”
Among those supporters will always be Bob and Gretchen Partridge.
by Serena Thiede
Note: A native of Grand Rapids, Thiede is the sports editor for the award-winning The Times-Dephic newspaper at Drake University where she’s majoring in multimedia journalism and minoring in writing.
photos courtesy of the LPGA and the Partridges.
