If you are an outside observer, you might think that BHS senior Audrey Kerr has college women's golf coaches lining up at her door begging her to accept their full ride scholarship offer. You would think that because Audrey is one of the best girls' high school golfers in the state, is a leader at her school, and carries a GPA better than 4.0. It's more complicated than you might think.

Regarding her recruitment, Audrey said, "A generation ago there were fewer girl golfers and even some great D1 scholarship offers went unused. Today, trying to get a D1 scholarship is very competitive; not only are there more girl golfers in the US, but there are also many foreign-born players that are vying for those scholarships as well." She added, "I've talked to coaches, taken the time to develop a relationship with them, been interested in their school, only to have them call me to say the one scholarship they had available was given to someone else."

Some research proved Audrey's point: of all D1 women golfers, 35 percent are foreign-born. That number has grown dramatically over the last two decades. In the mid-2000s, that percentage was only 17. Since then, the number of international players on D1 rosters has more than doubled, increasing from fewer than 400 to over 800 scholarship athletes. Many of these international players come from countries where youth golf is heavily supported and government-funded through national federations.

As you might expect from someone as grounded as Audrey Kerr, there is no panic or disappointment. She is realistic about her abilities and understands that she is unlikely to make her living playing golf in the future. Her focus is college academics, knowing that they will build the foundation to a future career. Her academic focus might be at odds with what coaches are looking for. She said, "D1 golf coaches expect their golfers to be focused on golf first and discourage them from rigorous majors; I'm not willing to sacrifice academics for golf."

Audrey hasn't made the decision on which academic path she will pursue in college, but medicine, law, engineering, and finance are all on the table as possible majors. She said, "I love the game of golf and look forward to playing and competing at it the rest of my life. But as far as college goes, I'm looking at academics first, and if the school has a golf team I'd love to be a part. I just need to find the right fit."

With a teen this grounded, I have no doubt she'll find success regardless of the path she chooses. Thank you, Audrey Kerr, for reminding us that when we say student/athlete, student comes first




Doug Marquette is a guest columnist and member of the All Sports Booster board of directors.










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