Marshall University Athletics
BOGACZYK: Helly Takes Herd Golf to World University Games
6/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
           HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- If you're counting strokes -- and that's what you do in golf -- then Sarah Helly had the best season in the 20-year history of Marshall women's golf.
           And it just got better.
           Helly, from Ireland's seaside city of Enniscrone, has been selected for the six-player Irish team in the 28th World University Games, scheduled July 3-14 in Gwangju, South Korea. The Games will host 9,000 athletes in 21 sports.
           It's not the first time on the international stage for Helly, who played the last two seasons at Marshall after transferring from Wayland Baptist University. It will be, however, the first trip to Asia for the player who set the Herd's single-season stroke average record of 76.43 in 2014-15.
           "I was selected by the Irish Ladies Golf Union on my world amateur golf rankings and the Irish rankings," said Helly, who will leave Ireland for South Korea on July 1 and compete July 8-11 in the 72-hole Games tournament. "I represented Ireland at under-16 in 2008 and under-18 in 2009 & 2010.
           "In 2012 I was chosen to represent Ireland at the World University Golf Championships in the Czech Republic. That was a golf-only event. These Games coming up are multisports.
           "I was delighted to represent my country again, especially when it will be my first time visiting Asia."
           As a third team selection this spring, Helly was Marshall's first All-Conference USA women's golfer in the Herd's 10 seasons in the league. She also made the five-player C-USA All-Academic Team, carrying a 3.44 grade point average in sports management.
               "I think it really shows a lot nationally and globally to our team," said Herd Coach Tiffany Prats, whose first MU season was Helly's senior year. "This event that Sarah is playing is the second biggest event to the Olympics for women's golf at this level, so it gets us out there -- gets out the word on Marshall golf.
           "And people haven't really seen Marshall women's golf abroad, and I think that's a really big thing with me recruiting a lot internationally, so it just brings more notoriety to the program."
           Helly shaved five strokes off her junior-year average, and her career-low 70 at the Kiawah Island Classic in early March tied the Marshall school record for low round -- a mark two of her teammates (Pimrawee "Ning" Huang and Leigha Holt) also matched later in the spring season. Helly had six top-20 finishes for the season.
           "Coach Prats brought a professional approach to our team," Helly responded when asked how the first-year Herd coach helped the Irish native's game. "She was always present and on time at practice and never missed a day and she was very helpful with her advice, which we girls appreciated."
           Helly, who turns 23 next Tuesday, began playing golf at age 3. Her father, John, owns and operates a par-3 course in Enniscrone, and she grew up on the nine-acre family course that hugs 3 miles of the Atlantic Ocean coastline in County Sligo.
           "I don't know that I expected it," Prats said when asked if she figured Helly would have the World Games opportunity. "I think Sarah was thinking about it in the back of her mind. There are a lot of good players in Ireland, so I think she's really lucky.
           "She had a great season, so it's a real big honor. You can never think you should have made it, but I think it's a pretty big accomplishment for her."
           Prats said the improvement in Helly's game as a senior was technical and mental.
           "Her distance came back," the Herd coach said. "Sarah told me that a few years ago, she hit it a lot longer and in the fall she didn't hit it as long as I thought she could.
           "In the spring, she started hitting it a little farther, and just, I think being a senior and having that understanding of what you're doing out there and really having gone through everything, she knew what to expect and she knew how to handle those situations."
           Helly said her senior season at Marshall played a big role in her landing a World University Games berth for Ireland.
           "I was very pleased with how my senior year went," Helly said. "My stroke average improved by five shots. I achieved most of my goals. Marshall has been very supportive in my golf career. The coaching and facilities have been first class.
           "We have played some fantastic golf courses, from Washington, D.C., Kiawah Island and Fort Myers, Fla., to name but a few. This year we had the use of a brand new van to travel in to our tournaments, which was a real pleasure.
           "I was selected on the Irish team for the World University Games because of my performance for Marshall over the last season. I am now currently No. 8 in Ireland on the World rankings. Ireland has the world's No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy, and the world No. 1 lady amateur golfer is Leona Maguire, who plays for Duke."
           As for her future, Helly said she will graduate from Marshall this December, and "I plan on doing one year in the USA once I graduate. I have not decided if I would like to become a LPGA instructor yet."
           Prats said Helly's World Games selection was a fitting follow to an all-conference and all-academic year for the Irish player.
               "This rounds out her career in a great way," Prats said. "Sarah had a little down year (in 2013-14) so it was nice to see her bounce back and finish on a high note. And she worked really hard, so she's really deserving of it."
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Players Mentioned
