Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Brauckmuller has sights set high this spring
1/28/2019 3:02:00 PM | Women's Golf, Word on the Herd
Marshall junior golfer has been a model of consistency
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Shelby Brauckmuller tried soccer, volleyball, softball and tennis as a kid. Nothing gripped her quite like golf.
The Marshall University junior women's golfer, who is close to cracking the top 150 nationally, embraces the sport because of the challenge. She appreciates the mental part of the game. She knows a bad shot is going to come, but she plays with the belief that a low number awaits if she handles adversity on the course.
"When she tees it up I know every single time, as a coach, I don't have to worry," Marshall coach Brooke Burkhammer said. "If she has a five-footer for par, she's going to make it. If she misses a green, I know she's going to get up-and-down. If she makes a bogey, she makes so many birdies during the round, that'll make up for it. That's how good of a player she is."
Brauckmuller, who is from Auburndale, Florida, will look to continue her momentum when the Thundering Herd's season resumes Feb. 18 at the Amelia Island Collegiate in her home state. Brauckmuller, who has a Conference USA Freshman of the Year (2016-17) and all-conference honors (2017-18) on her resume, has her sights set even higher for the future.
"I want to win the conference as an individual and as a team," she said. "I really want to win conference player of the year. That's something I've craved."
Brauckmuller has been posting scores and flashing that kind of potential. She was the model of consistency during the fall schedule, never posting a single-round score higher than 75. She had eight consecutive rounds of 72 or below: 68, 71, 71, 71, 69, 70, 71 and 72.
She had her first career win in the William & Mary Invitational, shooting six-under over three rounds as the Herd outlasted Richmond by one stroke to finish first as a team. That was the sixth tournament win in Burkhammer's three seasons.
Brauckmuller fired a 68 to begin the tournament, and then consecutive 71s for the win at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia. She had 12 birdies in the event.
"Those were the lowest rounds I've ever posted," she said. "It was such a great feeling."
Brauckmuller finished tied for fifth at the Princess Anne Invitational in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and tied for first with teammate Kerri Parks at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational in San Antonio, Texas.
"Golf is so difficult and a lot of people struggle with that," Brauckmuller said. "It's hard because you have to have the mindset that bad things are going to happen."
Still, Brauckmuller calls her time on the course "relaxing." She funnels her emotions through the game, and it satisfies her appetite for competition.
"Not many people can play golf," she said. "Anybody can throw a football or baseball or hit a tennis ball with a racket."
Brauckmuller said she is considered a late bloomer and that college coaches saw her as undersized and not a big hitter.
"I wanted to come here and show them they were wrong," she said. "I'm just as capable as shooting a low score as anybody else."
She has picked up individual conference honors in past years and was named the C-USA Player of the Week this season. She pointed to her last round of the fall, though, as a personal highlight. At the Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Brauckmuller struggled. She then reeled off birdie after birdie in the final round to close the season in strong fashion.
"That was awesome to feel like I could flip a switch," she said. "I had a couple of bad holes but I knew I had to turn it around."
How she handles those miscues proves what Brauckmuller long ago learned when her father would drop her off at the local course every morning:
"Golf is the perfect fit," she said.
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
