Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Parks puts bow on stellar year in academics, on golf course
4/24/2019 1:33:00 PM | Women's Golf, Word on the Herd
Sophomore was Michigan Player of the Year, C-USA all-tournament performer
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – In late January, with the spring schedule looming on the horizon for the Marshall women's golf team, Brooke Burkhammer discussed the potential for one of her players, sophomore Kerri Parks.
"She doesn't know how good she is," Burkhammer said then.
Burkhammer, the team's third-year coach, believed. Parks delivered.
The native of Flushing, Michigan, closed her second collegiate season in an unprecedented fashion for the Thundering Herd women's golf programs, earning a second place finish at last week's Conference USA Championships, played at Old Orange at the Verandah Club in Fort Myers, Florida. Parks opened the three-day tournament with a 1-over 73, which put her in a tie for 20th on the leaderboard. She followed that up with a personal-best 5-under 67 in the second round, vaulting to third overall. She closed the tournament with an even-par 72, holding off Old Dominion's Charlotte De Corte.
It is the best finish ever by a Herd women's golfer at the C-USA Championships – Korakot Simsiriwong tied for seventh in 2012 – and earned Parks a spot on the all-tournament team.
"She's such a good player, but she's an even better student," Burkhammer said. "She is very consistent in everything she does."
Parks has three older siblings, and started playing golf for the family aspect of the sport. She grew up about three minutes from her hometown course.
A multi-sport athlete, Parks dabbled in softball and basketball, and eventually was injured and needed surgery her freshman year of high school. She did not see a pathway to college athletics in either sport, so she honed in on golf.
Parks initially committed to a Division II school, but continued to improve her game. She found Marshall, developed a rapport with Burkhammer and felt at home when she visited Huntington and it snowed.
"I really loved the campus," Parks said. "I loved how everything felt like a family."
She has blossomed in her second year on campus. A chemical sciences major who has aspirations of going to pharmacy school, Parks has struck a balance with academics and athletics. She opened the 2018-19 season by finishing tied for fifth in the Roseann Schwartz Invitational in September. In mid-October, she tied with teammate Shelby Brauckmuller and TCU's Sabrina Iqbal for the best two-round score at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational. That was one of four top 15 finishes for Parks before the winter break.
She and Brauckmuller led Marshall to a sixth place finish at the C-USA Championships, the best team finish for the women's golf program in school history.
"Shelby is who I strive to be," Parks said. "I want to be as good as her. It really helps drive me and makes me want to practice more."
The strong finish to Parks' sophomore season comes after she won the Michigan Women's Amateur at Western Golf & Country Club last summer. She also finished third in the Women's GAM Championship, which propelled her into the strong start to the 2018-19 season. GAM – Golf Association of Michigan – named Parks the 2018 Women's Player of the Year. Inside the classroom and on the course, it seems there is no limit to what Parks can accomplish the next two seasons.
"Sometimes, it's tough to balance everything," Parks said. "My first semester at Marshall, it was tough living away from home and living with other people and not having my own space. But, eventually, I overcame that and I'm extremely happy here.
"I feel like I'm one of the Herd here, and that's something I love."
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).
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