After a successful golf career at Mount Gilead High School that ended with a second-place finish in the Central District meet, Mallory Graham will move on to the University of Findlay.
The MG senior signed her letter of intent to play for the Oilers on Wednesday. While she currently is undecided on a major, she is thinking about nursing.
“It felt the most like home,” she said of the school. “I really liked what I found at Findlay and their golf program was great. I was able to play around with the girls on the team and the chemistry was great.”
Graham noted that she’d been sending her information to college coaches for a couple years and was contacted by Findlay in July. She added that she also competed in a lot of tournaments, so potential coaches would be aware of her game.
“I traveled to out-of-state tournaments to get my name out,” she said. “I worked really hard on my game and I think my mental game is there, too.”
Graham said that improving her mental game was one of the main things she’s worked on recently.
“I’ve been working with a sports psychologist on mental awareness and how to control my mind,” she said. “Probably, the mental game is as important as the physical game.”
Golf has been a life-long passion for Graham, who picked up the clubs at five years old and started playing competitively at the age of 12.
“My dad (Matt) got me into the game and has been my motivation to continue since I started,” she said.
While with Mount Gilead, she regularly competed with the boys’ team during the regular season before competing as an individual in the postseason. Now, with Findlay, she’ll be a member of a full team of girls.
“I think it will be an adjustment with practices,” she said. “But I played a lot of summer meets against just girls and I look forward to it.”
And being on a powerhouse team gives her something else to look forward to. Findlay is currently ranked third among Division II women’s golf programs.
“Being able to compete on such a strong team and potentially make appearances in the NCAA tournament,” she said about what she’s most looking forward to. “Just being surrounded by so many student-athletes at Findlay.”
