Lee rewriting Buckeye record book
Jaclyn Lee would rather talk about her team than her trophy collection.
That tells you a lot about both the personality and the priorities of the smooth-swinging Calgarian, the current star of the women’s golf program at Ohio State University.
Although Lee is thinking more about squad goals than solo success this week as she leads the Buckeyes into the 2018 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, the 21-year-old is a legitimate contender to top the individual leaderboard at the national shootout.
“I don’t want to jinx anything, but I believe she’s playing as good as anybody in the country. So I think she’s capable of winning,” said Therese Hession, a former LPGA Tour player and the longtime coach at Ohio State.
“She’s not afraid to be under-par. She has gone low this year. It’s going to be like a tour event, almost, in that she’s going to have to play four really good rounds to win, and I wouldn’t rule that out.
“I bet you there are probably 15 kids in the country right now who could win, and I think Jaclyn is one of them. She’s going to be a force to deal with.”
She has been all season, with three individual tournament titles to prove it.
A graduate of the junior program at Glencoe Golf & Country Club and a representative of Golf Canada’s national amateur team, Lee earned her first NCAA crown in September, splitting medallist honours at the East & West Challenge in Wisconsin.
She took an eraser to the school history books en route to another triumph in February in Arizona, opening and closing with an 8-under 64 — the lowest round ever on behalf of the Buckeyes — at the Westbrook Spring Invitational and shaving a grand total of 19 strokes off par as she sizzled to a two-shot victory.
She completed the hat-trick with another record-setting performance last month at the Big Ten Championship in Ohio, equalling the all-time tournament scoring mark with a three-day tab of 9-under 207.
Lee continued her roll with a runner-up showing at NCAA regionals, playing a key role as the Buckeyes climbed from the wrong side of the bubble on the final day to secure a full invite to the national finale.
The 2018 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship tees off Friday at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla. The individual winner will be crowned after four days of strokeplay. At that point, the top eight teams will advance to the matchplay showdown.
“If everyone does well as an individual, then our team will do well, too,” Lee said.
“Throughout our junior careers and our careers after college, if you want to continue to play, it’s always an individual thing. So college is a cool time where you have teammates that do have your back and it becomes more of a team sport and you see the bigger picture when you’re out on the golf course.
“You’re still focused on yourself, but you know that one putt can really affect the team, as well. It doesn’t take much of a difference for a team to win a tournament.”
Lee has, no doubt, been a difference-maker for the Buckeyes during her third of four collegiate campaigns.
With a scoring average of 71.1, she’s currently on track to rewrite Ohio State’s school record.
Team tallies are calculated on the top four of five scores each day, and Lee has counted in 29.5 of 31 rounds so far.
Named an All-Big Ten firstteamer, she credits her consistency to sharpening both her short game and mental approach.
This week, she’ll be shooting to cap a stellar season with another top-notch result.
“Jaclyn is just playing amazing,” Hession said of Lee, also a two-time winner of provincial bragging rights at the Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship.
“She’s really starting to become a very strong golfer mentally and knowing what it takes to succeed. Her confidence has really grown and her expectations, I think, are even higher of herself. I’m just really proud of all the work she’s been doing.”