SE: McSherry Conjures Confidence for First Career Win
Sep 17, 2019 | Women's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
For years, one word has held Niamh McSherry back on the golf course.
"Confidence," said McSherry, a junior for K-State women's golf.
"It is the number one most important thing for her of all time," added K-State assistant coach Jared Helin.
In the final round of the two-day, 54-hole Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at Colbert Hills on Monday, McSherry's confidence was tested like it had been countless times before. Only this time, instead of toppling her round, McSherry triumphed to win her first ever collegiate tournament.
"It was a big stepping stone," Helin, who was with McSherry the entire back nine, said. "She's put in a lot of hard work and hasn't seen the results. She made a big mindset shift this week, took it to another level and stuck with it. It's huge."
Huge was how she wrapped up the individual win, which helped K-State claim the team title as well.
Up two strokes going into Colbert Hills' 18th hole, a challenging par-4 with water on the right, McSherry pulled her drive over the left cart path and into the native grass. She hit a provisional tee shot down the fairway, in case she could not find her first, but she did find it on a severe slope with no real shot at the green. So, she punched it out to a spot into the rough, still about 70 yards out and her sight to the flagstick blinded by hills.
None of it fazed the native of Lurgan, Ireland.
She knocked her third shot to eight feet. Then, she sank the par putt to wrap up a 2-under par 70, her third straight under-par round en route to winning the tournament with a career-best 5-under par 211. An emphatic fist pump from McSherry followed her clutch par save and pre-empted a rush of tears, followed by her teammates rushing to the green to congratulate her.
"The ability for her to actually make it through that shot — all the shots — and make it through the entire hole, mentally," Helin said, "that was the biggest step I've ever seen her take."
"I'm still in shock, still in a bit of disbelief," McSherry added. "I've been waiting a long time…never won a golf tournament, so it's been a long time coming."
Confidence has always been her biggest hurdle.
The past two years, McSherry showed flashes of what she could do but never the complete package. She posted a pair of top-20 finishes as a freshman and a top-10 performance last season, but she entered this year with a disappointing average score of 76.02 per round.
"Out on the golf course, I'm probably one of the least confident but Jared says I'm one of the best ball strikers he's ever seen," she said. "I never believed I was that good of a golfer. In the past, I would be like two shots ahead with two holes to go and I'd end up losing it. For me, it's taken a long time to build up that confidence.
"I must have said to myself 100 times a day, 'You're good enough to be here. Make it happen.'"
Coaches and teammates told her the same things, especially after she opened the season with rounds of 74, 76 and 78 to finish tied for 35th at the Trinity Forest Invitational on September 9-10.
"We had a conversation after Trinity Forest," junior Reid Isaac, who finished third on Monday for her second top-five finish in a row, said. "Jared and I said, 'We have two number one players. Niamh, you are one of the best on this team, if not the best. It's time that your scores show it and you play like it.'
"I told her before this tournament, 'Niamh, you're number one. Go play like you're number one, and don't play to be behind me or be behind anyone else, but lead the team with your scores.' That's exactly what she did, and it showed. I could not be prouder of her."
K-State last hosted the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational in McSherry's freshman year. She finished 19-over par and last on her team's lineup. A lot has changed since then, but most of it has little to do with golf skills.
For instance, her comfort in a place thousands of miles from her family and home has increased tremendously in her third year at K-State.
"At the beginning, because you have so much to get used to, life is so different here. There's so much to get used to," she said. "I just felt like this year has been the happiest I've been here. I've felt so relaxed. I know what I'm doing. I know what practice is like. Your schedule is pretty much the same. You have so many people around you to help. I just went out there this week and was there to enjoy it. It turns out enjoying golf actually gets you the wins."
In the moments where she's not enjoying it or she's doubting herself on the course, she said her team has always been there to pick her up. Monday was no different.
"The team is so amazing," she said. "Coach (Kristi) Knight is always saying to me how good I am and that she recruited me for a reason. Jared was big on, 'Just go out there and have fun. Don't put pressure on it.' He was amazing on that back nine. Even when I was sort of struggling to hole putts and make birdies when I feel like I needed to, he was so good at keeping me calm and telling me, 'You're good enough to be here.'"
It just took a little bit for her to believe it. She proved it on her home course for 54 holes, none more impressive than her recovery on 18 to end it.
"That is the best par I'm ever going to make. It just sort of shows how far I've come the last five years. I said to myself (Sunday) night, 'Your number one goal is to ring home and tell (your family) you won this tournament, so why not make it happen?' My confidence is going to skyrocket after this," McSherry said. "I finally can say that I'm a college winner and that's always going to carry with me. I'm going into the next few weeks, next semester and then senior year with a lot of confidence."
For years, one word has held Niamh McSherry back on the golf course.
"Confidence," said McSherry, a junior for K-State women's golf.
"It is the number one most important thing for her of all time," added K-State assistant coach Jared Helin.
In the final round of the two-day, 54-hole Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at Colbert Hills on Monday, McSherry's confidence was tested like it had been countless times before. Only this time, instead of toppling her round, McSherry triumphed to win her first ever collegiate tournament.
"It was a big stepping stone," Helin, who was with McSherry the entire back nine, said. "She's put in a lot of hard work and hasn't seen the results. She made a big mindset shift this week, took it to another level and stuck with it. It's huge."
Huge was how she wrapped up the individual win, which helped K-State claim the team title as well.
Up two strokes going into Colbert Hills' 18th hole, a challenging par-4 with water on the right, McSherry pulled her drive over the left cart path and into the native grass. She hit a provisional tee shot down the fairway, in case she could not find her first, but she did find it on a severe slope with no real shot at the green. So, she punched it out to a spot into the rough, still about 70 yards out and her sight to the flagstick blinded by hills.
None of it fazed the native of Lurgan, Ireland.
She knocked her third shot to eight feet. Then, she sank the par putt to wrap up a 2-under par 70, her third straight under-par round en route to winning the tournament with a career-best 5-under par 211. An emphatic fist pump from McSherry followed her clutch par save and pre-empted a rush of tears, followed by her teammates rushing to the green to congratulate her.
"The ability for her to actually make it through that shot — all the shots — and make it through the entire hole, mentally," Helin said, "that was the biggest step I've ever seen her take."
Best. Day. Ever. ???? #kstatewgolf pic.twitter.com/DCZzd7SnuG
— K-State Women's Golf (@KStateWGolf) September 17, 2019
"I'm still in shock, still in a bit of disbelief," McSherry added. "I've been waiting a long time…never won a golf tournament, so it's been a long time coming."
Confidence has always been her biggest hurdle.
The past two years, McSherry showed flashes of what she could do but never the complete package. She posted a pair of top-20 finishes as a freshman and a top-10 performance last season, but she entered this year with a disappointing average score of 76.02 per round.
"Out on the golf course, I'm probably one of the least confident but Jared says I'm one of the best ball strikers he's ever seen," she said. "I never believed I was that good of a golfer. In the past, I would be like two shots ahead with two holes to go and I'd end up losing it. For me, it's taken a long time to build up that confidence.
"I must have said to myself 100 times a day, 'You're good enough to be here. Make it happen.'"
Coaches and teammates told her the same things, especially after she opened the season with rounds of 74, 76 and 78 to finish tied for 35th at the Trinity Forest Invitational on September 9-10.
"We had a conversation after Trinity Forest," junior Reid Isaac, who finished third on Monday for her second top-five finish in a row, said. "Jared and I said, 'We have two number one players. Niamh, you are one of the best on this team, if not the best. It's time that your scores show it and you play like it.'
"I told her before this tournament, 'Niamh, you're number one. Go play like you're number one, and don't play to be behind me or be behind anyone else, but lead the team with your scores.' That's exactly what she did, and it showed. I could not be prouder of her."
K-State last hosted the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational in McSherry's freshman year. She finished 19-over par and last on her team's lineup. A lot has changed since then, but most of it has little to do with golf skills.
For instance, her comfort in a place thousands of miles from her family and home has increased tremendously in her third year at K-State.
"At the beginning, because you have so much to get used to, life is so different here. There's so much to get used to," she said. "I just felt like this year has been the happiest I've been here. I've felt so relaxed. I know what I'm doing. I know what practice is like. Your schedule is pretty much the same. You have so many people around you to help. I just went out there this week and was there to enjoy it. It turns out enjoying golf actually gets you the wins."
In the moments where she's not enjoying it or she's doubting herself on the course, she said her team has always been there to pick her up. Monday was no different.
"The team is so amazing," she said. "Coach (Kristi) Knight is always saying to me how good I am and that she recruited me for a reason. Jared was big on, 'Just go out there and have fun. Don't put pressure on it.' He was amazing on that back nine. Even when I was sort of struggling to hole putts and make birdies when I feel like I needed to, he was so good at keeping me calm and telling me, 'You're good enough to be here.'"
It just took a little bit for her to believe it. She proved it on her home course for 54 holes, none more impressive than her recovery on 18 to end it.
"That is the best par I'm ever going to make. It just sort of shows how far I've come the last five years. I said to myself (Sunday) night, 'Your number one goal is to ring home and tell (your family) you won this tournament, so why not make it happen?' My confidence is going to skyrocket after this," McSherry said. "I finally can say that I'm a college winner and that's always going to carry with me. I'm going into the next few weeks, next semester and then senior year with a lot of confidence."
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