HEREABOUTS virginia burroughs
Rhine Morland, a senior at Stivers School for the Arts majoring in visual arts, attended a summer workshop at Bing Davis’ studio the summer between sixth and seventh grade “and I decided I wanted to go into visual arts in high school,” she said.
But now, she has an even greater passion in her life: golf. She started playing when she was 11, and would like to go professional some day.
Although she’s also played soccer and run track, she says, “I wanted to play a sport that wasn’t average. We heard about the Dayton Youth Golf Academy from a friend and my parents took me there; I was impressed.”
She joined the DYGA and still plays with them, but has also been a member of the Stivers golf team for four years. “My freshman year, there were four guys on the team, and I was the only girl. This year, we had three girls.” Last month, she was named Female of the Year golfer for Dayton Public Schools.
“The No. 1 male player on our team shoots lower than me, but I score lower than the other two – they don’t think much of that,” she says. She doesn’t attribute her talent to any special gift, however. “I just practice a lot.”
Her lowest nine-hole score is 39 and for 18 holes, it’s 83 – better than her father’s best score of 95. “My goal is to get into the high 70’s,” she said.
Morland is currently applying to Ivy League schools and to the University of Dayton, colleges that offer scholarships for golf. Her private coach, Sally Kosters, is an LPGA professional and head women’s golf coach at UD.
Of course, she has more to offer than just golf; her favorite subjects are science and math, “and I plan to major in chemical or astronautical engineering in college. “Chemistry and physics intrigue me,” she says. As for her training in art, it won’t be wasted. She notes that, “My favorite area is drawing, and I’ll still use that in engineering.”
Although her heavy-duty courses require a lot of study time, Morland says she practices golf every day. “I play with my DYGA friends, and go to a heated driving range in bad weather.”
Next summer, while she waits to begin college, she’ll play in DYGA tournaments. “They have one major tournament each year and let us know about others,” she said. “Last summer, I was in more than six tournaments.”
She’s the daughter of Alma and Harold Morland of Westwood, who attend all her tournaments and plan to take her to see a PGA tournament in French Lick, Ind. next summer. “So far, I’ve just watched it on television,” she says.
As for her chances of ever playing professionally, she seems confident when she says, “I think I can do it.” And her father is quick to agree. “She can,” he adds.
Contact this columnist at (937) 276-4441 or vburroughs@woh.rr.com.
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