From Down Under to under par, freshman Apache golfer Jacki Marshall has experienced immediate success in her first tournaments.
Hailing all the way from Brisbane, Australia, Marshall has brought her golfing skill to the women’s golf team.
“We were really excited to find out that Jacki decided to come to Tyler Junior College when we recruited her,” Apache Golf Head Coach Sandy Terry said.
Marshall picked up a golf club around age 11 and has not stopped since.
“Both of my parents played, so it made sense for me to play, too,” Marshall said.
Marshall is not the first Australian to make an appearance on the TJC women’s golf team.
“The way I heard about Tyler Junior College was from a former Apache player. I knew I wanted to play golf and go to college, and it is really difficult to do it back home. TJC seemed like a great place to study and play,” Marshall said.
In her first two tournaments as an Apache, Marshall took first place. In her third, she took fifth.
“It felt really good to win those first two tournaments. I was really not expecting to come out with those results, and I would like to keep results like that coming,” Marshall said.
Marshall’s most impressive showing this year was her second place finish in a Division I tournament.
“It was a really great performance and shows that TJC can compete with these Division I schools,” Coach Terry said.
The golfer that Marshall idolizes at the moment is the new golf sensation Karrie Webb.
” I really like her a lot because she is a great player, and it doesn’t hurt that she is Australia’s number one female golfer,” Marshall said.
Marshall has even caught the eye of some of the upperclassmen on the Apache golf team.
” She is really laid back and likes to have a good time, but when it is time to buckle down and do work, she gives it her all,” said sophomore Apache golf player Alexis Byerly. “For only being around 5’3 she can drive the golf ball like she is 6 feet tall.”
Marshall’s favorite sport other than golf is touch football. Not the commonly known American touch football, but Australian touch football.
” It’s so much fun. It is kind of like rugby, but instead of a tackle, it is replaced with two hand touch,” Marshall said.
Her major is kinesiology and she hopes to become a physical therapist one day, but has bigger dreams than physical therapy after college.
“I would really like to go pro and get on the LPGA Tour, and I would like to one day compete with Karrie Webb,” Marshall said.
