(above) DU golfer Stephanie Sherlock finished 5th at the NCAA'sStephanie Sherlock is well known in Canadian golf circles. And now, the 21-year-old aspiring professional golfer is making a name for herself south of the border.
The 2007 Canadian National Women's Amateur of the Year recently led the University of Denver women's golf team to its best ever finish at the NCAA championships, and Sherlock recorded the best ever finish at a national championship for a DU women's golfer.
"As a team, we were actually in third place after the third day of competition, so we were pretty excited," Sherlock said of the team's sizzling performance in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.
Sherlock saved her best performance for last, shooting a 2-under par 70 in the final round to finish with a 72-hole score of 291 -- good enough for a tie for fifth place among 124 of North America's top women golfers.
"It felt great because I really didn't have a great year," admitted Sherlock, a sophomore. "But I played well at regionals and we went into the nationals looking for a top-10 finish and we finished tied for sixth, which is the best the school has ever done, so that was great."
According to UD's head coach, Sammie Chergo, Sherlock was on fire at the NCAAs.
"Stephanie played really well," Chergo toldSunbeltsports.org."She is one of the most premier players in the country, and she proved that this week against some unbelievable competition. For her to finish tied for fifth is a testament to how good a player she really is."
The stellar performance is noteworthy, said Sherlock's long-time Barrie coach, Murray St. Onge, who operates out of the Barrie Sports Dome.
"What she has done is simply amazing," said St. Onge, who started working with Sherlock about six years ago. "I don't think there's another female in Canada who has done as well as Stephanie."
But the success does not surprise St. Onge.
"Without a doubt she is the hardest working golfer I've ever coached," he said.
"She is an excellent athlete who really just works so hard. Her biggest assets, other than her work ethic, are course management and her mental game," he added. "Not much fazes her on the golf course."
Sherlock said she just loves to play the game.
"I do love it as much as ever," Sherlock said. "And the University of Denver experience is even better than I thought it would have been; it's a great experience."
St. Onge thinks that experience will help catapult Sherlock to the top of the sport. "This is a stepping stone to the LPGA," St. Onge said. "In my opinion, she has what it takes to be a professional -- a good professional."
Sherlock hopes her longtime coach is right.
"Well, I still think I have a long way to go, but that's the ultimate goal," Sherlock said.
"My main goal right now is to keep improving -- especially my short game," said the general business major.
"I also want to help our team improve. We're hoping for a top-five finish next year at nationals."
But that's next year. Right now, she's concentrating on a busy summer schedule on the links that has already started.
For the fourth straight year, Sherlock has been selected to the Royal Canadian Golf Association's Women's National Amateur Golf Team and is off to Scotland where she will play in the British Amateur Open.
Later this summer, amid some CN Tour dates, she will play in both the Canadian and U. S. Amateur Championships, and has once again been invited to play in the Canadian Open in Ottawa -- something she's looking forward to.
"That is such an awesome competition and I am really looking forward to playing with some of the world's best golfers," Sherlock said.
Stephanie Sherlock
Stephanie Sherlock, now a two-time All American, was born May 21, 1987 in Augsburg, Germany. She played golf, basketball and hockey at Barrie North Collegiate.
* Sherlock was a point guard for her Barrie North basketball team, was a two-time team MVP and was named most sportsmanlike player for the Barrie Royals. She also played two years of hockey.
* She was the top-ranked Canadian golfer in 2005, became a member of the 2006 Canadian National Women's team, won the Canadian National Women's Amateur Championship in 2007, was named Canadian Junior Player of the Year in 2005 and played on an exemption in the LPGA CN Canadian Open last summer.
* At the NCAA championships, in a field of 124 golfers, Sherlock finished in a tie for fifth place -the best ever for a University of Denver women's golfer. Her team had its best ever showing at the nationals, finishing in a tie for sixth spot.
