When Burke native Melanie Walker arrived at the University of Missouri, the Tigers\u2019 women\u2019s golf program was ranked No. 120 nationally. Four years later, she leaves the program as one of its most accomplished golfers, helping Missouri rise into the nation\u2019s top 15 and return to the NCAA Women\u2019s Golf Championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s great to be a part of something that\u2019s improving every single year and knowing that you\u2019re making an impact and changing a culture,\u201d Walker said. \u201cThe small stuff that you do with your teammates and building a community is really cool, and I\u2019m happy I got to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
With one semester remaining before graduation, Walker is uncertain about her future but aims to play professionally. She described this period as a confusing time of transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf professional golf doesn\u2019t work out and I have to go to work, there are only so many who can go every single year,\u201d she said. \u201cI know I can bring an aspect [discipline and resilience] to the workforce, but I know if you set a goal for something, then you can accomplish it.\u201d<\/p>\n
If this is her final full season with a team, she is grateful for the experience. Despite a self-described quiet freshman year, Walker secured three top-15 finishes in her first five events as a Tiger.<\/p>\n
Although golf is viewed as an individual sport, Walker loved being part of a team and pushing her teammates to excel. Her goal was always to foster an inclusive, positive environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also the joy you have when you work hard even when it doesn\u2019t work out; there were a lot of years where it didn\u2019t, but it was the belief of going out there and making something happen,\u201d she said. \u201cI think building that up, I’ve got to learn from other people by being a part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
She credits her coach with pushing her beyond her limits, noting that enjoying the process was vital to her love for the game. Ultimately, Walker has no regrets.<\/p>\n
During her senior year, she helped Missouri secure its second-ever NCAA Championship appearance with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Stanford Regional. Walker admitted the emotional milestone brought her to tears, as she knew she wasn’t ready for her college golf career to end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was cool to make it because this is the first time we ever made it to the postseason in my entire time here,\u201d she said. \u201cOf course, we\u2019ve made it to conference, but last season, we barely missed out on making it to regionals.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a bittersweet moment for Walker, who noted that the experience truly changed her as a person. Although the team tied for 12th place, Walker carded the eighth-best 54-hole score in school history, a 208, to cap her senior year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was more relief that we were going to nationals,\u201d she said. \u201cThe individual record was cool to do, but I was trying to get under par every single day as a team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regardless of the tournament outcome, Walker is grateful to have led Missouri to that stage and proud to leave the program in a better place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hopefully leaving a taste for a team that can do it in future years and has the belief in doing it,\u201d she said. \u201cHopefully Missouri keeps on getting better, but no matter what, even if it doesn\u2019t go out how I wanted it to\u2026 at least I got to compete on one of the biggest stages; it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before college, Walker was already a decorated golfer, winning a state championship and never finishing outside the top 10 at Robinson Secondary School. Reflecting on her growth since high school, she noted that her greatest improvement as a golfer has been entirely mental.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m a lot better physically, too,\u201d she said. \u201cIn high school, I used to do push-ups every time I three-putted, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019d do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
After one more semester, Walker will attempt to earn a spot on the LPGA Tour. If that doesn’t work out, she plans to pursue a career in chemical engineering.<\/p>\n
For now, she shifts her focus to the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship, beginning July 22 at Allerum Golfklubb in Sweden. There, she will compete against a premier global field of 143 top-ranked female amateurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Burke native Melanie Walker arrived at the University of Missouri, the Tigers\u2019 women\u2019s golf program was ranked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[839,44,56],"class_list":["post-38132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-articles","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}