YORKTOWN, Ind. – A crowd had gathered on the hills surrounding the 18th green at The Player’s Club at Woodland Trails, a collective breath being held. 54 holes of golf hadn’t been enough to separate Ball State senior Sarah Gallagher and Ohio University junior Zoe Luebbers.
The duo was on the fourth hole of their playoff, waiting for the other to flinch. One shot shanking to the right or a putt lipping out of the cup was all that stood between either golfer and victory at the Brittany Kelly Classic.
The tension was palpable, but it didn’t feel as though it was fully concentrated on the leaderboard. That’s due in part by the fact that it wasn’t. The Brittany Kelly Classic is more than just a collegiate golf tournament. Instead, it’s an opportunity to remember a record breaker who paved the way for the modern players in Ball State’s women’s golf program.
A standout in her time at Ball State, Brittany Kelly broke just about every record possible. She posted the single-season scoring average, the career scoring average, and the 54-hole tournament score en route to being named the MVP for the team three years in a row. Kelly was also the first Ball State player ever selected to an NCAA Regional tournament, something that only two others have done since.
Even today, with records being broken left and right by the likes of Jasmine Driscoll, Sarah Gallagher and JJ Gregston, Kelly’s records still stand alongside them.
In 2019, however, an ovarian cancer diagnosis would change Kelly’s life. Despite fighting as hard as she could, Kelly would unfortunately lose her battle on Aug. 31, 2021, days before being inducted into the Ball State Hall of Fame.
Now, four years on from her passing, Kelly is remembered for more than just the numbers that she posted, with this tournament serving as one of the main reminders of who she was, according to Ball State women’s golf Head Coach Cameron Andry.
“There’s a whole other element to it for us, which is honoring one of our all-time great players who lost her battle to cancer way too young,” said Andry.
Beyond just remembering, it helps honor the legacy that Kelly set beyond just the records she broke and, as Andry puts it, “honors the way that she lived, the way she not only played golf but battled cancer. That’s what we are really trying to do.”
On that fourth hole of the playoff, Gallagher got the chance to etch her name even closer to Kelly. The pair sit in third and fourth, respectively, on the career average record, with Gallagher’s 76.27 just barely displacing Kelly’s 76.46. Now, the two sit even closer, as Gallagher would bury her birdie putt to claim the individual tournament title, something she believes helps to honor Kelly.
“I think it’s just really important to honor her legacy and the best way to do that is to win the tournament named after her,” Gallagher said. Now, even though Kelly is gone, the new era of record breakers can stand close to a legend who paved the way for them.
Contact Jake Dickman with comments at jacob.dickman@bsu.edu.
