Freshman golfer Chloe Howard came to Atlanta from Plymouth, England with the intention of being a good golfer and performing at a high level. Howard has done that and more during her freshman campaign.
“My season so far has been really good. I knew that I was going to perform well since I came here,” Howard said.
Howard’s highest individual finish so far has been at the Bama Beach Bash, when she placed fifth, shooting a low score of 70 in the final round of the tournament.
“My favorite moment from this season so far, it’s got to be when we played in Alabama and I finished fifth, that was good,” Howard said. “Going under par in the last round is what I wanted to do, and I managed to do it.”
Out of the nine tournaments that the team has played so far, Howard has been their top finisher seven times, and the other two times she was the team’s second place finisher. She also added another top ten finish, this time it was seventh at the Amelia Island Collegiate where she once again shot a final round of 70.
Making the adjustment
Howard has pretty much had a seamless transition to the United States on and off the golf course, but there are a few areas of the game that she is still adjusting to. One thing that Howard is still adjusting to is the weather in Georgia; the humidity is a lot different than what she is used too. This can help or hinder one’s golf game, and it has done both to Howard so far.
“In England, there is a lot more wind so at home I have to hit the ball a lot lower,” Howard said. “However, here the weather is a lot obviously warmer, and there’s a lot less wind, so it’s so nice to be able to hit the ball high as opposed to trying to keep it under the wind all of the time, it’s just nice.”
Howard’s game has always been better suited here in the United States because of her natural hitting ability, and that has been on display.
Having a connection
Howard had a connection to Georgia State through fellow teammate and Englishman, Jemima Gregson. Gregson is the reason that Howard ended up at Georgia State.
“I knew Gregson on this team before I came here, so I think she was able to put a good word in,” Howard said. “I didn’t really look at any other colleges because I knew Gregson here and I wanted to go somewhere where I knew at least one person, so it was helpful having Gregson here.”
As her freshman season comes to a close, Howard wants to finish the last tournament off strong.
“In our next tournament coming up in conference my goal is to start better, and then hopefully I’ll finish off better and hopefully get a win,” Howard said.
The Panthers will play in the Sun Belt Conference tournament starting on April 15 in Miramar Beach, Florida.
