Jemima Gregson’s grandparents took her to a driving range and let her have fun hitting the ball as a child. Fast forward 12 years later, and she’s now the sophomore star on the Georgia State women’s golf team. Last season, as a freshman, Gregson was awarded a spot on the All-Sun Belt Second team.
“I was really pleased with that, I didn’t really expect it. I was top-10 in the Sun Belt, so I was pretty pleased with that as a freshman,” she said.
Gregson’s time golfing in England
Gregson is a native of Bristol, England where she lived until last year. When she came to Atlanta, it was her first time in the U.S.
When she was 11 years old, she was the girl to ever win an English golf union trophy.
While Gregson was in high school, she won the Gloucestershire Ladies Championship, the Somerset Schools Championship and the South West Schools Championship. After high school, she decided to pack up and come to Georgia State. It was a tough decision, but Georgia State’s women’s golf Head Coach Cathy Mant was a major factor in her decision to come.
“Coach Cathy Mint is a really renowned coach, she’s really good, she’s got so much experience. She was a really good player when she was younger, she was on the LPGA tour, so she has a lot of knowledge and she is really respected as a coach,” Gregson said.
Gregson comes to Atlanta
Gregson also became because Atlanta is such a great city.
“I chose Atlanta because there’s a lot to do obviously. The weather and stuff is so much better as well, and the school is so large and diverse, so it really fit everything that I wanted,” Gregson said.
During her freshman year, Gregson finished the year with three top 10 finishes, while having an average score of 76.28. She was also tied for first after the Sun Belt Conference tournament, but she ultimately finished 10th in the competition.
Despite her success last year, she didn’t win a tournament and that is one of her goals this year to win a tournament. And she still wants to improve on her all-around game as a whole, but putting is the biggest thing.
“I think the biggest thing that I need to work on is my putting, and just my mentality behind it. I’m hitting shots good to the hole, but I just can’t hole my birdie putts. I’m not holing as my birdie putts at the same percentage as the puts that would be holing from par,” Gregson said. “So really I’m just trying to work on the mentality and thinking that it’s just the same put every time”
A true student-athlete
Gregson gets it done in the classroom as well. She was named to the fall and spring dean’s list during the 2015-16 school year. She was also named an All-American scholar by the WGCA. While being a student-athlete is hard, she feels that it is especially hard for golfers.
“I think golf is quite challenging because we’re away for so many days and there are long days on the golf course as well. I think you just need good time-management when I’m on the course I focus on practicing, and when I get home I just focus on homework,” Gregson said.
This season, Gregson’s highest finished has been 18th, but she has helped the team several times with strong finishes. And while individual performances are great, team success is just as important.
“I think you work on what you need to get an individually result, but at the end of the day one score alone is going to get you a win so you can win individually, but we’re trying to go for team wins. We work hard together and we push each other to improve,” Gregson said.
Gregson’s favorite thing about golf is seeing all of her hard work pay off. And her drive to be the best is her inspiration.
“I love working hard and getting rewards for improving. I love seeing rewards for the work that I’m putting in,” Gregson said.
While she still has a few years of college eligibility left, her ultimate goals to play professionally.
“I’d like to be on the professional tour, I’d like to make some money and experience what it’s like,” Gregson said. “I’m really just keeping my options open, working hard on golf and studying at the same time to see where my paths open up to. I’d also like to have my own golf clothing range.”
Gregson is proud of the things that she has accomplished through golf thus far, now she just wants to improve and help her team win the Sun Belt Conference.
