Personal Statement

My name is Halley Morell and I am a five-foot three, 130 pound 19 year old sophomore playing Division I College Golf for Robert Morris University.  I am saddened and excited to be thrust back in the recruiting arena as I just learned that our University cut 7 Division I programs, including Women's golf, effective the end of the 2013-2014 academic year.  While the University has guaranteed our scholarships for four years, my love and passion is golf and I want to continue to challenge myself and extend my college golf career while finishing my education.  I will dearly miss my teammates and numerous friends I made in my first year and a half of college.

I have worked hard over the past year and a half to improve my golf game striving to become a dominant player and a role model for my teammates.  My goal is to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA Regionals and hopefully Finals.  As a freshman, I set the Robert Morris single season scoring record for freshmen and had the third lowest season scoring average of all time.  I had 2 top 10 finishes in 9 events and finished 14th at the Conference Championship earning Honorable Mention status.  During my last round at the Conference Championship I recorded an "albatross" hole in one on a 234 yard par 4.  During my sophomore year fall golf campaign, I recorded 3 top ten finishes in 4 events, including my first college tournament win and a 4th place finish at our last tournament, the Dayton Fall Invitational, featuring 18 Division I teams and 96 Division I players.  I currently hold the single season and career scoring average records at Robert Morris University.

This past summer I really set a goal to take my game to the next level, so I sought out and hired LPGA tour player/Junior Solheim Cup Team Captain Janice Moodie and worked with her diligently throughout the year to improve my game in all facets.  I was honored and privileged to qualify for and earn a trip to the 2013 USGA Women's Amateur Pub Links National Championship held in Norman, OK in June.  Playing alongside 150 of the best women amateur golfers in the world, including Curtis Cup team members and members of the NCAA Women's National Championship team, was a tremendous learning experience and really set a fire inside of me to strive to achieve that high level of consistent expertise.

In addition to playing in the qualifying tournaments for the USGA Women's Open, the USGA Women's Amateur Pub Links and USGA Women's Amateur this past summer, I also played on the TaylorMade - Adidas Collegiate tour, the Northern Ohio Junior PGA tour, and the North Coast Junior tour, competing in over 30 tournaments.  In 10 events on the Northern Ohio Junior PGA Tour, I won 8 times and finished 2nd in the other two events, leading the tour with a 77.4 scoring average.  In 14 events on the North Coast Junior Tour I won 9 times, finished 2nd three times and 3rd on two occasions, leading the tour with a 76.28 scoring average.  Over Memorial Day, I participated in one of the TaylorMade-Adidas Collegiate Tour events at Firestone Country Club, where I shot a first round score of 72, finishing day 2 with a round of 79, taking 6th place overall in an impressive field of 34 collegiate players.  On June 25th I shot my career low round 34-33=67 in the North Coast Junior Tour event @ Pleasant Hill Golf Club breaking the competitive course record at the course.  This past October, on my 19th birthday, I was honored by the Northern Ohio PGA by being selected as the 2013 Northern Ohio Junior Player of the Year.

High School golf was a lot of fun, but now it seems so long ago. We became the 1st team in school history to finish the season with a perfect record 16-0 in 2010 and finished 16-1 in 2011 (28-0 in conference play).  Over our last 2 high school seasons we won 7 out of 10 regular season tournaments, and in both 2010 and 2011 our team advanced to the state tournament for the first time in almost a decade.  In my Senior year I shot my previous career low round of 35-35=70 at the State District Championship in a 96 girl field leading my team back to the State Tournament.  I was selected as 1st Team All Conference and Team MVP for 4 straight years, and was also selected to the Northeast Ohio Golf Coaches All District 1st Team, and the SUN Newspaper Greater Cleveland ALL-SUN South/Central 1st Team.  I was also selected as the Cleveland Plain Dealer High School Player of the Week, in the 2010 & 2011 seasons in Northeast Ohio.

I had the good fortune and privilege to qualify for and compete in both the 2010 & 2012 Optimist International Junior World Golf Championship at the PGA National resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This experience, coupled with playing the summer of 2013 at the USGA Women's Amateur Pub Links National Championship at the University of Oklahoma Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma, afforded me the unique opportunity to play on large National and International stages, which I thoroughly enjoy. 

I am certainly looking for a new college with some diversity in their educational programs as I continue to search for my path in life. My athletic goals are to play golf for a good University and to be an asset to their team, which I know I will be. I believe I can offer a team leadership by example and a drive to accomplish not only my goals, but team goals as well.  I am pretty open minded as to geographic regions to attend school, as the quality of the college, the opportunities it will open for me, and my education is foremost in my decision making as to where to attend school.