St. Clairsville’s Chamberlain to golf at West Liberty | News, Sports, Jobs

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Women’s golf is a sport on the rise at the high school and collegiate levels.

St. Clairsville senior Brooke Chamberlain — a four-year mainstay for the Red Devils — is happy to be a part of it, too.

Chamberlain just recently signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her golfing career at West Liberty University.

“I’ve known (West Liberty head coach) Shane Rice for a long time, and now to get to play for him is going to be great,” Chamberlain said. “I knew a lot of the players on their team and I really liked the campus, too.”

Chamberlain’s golf career began when she was just 7 years old as she tagged along with her father, Don.

“He played a lot and took me with him and I just really loved it,” Chamberlain said.

Since then, Chamberlain has been hooked on the game. She was a four-year letterman for the Red Devils.

“I’ve really improved a lot since my freshman year,” Chamberlain said. “I’m hitting the ball a lot farther now.”

Though the sport is growing, there isn’t a large number of female only events around the area during the prep golf season.

Thus, Chamberlain honed her skills much of the time — until OHSAA tournament play — by playing as part of the boys team.

“That was really fun to be able to play with the boys,” Chamberlain said. “Playing with the boys actually stressed me out a lot because a lot of the boys are really good, but I kept up with them as best I could, so it was fun.”

Chamberlain admitted when she returned to playing against an entirely female field of golfers, the experience she gained with the males paid dividends.

“I think (playing with the boys) helped a lot because when it was all girls, I felt like I was more experienced,” Chamberlain said.

Obviously, Chamberlain knows that the level of play at the NCAA Division II level will be a jump up from the high school scene, but she trusts and believes she’ll be able to adjust.

“I think Coach Rice and my teammates will help me a lot to get through (the adjustment),” Chamberlain said.

On top of the adjustment from high school to college, Chamberlain isn’t unlike most golfers when asked what area of her game she needs to continue to improve upon.

“Definitely putting,” she said. “Putting makes my score so high. I really need to continue working on it.”

Playing for the Red Devils last season, Chamberlain averaged a 45 for 9 holes and 88 for 18 holes.

She qualified for the Division II District Tournament where she placed 12th with a score of 91.

She was 10th in the sectional. At the Ohio Valley Girls Invitational, she placed fifth.

Brooke, who plans to study nursing, is the daughter of Don Chamberlain and Amy Pellegrini.