Cline breaks women’s golf record at HCAC tournament

By Andrew Collinsworth

Freshman golfer Kiley Cline considers herself a great competitor on the golf course. Cline has played golf since she was just 3 years old and has taken golf lessons since she was 13. This experience prepared Cline for the 2021 HCAC championship tournament.

Cline set a Bluffton HCAC tournament record at the 2021 women’s golf tournament on Oct. 10, shooting a 266 across three days and 54 holes of golf. Three days of golf she enjoyed and played stress-free.

“I was having a good time the last two days,” Cline said. “The two girls that I played with the last two days were so good to play with…My coach told me pretty much right away once I had finished that I had beaten the record.”

It wasn’t all easy for Cline. She took a 10 on one of the holes on the last day and proceeded to par the rest of the holes on the day en route to an 86. However, the competition and the challenge of the sport is what Cline likes most about golf.

“I play for fun a lot, but I have to play with someone. I like playing against my [biological] sisters and competing against them,” Cline said.

The team almost broke another school record for lowest team score in an 18-hole match with a 355 on the last day of the tournament. They tied the fourth lowest score of all time with the 355 and shot the best ever 54-hole score with a 1107 after a 388 and 364 on the first two days of the tournament. Cline played the No. 1 golfer spot for the Beavers.

“I started out as the No. 1,” Cline said. “But I fell down to the No. 5 spot and worked my way back to the No. 1 to close out the season.”

Coach Adam Craig knew Cline would provide an immediate boost to the team while recruiting her last fall.

“I knew her work ethic and if she kept on that path she would impact us right away,” Craig said. “She knows what it takes. We require an hour and a half to two hours every day, and she often does more than that.”

Cline is hopeful for the future of the team and her career at Bluffton.

“The team was really good this year and should be again next year with most of our players returning,” Cline said.