Women’s golf is in full swing with help of junior Tori Higgins leading the way.
Higgins was named Sunshine State Conference Women’s Golf Player-of-the-Week for the week of Sept. 18 after leading the Mocs to a second-place finish at the Lady Falcon Invitational in Daytona Beach.
Higgins turned in a score of 73 in Daytona Beach and on Sept. 25 scored her best collegiate round of a 71 at Old South Golf Course in Hilton Head, S.C. Through her first two tournaments, Higgins is averaging a score of 73.25 which leads the Mocs lady golfers in the fall season.
Higgins is a native of Dover, Fla. and is an Accounting and Business Administration major at Florida Southern. She is returning from her sophomore season where she saw action in all 11 tournaments. She finished third on the team with a 78-stroke average and captured the only Mocs individual win at Nova Southeastern last year.
Academics has always been a priority to Higgins who manages her schoolwork and a time-consuming golf schedule. As a sophomore, she saw her name as an NCAA Divison II Academic Achievement Award winner as well as to the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
“Juggling golf and school isn’t easy, but I always write everything down in my planner…I’ve also gotten pretty good at time managing which is critical in my college career,” Higgins said.
Focusing on the young season, Higgins says her main goal is to bring down her scoring average from a 78 which she plans to do through practicing five to six times per week. She changed her practice schedule this year to focus on her total score in tournaments instead of simply playing her designated number of holes each day. She has another chance to put this to the test as up next is her favorite tournament at PGA National where she sank a 20-foot birdie putt to secure her first collegiate individual win.
Academics and golf are Higgins’ main priorities, but she has future plans to get her master’s degree in accounting as well as becoming a certified public accountant to work for one of the Big Four accounting firms. Golf serves as a teaching mechanism for her on and off the course success and her future plans in life.
“My favorite thing about golf is that it has really taught me how to handle my mindset on and off the course. Coach Davis always tells us that adversity will come on and off the golf course but how you handle it determines your success,” Higgins said.
With this mindset, Higgins said she is looking forward to what the team can accomplish this year with two freshmen and six returners. The team has three remaining tournaments in the fall season and has placed second and third respectively in their first two tournaments.
Catch Higgins as she tries to defend her individual title and the rest of the women’s golf team in the GolfRank Invitational Oct. 9-10 at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
