How Lexington alum, Clemson golfer turned her game around

Nothing increases a golfer’s confidence more than seeing crucial putts roll into the hole. New-found success on the greens has Isabella Rawl playing with assurance.

Rawl, who just completed her freshman year at Clemson after a stellar prep career at Lexington High and in junior golf, will be riding the wave of self-belief into the U.S. Women’s Amateur that begins Monday in Los Angeles.

Her secret: a change to the AimPoint putting system that many tour professionals have embraced.

“I had been struggling with the line and speed,” she said.

Enter Mickey Plyler, her uncle, an accomplished golfer and a Clemson radio announcer.

“We were on the putting green and he suggested we try AimPoint,” Rawl said. “He showed me the basics and I felt good with it. He told me about a teacher in Georgia, so I asked (coach Kelley Hester) and she was OK with it. I went to the instructor and saw results immediately.”

Indeed, after failing to earn a spot in the Tigers’ lineup in the season’s first four tournaments, she qualified for the fifth in October and became a fixture in Clemson’s spring march to the Atlantic Coast Conference title and into the national championship event.

Her score counted in 16 of her 20 stroke-play rounds, and she secured the decisive point in the Tigers’ match-play victory over Virginia for the ACC crown.

Although missing a year in high school with a back injury, Rawl earned numerous honors and won her share of tournaments. Yet, she said, “the last couple of years haven’t had great finishes. I played steady but not great.”

She experienced the usual freshman adjustments to college life. “Trying to figure out things,” she said. She adjusted just fine; in addition to her golf, she made the All-ACC Academic Team and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association’s All-America Scholar Team.

Her summer schedule has included advancing to the semifinals of the North and South Women’s Amateur, a third in the CGA’s Carolinas Women’s Amateur and an 11th in the Sea Island Women’s Amateur. She earned her place in the U.S. Women’s Amateur with a 65 in qualifying in Salisbury, North Carolina.

“A couple of good rounds at the right time,” she said.

There’s more, of course.

“I love golf and I love to practice, but I didn’t really love to compete until this year,” Rawl said. “My wedge game is pretty good, but the change in putting ... that definitely turned my game around.”

Her college season included four rounds in the 60s, including one in the ACC Tournament and two in the NCAA Regional in Pullman, Washington. For the year, she averaged 73.9 and had a best individual finish of 14th.

“I’m playing pretty well,” she said in looking ahead to the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air CC. “But I know I can always get better.”

Rawl’s finding a solution to her putting challenges not only provided a big step in the right direction but also brought with it a jolt of confidence that has to be earned.

The proof is in the performance.

Chip shots. South Carolinians who will join Rawl in the U.S. Women’s Amateur include 2021 champion Jensen Castle (West Columbia), Adrian Anderson (Murrells Inlet), Annabelle Pancake (Clemson) and Andie Smith (Bluffton). ... Furman standout Anna Morgan (Spartanburg) rolled to a 5 and 3 decision over Washington State’s Madelyn Gamble to win the North and South Women’s Amateur in Pinehurst, North Carolina. ... In the U.S. Junior Amateur at Daniel Island Club, Rowan Sullivan (Charleston) advanced to the quarterfinals before falling. Matt Moloney (Daniel Island) and Andrew Gregory (Spartanburg) qualified for match play and dropped first-round matches. ... A team of South Carolina juniors dominated the Sunday competition and defeated the Georgia all-stars 12-4 in the Georgia-South Carolina team matches at Chechessee Creek Club in Okatie. ... Garret Fader won the boys’ title and Lexi Milbrandt took the girls’ crown, giving Hilton Head players a sweep of the championships in the SCJGA’s Jimmy Self Invitational at Palmetto Dunes’ George Fazio course on Hilton Head Island.

This story was originally published August 5, 2023 at 8:00 AM.