Ball State women’s golf values leadership on and off the course

At the age of nine, her dad taught her how to play golf, a game that would later become a big part of her life.

Sophomore Manon Tounalom now sits atop the Ball State women’s golf team roster, after completing the fall portion of its season.

“We have played a lot of big tournaments with a lot of Big Ten schools,” Tounalom said. “There was a lot of players on the field and it was really interesting to see how good we are and how hard we have to work for the next season which is in the spring.”

Tounalom has led the Ball State women’s golf team in five of its six tournaments this fall. After finishing tied for 51st, Tounalom led the Cardinals through the final contest of the fall season at the Cardinal Cup in Louisville. Although this was not her best performance, she still earned the top spot among the Cardinals. 

“[Tounalom] has become a leader for this young team,” head coach Katherine Mowat said. “She has so much talent and works very hard.”

Beyond dominating the scorecard, Tounalom has also proposed a personal responsibility to lead this season’s squad full of young talent, as four of Ball State’s seven golfers are freshmen. 

“I want to help the freshmen be able to combine golf and college at the same time,” Tounalom said. “They are all working hard so I’m not worried about anything.”

Before her admittance to Ball State, Tounalom grew up in Buchelay, France and made a name for herself in the French golf world. Her golf portfolio includes a sixth place finish at the 2015 French Ladies Amateur Stroke Play Championship, a first place finish at the Grand Prix du Golf and she qualified for the French Junior Girls Championship in both 2014 and 2015.

With ten years of experience under her belt, Tounalom’s focus is always on improvement, as one goal still looms over the sophomore’s head.

“My personal goal is to win one of our next tournaments,” Tounalom said. “I just want to play well for my team and play smart, and hopefully I get better and rank well.”

Although only halfway through her collegiate golf career, Tounalom has no plans of putting down the golf club anytime soon. Tounalom dreams of coaching college golf and taking a shot at participating in the LPGA tour.

“I would love to be a coach,” Tounalom said. “I think I might get better and I know I will have to work harder, but I would love to be on the LPGA Tour.”

While at Ball State, Tounalom has put up impressive numbers. She finished out her freshman season with a 78.11 scoring average and maintained an individual record of 519-338-21. Tounalom participated in all 12 events and was named Ball State’s Freshman of the Year. 

“[Tounalom] has improved a lot since last season, although she had a great freshman year,” Mowat said. “She’s a very hard worker who consistently puts up low scores on the court.”

As the Cardinals move into a short break before continuing their season come February, Tounalom and the rest of the women’s golf team will return to the course when they host the Ball State Sunshine Invitational in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The tournament will be played at this course in the PGA Village on Feb. 9-10. 

Contact Drew Pierce with comments at dpierce3cc@gmail.com.

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