Kendall Hawley '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Kendall Hawley and I am a 5’8” Junior golfer who attends IMG Academy. I decided to attend IMG to understand the environment I want to be in one day. IMG is giving me all the skills to be successful at the college level. I used to be a  basketball player at Bishop Ireton High School (part of the nationally-ranked WCAC). I am a 2-sport Varsity athlete for my high school basketball and golf teams with a 3.5 GPA. 

Sports runs in my blood and if it was not for COVID-19, I had really hoped to be on the course and in tournaments to showcase my golf game so I can one day be a part of a women’s golf program in college. 

I have played every kind of sport since I was able to walk from neighborhood games to very competitive levels too.  I excelled as the only girl on an all-boys travel baseball team where I pitched us to a Championship (U12 AAA) in the 5th grade.  I was recruited to play on a leading lacrosse team (attack position) when I had only played 1 brief season before, and luckily for me, my mom enrolled me in a day camp at our club where the golf pro moved me out of the camp and onto an actual team! My love of golf started when I was young at our club (Army Navy Country Club in Washington, DC) but it was the friendships and team aspect that drew me to spend time on a basketball court 11 months of the year.  I played year-round in House, Select, Travel, and ultimately AAU basketball teams. I was rated in the 6th grade as the Player of the Year across all of Fairfax County.  I was the leading scorer in our middle school team and helped our school win a coveted title that had alluded them for years.  And ultimately, I was recruited to the Varsity Women's basketball team in high school during my freshman year because I am an outside, 3-point shooter that has been game-changing for my teams.  Since sports is my life, I train 11 months of the year, including weight training, speed and agility work, play in select invitational tournaments, and do whatever I can between work and school to be the very best student-athlete possible.

What I have come to realize is that my love of sports has been consumed by basketball and although I do not regret the hard work and hours in the gym, what I know now is that I have been missing out on what is my real passion - and that's golf.  I realize that although I do not have a long and detailed history of golf tournaments or video footage to send you, I want you to know that this is what I want, very badly.  I am very confident that I have the drive to be a part of any team if I put my mind to it, but being on a golf team is what I want more than anything else!

And in closing, just a fun fact: with school physically closed for the year, I am fortunate to have an opportunity to continue my classwork via distance learning and since my mom said it's true that I can learn from anywhere, she allowed us a chance to spend time as a family social distancing but where I can also play golf every single day! So although I will miss being on the course with my high school team, I do hope that I get a chance to hear and speak to you so you can see that I am working hard to make up for the lost time and to be the best golfer you have coming to your school in 2022! 

Thanks for reading,

Kendall Hawley