Bell golfer cuts in to join athletes from top programs at regionals

Brooke Sullivan went from swinging to music to swinging on a golf course.

And now the L.D. Bell sophomore has danced her way into the Class 6A Region I tournament this week at Rolling Hills Country Club.

Sullivan qualified after shooting a two-day total of 175 (91-84) at last week’s District 7-6A Tournament. It was the second-best score among those golfers not on the top two qualifying teams of Coppell A and Southlake Carroll A.

It instantly became a highlight of a career that began at age 12.

“I was introduced to the game after I had stopped dancing and I went to a summer golf camp,” she said. “One of the coaches there saw me swing and convinced my parents to put me in some lessons.

“I began playing in tournaments about six months after I started lessons, beginning with some nine-hole events and then working my way up to 36-hole events.”

Sullivan narrowly missed qualifying for regionals by two strokes as a freshman, making this appearance even more special, she said.

“I am very happy that I could qualify out of such a tough district, and I am really excited I get the chance to compete with a lot of other strong golfers during regionals,” she said.

“Very nice accomplishment for a sophomore,” said Bell coach Buddy Hamm. “From all the hard work she did this year, Brooke was deserving of her strong place in a very tough district golf field.”

Sullivan is basically a year-round player, including competition on the Texas Junior Golf Tour, Northern Texas PGA All-American Tour, and Legends Junior Tour of the Texas Golf Association.

“I feel like the strongest part of my game are my tee shots,” she said. “I am very confident with these types of shots and am rarely out of the fairway.”

Sullivan comes from an athletic family. Her mother was a soccer and volleyball player during high school, her father was a baseball player and a enjoys playing golf, and her younger sister also plays soccer competitively.

And now she’s carving her niche, but golf isn’t her only extracurricular activity. She is involved in the Junior World Affairs Council at school, tutors elementary kids at the Bedford Public Library and volunteers at the Tarrant County Food Bank. She’s an A honor roll student and plans on participating in the International Baccalaureate Program next school year.

“I would like to have the opportunity to go to college out of state, but there are many great schools in Texas that I would be happy to attend,” she said. “I am very undecided about what career I wish to go into.”

But before that she said she has plenty she wants to accomplish at Bell. Like any athlete, she’d love to win state, and she wants to get a golf/academic scholarship to college.

And she wants to be the kind of leader that will help others become better players.

“As I become an upperclassman, I hope to be a role model for hard work and be supportive of the members on the team,” she said.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Bell golfer cuts in to join athletes from top programs at regionals."