Before last season, the Bradley women’s golf team did not have a team member from a foreign country since Jenna Roadley of the 2015-16 team. Now, the Braves currently have two international players on the team, one of which is sophomore Harriet Barker.
Head coach Halley Morell loves what international players can bring to an athletics team.
“Foreign players can expand the cultural knowledge of all team members and provide different learning experiences to the group,” Morell said.
Barker, an environmental science major, hails from Kendal, Cumbria, England. She played her high school golf at The Queen of Katherine School in Kendal, England.
In her freshman season, Barker played in five rounds, accumulating an average of 79.40. Barker had one top 10 finish, with two rounds in the 70s including her collegiate career low with a 76.
Barker had nothing but high remarks for her head coach and said Morell is one of the reasons she chose Bradley.
“I really like her and her teaching philosophy, [and] how well she works with the team and her goals,” Barker said. “What also drew me to Bradley was the fact that it was a small university and coming from rural England, I did not want to be in a massive university.”
Barker had an illustrious playing career before coming to Bradley, as she won five consecutive ladies club championships in England at Carus Green Club. She also won the Cumbria County match play tournament in both 2018 and 2019, before capping off her high school career with a medalist finish at the Junior British Masters in 2019.
Needless to say, Barker is no stranger to the big moments. While she has multiple wins under her belt as a junior golfer, Barker would not be where she is without her dad.
“Like everyone else, my dad is the one who got me started in golf,” Barker said. “He got my mother involved, which got me involved and playing with them, and I carried on because I enjoy playing so much.”
After sustaining an injury during her freshman season, Barker has played in two events during the spring season so far, with her first tournament coming at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada. Barker scored rounds of 80-75-74 for a three round total of 231, which is the best 54-hole total in her collegiate career so far.
“When we went to Vegas, I thought I played well and it was gorgeous out there,” Barker said. “I got to see loads of wildlife which, for being an environmental science major, that is my shtick. To be in that environment and spend time with my team as well was great.”
As her sophomore campaign comes to a close, Barker knows her role on the Braves will only increase.There is much work to be done for the sophomore, but she continues to build on each performance and be a reliable player in the lineup. Morell is excited to see what Barker can do in the upcoming seasons.
“Harry has worked on a lot in her swing, especially things that we work together on and she has added a lot of different shots to her short game,” Morell said. “She has improved a lot in her first two years here, because as a freshman she did not play a lot and now she has been in the lineup for the last two events.”
Bradley starts play today at the Redbird Spring Invitational in Normal, Illinois at Weibring Golf Club. Tee times start at 12:30 p.m.
