By Roseanna Smith
Communications In-House Intern

Whitney Welch can’t escape her phenomenal junior golf career.

Golf aficionados remind Welch of her own records – like the 2000 American Junior Golf Association Arizona Junior Classic where she set a scoring record with a 6-under-par performance or the runner-up finish at the 2001 U.S. Girls Junior Championship.

Welch (right) seen after winning the 2002 Justin Leonard/Deloitte Junior Team Championship with teammate Brittany Lang (left) and PGA TOUR star Justin Leonard.

The now graduated senior from Las Vegas did use junior golf to propel her future, but not in the way people obsessed with her golf resume might think.

Welch is on her way to a legal career after graduating cum laude in May from the University of Arizona. She will intern for the attorney general this fall. Welch intends to enter law school in the fall of 2007 and for now expects her education to take herto NYU,  the University of California-Santa Barbara, Georgia or Texas.

“I thought I was going to Arizona for two years, and then going pro,” Welch said. “But I ended up taking a totally different route.”

“I’m excited to start something different.”

Golf has been a way of life for Welch, who has been successful on the links since, well, forever. Welch wonthe Nevada State Championship in 2000 for Durango High School, she was an AJGA Rolex Junior All-American three times, and her resume is memorable. Welch played on the 2001 and 2002 Canon Cup West Teams, won the 2002 Justin Leonard/Deloitte Junior Team Championship with partner Brittany Lang and she accumulated two victories in AJGA play.

Welch was a role model, on top of junior golf and poised for fame. But a few things happened. Welch was successful early in her Arizona golf career but had a minor back injury and missed the final two tournaments of the 2002-03 season. Second, she was not completely engrossed in the game anymore, but she still was excellent in school.

With a strong educational background and parents in the medical profession, Welch knew the value of a degree.

“Being a lazy student has not been an option, but I’ve always been good at it and I didn’t think of it as work.”

But the additional burden of being a student-athlete was a different experience in college than in high school.

“On the first day of class, you have to go up to your professor and say, ‘Hi, my name is…’ and give them your traveling schedule. With golf, you are sometimes gone entire weeks with a practice round, three days of a tournament and a travel day. When you say, ‘I’m going to be gone all these days,’ some professors will look you right in the face and say, ‘You have to drop; this isn’t going to work.’ ”

But what also hasn’t worked for Welch has been the incoming class of freshmen. Welch said she noticed an increasing number of junior players who are unprepared for the academic rigors of college.

“It’s tough because not everyone turns pro. Stuff happens, your passion fades, you get hurt, lots of things. People think golf is their only option.”

She also offered some advice to juniors seeking scholarships in college.

“Most people are recruited and romanced by coaches but you need to look at things that are constant. (Coaches) are people and they have the potential to disappoint or leave. You have to look at practice facilities, legitimacy of the university. If you can live with all that, more than likely you’ll have a good experience.”

And though Welch will not end up on the LPGA or a Futures tour, she has been successful in her many college pursuits. Welch was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic second team for her 3.68 GPA in political science. In May, Welch also was named as an Arizona All-Around Student Athlete for her excellent academics, community service and overall contribution to the team.

In 2006, Welch had her best personal collegiate golf result at the Las Vegas Showdown in October. She ended T-38 and Arizona finished fourth. Welch also volunteered extensively in her final two years as a Wildcat, among them speaking to elementary school children about drug prevention and working for the Ronald McDonald House and YMCA.

Welch said of all her golf achievements, that friendships were most important to her. She said she still keeps in touch with former AJGA juniors, Canon Cup teammates and other “wonderful friends.”

And if Welch might only occasionally pick up a set of clubs, play in a tournament for fun or try to win over a future law firm partner on the green, she’ll be pretty happy with all she has accomplished already.