It is an understatement to say that Natalie Srinivasan was successful during her time in the Furman Women’s Golf team. In addition to holding the record of low career scoring average, Srinivasan was a two-time All-American and the winner of the 2020 ANNIKA Award, which was given to the best collegiate female player in the country. From Spartanburg, SC, Srinivasan has been a consistent contributor to Furman’s success over the past four seasons, and she now seeks to continue that success on the professional level.

“Even coming into college, professional golf was always the goal for me,” Srinivasan said. With that goal in mind, Srinivasan decided to attend Furman when she saw an opportunity to receive mentorship from her older teammates and Coach Jeff Hull. In her first year, Srinivasan developed a strong relationship with then-senior teammate Taylor Totland, a great Furman player herself. Srinivasan saw Totland as a mentor and a role model as they had the same  goal after Furman: to make it to the LPGA Tour.

After a great first two seasons, however, Srinivasan hit a stumbling block during her junior year: “I was just putting so much pressure on myself, especially coming off an All-American season, and it hurt my game.” The following summer, she took the advice of Hull and Totland to simplify things and focus on getting better every day. In Srinivasan’s words, “it paid off.” With her new focus, she performed well at LPGA Q-School, earning conditional status in the LPGA’s developmental circuit, the Symetra Tour. With job security in hand, she approached her senior year with confidence and dedication to learning more about golf. Srinivasan had a great 2019-2020 season, winning three times, being named team MVP and adding the Juli Inkster Award and NCAA Women’s Golfer of the Year Award to her trophy case. When asked about these accomplishments, Srinivasan exuded gratitude: “Sometimes I think about these accolades and wonder, ‘how did I get so lucky to have the teammates and coaches I’ve had?’” Srinivasan also added that her successes have been the result of plenty of hard work. “I love the game, I love practicing the game and getting better,” she said, “also, I love representing Furman.”

And represent Furman, she does. Even now, as a professional player, she uses Furman headcovers and wears her Furman apparel. She hopes that Furman’s recent team success, as well as her high-profile individual success, will attract more top talents to the University. Srinivasan’s awards will certainly put Furman on the map in a women’s golf scene filled with blue-blood programs like Wake Forest, Duke, and Stanford. She also noted the delicate balance of academics and golf at Furman, saying, “I think because Furman is a challenging school, a lot of girls are deterred because they’re not sure they can balance golf with doing well in school.” Srinivasan has broken that mold; she graduated with a 3.9 GPA along with top performance on the course. She said, “I hope that my experience proves to recruits that, with hard work, anything is possible.”

As a professional player, Srinivasan looks forward to getting into the flow of her new career. So far, it has been a bit of an adjustment in terms of travel, practice and competition. Describing this new stage in her athletic career, she said, “in a lot of ways, I feel like a freshman in college again.” Srinivasan has found comfort in one of her travel buddies between tournaments, none other than former teammate and mentor Taylor Totland. She said, “I still talk to Taylor every day, and it’s great being out on the road with her and having that Furman support even after graduation.” As Srinivasan continues her march towards the LPGA Tour, watch for her name: “My game is there, so give me some time and I’ll get the hang of it.”