For Mary Kelly Mulcahy, golf and greatness just run in the family.
The Findlay women's golf student-athlete grew up surrounded by the sport, following in the footsteps of her father, Steve, who earned 30 professional tournament wins during his career as a member of the Northern Ohio PGA.
Mulcahy is now continuing the golf family legacy alongside her twin sister, Erin, at Findlay. They have dominated the competition throughout their college careers, both earning All-Conference honors in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference every year that they have been on the team.
Mulcahy says the relationship between her and her sister both on and off the course throughout their lives has played a key role in setting them up for this level of success while also making the experience more enjoyable and rewarding.
"We knew we wanted to play college golf at the same school together, and just being able to do it at the Division II level is something really special to us," she said. "We practice together, we do everything together. Just growing up together … we push each other, we hold each other accountable. Having that has really made me who I am today."
Family has been a big part of the student-athlete experience for both sisters, as their father even ended up joining the coaching staff at Findlay after helping with the team when the twins were freshmen. The current head golf professional at Shawnee Country Club in Lima, Ohio, is a very successful golf teacher who has made Golf Digest's list of the Best Teachers in Ohio for the past 20 years, ranking No. 1 on that list eight times.
Mary Kelly Mulcahy (left) and her sister, Erin, after winning the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships. The sisters and their teammates will look to reclaim the title at the 2024 NCAA Division II Championships Festival.
He now serves as an assistant coach and swing instructor for Findlay, remaining heavily involved with the progression of the careers of his daughters and their teammates.
"He helps every single one of us so much," Mulcahy said. "He knows a lot about the game. It's really cool having him here, having my sister … it's kind of like a whole family experience."
This family support, along with the support provided by her teammates and coaching staff at Findlay, has propelled Mulcahy to Division II dominance, highlighted by a team national championship title in 2022 and Women's Golf Coaches Association first team All-America honors in 2023.
Mulcahy has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. Named Player of the Year for the Great Midwest the past two seasons, she spent the majority of the 2024 season ranked as the No. 1 golfer in Division II. She led the country with a scoring average of 70.7 while earning seven wins, the most individual tournament victories of any player across all NCAA divisions.
While the junior has racked up these athletic accolades and countless others, her latest honor truly stands out from the pack. In April, Mulcahy was chosen to represent Team USA at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup, which will take place July 5-7 in Lahinch, Ireland.
Hosted annually, the Arnold Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition featuring top men and women collegiate players from the United States playing against their international counterparts. Each team is made up of 12 men's and 12 women's golfers, with only one men's spot and one women's spot reserved for non-Division I golfers.
The selection is a distinction that Mulcahy does not take lightly.
"It's a real honor," she said. "Just being able to represent the United States doing something that I love alongside the best players in the world … I'm really excited and very lucky. It's like the highest achievement you can get as a Division II golfer."
While Mulcahy will be competing alongside top Division I golfers, she has not lost sight of the role Division II competition has played in allowing her to grow as both a player and a person.
"I really wouldn't want it any other way," she said. "Just being a Division II athlete, you have this high level of competition, but you also are a human, too, and you have that balance. Just because you're a Division II athlete doesn't mean you can't compete with Division I athletes, so I think it's just a really cool experience."
After winning the Division II Women's Golf Championships as underdogs in 2022, the Mulcahy sisters and their teammates will look to reclaim the title this week at the NCAA Division II Championships Festival in Orlando, Florida.
Mulcahy thinks her team is up for the challenge.
"Anything can really happen once it gets down to the final eight teams," she said. "I think the biggest thing is just believing in yourself and knowing that you deserve to be here. So just taking that into this week and just trusting that we prepared the right way. … Taking everything one day at a time is what we're really focusing on."
While her eyes are set on putting her best foot forward to help her team win the title, Mulcahy also remains committed to self-improvement while focusing on enjoying the process. The lessons learned along the way, as well as sharing the experience with family and teammates, is what she will remember for years to come.
"I think every day I just try to get better," she said. "Whether it's outside of golf or on the golf course, just get better somehow every day. … Being a college athlete, you just learn a lot of life skills: responsibility, hard work and what hard work gets you. I think being a college athlete will prepare me for the rest of my life."
