Kelsey Dill picked up the game of golf as a hobby, but over time the sport grew into a passion for the Pearl River Central athlete.

More and more time was spent on the course and eventually Dill polished her game enough to earn a spot on the University of Mobile’s golf team.

On Feb. 19 Dill signed a golfing scholarship to continue her golfing career at the collegiate level.

The two coaches in charge of Dill’s progress were Shelly Dill and Beverly Griffing, with the pair guiding Kelsey during her sporting journey.

Coach Dill said Kelsey may be the first ever girl golfer from PRC to sign a golfing scholarship.

Kelsey signing with a major university sets a benchmark for the girls golfing program at PRC to work toward.

Younger players now see what it takes to be successful and the program itself could grow as more athletes pursue opportunities at the next level.

“I think it’s a very big motivator. I think it’s going to help a whole lot, there’s a lot of opportunities for girls out there,” Coach Dill said.

The signing also showed students who may have interest in the sport that there are scholarships out there to earn.

Mainstream sports provide scholarship opportunities, but Griffing said Kelsey’s achievement could open some students’ eyes to the possibilities in other sports.

“You can do something different. There are other opportunities. I think it’s going to get kids to look at it and say ‘Well maybe I should try out for golf,’” Griffing said.

The road to earning a scholarship was tough for Kelsey and the numerous hours on the course were a purposeful decision on her part.

What started as a hobby will now pave her introduction into college sports.  Kelsey said signing made all the work worth it.

“Whenever I first picked it up I was like I’ll just do this for fun. But then I started to fall in love with the game, I started to want to play it more and get a lot better,” Kelsey said.

Friends, family and coaches surrounded Kelsey when she signed for Mobile.

The event was made to highlight Kelsey’s accomplishments, but it also served a cathartic purpose for the golfer.

“I feel a weight lifted because I had so much stress on me. I’m very excited that I finally signed and can do away with all the stress,” Kelsey said.

Griffing said Kelsey did everything to earn her scholarship.

Rain or shine, holiday or weekend, Kelsey was on the course and Griffing said she’s happy Kelsey will continue to play golf collegiately.

“It’s very humbling. She worked hard for this and for us to be able to just give her the opportunity to do it, it makes us feel very proud of her,” Griffing said.