The Indiana golf world is mourning the loss of Brittany Kelly, the Hamilton Southeastern and Ball State University graduate who passed away Tuesday after a battle with ovarian cancer.
Kelly, 32, made a deep impact on the world of golf in the Hoosier State. She graduated from Southeastern in 2007, where she was part of the Royals’ 2003 state championship team as a freshman. Kelly then had four successful years at Ball State, where she was the first female golfer in the school’s history to be selected for the NCAA Regional, playing there twice. It was announced in April that Kelly would be inducted into the Cardinals’ Athletic Hall of Fame.
“We are profoundly saddened to hear of the passing of Brittany Kelly. Her impact on not only our program, but on the game of golf in the state of Indiana and the country is immeasurable,” Ball State women’s golf head coach Katherine Mowat said in a post on the Ball State Women’s Golf Twitter account Tuesday night.
Kelly had been working as the Assistant Golf Professional at Woodland Country Club in Carmel, which she joined in February 2017. Prior to that, she was the assistant professional at The Hawthorns in Fishers from 2013 to 2016.
Kelly continued to play in tournaments over the years. She played in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2019 and was part of the 2019 Women’s PGA Cup, representing the United States as it won the event.
Locally, Kelly won the Indiana Women’s Open in 2006 and 2019 and the IWGA Women’s Amateur in 2009. She was named the Indiana Women’s PGA Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, and just two weeks ago was honored as the 2022 Indiana PGA Professional of the Year at the Indiana PGA Special Awards.
“Indiana Golf is deeply saddened by the passing of PGA Professional, Brittany Kelly, who lost her battle against cancer,” said Indiana Golf in a post on its Twitter account. “Brittany was recently awarded the 2022 Indiana PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award.”
Ted Bishop, the President of the PGA of America, also posted on Twitter about Kelly’s courage during her battle with cancer.
“Brittany Kelly was a true champion on the course, more importantly in life,” said Bishop. “She will inspire many with her courage, dignity and grace under fire.”