Sophomore has long golf history

In the Hoosiers' first tournament at the Northern Invitational Sept. 21-23, sophomore Mary Lidester set a new personal three-round low. At the next opportunity, the Legends Shootout Oct. 8-9, Lidester shattered the record by eight strokes, posting a 220 three-round score. \n"Mary is a great girl," sophomore and teammate Karen Dennison said. "She brings a lot of humor to the team and she works really hard. She's out there practicing many hours a day and it just kind of helps you to get out there earlier just because she's out there so much. She brings a lot to the team. She brings some low scores and she's very consistent, so that's the kind of player we need."\nLidester grew up near a country club in Lafayette and began playing golf at an early age. \n"I started playing every day of the summer when I was 10," Lidester said. "I'd have my mom drive me to the golf course every morning and pick me up before dinner." \nLidester began competing in the Indiana state tournament at age 11, and then played in a variety of tournaments her father found for her. Lidester said her parents' role in developing her interest in the sport has had a profound impact on her. \n"My parents have had the biggest influence on my golfing career," Lidester said. "They never pushed me to have a golfing career. It was always my option. They never pushed me to go practice, I always did it on my own. They gave me so much support and they allowed me to achieve the goals I wanted to achieve." \nAt Lafayette Jefferson High School, Lidester posted impressive statistics on the golf team. She was a two-time conference medalist and earned all-state and MVP honors in all four high school seasons. \nTwice, she finished in second place in Indiana's state championship and was the recipient of the 1998 Indiana Mental Attitude Award. Golf was not Lidester's only focus; she also played basketball and ran track. \nSpending her true freshman year at Ohio State, Lidester competed in 20 rounds, posting an 81.9 stroke average. But following that year, Lidester transferred to IU. \n"I knew that coach (Sam) Carmichael was a great teacher and I believed in him," Lidester said. "I want to play after college and want to go to pro. I know that he knows a lot about golf and I wanted to be taught by him." \nLidester has a 74.7 stroke average this season, good enough for second on the team.\n"Mary has played very steadily," Carmichael said. \n"She played very well at the Legends." \nLidester spent as many as eight hours a day working on her game over the summer and dedicates as much time as she can to practicing for the team.\n"I just enjoy being out there," she said. "The team gets along so well, we're almost like sisters because we're so close. I really enjoy being on this team. I don't see it as working at all"