Last May, Keeley Marx found herself doing everything she could to avoid looking at the leaderboard; the Australian native was only a few holes away from qualifying for the U.S. Open.
“I didn’t want to look at the scores; I really had no idea who the leader was, but I knew I was playing well,” Marx says.
Lightning and rain foiled Marx’s plan as she ventured to the clubhouse to wait out the weather delay.
“I was on the golf buggy on the way in, and the driver asks, ‘Did you know the leader is at two under? How great is that?’”
Marx smiled — she was three under par. Marx navigated the mounting stress and secured her spot in the U.S. Open, becoming the 12th Cyclone to do so.
Marx’s success in high-pressure moments started around age 11. She traveled the Asia-Pacific, competing in tournaments, and during high school, she ranked 105th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and won the 2022 IMG Academy Junior World Championship in San Diego. When it came time to visit colleges, Marx knew within a few minutes of connecting with Iowa State Golf head coach Christie Martens that ISU was the perfect place for her.
“Martens was the first coach I spoke to, and she treated me like family,” Marx says. “I knew I wasn’t just an extra number on her team. Every time I spoke to a coach from another school, it never met the expectations that I had after speaking to coach Martens. It made my decision a lot easier.”
With Marx’s smooth acclimation into the cardinal and gold family, success on the golf course quickly followed. Marx added career-best finishes in multiple tournaments, including tying for 13th at the NCAA Bryan Regional. At the U.S. Open, Marx finished 135th overall and 13th out of the 22 amateurs in the field.
Marx’s impact in golf has extended off the course with her fundraising and advocacy efforts as an official ambassador for Challenge, a nonprofit organization that supports children and families living with cancer. She began her advocacy work at 14, creating an influential hashtag, #DoingItForJarrod, that helped raise over $10,000 in honor of the late Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle.
Marx hopes to turn pro after graduation, but before she leaves Iowa State, what’s next for the rising Cyclone golfer?
“I want to get coach a Big 12 Championship.”