Rising through the ranks

Lauren Greenlief, who has found success in the business world, says she isn't done finding success on the golf course. Photo: Chris Keane, USGA
For 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Lauren Greenlief, her will to succeed both athletically and academically has propelled her to rise to the highest ranks in the working world while she also uses her voice as a platform to grow the game of golf.
Greenlief grew up in Oakton, Virginia, and began golf seriously at 13.
“In the golf world that’s considered late if you want to play at the next level,” she said.
But that didn’t stop her from chasing a high goal. “I knew I wanted to play college golf, but when I was going through the recruiting cycle, I just didn’t get a lot of traction,” Greenlief said.

In the early 2000s, the college golf recruiting process was a lot different than it is now. There was no age restriction for when someone could verbally commit to a school. Since then, the NCAA has changed their recruiting regulations — but Greenlief’s competition was committing early in high...