Madelyn Gamble ready to take advantage of NCAA Regional Championships opportunity

Madelyn Gamble is nearing the end of her junior year at Washington State, and with already a lengthy resume on the Washington State women’s golf team, the biggest moment of her career may be -be in progress so far.

Gamble is a native of Pleasant Hill, California, where she attended Carondelet High School and quickly made a name for herself on the junior golf scene. Throughout high school, Gamble competed in tournaments such as the 2019 USGA Women’s Junior Championship, USGA Women’s Amateur Championship and even won the 2020 Northern California Golf Association Junior Championship.

At the end of her senior year, Gamble was named Northern California Junior Player of the Year and ranked the 75th best junior women’s golfer in the country according to the AJGA Rolex Rankings.

However, even before Gamble finished her playing career at Pleasant Hill, WSU wanted to bring her to Pullman.

“WSU contacted me in June of my freshman year,” Gamble said. “I was always interested in Washington State, but never knew much about the school. I really liked the atmosphere of Pullman and the small-town feel.”

By the time his freshman year rolled around, Gamble quickly made a name for himself. In his first collegiate tournament at the Badger Invitational, Gamble finished tied for third with a tied shot. The highlight of her tournament came in the second round, where she shot 4 under, good for the 13th lowest round in school history, in just her first tournament.

This stellar start to her college golf career gave Gamble all the confidence she needed to showcase her skills at this level.

“I proved to myself that I belonged at the college level and that I was capable of playing well,” Gamble said.

After a promising freshman year that saw three top-15 finishes and one top-three finish, Gamble grew as a player, but she also credits that year for the growth she saw off the course by accepting a new house.

“My first year was crucial for me,” Gamble said. “I’ve been challenged on and off the golf course, moving away from home, being part of a new team, meeting new coaches. When I got here, I wasn’t good with change, but now I’m much more accepting of change.”

Going into his sophomore year, Gamble felt fewer outside distractions compared to his freshman year, and it showed on the course.

To start her sophomore year, Gamble saw two top-20 finishes in her first three tournaments, including a tie for 19th place at the Infinitive Badger and a tie for 20th place at the Marilynn Smith Tournesol Invitational.

However, things really started to look up for Gamble when the Cougs traveled to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the Pac-12 preview. There, she shot only 3-over in three rounds and finished first on the team and tied for 11th overall.

After the Pac-12 preview, Gamble continued to string together strong performances, including an 11th place finish at the San Diego Classic. However, adversity struck when the Cougs traveled to Napa, California for the Chevron Silverado Showdown.

Gamble had one of his worst performances of the year, shooting 26-over and finishing tied for 88th. While Gamble was disappointed with her play at the Chevron Silverado Showdown, she remembers thinking about the opportunity she had while preparing for the Pac-12 tournament instead of being discouraged during her final performance.

“The opportunity to play in a Pac-12 championship, eight-year-old Madelyn would have dreamed of it,” Gamble said. “That’s the mentality I had at the beginning.”

With the biggest tournament of the season on the horizon, Gamble rose to the occasion. Gamble finished tied for third in the Pac-12 tournament and had his best tournament score of the season, shooting four under par. His best performance of the season has given Gamble a boost of confidence heading into the summer.

“In golf, having confidence in yourself is huge and that’s what the Pac-12 tournament did for me my sophomore year,” Gamble said. “I just continued to build on what I knew worked for me and that definitely gave me a sense of confidence.”

Entering his freshman year, Gamble was poised to have the best year of his career. Gamble started the season tied for 10th in the Leadership Invitational Shootout with just 1-over. She kept going and finished in the top 15 in six of her first seven tournaments.

Gamble’s best placement came during the Juli Inkster at the Meadow Club Invite where she finished in a tie for 8th place, shooting two under in two rounds.

Entering the Pac-12 Tournament, Gamble looked to recreate the performance from his sophomore year. Heading into the third day of the tournament, Gamble had done just that, shooting 3 under through the first two rounds.

However, Gamble fell in the rankings after his third round. She finished tied for 26th, but as she has throughout her career, Gamble won’t let one tough performance define her, but instead will use this third round as a learning moment while feeling proud of his first two rounds.

“I can’t change what happened in the third round, it is what it is, but I learned a lot from that round,” Gamble said. “Instead of dwelling on the bad things, it’s important to be proud of the first two rounds and know that I can achieve this.”

Gamble finished his Pac-12 play with two top-10 finishes, seven top-25 finishes and an average of 72.69, which is the highest average in program history. Gamble received an invitation to the NCAA Regional Championships, becoming the sixth women’s golfer to do so.

Now competing in the biggest tournament of her career, Gamble will soak up the moment she’s worked her whole life for.

“Eight-year-old Madelyn would be so excited, so I’m just enjoying the experience.” Gamble said.

Although the NCAA Regionals are the biggest tournament of Gamble’s life, she isn’t doing anything different in terms of preparation, but rather doing the same thing that got her to this point.

“At the end of the day, it’s just another golf tournament,” Gamble concluded.