The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubb@tribunemedia.net

FROM running the floor as the “do-it-all” player on St John’s Giants senior girls basketball team two years ago, Taneka Sandiford is now lining up her tee shots as a member of the Redlands Community College Cougars women’s golf team.

Through her enrollment in the Bahamas Junior Golf Association, Sandiford was afforded a full athletic scholarship to attend Redlands in El Reno, California. She just completed her freshman year as a Cougar and she admitted that it was indeed a learning experience.

“Golf has actually been pretty good. It’s a bit different from coming here,” Sandiford said. “I never used to play golf all the time, but now in college, I’m playing every day and all day, running three miles two times a week, going to the gym, so it’s something different and something I’m not used to doing.

“So just getting out there and playing against division one schools is really something that I had to adjust to. Being around these players who are so serious about the game has changed my whole perspective on the game.”

While Sandiford admits that she’s interested in pursuing the sport as a professional in the future, she’s more eager to return to school in August so that she can increase her credits to 19 each in her bid to graduate with a double associate degree in business management and early childhood education so that she can come home and assist her mother, Christine Sandiford, in her preschools - One On One Pre-School and Two By Two Academy.

Having completed her first year as the fifth member of the team, Sandiford, whose father is tennis pro Juan Sandiford, said she’s looking forward to the upcoming season although she will be putting more emphasis on her education.

Like every athlete who has to make the adjustment from high school to college, Sandiford said the main thing she has learned is that whether she does good or bad, she has to remain on the golf course playing until the round is finished.

“If I was playing bad on the basketball court, my coach (Herbie Brown) would take me out,” she said. “Sometimes I look around and asked if I can get a sub when I was playing bad or I got too tired. But in golf, if I’m playing bad, I just have to stick with it because there’s no one there to relieve me. It’s an individual game and you can only go as far as your performance can take you.”

After abandoning the game of basketball for golf, Sandiford said she misses her high school passion at times, but when she considers the bigger picture, she doesn’t have any regrets in her decision to switch over.

“I realise that you could end up getting hurt playing basketball, so to say I miss it, yes I do. I still occasionally play it for fun,” she said. “But I’m in college now, I prefer golf. I love golf now. So I prefer to be playing golf than playing basketball.”

Her reward this year came when the Cougars finished as runners-up at their National Championships. “It sucks to come second, but we just have to keep getting better and better,” she said. “We showed up good, but we just have to play better than we did. I know I need to improve my game a whole lot and I think just being here has helped to give me a much better appreciation for the game.”

Sandiford, who will turn 19 on June 1, was referring to her role she played as a caddie for veteran American Jill McGrill, who finished tied with 11 other golfers at 137 during the inaugural Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island over the weekend.

“Once I’m finished with college with my degrees, I will take golf as far as I can go. I’m leaving it in God’s hands. If it’s his will for me to play on the LPGA, then I will be out here,” Sandiford said. “If not, then I will continue with the future in golf, trying to help as many young players to excel in the sport.

“But this is just mind blowing to be here. The field is the best of the best and there is no one to learn from but the best. So it’s just a great experience and I’m just trying to take it in and learn as much as I can and being a caddie is a plus because I get to be right in the middle of these stars and I get to see what they do from practicing to playing so it has definitely helped me when and if I get out here.”

In three weeks, Sandiford intends to participate in a few tournaments in Iowa to help get her ready for the upcoming collegiate season. In the meantime, she intends to celebrate her birthday with her friends and family before she leaves on June 13.

“I have a basketball court at our house, so I’ve been shooting around and play with my little brother,” she said. “But I’ve also been spending some time with my family, including my godchild, because I haven’t seen them in about five months.

“So it’s all about getting in some quality time before I go back to school and really have to buckle down in the classroom. I always have golf, so it’s going to be an interesting year ahead of me.”

If the opportunity presents itself, Sandiford said she hopes one day to continue playing basketball. But that will all depend on just how far she can excel in golf when she gets to the professional ranks.