Allie White leaves Ohio State women's team

Last spring she played college golf at North Carolina, only to transfer after Tar Heel coach Sally Austin decided to retire. This fall she played at Ohio State. Come 2010, however, Allie White will no longer be playing for any school. The 19-year-old from Lancaster, Ohio, has decided to leave the Buckeye women's golf team after competing in just three tournaments.

"Golf is going to be kind of a summer thing," White told the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. "I'm hoping to do some studying abroad and some other things that I wouldn't be able to do if I was playing golf."

White intends to remain at Ohio State but become a full-time student.

Suffice it to say, the departure seems a bit odd. For one thing, she had been playing well, posting two top-10 finishes this fall (T-6 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, T-3 at the Lady Northern) before being disqualified from the Mercedes-Benz Championship for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Moreover, White had seemed to have found a nice niche in Columbus. "I am thrilled to be a Buckeye," she said in September. "I have cheered for Ohio State since I was little [her mother played tennis at OSU] and am excited to become a part of this team. Coach Hession has such enthusiasm for golf and the team is great to be around. I want to do my best and help continue to build the program."

Asked about White's decision, OSU women's coach Therese Hession told Campus Insider via e-mail: "The reason she gave me was that she does not want to play college golf any more."

Outside college golf, White made a few headlines last summer during the U.S. Women's Open, where she made the cut at Saucon Valley CC (finishing T-65) and caught some attention of TV cameras by wearing a hat with the logo Ohio Farmer, a magazine for which her father/caddie, Tim, is the editor.

"It's not something I necessarily feel good about--stopping in the middle of something," White said about leaving the team. "But in the overall scheme of things, it's a good move."