Megan Henry clears hurdles to prolong Albany golf career

Albany

Any golfer involved Friday in the CDPHP Pro-Am was glad to be at Capital Hills, but Megan Henry may have been more appreciative than the others.

Henry, a graduate student at the University at Albany, flew Aug. 9 from Essex, England, to the Capital Region. She had to quarantine for 14 days before she ventured out in public, which Henry did Wednesday to get in a practice round at Capital Hills.

Her score in the pro-am, a 6-over-par 77, wasn't as signficant as playing a game she loves, which lured her back to UAlbany for a fifth season of competition.

"It wasn't fun," Henry said of her 14 days of isolation. "I was stuck in a room on my own, getting delivered food, which wasn't great. I watched a lot of TV series. My eyes started hurting. There's not much you can do. I tried to find a routine in my day, which is what you have to do."

It was all part of an equation that resulted in Henry, a four-year contributor to the Great Danes program, returning.

UAlbany lost its spring season to the COVID-19 pandemic, at which point Henry figured her competitive career was finished.

"I was able to give them the opportunity — I had four graduating seniors — the possibility of coming back and playing," Danes coach Colleen Cashman-McSween said. "Everybody was like, 'No , we're done.' "

That group included Henry, who returned to her native England but began thinking about the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted spring athletes.

"I started going out to the golf course in England every day," she said. "I probably played eight rounds a week, really enjoying it and realizing that actually golf is giving me everything. I love the game, so the school's offering me another year why not take it?"

Henry did her undergraduate work in psychology but her graduate work will be a...