Kelli Oride Signs With Notre Dame

Kelli Oride (left) on her official visit to Notre Dame, with the Leprechaun mascot

First it was older brother Cory Oride breaking into the collegiate golf scene at the University of Hawaii. Now you can add his sister Kelli. The Kaua’i High School senior signed a National Letter of Intent earlier this month to play golf for the University of Notre Dame.

“I’m really excited to golf for Notre Dame,” Kelli says. “It has always been a dream of mine to play golf in college. Notre Dame was just the right fit for me.”

The Lihue native is in her final year as a Red Raider and is currently ranked 19th nationally according to the Junior Golf Scoreboard and 20th by Golfweek.

“Kelli is going to be an impact player immediately,” Fighting Irish women’s golf coach Susan Holt says. “She has a lot of tournament experience, and will come here and make solid contributions right away. Kelli will be a great addition to the team in every aspect.”

Oride’s long list of tournament experience includes finishing 25th in a field of 156 athletes at the 2010 United States Golf Association’s Girls Junior Amateur Championships, 20th of 137 competitors at the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships, and participating in the USGA Public Links Championship, which was played at the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s golf coach expects Oride to make an immediate impact

Oride is a three-time state medalist and two-time state runner-up. She’s one of the five top-25 ranked recruits Holt has brought in for next season and beyond.

The Irish entered the spring season ranked No. 42, according to Golf stat rankings and 40th according to the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings.

“Given the field strength we’ve been playing, we’ll have plenty of chances to bolster our rankings and prepare for the pressures of postseason play,” Holt says.

Like the other successful golfers from the Garden Isle, Oride also has been highly active in the junior golf program, which has prepared players such as Oride to not only make it, but also flourish at the next level.

Oride will join Punahou grad and Laie native Manti Teo at Notre Dame. Teo’s a high-profile, starting linebacker for the football team and is currently one of the nation’s leaders in tackles.