Freshman golfer places second at CCS

Katherine Zhu (9) takes a hard practice swing before readying herself for the real one.

Kathy Duan

Katherine Zhu (9) takes a hard practice swing before readying herself for the real one.

Katherine Zhu (9) tried out for the girls’ golf team and joined the varsity team for the season. As an individual, she placed second at the Central Coast Section (CCS) tournament on Nov. 4.

“I’m really grateful for placing second in CCS,” she says “I didn’t think I would do so well because I was competing with some of the best girls in the Bay Area.

Katherine has been playing golf even before she arrived at Harker in fourth grade. She’s been playing for a long time because she loves the feeling of being on the golf course.

“I have been playing for about six and a half years,” Katherine said. “When I play, I don’t think about anything else.”

Although Katherine currently has a passion for playing golf, she did not always feel this way. When she first started back in 2008, she had a different attitude towards the sport.

“My mom played, and she made me play,” Katherine said. “I hated it because it was really boring, and then I started winning and making new friends, and it was okay.”

Though she has been golfing for many years, adapting to a new way of playing the sport was a challenge.

“[I wanted to improve] my ability to work with the team because I’ve been introduced to the game as an individual player my whole life, and I don’t really have much team experience,” she said. “I have to work with everyone, so everything can’t be about me, but I have to think about everyone else as well.”

Her morales about the importance of teamwork can be seen during practice.

Vanessa Tyagi (9), who is also on the varsity team, describes Katherine’s attitude towards the team and her teammates.

“She’s always willing to help out the people who aren’t so good and to just be a support,” she said. “I remember once we were practicing bunker shots and some of the newer people were having trouble, so she came over and helped everybody and [she] was really patient.”

The golf season ended on Oct. 29, but Katherine has other goals she wishes to accomplish and hopes that her sport will be able to take her even further after high school.

“Hopefully to college, but I don’t want to get into a college by using golf,” she said. “I’m playing for myself and not because of anything else.”

When asked about how she expects golf to affect her future, Katherine remains clueless.

“I don’t know, I have no idea what’s in for me in the future,” she said. “I’ll be fine with turning pro or not. If I do turn pro, that’s just a plus.”

Next Monday, Katherine will compete at the Crazy Horse Ranch Country Club in North California for a chance to advance into the next round of the tournament.