Coming off its second straight Hacienda League title, the Diamond Bar High School Girls Golf team defeated West Covina High School 198-270 at the Diamond Bar Golf Course. This brings its overall record to 7-0 and league record to 3-0. Sophomore co-captain Bethany Wu shot a strong 38 while senior Jihyun Park shot a team best 37.
Because of the large number of players on the varsity golf team, Tony McCabe split up the teams into three strings to conserve the players’ energy. Despite this, Diamond Bar’s second and third string players are as good as, if not better than, most of the Hacienda league. As a testament to the team’s depth, the lowest score out of the West Covina team was 49 compared to the Park’s 37. The team’s depth allows the team’s players to rest as there are multiple games a week, a situation that can put strain on the golfers’ bodies.
The entire team played well and was in control the entire match. The team’s low score reveals the Lady Brahmas’ depth and balance. “Any time you break 200, you’re one of the top teams in the state and we do that on a regular basis,” McCabe commented. Sophomores Josephine Chang and Joan Park shot a low score of 39 as they played with a cool demeanor the entire match. Despite shooting a 38, Wu was very disappointed in her score. “I didn’t play as well as last year. It just wasn’t my day,” Wu said. However, she shot the second lowest score out of all the players.
The team fully expects to capture the Hacienda League title for the third straight year and continue on to the state finals. Although the Lady Brahmas lost in the state semi-finals last year, the team knows that it has the potential to win state this year. “Just being ready on the big day is the final step for state,” McCabe said. The Lady Brahmas are no longer satisfied with receiving second place despite playing well the entire season.
Wu, as well as senior co-captains Isabelle Shee and Kristie Yang, believes that the team has the makings of the best team in the state despite losing one of their best players from last year in Valerie Wijaya who went on to golf professionally in college. In addition to winning seven straight league titles, the team has not lost a dual match since McCabe started coaching the team two years ago. The win against the West Covina Bulldogs makes an unprecedented 50 straight dual match victories, the most in all of the Hacienda League. However, the team is solely focused on winning the state title that has eluded them since they made it to the semi-finals in 2004. “We made it to the state semi-finals last year so we hope to win it all this year,” McCabe said.
Last year, for the first time in DBHS history, a freshman, Wu, won the Hacienda League MVP award. In addition, she qualified for the CIF Individual Finals along with Park, Shee, and Yang and all four placed in the top ten. To top it off, Wu was invited to compete in the US Women’s Amateur tournament. She shot one over par to tie for 25th place over two days of play. She then won her first round of match play to reach the top 32. The tournament is mostly comprised of the best golfers at the collegiate level, but Wu was invited due to her high level of play.
