With sharp focus and precise strokes, sophomore Vivi Yen swings her way through the Morongo Golf Club course as she rises through the national ranks of the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
During her freshman year, Yen led the varsity girls golf team to an undefeated record in the Hacienda league. Competing in multiple local and national tournaments, Yen often credits her coach Joseph Ovalle for her success. With a national rank of 99 in the girls 12-18 bracket, Yen hopes to continue her momentum and one day translate her victories to the professional level.
“For me, I find my success in staying focused and having fun at the same time. I think it helps me with my biggest strength, which is my accuracy and knowing how to really use my driver,” Yen said. “My advice to anyone picking up golf is to make sure to have fun while you play because the best part is really getting to meet the other players that you compete with.”
For Yen, one of the most rewarding parts of playing golf is feeling a sense of accomplishment when winning. To step up her game in order to one day go professional, she believes that playing in junior national competitions is important. In her most recent tournament held on Oct. 5, Yen placed first in the Toyota Tour Cup at Morongo Golf Club.
“I feel like I did a really good job. The whole tournament in staying zoned in and visualizing my swings. I felt very happy and proud to win this tournament because I was playing with good players in a tough course that was unfamiliar,” Yen said.
Practicing nearly every day, Yen often works on her physical condition by stretching and improving her strength. She believes that although physical fitness is key, the mental aspect of the game holds more weight, as people often underestimate it. With professionals excelling at both aspects of this, Yen hopes to improve both her physical and mental conditions. Whenever she gets tired, she practices resetting her mindset.
“My practices are also usually focused on my swings, but your mentality going into a game is the most important part of golf. I feel like even if you get distracted a bit, it’s really hard to accurately focus on your game,” Yen said. “On the course, I focus on each shot that I’m hitting, and that’s usually my mindset going into my games.”
Yen began to play golf when she was 6 years old, finding golf to be enjoyable and fun. Believing she could play the sport at a high level, she was encouraged to constantly practice and stay committed.
“Once my mom first referred me to golf, as I was hitting, I realized that I was actually pretty decent. It gave me a lot of confidence to keep on playing golf as a hobby, and then I started doing tournaments when I got older,” Yen said. “It makes me happy to see that my practice is paying off now and that I am able to play at a high level.”
