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Wardlaw-Hartridge's Kuo is Home News Tribune Girls Golfer of the Year

Angel Ospina
@AngelDOspina

When freshman Sydney Kuo of Wardlaw-Hartridge was deciding what sports to play throughout her next four years, she knew she wanted to play an individual sport.

It’s not because Kuo isn’t a team player, but because she likes having the ability to rely on nothing but her craft in order to succeed.

“I really liked the idea of playing an individual sport,” said Kuo, who decided to play golf and is now being named the 2017 Home News Tribune Girls Golfer of the Year. “I do like team sports, but I feel like I can rely on myself, and I trust myself.”

READ: HUNTERDON CENTRAL'S LEE IS THE CN GIRLS GOLFER OF THE YEAR

Kuo trusts herself and her ability regardless of who she is standing next to on the course, even if those she’s competing against are of a different gender.

Since Wardlaw-Hartridge does not have a girls golf team, Kuo was thrust into playing alongside boys and quickly found herself in the No. 1 spot on the team.

In her inaugural year, Kuo was atop the list in averages for the Greater Middlesex Conference, finished third in the girls Individual GMCT and was the conference’s only qualifier in the Tournament of Champions.

It was a successful year for the freshman phenom, who only started playing golf two years ago.

“When I meet new players when I go to tournaments, they all have been playing since they were little,” Kuo said. “I don’t know how I was able to pick up the sport so quickly. I just picked up golf, and I was able to find out quickly that I was pretty good at it.”

Sydney Kuo

Kuo, who also had a successful campaign in tennis last fall, said her razor-sharp focus on the green stems from her time spent on the tennis courts.

“In both sports, you may be playing with others, but you have to focus on yourself,” she said. “Golf is so specific and you have to be right on line in everything you do.”

That is specifically true in the putting game, which Kuo said was the most important part of her game.

“A lot of people say that putting is more than 50 percent of your game, and I couldn’t agree more,” Kuo said. “When I go up to putt, I try not to think about what my score will be, I just try to get the ball as close as I can to the hole.”

In the GMCT, Kuo played well in all aspects of the game.

She shot at 42, which was a three-way tie with J.P. Stevens student-athletes Grace Wu and Vritti Vazirani.

Unfortunately for Kuo, the tie was decided on a match of scorecards.

GMC Tournament and Red Division champion J.P. Stevens girls golf team.

“I went into that tournament a little worried because there’s always that sense of anticipation,” she said. “When I finished I found out I tied with two other girls, and I thought we were going to go into a tie-breaker or sudden-death, but they didn’t. I think if there was a tie-break, I would have had a better shot of getting second or first.”

Looking at what could have been instead of celebrating a third-place finish as a freshman is just part of Kuo’s obsession with perfection.

Whether it is in tennis, golf or school, Kuo strives to be perfect at all times.

“She’s never satisfied with what she comes out with, she’s always trying to be better,” said Warlaw-Hartridge golf coach Jim Howard, who also taught her in math this year. “She’s an excellent student as well, so if she stays improving in golf, there’s going to be lots of top-rated colleges interested in her.”

Along with Kuo’s relentless work-ethic to improve her craft, her ability to stay calm regardless of the situation is an attribute that undoubtedly will attract colleges.

At the NJSIAA Prep B Tournament at Peddie Golf Course, Kuo triple-bogied the seventh hole but was able to bounce back with a 20-foot putt for a birdie on the next and shoot for par in the ninth hole.

“She’s very level-headed and very knowledgeable” Howard said.

Whether it’s bouncing back after a bad hole or playing alongside boys twice her size, Kuo likes that she is able to rely on her craft and block the rest out when she is on the green.

“I’m ecstatic that even though I’m a girl I can do just as well as a guy can,” she said. “Even though I’m playing around these tall boys that can hit the ball really far, I just try and focus on my game and concentrate on every single shot.”

GMC Girls Golf 2017 All-Conference Selections

 

Grace Wu, J.P. Stevens; Vritti Vazarani, J.P. Stevens; Sophia Hu, East Brunswick; Annamika Dua, South Brunswick; Brittany Fisher, South Brunswick; Roshni Shenoy, J.P. Stevens; Rashi Sawant, South Brunswick; Isella Ventura, Old Bridge; Alexandra Caro, East Brunswick. Sportsmanship: ​East Brunswick High School. Coach of the Year: Patty Savulich, J.P. Stevens.

GMC Girls Golf 2017 All-Red Division

Iselle Ventura, Old Bridge; Roshni Shenoy, J.P. Stevens; Grace Wu, J.P. Stevens; Morgan Switzer, Metuchen; Brittany Fisher, South Brunswick; Vritti Vazirani, J.P. Stevens; Karishma Shenoy, J.P. Stevens. Coach of the Year: Joseph Dougherty, South Brunswick