Eastside girls golf: LW's Wang has eye on prize

KIRKLAND — The whole picture is much clearer for Amy Wang. The senior golfer at Lake Washington High School isn't making any excuses for poor postseason play last spring during the high-school season.

Just before the postseason, Wang, one of top girls golfers in the state, was recovering from minor eye surgery to clear up a bacterial infection that caused tear ducts to clog in one eye. Add that to a shaky mental game, and Wang could do no better than 82-83 for a 165 total and 12th-place tie at the Class 4A girls state tournament last spring at windy Canyon Lakes in Kennewick.

"The eye surgery made my eye bruise up and I had to wear glasses, and that was different," said Wang, who normally puts in contact lenses when she plays. "The eye surgery bruised it all up. It was a little bit blurry at first.

"But the way I played at state, it was my game, too. It was mental stuff. I don't want to say my eye was an excuse."

Now, she's over the eye problems, and her mental outlook is coming into focus. Expect a big spring this year from Wang, who will play for the Washington Huskies.

"I'm looking forward to my last season of high-school golf," said Wang, who recently returned from a family trip visiting relatives in Taiwan and Thailand. "I want to win state. I'm trying to work toward that. The mental side of my game is better.

"Sometimes in golf, it's hard to believe in yourself. Sometimes you have to struggle and get past that. I think I've matured and gotten past that."

The Huskies wanted Wang, and she made it known she wanted them by signing a letter of intent Nov. 21.

"I feel Amy is the best player in the state this year, and we are very fortunate that she chose to stay at home to play her collegiate golf at Washington," said Coach Mary Lou Mulflur, the Huskies' 20th-year coach at the time of Wang's signing. "She is very talented as well as consistent. She can be as good as she wants to be."

When the 5-foot-4 Wang signed with Washington, she became the first of three talented siblings to accept a golf scholarship. Her older sister, Wendy, and older brother, Kevin, chose studies over golf in college after productive golf careers at Lake Washington. Wendy graduated in 1997 and Kevin in 2001.

"And, my brother's taking mechanical or civil engineering classes now at UW."

All five family members have handicaps established at their home course, Glendale Golf and Country Club in Bellevue.

Wang's brother, Kevin, a sophomore at UW, leads the way with a plus-1 handicap. Amy is next at 1.3 followed by sister Wendy at 3.9, father Tony at 7.0 and mother Sherry at 12.1.

"We used to be a tennis family, but my brother and sister started playing golf and I followed what they did," Amy Wang said.

Wang is glad the recruiting process is over.

"The recruiting process was fun, but it's just a big relief off of me," said Wang, who owns a 3.6 grade-point average. "My junior year of school was hard. I had to give up a lot of things. My friends were out having fun and I had to work on my game and my grades.

"I really wanted to get to play college golf."

Her college decision came down to Washington, Michigan State and USC. Oregon State and Florida were also in heavy pursuit.

"Her strength is that she hits the ball well off the tee," Lake Washington Coach Fred Mabbott said. "Her full shots are better and her short game is getting better."

Before a late-season slump in the postseason, Wang was medalist or co-medalist in all eight matches she played as the Kangaroos went 5-4 in KingCo 4A duals. She also won the district tournament as a junior after finishing second by one stroke both as a freshman and sophomore.

In summer 2001, Wang won the Pacific Northwest Girls Junior Championship and she represented the United States on the North Pacific Junior women's team in international competition against Canada.

She missed one late-season KingCo match last spring for her eye surgery.

"This year, mentally the eye problem won't be there," Mabbott said. "She won't second-guess what she thinks she's seeing. I think that gives her a chance to be a (state) contender."

Wang, who tied for ninth at state two years ago as a sophomore by shooting 84-76 for a 160 total, agrees she has what it takes to win if she's on her game.

"If I play well, I have a great chance to win state," she said.