Straight A’s On Course And Off It
Fricton Strives For Perfection In School And Golf

 

By Andrew Robinton, USGA

 

Fairfield, Conn. – When Amanda Fricton packed her belongings to participate in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Brooklawn Country Club, the 17-year old from Merritt Island, Fla., brought more than just her golf clubs and clothes. Fricton also

came to Connecticut with a few books. Call it an early start to her senior year

of high school.

 

While that might seem odd to some teenagers at this week’s championship, summer reading is perfectly in character for Fricton, who treats academics as seriously as her short game. Fricton is not only the best player on her high school golf team – she’s earned MVP honors three consecutive years – but she

is also the top-ranked student out of a 450-person class.

 

In fact, she has earned her school’s highest academic award, the

Underclassmen Academic Achievement, each of her three years at Merrit Island High and claims to have never received a ‘B’ or lower in a single subject.

 

This fall, her course curriculum includes six Advanced Placement classes.           “Biology, English literature, calculus, European history, economics, psychology,” said Fricton, listing the classes, thoughtfully, as if she were recounting par

saves in a golf round.

           

Mandy, as she is known to friends and family, is a talented young golfer and an ambitious student. She has her sights set on a number of the nation’s top golf schools, including Florida and Miami, but notes that if she can improve her

scores -- both golf and the SAT -- she’ll most likely be given a wider range of schools from which to choose.

 

“I definitely want to play golf (in college),” she said after shooting a 9-over-par 80 in the first round of stroke-play qualifying. “I probably want to stay somewhere down south. Right now I only have a 1320 on my SATs. If I can get that up I can probably get a full academic ride to basically anywhere,” said Fricton, focusing on the need to improve not her golf scores but her academic ones.

 

Academics have always been a high priority for Fricton, but when she entered high school, she began to take golf as seriously as one of her classes. She has won a number of junior tournaments, including the Innsbrook Easter Classic this past spring. Despite struggling in her first round at the Girls’ Junior, Fricton still has a chance to qualify for match play with a low score in the second round.

 

And if she doesn’t produce the necessary score, there is always the SATs to study for, and the summer reading to begin.

 

Fan Support

 

Four days before Laura Caniff departed for the Girls’ Junior, she saw the pairings for the first two rounds of stroke-play qualifying. And there was a familiar name – Michelle Wie .

 

Last year at Echo Lake Country Club, Caniff was paired with the golf

wunderkind in stroke play, but the Russell, Ky., resident knew this time around would be a little different.

 

“She wasn’t as famous as she is now,” Caniff said.

 

In the past year, Wie, a long-hitting, 6-foot 13-year-old from Hawaii, has become the buzz in women’s golf, drawing huge galleries each time she tees it up. Last month, she became the youngest winner of a non-junior USGA event, capturing the Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in Palm Coast, Fla. Earlier this year, she was in the final pairing on Sunday at the Nabisco Championships, one of four majors in women’s professional golf, and placed in the top 10.

 

She also competed at this year’s Women’s Open at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., where she made the 36-hole cut. And later this summer, she will tee it up against the men at two events, one on the Nationwide Tour and the other on the Canadian Tour.

 

So it should not have come as a surprise to see a huge gallery following Wie as she played her first round at the Girls’ Junior. It’s just that her two fellow competitors, Caniff and Elizabeth Dotson of White Bluff, Tenn., had never played in front of this many people before.

 

“I was really nervous,” Dotson, who shot a 7-over-par 78, admitted. “I tried to focus … but I just didn’t play very well. ( Michelle ) is very good and is very

nice. I just couldn’t get it together.”

 

Caniff actually fared better than Dotson, carding a 76, despite back-to-back bogeys on her final two holes. Although nervous at the start, an adrenaline rush got her pumped up.

 

“I loved the crowd’s reactions when you hit a good shot,” Caniff said. “I was happy with (my score). I think I handled myself great.”

 

As for Wie’s game, Caniff added: “It’s changed a whole lot (from last year). She played a lot better. It’s like her game has matured since last year. She’s awesome. That’s all I can say. As long as I don’t try to drive with her, I’m OK.”

 

Young Guns

Of the 156 girls who qualified for this championship, 10 are 13 years of age, including Michelle Wie . But Wie isn’t the only 13-year-old making noise at this year’s event. Mina Harigae, who has already captured two California State Women’s Amateur titles, carded a 74, Stephanie Kono, who like Wie hails from Hawaii, had a 75, and Sydney Burlison, the youngest contestant at this year’s Women’s Open, posted a 76. Marika Lendl, the eldest daughter of former tennis great Ivan Lendl, also had a 76.

 

And this trend of young participants doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Fourteen teenagers played in the Women’s Open earlier this month and a 12-year-old (Jane Rah) qualified for match play at the Women’s Amateur Public

Links in June .

 

So why is there so much young talent competing at the most elite levels of amateur golf?

 

“I’m not  surprised,” said 15-year-old Morgan Pressel, who qualified for the 2001 Women’s Open when she was 12 (she turned 13 just prior to the championship proper). “Junior golf is getting to be such a big thing, and there are so many more girls playing.”

 

Technology and instruction has also had an impact on young females. Programs like the USGA-sponsored LPGA/Girls Golf may also lure more girls into the game. Plus, Title IX has helped create more and more women’s golf programs at the collegiate level, leaving plenty of opportunities for girls to earn scholarships.

 

And then there’s the Michelle Wie factor. Just like Woods, Wie could create a huge following considering her accomplishments at such a young age.

 

“She is motivation for other young players to play better and pick up the game of golf,” said Kono, who started seven years ago and has already had a “Stephanie Kono Day” proclaimed by Hawaii’s governor for her golf accomplishments.

 

Of course, Woods also has had a huge impact on young players, making golf

cool and fun.

 

“I saw Tiger at the (2000) U.S. Open at Pebble Beach,” Burlison said. “Just watching him play, I wanted to be like him and play like him because he’s really amazing.”

 

Andrew Robinton is a USGA intern who is working in the Media Relations department. USGA staff writer David Shefter contributed to this story.