Coming To America

Move From Korea Four Years Ago Paying Off For Wuesthoff

 

By David Shefter, USGA

 

Fairfield, Conn. – Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff ’s journey to the championship match of the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Brooklawn Country Club actually began four years ago.

 

That’s when her parents gave their blessing to send the then-12-year-old from Korea to Toms River, N.J., to live with her aunt. Because golf is so expensive in the Far East nation – memberships at a club can reach six figures – Sukjin-Lee felt it was in her best interest to make the long move, even if it meant not seeing her biological parents for long stretches of time. Her father is in attendance this week, having spent the past 90 days visiting his daughter. Her three brothers all live back in Korea .

 

Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, 16, is having her best showing ever in five U.S. Girls' Juniors. She plays fellow Korean In-Bee Park in the championship match (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

Sukjin-Lee’s aunt, Sukhee Wuesthoff, had come to America 29 years ago after marrying Steven Wuesthoff, a U.S. serviceman. In order to make the transaction legal, the Wuesthoff’s legally adopted Sukjin-Lee; thus, she took the last name of her uncle.

 

“I wanted to be better at golf,” Wuesthoff, 16, said through her translator and close friend, Christine Yum, also a competitor at this week’s championship. Yum, 16, did not qualify for match play. She met Wuesthoff at last year’s Girls’ Junior at Echo Lake Country Club and the two have remained close friends. “Here (in the U.S. ) you can play 18 holes every day. In Korea, I could only play one round a week.”

 

Since her arrival, Wuesthoff has seen that practice pay off. This is her fifth appearance at the Girls’ Junior and the farthest she has advanced. Two years ago at Indian Hills Country Club in Mission Hills, Kan., Wuesthoff reached the quarterfinals where she lost to the eventual champion, Nicole Perrot of Chile, 4 and 3.

 

A year ago in her adopted home state, Wuesthoff made a quick exit from the match-play draw at Echo Lake Country Club, falling to Amanda Blumenherst in the first round. But she did manage to win the 2002 New Jersey State Women’s Amateur title.

 

For the past year, Wuesthoff, the two-time New Jersey high school girls’ champion, has been working with Ron McDougal, the head pro at Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J.

 

“He’s worked on my grip and address position,” said Wuesthoff, who plays out of Woodlake Country Club.

 

Earlier this summer, Wuesthoff decided to Monday qualify for the LPGA Tour’s Shoprite Classic in Atlantic City, N.J. Despite qualifying for the event, Wuesthoff was overshadowed by the other junior in the field, Michelle Wie . Wie made the cut and Wuesthoff did not.

 

“I learned course management,” said Wuesthoff, who meets fellow Korean In-Bee Park in Saturday’s championship match. “I gained confidence. I learned how to bounce back after hitting a bad shot.”

 

Like most other youngsters, Wuesthoff has other interests away from golf, including shopping and Web site design. She has her own Web site, but she declined to give out the URL address.

 

“I like to buy clothes and shoes,” said the rising junior at Toms River North High. “I have lots of shoes.”

 

Now she’d like to add one more item to the shopping cart – the Glenna Collett Vare trophy as the Girls’ Junior champion.

 

David Shefter is a staff writer for the USGA. He can be reached at dshefter@usga.org.