Rough Start

Anne Lee didn’t bogey her freshman year of golf at Arizona.

But the former Notre Dame High standout’s game wasn’t up to par, either.

“I was struggling, no doubt about it,” Lee said. “When I went there, I really didn’t know what to expect. I had no idea of the depth of our team. There were 10 players, including me, and they were all incredible. It was just an awesome team.”

Lee was awed, and sometimes it showed.

She did not play in any events during the fall semester, and she played among the top five for Arizona, the NCAA Division I champion, in only three tournaments after intra-squad competition in the spring.

Lee had a season stroke average of 77.1. In the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in April, she recorded her best finish, tying for 26th with a three-round total of 231, but even that was 15 shots over par.

“Even though I did better in the spring, I still wasn’t shooting very well,” said Lee, who has qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship next month. “I didn’t expect it to be that tough. It was just a combination of everything. I think I needed some time to adjust, to playing in college and being away from home.”

Her father, Won Lee, and her mother, Sunnie Lee, graduated from Arizona. But a homesick Anne at first doubted if she could continue the family tradition.

“I’m really close with my parents, and being thousands of miles away was really hard for me,” she said. “Everything was new to me. The whole first semester, I pretty much just wanted to go home.”

Instead, she made plenty of phone calls home.

“She didn’t like [Arizona] at first,” Won Lee said. “I think she might have been a little afraid. It was all new to her. But we tried to explain that, as time goes along, it will get easier.”

Lee began to climb out of the rough during the Wildcat Invitational in February, her first college competition. She shot a three-round total of eight-over 224, leaving her tied for 41st place and making her feel part of the team.

“I was the last person to tee off on our team, and my teammates were all waiting for me,” Lee said. “They were so supportive of me. They knew I was struggling, and that was really neat for me to see.”

Since returning home to Northridge for the summer, Lee, 19, has been working to cement her place at Arizona, which won nine of 11 tournaments last season.

Practicing up to five hours a day, Lee hopes to bring her game up to the level of Jenna Daniels, the Wildcats’ No. 1 player last season as a senior and winner of the NCAA Division I women’s individual championship.

“When your team’s that good, you want to be right up there with them,” Lee said. “I’m working on getting my game at Arizona’s level.”

She is working out twice a week with Bobby Lasken, the teaching professional at Buena Park Golf Center, and taking lessons from Ted Eleftheriou, the senior director of instruction at the Nike Golf Learning Center at Scholl Canyon Golf Club in Glendale. She also has begun lifting weights for the first time.

“She’s been very committed,” Lasken said. “She’s actually been a great student. I don’t think there’s a question of her making the top five [at Arizona].”

Lee’s chances of improving her No. 6 ranking at Arizona appear good. The Wildcats graduated five seniors, including Daniels and No. 3 player Jill Gomric.

Arizona returns only one senior and will have a new coach. Todd McCorkle, who guided the Wildcats the last two seasons, resigned in June to become the women’s coach at Georgia. A successor has yet to be named.

“It was a little bit disappointing that [McCorkle] left,” Lee said. “He did recruit me heavily. But on the other hand, I only knew him one year, and [Arizona is] a great team. It sort of comes down to the players, anyway. We’re ranked No. 1 right now, and I think we’ll stay No. 1.”

Lee has been encouraged by her efforts this summer.

“I learned what a great player needs to do to be successful, and I’ve worked really hard getting my game up to where I’ll be consistent,” she said.

The work appears to be paying off.

Lee shot a three-over-par 73 in a qualifying match July 10 at Redlands Country Club and Golf Course to earn a spot in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship on Aug. 7-12 at Waverly Country Club in Portland, Ore.

She will be making her second appearance in the Amateur. She shot a 76 to qualify in 1998, but missed the cut after two days of play. She hopes to last longer this time.

“I think I’ve matured a lot as a player since then,” she said. “I have confidence for this tournament.”

She gained it over the last year during trying times.

“It was an experience,” Lee said. “But I just think all the down times I had just made me a stronger person. I think I’ve matured a lot.”

The Amateur is the only tournament Lee will play this summer. Classes at Arizona begin Aug. 24, and she plans to ace her sophomore season.

“Sure, I could have gone to a school where I would have been in the top five right off,” she said. “But, then again, it’s a privilege to play at Arizona. If I’d gone somewhere else, then I wouldn’t be part of such a great team, and you just can’t beat that.”

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Tim Hogarth of Northridge reached quarterfinals in the 89th California Amateur. Page 14