Cho’s Drive Sets Her Apart

When Carling Cho entered Dana Point Dana Hills High as a freshman in 1998, she barely made a blip on the girls’ golf radar.

A fledgling golfer who was a budding softball star, Cho had not played competitive golf before joining the Dana Hills team and could barely break 100.

Still, she enjoyed the game and stuck with it, shooting in the mid-40s most of the regular season, firing a 100 in her first round of the South Coast League finals and 103 in the Southern Section individual finals.

Looking at her now, it’s hard to believe she is the same golfer.

This year, the senior shot 68 to lead her team to the Southern Section team title, won the South Coast League title by 28 shots and tied for second with a 73 at the CIF-WSCGA championships.

Her postseason average of 72.8 tied for the lowest in Southern California and was the best among girls who played every postseason round. Cho, who will attend San Jose State next year, is The Times’ girls’ golfer of the year. Not bad for someone who had a career-best round of 82 during her freshman year.

She credits her parents for the rapid improvement.

“They would tell me that I was good and that I had the talent,” Cho said. “That made me believe that I could do what I wanted and it made me want to practice more.”

Because of her late start in the sport, Cho was behind many of her competitors, but her unwavering commitment to improve and a competitive drive that made her a standout youth softball player helped make up the difference.

Cho doesn’t have the national-tournament experience of many players with her ability, but said she has grown more confident the last three years. She is still learning how to hit certain shots, but credits sports psychologist Dr. David Wright for giving her a mental edge.

“I have the confidence,” Cho said. “But I still get nervous at big tournaments. I know other girls have the experience and that might be an advantage.”

Cho said she is proud of her individual accomplishments, but the section team title is what she will remember most. It was the first appearance in the Southern Section championships for Dana Hills, which missed the finals by a stroke in 1999 and by two strokes in 2000.

“Winning that was pretty cool,” Cho said. “It was something I could share with my teammates and that’s something you don’t get to do much in golf.”

Paced by Cho’s 68, the best competitive round in her career, the Dolphins won the section title by a stroke over Long Beach Wilson. Their team total of 412 was their best round of the season.

Cho is looking forward to having more fun next year at San Jose State. LPGA tour players Juli Inkster, Patty Sheehan, Pat Hurst and Janice Moodie are San Jose State alumni.

“I can’t wait,” Cho said. “I’ll have freedom to do whatever I want.”

Presumably, that includes winning golf tournaments.