Korean golfers make trophy dash

When it comes to the hottest trend in high school golf in the City Section, having a Korean connection is more important than any new ball, club or putter.

In tournament after tournament, American-born teenagers with Korean heritage are winning championships, and sometimes their strongest challengers are fellow Koreans.

At the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, 17 of the 25 players on the boys’ and girls’ golf teams are Korean, with Daniel Park and his sister, Michelle, the reigning City Section individual champions.

FOR THE RECORD:
High school golf: An article Friday in the Sports section identified the coach at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies as Gary Ido. His name is Gary Ino. —

Last fall, while Michelle, a sophomore, was winning the girls’ title, Jennifer Cho was leading Granada Hills to the team championship. In 2005, three players with Korean backgrounds swept the girls’ competition.

USC-bound Daniel Park has won the last two boys’ individual titles, and the runner-up each year was Korean.

On Monday and Wednesday, Park, Tom Lo and his twin brother, Tim Lo, will try to lead LACES to its first City title in the boys’ division at the Wilson and Harding courses in Griffith Park.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Park said. “I’m excited because I want the team to win this year.”

It’s not just the L.A. Unified School District that is producing top Korean golfers. In the 2005 state girls’ individual final, Jane Rah of Torrance won the title, holding off teammate Angela Park.

Of course, one of the most visible players on the LPGA Tour is 17-year-old Michelle Wie, who has Korean ancestry. And in 2003, the CIF-SCGA individual boys’ champion was Daniel Im of La Mirada, now at UCLA and the 2006 Pacific 10 Conference individual champion.

The wave of Korean golfers finishing at the top of leaderboards is no aberration.

“It’s going to get more and more,” said Don Brown, swing coach at Harbor Golf Center who tutors Rah, Daniel Park, the Lo twins and others with Korean connections. “They’re serious. They get on a schedule and stick to it. They’re different.”

LACES, a grade six through 12 magnet school located a few miles down the street from Farmers Market in the Fairfax district, could be the key spot for the changing face of high school golf. A majority of its players live in Koreatown. They’ve discovered size is not a requirement to play golf. It’s all about practice, concentration and mental toughness.

Park and Tom Lo, both 5 feet 7, have known each other since they met on a putting green as 10-year-olds. Lo and his brother transferred to LACES as sophomores after attending Los Angeles High, which didn’t have a golf team. Tom was runner-up to Park in the City individual final last season.

“It’s helping me,” Park said of having the Lo brothers at LACES. “There’s more competition.”

Most of the LACES golfers speak Korean, and Coach Gary Ino has warned the players not to speak Korean on the course during a match for fear someone might think they are helping each other, which is against the rules.

“Some of the parents don’t understand English,” Ido said. “When we have a team meeting, one of the kids has to interpret for mom and dad.”

Dedication is part of the LACES golfers’ makeup because they have little time to practice as a team. If they want to excel, it’s up to them to find time.

“We barely practice once a week,” Ido said. “The kids will go and practice on their own to get where they are.”

Brown said his golfers are quiet, dedicated and listen to what he says.

“They work hard and their parents are real strict and make them practice,” he said.

Park said playing golf requires learning to deal with pressure.

“What you have to do is play your game one shot at a time,” he said. “I have [told myself] in tournaments, ‘I have to make this,’ and it comes out the opposite.”

Tom Lo, a junior, has his own vision of success in golf.

“You have to have natural skills,” he said. “You have to have a good swing. You have to have a good mental attitude. You have to be patient. You have to be strong and consistent.”

Lo kept rejecting suggestions from Park that he could hit a ball 300 yards. Then he started blushing and seemed horrified when Park said, “You’ll see him on TV.”

Countered Lo, “Him too.”