At the Jacobs Eagles Cup Invitational on Sept. 14, the roar of the crowd surrounded golfer Amelia Tan as she surveyed the 13th hole from the tee. Studying how the green sloped toward the water, the senior strategically aimed just right of the flag. Her swing was spot on, and the ball flew, landed and rolled into the hole.
A special moment, this was not just any shot — but a hole-in-one.
“Never in a million years would I expect it to actually go in,” Amelia said, “but when it hit the green, I knew it was at the perfect place. I knew it was going to end up nicely.”
Amelia has consistently established herself as one of the best female high school golfers in the state, but at the same time, she has also learned to balance her individual drive and competitiveness with an unwavering commitment to her team.
Her love for golf began with trips to the local golfing range with her dad, who introduced her to the sport. By age 10, she was competing individually in tournaments, but her passion for golf accelerated during the pandemic, when she had time to refine her skills.
Useful in moments of pressure, Amelia said competing from an early age allowed her to develop her own mindset.
“Being in the competition circuit for as long as I have has helped me because I know how to deal with just not being there mentally sometimes,” Amelia said. “I’ve learned to be able to play with whatever game I have in me that day.”
Emphasizing the mental aspect of golf, Amelia prefers to lock out distractions and treat the game as nothing more than a round at the training course.
“Being out there for four to five to even six hours makes it hard to keep your focus,” Amelia said. “Some people like to look at their score and the leaderboard constantly, but I don’t necessarily like to do that, because I like to focus on my game, and I know that I should just trust myself.”
Meanwhile, Amelia said playing for U-High’s golf team has given her the opportunity to bond with teammates over the sport.
“I feel like competing with a team gives me an extra factor of motivation,” Amelia said. “Being on the golf team has really given me special interactions with other golfers.”
Girls golf coach Marco Fajardo said he has noticed how Amelia switches between intense focus and affection for teammates, making her a complete player.
“Her personality is super friendly, and she’s just really humble,” Mr. Fajardo said, “but of course, she’s super competitive. She can switch on and off like from being all smiles and having fun to then all of a sudden going right into competition mode.”
Teammate Devyn Moubayed said she also admires this “switch flip.”
“We have a joke that’s, like, ‘Don’t talk to Amelia on the course’ because she’s always so focused,” Devyn said, “but after each match, she comes and asks ‘Oh, how’d you do today? How’d you shoot?’ So she’s a leader, not only with the scores that she puts up, but also just how she conducts herself.”
Recalling one match under poor conditions, teammate Anaya Douglas said Amelia boosted team confidence when results were unfavorable.
“I just remember we finished and everyone was in really low spirits,” Anaya said, “but she worked really hard to get us motivated and bring us back up, even when I know she herself was a little bit upset with her performance.”
Mr. Fajardo said Amelia’s contributions to the team will leave a lasting impression on the program.
“She is the ultimate team player,” Mr. Fajardo said. “She takes everybody under her wing. She does it every day, through her approach at practice, with how she helps lead all the drills. She’s really the driving force on the girls team in terms of what we aspire to be as a unit.”
Still deciding where her passion for golf will take her next, Amelia said she wants to just keep swinging into the future.
