STEWART HO
Staff Writer
Freshmen golfer Misun Cho is glowing these days not only from her impressive season, but also from playing recently in the Florida sun for a week at the UCF Challenge where she helped the Pepperdine women’s golf team tie for third.
Still in the middle of a steller season for her, Cho has been making ripples with her playing this season starting most notably from her thrilling play at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. It was there she came charged from 10th place to shoot a final-round 2-under par 69, individual title boosting the women’s team to a first-place finish.
“I didn’t play that well the first two days and I was about eight shots behind or something,” recalled Cho. “I didn’t think I had any hopes of coming up but I went at it without focusing too much on where I was and I didn’t even realize it until my assistance coach told me ‘I think you won’.
I didn’t believe it at first. It was a real surprise,” Cho said with a smile. “It was my first college win so it was very memorable,”
Her journey to where she is today has been a long one that started when she was 10 years old and growing up in South Korea.
“My dad started playing golf first and he introduced me to it,” added Cho. “But it wasn’t until a few years later that I decided to play more seriously.
Although Cho’s family consists of her, her parents, and an older and younger brother, some would be surprised to learn that only Cho and her father shares any continuing enthusiasm for playing golf.
“My older brother and younger brother tried golf a couple times but I told them to give up,” said Cho jokingly.
Besides continual lessons and practices, Cho found soon enough that another important aspect of growth as a player was self-discipline.
“I was always into sports like track but nothing serious,” said Cho. “With golf I was real lazy at first and I didn’t even want to play in the beginning. But as I began playing in small tournaments, I found it more interesting and I started playing more competitively.”
That passion, once lit, stuck with her even as she went to study abroad in Melbourne, Australia, in high school.
“I came to study in Australia when I was eleven and a half,” said Cho. “It sort of just came along but I knew it was good for golf and good for studying so I went and stayed there until I came here to Pepperdine.”
While studying in Melbourne, a number of student representatives from Pepperdine came to her school and spoke on the college. After applying and being offered a full ride, Cho decided to continue her golf career at Pepperdine, as well as continuing her academic studies as well.
“I’m enjoying it so far,” said Cho. “But it can be tough trying to manage studying and playing golf. Especially when going to tournaments, since you have to miss school and the work that awaits you when you come back can be kind of crazy.”
With a training schedule of three to four hours of practice every day, workouts two to three times a week, and doing all that everyday including weekends, it’s difficult to also manage one’s social life.
“Sometimes it can be very difficult,” described Cho. “When you actually have free time for example you want to hang out with your friends but you also just want to rest. I still manage to catch up with them, though.”
With the upcoming NCAA championships in May, Cho is finding motivations to play harder from a number of sources, including her role models.
“Just like Annika Sorenstam and Tiger Woods I want to make the impossible possible,” said Cho. “They keep winning and winning and it seems impossible to win another one but they do.”
Cho also finds great support from her family, who are still in Korea.
“My dad gives me advice regarding golf all the time and my mum gives me advice about everything else such as social life, college and also golf as well,” said Cho. “They are the greatest supporters!”
After college Cho plans to pursue golf professionally as a career but for now she’s focusing on the present, and her continual striving to improve as well as her dedication has not gone unnoticed.
“Misun is probably the most talented freshman I have ever coached at Pepperdine,” said Laurie Gibbs, head coach of the women’s golf team. “She has adapted very well to the changes in her life from growing up in Korea, attending high school in Australia and now college in the United States. The Pepperdine women’s golf program currently has eight former players playing professional golf and I expect Misun to be a very successful professional golfer also.”
Regarding her future, Cho says she plans to alternate between living in Korea and the States with the LPGA tour circuit in mind. But for now, the focus is on continually improving. Crediting her previous experiences studying abroad, Cho says she feels well adjusted to her life at Pepperdine and now with diligent practicing and her philosophy in life to learn from mistakes, she continues her aspirations one golf swing at a time.
“Golf has just always been something I’ve enjoyed that also challenges me which makes me want to do better.
It can be a stress reliever but it can also be very stressful,” said Cho with a smile.
04-23-2007