SHUHEI MATSUO
Sports Assistant
Another athlete from Pepperdine will soon join the professional sporting world. Although her commitment is still unofficial, Pepperdine golfer Marina Choi said she has decided to play as a pro after finishing her second year at Seaver College.
Despite its size, Pepperdine has sent a number of athletes to the professional world. Some of the most recent examples are basketball player Alex Acker, who plays for the Detroit Pistons, and golfer Michael Putnam, who made several PGA Tour starts this past year.
Most of these talented athletes turn professional after finishing college, with the exception of Acker who turned professional after finishing his junior year. However, a sophomore golfer, Choi will be a pro even earlier.
With her successes in high school and the first year in college, she confidently told her family, teammates, coaches and friends in 2005 that she would turn professional after the 2006 season.
“I want to play in front of a lot of spectators and that’s one of the reasons why I want to be a pro soon,” Choi said.
She said it’s not that there are no spectators for college golf tournaments, but that there are more people watching professional golf. Although there will be more pressure to play under that kind of circumstance, she enjoys playing under a lot of pressure, she said.
Born in South Korea, she immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 6. Surprisingly, Choi began playing golf a month before turning 12 unlike many charismatic golfers such as Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie who started playing at much younger ages.
More surprisingly, she began playing golf as an accident.
Choi said she was not the one who was into golf but that her parents were. They would take lessons every week, but never forced their daughter to play the game. However, the future golf pro’s career began when her mother hurt her shoulder on a lesson day.
“I just took over for my mom and had a few lessons for that month,” Choi said. But her coach immediately saw potential in her and made her continue playing the game, she said.
Her coach was right. Choi started to compete in junior tournaments at the age of 14. Since then, she has made a number of accomplishments, including a tie for fifth at 2003 Callaway Golf Junior World Golf Championship. At this tournament, she was recruited to be part of the Waves.
“Marina is a great player, and I’m sure she is capable of playing as a professional,” said Kelli Kamimura, assistant coach of Pepperdine woman’s golf team. “She is very focused on golf and builds confidence by a lot of practicing.”
Kamimura also said Choi is the most hardworking player on the team and knows dedication is what it takes to be a great player.
One of Choi’s teammates said discipline is the key to her success.
“Marina is very determined and disciplined,” freshman golfer Jayvie Agojo said.
Agojo said Choi often wakes up early in the morning and goes running or hits some golf balls at Alumni Park.
Choi’s roommate echoed that statement.
“She wakes up at 6 o’clock almost every morning and goes practicing,” said sophomore Clara Spaulding. Spaulding described her as “very dedicated.”
But there is another side to this focused athlete.
“She is actually so funny and silly off the golf course,” Kamimura said. “You just can’t stop smiling around her because she is always smiling.”
She also said Choi is a funny girl who makes people laugh off the golf course but becomes different and serious on the golf course.
Choi’s other teammate also described her as a thoughtful person.
“She is very caring about other players on the team,” sophomore Leanne Bowditch said.
Spaulding also described her as a caring teammate and talked about the story when Choi let her teammate stay in their room for a few days when the teammate’s dorm was flooded.
Although Choi is looking forward to being a professional this summer, she first needs to focus on the upcoming spring season, her last season as an amateur. Since Choi said her first college season was an “OK year,” she wants to finish her college career solidly.
Despite her positive attitude toward the upcoming season, this pre-season’s average stroke 75.67 did not prove to be better than her past year’s 75.10. She said the reason for her struggle is the dramatic swing change that she has been working on with her new personal coach.
“I’m trying to make my swing more compact,” she said. “And I hope I can master the new swing before the main season.”
Last spring, the woman’s golf team ended the season strongly, finishing fourth at NCAA Championship. But Choi and other players on the team expect to do even better this spring.
“I have high expectations,” Choi said. “No matter what kind of tournament, I always play to win.”
Before she turns professional, Choi still has some homework to complete.
02-16-2006