It's hard to tell whether Mascoutah's Jae Yang found golf or if golf found her.
Either way, the two fit together as if joined since birth, even though Yang took up the sport only two years ago.
Yang, now a senior, moved to the area from South Korea in 2004. She originally had taken some swing lessons in her home country, but it wasn't until her sophomore year at Mascoutah that she picked up the clubs for real.
Now she rarely puts them down.
"Practice makes me better," Yang said. "During the summer break, I practice about nine hours a day. I don't play rounds. I'm on the driving range, chipping, putting. Only two or three times a week I get out and play 18 holes."
Yang has received most of her instructions from her father. The two joined to win the Gateway Jr. PGA's parent-child tournament, becoming the first father-daughter pair to claim the title. She capped her summer with the Gateway Jr. PGA's tournament championship.
Her father returned to South Korea just as the school season started. That left Yang without a ride to practice, as neither Yang nor her mother drive.
"I've got to find a ride to drop me off," Yang said. "I want to (learn to drive), but I might do it later."
Yang doesn't have time to concern herself with parallel parking. She's busy preparing herself for another run at the Class 2A state title. Last year, Yang took 15th with a two-day total of 157. She already captured the Mascoutah Tournament title this year.
"She doesn't seem to get rattled," Mascoutah coach Jessica Smith said. "She doesn't get frustrated with her game. Even if she doubles or bogeys, she can come back with a birdie."
Yang, however, said she has plenty of areas to improve. She has been averaging a little more than a stroke above par, but she feels she should be routinely under par.
"My distance got much shorter, and I don't know why," Yang said. "And I need to work on my putting; sometimes I do really stupid things."
When the prep season is over, Yang intends to return to South Korea to join her father. There, she plans to relearn her swing and begin preparations to take on Q-school.
For now, her focus is on finding a way to the range and getting in as many swings as possible.
"I like (golf), so I really want to finish it since I started," Yang said.
