A calm washes over her as she lines up her shot. Caylin stands alone in the tee box, the lush green slopes of the golf course stretching for hundreds of yards in all directions. She inhales and exhales. With a swing, the golf ball flies into the sky, toward a small hole that seems invisible, save the waving flag. It lands, a mere yards away from the hole and with another concise swing, the ball hops and falls neatly into the hole. She scores two strokes under par—an Eagle. Caylin Wong: A South High sophomore and the top player on the District’s girl’s golf team.
This year she placed first at the Individual County Championships and had the lowest average stroke count in the regular season. Wong learned about golf from her father. “He would bring me to golf ranges and I would watch him play. When I was around three years old, he got me little plastic clubs.”
Since receiving her first real set of clubs at the age of five, Wong has played in tournaments across the country and has consistently dominated her age group, placing in the top ten almost every game. “There’s the joy of not really knowing the outcome. You could hit a good shot one time, and the next shot could be absolutely horrible,” she states. “Golf requires both physical and mental acuity. Caylin’s ability to stay calm and collected even during some of the most stressful tournaments is really incredible,” teammate Sophia Leong said.
Having golfed for almost as long as she has walked, Wong is more than just a reliable athlete who always scores the win—she is a coach and a cheerleader for the other thirteen members of the team. “I’ve always felt like I played better around Caylin because of her optimistic attitude towards golf,” junior Audrey Gao said. “She’s always been a supportive person, and she’s always willing to impart her knowledge and expertise to the rest of the team.”
Since 2019, the team has been County Champions and placed annually in the top ten at State Championships. This season, the team has earned another win, placing first in the county for the fifth year in a row and moving on to State Championships.
Currently playing in the amateur league, Wong has considered going professional in the future; however, nothing is set in stone. “I do plan on continuing to play college golf and maybe that’ll lead me into professional golf. But we’ll see where it’ll take me,” she said.
