New recruit for a new season

Portland State women’s golf has added University of Washington transfer A Ram Choi to its roster in an attempt to reclaim the Big Sky Championship in the 2012–13 season.

“I am excited that A Ram is joining our program,” head coach Kathleen Takaishi said in a statement. “She has a lot of experience at the national level. I anticipate her to compete for the number-one spot this fall.”

Choi, who hails from Surrey, British Columbia, and is a sophomore, was a redshirt at Washington for the 2011–12 season. As a freshman, she averaged 79.09 points from 35 rounds. Her best performances last year included a tied fifth-place finish at the Gonzaga Spring Invitational tournament and a season low of 70 points at the Peg Barnard Invitational, where PSU was also playing.

Choi was a regular starter for the Huskies, having played in a team-high 12 matches. In the Huskies roster, she finished the season in third place at the 2011 Pac-12 Championship. Before that, Choi earned the Most Valuable Player award on the golf team at Fraser Heights Secondary School. She won the B.C. Junior Girls Championship and had three victories in the Northwest Junior Golf Tour events.

“A Ram is a player who definitely has her best golf in front of her,” Washington head coach Mary Lou Mulflur said in a statement. “She caught my eye with her toughness on the course. A Ram has a passion for the game, and that is something you cannot coach.”

She finished seventh in her province in her junior and senior high school seasons. Choi also won the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Junior National Championship and was an honor roll student every term. Her major is undecided and she plays seven musical instruments: piano, violin, guitar, drums, trumpet, flute and saxophone. She aims to become a professional golfer.

The women’s golf program had a disappointing 2011–12 season compared to previous years. After two successive Big Sky championships, PSU was one of the favorites to win last season’s title as well. However, despite some good performances by Tiffany Schoning and Britney Yada, the Vikings finished fifth in the Big Sky tournament held in April.

In all fairness, matching the success of the 2010–11 season was an uphill task. That year, the Vikings had won a second consecutive conference title and played in the NCAA West Regional competition. The Vikings had won six conference championships since 2003.

A Ram Choi will give the Vikings more firepower to add to Yada’s consistent performances and once again strive for the Big Sky title. Yada holds the PSU career average record (76.04) and season record (75.51). Choi will have to fill the shoes of Schoning, who tied for second place during her last Big Sky tournament. Schoning went on to win the Bend Ladies Invitational Golf Tournament earlier this month and reach the quarterfinals in the 103rd Oregon Amateur Golf Championship.