Sophia Roxas came to this year’s IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships from nearby Rancho Bernardo. Anita Wang arrived from Taiwan via a move to golf academy in San Marcos five months ago.
Each followed the same path of reaching her destination by winning a qualifying tournament within the last month. So there was the feeling of being on the top of world for the opening round of the girls 15-18 age division at Torrey Pines North on Tuesday.
The three-round tournament continues through Thursday at San Diego County courses.
“It’s my first Junior World, so everything is new to me,” said Wang, 16, who shot a 4-over-par 76 with both of her birdies in the back nine, seven shots off the lead. “I’m just trying to focus on my game and do my best.”
Roxas, 14, is making her second Junior World appearance in step up from the 13-14 bracket last year to take on older players.
“It’s just playing my own game,” said Roxas, who recorded a 77 with no birdies. “I earned my spot, and I like the challenge. I know that I put in the work, so it’s trusting myself.”
That’s the plan that Roxas implemented just two weeks ago to advance from stroke play to prevail in two nine-hole sessions of match play at Twin Oaks in the Premier Golf Academy Match Play Championships.
In the final, she won 1 up over Torrey Pines High senior-to-be Sehee Sim, who tied for sixth in the state high school championships last fall.
“It was definitely super intense,” said Roxas, an incoming freshman at Rancho Bernardo High School. “It was just focusing on one shot at a time, knowing when to be aggressive and when to be conservative.”
Wang won her first-ever junior tournament to qualify for the Junior Worlds. She captured the StrackaLine Junior Championships at the Havens (formerly Vista Valley) on June 10 with a 3-over 74.
“It was a very fun round,” Wang said. “There were some tough holes, so I was proud of myself. I was so focused on the process, and the putts just dropped.”
Wang attends the Premier Golf Academy, where she enhances her golf game and does her academic work as well.
“It’s been very, very good for me because I get to practice a lot and work more on my game,” Wang said. “It’s really fun, too, because there are lots of different kids, many international.”
Wang’s mother learned of the academy through personal connections. The younger Wang relocated to California, where her older brother is a student at UC Irvine.
A move to the San Diego area also helped Roxas develop her game after family came to Rancho Bernardo from Chicago four years ago. In last year’s Junior World tourney, Roxas tied for 55th place in the 13-14 division at 17 over.
“My game’s progressed a lot since last year,” Roxas said. “Originally, it was hard to keep up, because I started kind of late (as a competitive junior player).”
San Diego’s Apple (Jingyi) Cui shot a 3-under 69; she shares the lead with six other players.
Chula Vista’s Connor Szczechowicz (1-under 70) stood in a seventh-place tie in the boys 13-14 bracket at El Camino, and San Diego’s Vera Liu (1-under 71) was tied for 10th in the girls 13-14 division at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo.
In the boys 9-10 bracket, Poway’s Ezra Lee (1-under 71) shared 10th place at Shadowridge.
On the boys’ 15-18 side, San Diego’s Ethan Elleraas (1-under 71) was tied for ninth place, two shots back, after going 2 under on the front nine with two birdies at Torrey Pines South.