Oklahoma State University Athletics
Driven To Succeed
November 21, 2013 | Cowgirl Golf
Nov. 21, 2013
By Harry Endicott, OSU Media Relations
Golf has been a way of life for Oklahoma State's Julie Yang for as long as she can remember.
“I started golf when I was six-years old,”
Yang said. “That was when I was living in Thailand. I got involved because of my dad. He was a golf fanatic. We lived on a golf course so that helped me get started.”
Yang was born in South Korea in 1995 and has lived in several countries around the world, including Thailand, Scotland and the United States. Yang lived in Arizona for a short time but didn't come back to live in the United States until her freshman year of college in Stillwater.
Now a sophomore for the Cowgirls, Yang is coming off a successful rookie season in 2013 that saw her earn All-Big 12 Conference and All-East Region selections, as well as honorable mention All-America status.
Yang may say that the success during her first year as a collegiate golfer came as a surprise to her, but she is no stranger to success on the golf course. She began playing competitively at age seven when she entered a local tournament. It was at that tournament that the future Cowgirl got the first of many career wins.
“That's when my parents said 'Oh, it looks like our daughter has some talent,' so they really allowed me to go different places and play different events,” Yang said. “That's how I got started.”
Despite an excellent junior career where she recorded over 75 tournament victories, Yang says that she didn't have a whole lot of colleges offering her scholarships when it came time for her to step up to the collegiate ranks.
“There weren't many (offers),” Yang said. “A select few I was considering were Duke, Arizona State and Oklahoma State. Those were the three primary schools that I was really interested in.”
After visiting Stillwater, Yang says her decision became much more clear.
“One dominant factor in my decision was the practice facility. It's beyond great. I did a few official visits elsewhere, but they just couldn't compete with OSU.”
After her choice was made and Yang arrived on campus at Oklahoma State, she found that her years of traveling for golf during her junior career helped prepare her for life as a student-athlete in college. It was the ease of adaptation to college life that Yang believes helped her be able to step in and contribute immediately as a freshman.
“I'm quite used to living by myself,” Yang said. “I lived in Scotland and went to a boarding school there so I kind of know how to balance school and golf pretty well. That's kind of an advantage for me. I came in with a little bit of experience. There are a few girls that come in and have a hard time adapting to college life as a
student-athlete.”
Yang competed in eight events during her freshman season. In her first collegiate tournament, she tied for 34th.
Yang contributed to the team in the postseason as well, tying for seventh at the Big 12 Championship, finishing seventh at the NCAA East Regional and tying for 17th
at the NCAA Championship.
This fall, Yang participated in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament, also known as Q-School, and tied for 91st, falling just one shot short of qualifying for LPGA status.
“It was just something that I really wanted to try,” Yang said. “The ultimate goal for me is to play professional golf, and college is a great stepping stone to get to that ultimate goal. So I tried out for Q-School with an open mind. I just thought 'If I make it, great. I'm one step closer to my goal. If not, I still have school, which I really enjoy attending.' I just really enjoyed going out there and testing my skills.”
Although Yang's first Q-School appearance didn't turn out quite the way she wanted it to, she took a lot from the experience.
“I still feel like I have a lot of opportunities left, especially since I don't think that I played my best over there but still only missed it by one shot,” Yang said. “That gives me hope. I'm close. I'm almost ready. That gave me a lot of encouragement.”
Although her dream of playing professionally is temporarily on hold, Yang is happy with where she is and hopes to better her game so she can one day capture that
dream.
“I was very fortunate to come to OSU,” Yang said. “My main goal was to help as much as possible, and I'm very delighted that my score is counting and I'm contributing to the team's success. That makes me very happy.”
