Athlete of the Week: Matsuoka peaking at right time

One thing that hasn’t changed about Corona del Mar High senior Amy Matsuoka over the years is that she’s pretty soft-spoken.

Matsuoka is humble about her golf game, her success, even as she is in the finishing stages of her high school golf career before preparing to join a Division 1 program at the University of Oregon.

That’s OK.

The round that Matsuoka shot Thursday at Goose Creek Golf Club in Jurupa Valley said it all.

Out of 144 girls’ golfers competing at the CIF-WSCGA Foundation Girls’ Golf Championship, Matsuoka shot the second-lowest score. She carded a three-under-par 68, which included four birdies. She hit every fairway, and 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

The great round helped Matsuoka make school history. She and CdM junior Alyaa Abdulghany advance to the CIF State Championships, which will be held Tuesday at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

“It’s pretty cool,” Matsuoka said Friday in her typical understated way. “I was really happy with my round. My approach shots to the green were good, and I just made a couple of putts for birdie.”

None of CdM’s girls’ golfers under Coach Mike Starkweather have ever made it this far. This year, two did. The USC commit Abdulghany carded a par round of 71 on Thursday to finish tied for fifth, and she was also among the 12 individual qualifiers for state.

“I feel pretty good about it, because I get to represent CdM and Coach Starkweather,” Matsuoka said. “He’s our biggest supporter, and I’d like to thank him for that ... Having a teammate there, it gives us more confidence that we know each other and we’ll represent CdM well.”

Matsuoka, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, said she’ll drive up to Northern California on Sunday night with her parents, Denis and Irene. She will play a practice round at Poppy Hills on Monday.

Matsuoka certainly has shown determination to get to this point. Just two years ago, she became the first Pacific Coast League title winner in CdM girls’ golf history and advanced to the CIF-WSCGA tournament. But last year, she took the year off from competing for CdM as a junior.

“I was focusing on studying for the ACT and getting my grades up, and also practicing more on my longer shots, my driver, and getting more accurate with that and gaining more distance,” Matsuoka said.

Lately, she has been working extensively on her putting. That has also clearly made a difference for both herself and for CdM, which missed Abdulghany for part of the season as she was competing in tournaments in Canada and Germany.

All Matsuoka did was start the season on fire. At one point, through nine matches, she was 20 strokes under par and was medalist or co-medalist in every match.

“It kind of surprised me a little bit,” Matsuoka said, adding that winning the Toyota Tour event in Fallbrook in September helped her come into the high school season with confidence. “My game was pretty on point.”

Matsuoka, who was Pacific Coast League runner-up to Abdulghany this season, has been a good leader for the Sea Kings. She said her favorite moment so far was team-oriented, not individual, as CdM tied for first at the CIF Southern Section Southern Division Team Championship at Lakewood Country Club on Nov. 2.

Abdulghany was the medalist with a 69, while Matsuoka shot 72 to tie for third. Celine Niu (80), Gabby Finear (84) and Gia Finear (86) also scored for CdM, which advanced as a team for the first time. The Sea Kings officially finished second place at Lakewood as La Serna’s No. 6 golfer had a lower score.

Starkweather has said that this year’s CdM team has been his best, which is definitely a nod to the talent of Matsuoka and Abdulghany. But everyone on the team has to contribute.

“Our team chemistry has been really good,” Matsuoka said. “We bonded with each other and ‘Coach Stark’ brought us all together. Everybody just loves to practice and work hard and get better, shoot lower scores.”

Making the CIF State Championships was a season goal for Matsuoka. So now what is her goal for Tuesday?

“Enjoy it and just do the best I can, and just have fun playing on a really nice golf course,” she said.

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Amy Matsuoka

Born: Feb. 23, 1998

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-1

Sport: Golf

Year: Senior

Coach: Mike Starkweather

Favorite food: Korean barbecue

Favorite movie: “The Illusionist”

Favorite athletic moment: Helping the CdM girls’ golf team tie for first last week at the CIF Southern Section Southern Division Team Championship in Lakewood.

Week in review: Matsuoka tied for third at the CIF Southern Section Southern Division Team Championship at Lakewood Country Club on Nov. 2, then finished seventh at the CIF Southern Section Individual Championship at Western Hills on Nov. 5.