Though she was a member of San Marino High School’s graduating class of 2018, Elizabeth Wang’s name was not called during commencement exercises on Friday, June 1. Nor was there a response a few hours later wen she was summoned by the emcee at Grad Night in a tribute to her accomplishments, though he knew of her whereabouts.
Wang was 2,000 miles away, in Shoal Creek, Alabama, teeing it up in the United States Women’s Open Golf Championship. And while she took a pass on her diploma, cap and gown, Wang drove, chipped and putted pretty well, finishing tied for 34th place among a field of 156 competitors. Wang was 4th among the 29 amateurs who were entered, finishing the championship with rounds of 72, 74, 71 and, for her, a very disappointing 77 on Sunday. Wang finished ahead of such high-powered LPGA stars as Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis and Chella Choi and was even referenced occasionally by commentators on the FOX network’s television broadcast of the event.
Wang was her typically humble self a few days later when reached, where else, on the practice tee at Pacific Palms Resort in Industry Hills. She went right to the challenges of that previous Sunday.
“The greens were a little faster and there were some tough pin placements,” said Wang, whom played four years of golf at San Marino High School and is headed to Harvard, where she will suit up for the Crimson. “There were some areas where you it was tough to recover from if you made a mistake. The holes were on some slopes and there were some subtle breaks to our putts.”
Wang will continue to compete as an amateur on the junior circuit but plans on entering the United States Women’s Amateur Championship, the Canadian Women’s Open and the United States Junior Championship, which she won in 2016.
The daughter of Patricia and Peter Wang, Elizabeth even employs dad as her caddie.
“I am very thankful for him,” Elizabeth said. “He really helps me think my way through the course.”
Elizabeth begins at Harvard in early September and plans on majoring in Political Science but says she will “probably change.” The Crimson women’s golf team had a six-year Ivy League championship streak snapped this past spring and Wang hopes to start another. She was sad to miss graduation, but occasionally checked social media for updates.
“It was bittersweet,” she said. “It has been an amazing experience and I can’t believe it’s over already. Usually I have the fall to look forward to, but now we are all going on to a new chapter of our lives and new adventures. I will miss my classmates.”
Elizabeth has hinted that she would like to take a crack at the LPGA tour, but will cross that bridge when she comes to it.
“I will see where everything takes me,” she said. “I am one of those people who goes wit the flow.”
