Under The Radar Screen
Mina Harigae, The Other 13 Year Old, Making Noise At WAPL

By David Shefter, USGA

Palm Coast , Fla. – The headliners at this year’s Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Ocean Hammock Golf Club include the defending champion (Annie Thurman), the reigning Women’s Amateur champion (Becky Lucidi) and a 13 year old who drives the ball into the stratosphere.

Certainly, Michelle Wie has gained her share of attention over the past year, from being the cover-girl on several golf publications to playing in the final pairing at the year’s first women’s professional major (Nabisco Championship) with world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam and eventual winner Patricia Meunier-Lebouc. Later this year, the Honolulu, Hawaii, resident will compete against the men in two different events; one on the Nationwide Tour and the other on the Canadian Tour.

Almost forgotten in this wave of publicity is another young gun whose résumé is slowly being upgraded from a tempest to a hurricane. Mina Harigae might not be taking the golf world by storm, but her game is speaking volumes at the tender age of 13. The Monterey, Calif., resident has already captured two consecutive California State Women’s Amateur titles, been the feature of a Sports Illustrated article last May with good friend and fellow 13-year-old Sydney Burlison and qualified for two WAPLs before entering the eighth grade.

At last year’s WAPL in Sunriver, Ore., Harigae recorded an eagle on a par 4 and advanced to the second round of match play before losing to Stanford University standout Kim Rowton . In the first round of stroke-play qualifying at this year’s WAPL, Harigae posted an even-par score of 72, besting Wie by a stroke. She followed that up with a 3-over-par 75 and is currently tied for seventh place. A rain delay forced the suspension of play on Wednesday so Harigae won't know where she'll be seeded until Thursday.

"I kind of forget I'm 13,” Harigae said on Monday. “I'm just playing and enjoying golf.”

This kind of nonplussed attitude fits perfectly into Harigae’s personality. Even after capturing the California Women’s Amateur title for the first time in 2001, Harigae celebrated by going shopping.

Despite being ultra competitive on the golf course, the rising eighth grader maintains plenty of interests away from the game. She swims, dances, plays video games and has even skipped competitions to attend science camp. At Walter Colton Middle School, she is a straight-A student, where she has won awards from the Japanese American Citizens League for outstanding achievement.

Her parents, both emigrants from Japan, run a sushi restaurant in Pacific Grove not too far from two of America’s premier layouts: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Cypress Point Golf Club. Harigae has posted a 70 from the middle tees at Cypress Point.

At the age of 5, Harigae began tagging along with her father and her first lesson came a year later. Harigae and Burlison, who is from nearby Salinas, Calif., first met each other at a golf clinic in 1997. Four years later, the two would square off in the historic final match at the California Women’s Amateur, a contest Harigae would win, 3 and 2, to become the youngest champion in that event’s history. As fate would have it, the two met again last year in the final with Harigae repeating the feat by the same 3-and-2 score. Burlison recently qualified for the Women’s Open in Portland , Ore. , sharing medalist honors at the Lake Merced sectional site.

"Mina ’s my only friend who I can play with,” Burlison told Sports Illustrated last year. Admittedly, it’s tough for these young phenoms to find anyone their own age to compete with.

"Mina will push past Sydney one year and the next year Sydney will squeak by Mina,” Nick Nelson, who has coached both players, said in the Sports Illustrated interview.

Harigae’s game can be classified as consistent. She won’t wow anyone with mammoth drives (she hits the ball an average of 240 yards), but she will hit it dead straight. In Monday’s opening round at Ocean Hammock, she posted four birdies and four bogeys.

"My putts are really helping me but some of my iron shots aren’t too good,” said Harigae after the round.

Nevertheless, the 72 didn’t get much notice on the national front. When The Golf Channel showed notable scores from the first round, Harigae’s name didn’t come up. The list included the first-round leader along with Women’s Open qualifiers Wie, Virada Nirapathpongporn, Lucidi, Thurman and Allison Fouch .

Then again, Harigae didn’t attract all that much attention at the 2002 WAPL. Wie dazzled everyone with her length and poise, advancing to the semifinals. But coming in under the radar doesn’t seem to bother Harigae.

As Harigae’s game has progressed, her parents have invested in monthly private lessons with Rich Marik, who directs a couple of golf camps. Coaches have often called Harigae a natural and Marik sees the endless potential.

"She does things that can’t be taught,” Marik told Sports Illustrated. “She’s completely self-motivated. She may be smiley, but she’s out to win.”

WAPL match-play opponents beware. If you see a girl who looks like a Girl Scout on the first tee, watch out. She’s much more dangerous than she actually appears.

David Shefter is a staff writer for the USGA. He can be reached at dshefter@usga.org.