BRINGING THEIR A-GAME: Members of the Princeton High girls’ golf team show off the spoils of victory after they won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Public A state championship at the Raritan Valley Country Club on May 13. Junior star Kyuyoung Chung led the way for the Tigers, placing second individually with a three-over 76. PHS posted a winning score of 339, 13 shots better than runner-up Ridgewood. Pictured, from left, are Alice Ye, Jackie Zang, Chung, Yasna Shahriarian, and Shreya Gaekwad. (Photo provided by Jess Monzo)

By Justin Feil

Kyuyoung Chung went through some ups and downs this spring on the golf course for the Princeton High girls’ squad.

“I’ve had rounds where I’ve played great and then I’ve had rounds where I’ve been like, wow, it feels like I’ve never touched a golf club in my life,” said PHS junior star Chung.

The final weeks were definitely more on the great side.

Chung placed second overall and led the PHS team to its first New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Public A state championship at Raritan Valley Country Club on May 13. Chung shot a three-over 76 and the Tigers’ 339 team score was 13 shots better than runner-up Ridgewood.

“It’s really exciting,” said Chung. “It’s our first time winning states. This year was also our first time winning sectionals, so definitely really exciting.”

PHS senior standout Jacqueline Zang tied for third individually with a 79. Yasna Shahriarian shot 90 for a tie for seventh and Alice Ye was a stroke behind in ninth. Shreya Gaekwad, Princeton’s only other senior in the varsity lineup this year, shot 100 for 14th. The depth was too much for the rest of the field.

“It’s a testament to Kyuyoung and a testament to the rest of the girls because no matter what, they really believe in each other,” said Tiger head coach Jess Monzo. “And I think that’s what really sets them apart and helps them succeed as well as they do and have as much success as they have had this year is because they know deep down that they’re all good and if they don’t play well that someone else is going to pick it up for them if they happen to have a bad hole. Just the belief in each other really helped them perform at the top of their game all season.”

Experience was a huge factor in helping Chung and the Tigers down the stretch. They had already put together team wins in the Red Devil Invitational, Lady Bombers Tee-Off Classic, the Colonial Valley Conference Championship and the South Jersey Group A tournament. Adding the state crown topped it off.

“I think it means everything,” said Monzo. “Now it gives the girls so much confidence and it lets them know everything they’ve done over the last couple of years hasn’t been for nothing.”

Last year’s ending was still fresh in the memory of Chung and her teammates. Their 2024 season finished with them placing sixth at states. Chung was 38th.

“Last year we were a little disappointed with our placing at states and so this year we definitely did set out to some degree to do better,” said Chung. “Last year definitely I don’t think at states any of us played as well as we wanted to play. So going into states this year, I think it was definitely on our mind, but I think golf by nature is a very mental sport and so it helps to just sort of focus on your game and not think too much about past mistakes and things like that. But it definitely was a motivating factor.”

Chung’s mental fortitude was tested early. She overcame slow starts in each of her final two tournaments to be the low scorer for the Tigers in both. In the sectional tournament, she recovered from bogeys on her first five holes to place second overall. In the state final, she gave back shots even earlier unfortunately, opening the tournament on holes 16 and 17 with a double and triple bogey respectively.

“For me personally starting out in a not-so-great position tends to motivate me to do better, not repeat that,” said Chung. “In golf, I think staying in the present is very important because thinking about past mistakes really can affect your mentality and lead to future mistakes. So definitely I’m focusing on each shot individually, each hole individually. When I look at a new hole, I try to think of it as an opportunity to birdie, not a risk for a bogey.”

Chung responded to her slow start with a run of birdies when she played 18 and then started on the front nine. It put her right back into a spot of contention individually. When Chung is playing well, she is hard to beat.

“Confidence is a big factor,” said Chung. “So once I get that birdie, get a few pars in a row, it kind of gets me rolling, especially with my putting. Throughout my entire golf game, I’ve struggled with my putting and so a few good putts really, really does tend to help me. I had a few longer birdie putts which fell into the hole, which was truly helpful.”

Being a part of the Tigers team gave her motivation to play well. Chung came away feeling good about being able to help the team win this year.

“It’s interesting because with individual summer tournaments, really all you have to do is focus on yourself,” said Chung. “It’s really nice with the team because you do have a community, but at the same time, at least for me sometimes there is that sort of added pressure of having to play well, not just for myself, but for the rest of my team. I remember last year I wasn’t particularly happy with how I played and to some extent it felt a little like I let my team down and so this year I was really happy to not repeat that.”

Chung has been part of an excellent 1-2 punch this year with Zang. With a pair of golfers capable of top-five finishes every tournament, the Tigers have had a great starting point. Chung grew up admiring Zang and when she started to play tournaments in middle school, Zang is one of the players that inspired her to continue to develop her game. High school golf has solidified her development.

“Through team golf, I’ve gotten to know her so much better,” said Chung. “She’s really such a sweet person and she’s so committed to the team and even though she’s competitive and she has her individual drive, she still somehow is very community oriented which is great.”

Like Zang will do next year at Carnegie Mellon, Chung hopes to continue to play in college. She’ll have another full summer schedule to continue to improve and come back even stronger next season, just as she grew from last year to this year.

“It’s just the maturity,” said Monzo. “As she’s gotten a little bit older she’s really started to kind of not just understand, but to believe in her role. We talked earlier in the year, and she was like, ‘I’ve always looked up to Jackie, she’s always been the person that I wanted to be.’ And we were talking, I said, ‘That’s great, but eventually you have to be you. You can’t be the next Jackie. It’ll be incredible if you are, but you need to be who you are first.’”

Chung made a name for herself over the last few weeks of the season to show her potential to score low in big moments. It sets her and the team up for a bright future as defending group champions.

“Going forward, I think we’re expecting our sophomores and our seeds three and four and five to really improve,” said Chung. “For me personally, I don’t think really much changes. I think I just continue to focus on my game, continue to focus on really being present in the team. And I think we have a good shot next year, even though we are losing several good players.”

It’s Chung whose example will be valuable to the returning players. Through the ups and downs of the season, she kept her focus on the next step and it worked out in the end with a historic finish for PHS.

“The end with golf, it’s really about numbers, right?” said Chung. “Even if you look at each individual hole, someone could go to the rough, you could lose your ball in the water or you could get on the green in two and then three-putt and you still end up with the same bogey. So I think at the end it’s really for me personally the numbers that speak for themselves. Sometimes I have rounds where it’s like, oh, I wish I putted it better, I wish I had done this, even if it is the same score. But in the end, the play thing is the play thing. And you know, my scores especially are what matters to me.”