Alex Wong is a sophomore on the women’s golf team. Playing in six events during her freshman year, Wong managed to shoot the lowest round of any Tiger in a team event on the season with a 70 at the Nittany Lion Invitational. She also finished in a tie for 8th at last year’s Low Country Intercollegiate Tournament. Alex sat down with The Daily Princetonian to talk about her best and worst moments on the course, her prowess at minigolf and her thoughts on the end of “Breaking Bad.”
Daily Princetonian: Where are you from, and what’s the best part about it?
Alex Wong: I’m from San Francisco, Calif. The best part about it is the diversity. There’s good ethnic food, and the people are really chill compared to the East Coast.
DP: When did you start golfing?
AW: I have a twin sister, and we got in it together when we were six or seven. We spent a lot of years golfing with our dad. We’d just bring our baby clubs onto the course when we were young.
DP: If you could join a different team, what would it be?
AW: I would probably join something where you could be more physical and knock girls around. Maybe soccer or basketball, but I’m terrible at both.
DP: What has been your best career performance so far?
AW: There’s this really big tournament at home called the San Francisco City Championship. It extends three to four weekends in match play format, and all amateurs play in it. I started playing in the tournament when I was 11 and, when it was held at my home course during my senior year of high school, I won right before I left for college.
DP: What has been your most embarrassing moment on the course?
AW: Once I was playing golf with these two guys back home who were a big deal in high school. On one green I went down to read a putt, and my pants ripped. I composed myself well, though: I tied a sweatshirt around my waist and went on to beat them, of course.
DP: Do you have a favorite teammate?
AW: [Senior] Kelly Shon is somebody I really look up to right now. The way she balances herself and carries herself at practice makes her somebody who our whole team looks up to as our leader.
DP: Weirdest person on the team?
AW: [Junior] Mary Funk is probably my quirkiest teammate. She’s just a 5-foot, 100-pound ball of energy. I’d say I’m the weirdest person on the entire team, though.
DP: Which player on the women's team is the most likely to flip out on the course?
AW: Most of the girls on the team are pretty mellow, and the guys are similar. I’d say I’m the hot head on the team, I sometimes have trouble controlling my emotions on the course.
DP: Any pre-match rituals?
AW: Our team will always listen to T-Pain’s “Best Love Song,” as our coach just looks on and shakes her head. Individually, though, I have a pretty casual warm-up process. I’ll usually just go and hit some balls for a bit, take a few putts and say hello to some of my friends on other teams.
DP: How good are you at min golf?
AW: I’m kind of a badass at minigolf. My friends usually joke that they can crush me at minigolf, but I can obviously beat them playing with one arm. But I don’t actually minigolf that often. I’m around the sport so much that I usually shy away from doing it in my free time.
DP: Do you bring your own putter onto the minigolf course?
AW: I usually bring my own putter, sometimes my own ball, too.
DP: How do you block out pressure that you feel in crucial moments of a round?
AW: My coach back home is a mental coach, too, so we go through meditation exercises to block out the pressure. My routine is to just go into autopilot when I play. I’m pretty sensitive to pressure, so it can be hard to keep myself in check.
DP: How often do you break your clubs (on purpose or by accident)?
AW: I’ve gotten close, but I’ve never broken a club. One time my sister and I were doing a putting drill, and I just couldn’t get it right. I got so frustrated that I chucked my putter toward the freeway. Then I had to hop a fence and go get it.
DP: What are your thoughts on “Breaking Bad” coming to an end?
AW: I actually don’t watch “Breaking Bad.”I get a lot of crap for it. I nod and pretend to know what people are talking about when they talk about the meth, but haven’t actually seen it. I really like “Game of Thrones” and “Scandal.”
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