Ysabel Tran was struggling in the first few weeks of the season, posting numbers that were so high she thought about telling Coach Jerry Cowgill that she didn’t want to be considered for Troy’s lineup for the CIF-SS tournament season.
It was time, she thought, to give her spot to someone who could help bring a Southern Section championship to the Warriors.
What a mistake that would have been.
Tran beat the second-ranked player in the nation in one of those CIF-SS tournaments, became the first girl from Troy to win an individual regional title and finished in the top 10 at the CIF State Championship.
Looking back, she sees that her season began to change when she started to toy with the idea of taking herself out of the postseason rotation. Gone, she said, was all of the stress.
“It calmed me down,” she said. “And now, I can’t believe how remarkable my senior year has been. I am so thankful.”
For her efforts, Tran has been selected the Register’s girls golfer of the year.
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She finished tied for eighth in her final varsity tournament, shooting a 1-over-par 75 in the CIF State Championship at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga. She was the highest placing county golfer in the tournament.
“Did I really do this? Did I really make it to state?” Tran said of her success. “Sometimes, I can’t believe that was me.”
She posted a 2-under-par 287 in her four CIF tournaments, and she ended the postseason with a 71.75 scoring average.
It helped that she began the playoffs with a 5-under-par 66 at Dad Miller in the CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional. She tied for first with Diamond Bar senior Bethany Wu, the No. 2-ranked golfer in the AJGA national rankings. Tran beat Wu on a card-off, breaking the tie with her 4-under-par 32 on the back nine.
“That boosted my confidence, but I didn’t want to let that get in my way,” Tran said. “I didn’t let myself lose that mindset or that focus.”
After that round, she posted a 3-over-par 75 at Western Hills Country Club in the CIF-SS Individual Championship and a 1-under-par 71 at Arrowhead Country Club to tie for seventh in the WSCGA So Cal Championships. She was the first girl for her school to qualify for state.
“To see her transform into a player with supreme confidence in her game, a spring in her step and her chin up was amazing to watch,” Cowgill said. “She got to the point where she believed she truly belonged alongside the best in the state.”
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
