Summer goals lead Sudjianto to top of state golf rankings
August 10, 2019 by Andrew Stark Leave a Comment
CHARLOTTE – After claiming four consecutive all-state selections while starring for the Charlotte Latin girls golf team, Alexis Sudjianto hasn’t simply ridden off into the sunset as one of the top players to ever play for the Hawks.
This summer, Sudjianto has climbed to the top of the Carolinas Golf Association’s Women’s Tour North Carolina rankings with an exhaustive schedule that has her playing some of the best golf of her young career.
“I feel like I play better when I play more and do so in a competitive setting as opposed to just going to the range or working on one part of my game,” she said. “I think it helps me play better. I enjoy going out there even though it’s 100 degrees and super humid.”
It seems strange that a girl who never played golf until she was 11 and didn’t start training with swing coaches until she was 13 would be in this position, but here she is, leading the state’s top junior circuit and playing great golf.
Most recently, Sudjianto checked the final goal off her summer list wish when she shot a 5-over par, two-day total of 149 in stroke play at the U.S. Juniors, which advanced her to the match play portion, which may be her biggest accomplishment to date.
Sudjianto said she first got into the sport after watching her cousin, George Gandranata, play in a tournament. Gandranata played at the University of California and is now playing on a branch of the PGA Tour.
Although she’s admittedly not the longest hitter on the circuit, she has risen to the top with persistence and a giant leap of faith.
Playing with a purpose
Sudjianto said she played the best golf that she had to any point before last summer, but so far the summer of 2019 has far exceeded that.
And it’s coming at an unexpected time. Sudjianto is committed to Carnegie Mellon University, where she’ll pair her gift for both academics and athletics, but more on that later.
Unlike most committed seniors who take the summer before college off to rest after competing for years on the local tours, Sudjianto circled a few tournaments on her calendar that looked fun. Before she knew it, she had a full slate and had set a few goals for herself, including winning a CGA championship, qualifying for the USGA Junior championship and, hopefully, playing well enough during the stroke play portion to qualify for the USGA Junior match play tournament.
All of those boxes mostly got checked off during a particularly strong one-week stretch in late June.
After an already torrid start to her summer schedule, Sudjianto found herself playing in the U.S. Girls qualifier on Monday, a practice round for another tournament on Tuesday and playing in a third tournament on Wednesday and Thursday in Monroe.
Sudjianto qualified on Monday, played well on Tuesday and came back from a deficit to win the Twin States Junior Girls’ Championship at Rolling Hills Country Club by one stroke.
“That was a pretty exciting week,” she said. “I parred my last hole and won by a stroke at that tournament in Monroe. It was funny because I had told my playing partner that I expected to finish around fourth. I didn’t even know I was in competition, but I was able to win that tournament. It was pretty special.”
Keeping the game fun
Sudjianto was already a two-time all-state player at Charlotte Latin when she entered the biggest summer of her life if she was to be a college player.
During the sophomore and junior season is when coaches can start contacting recruits, and some were already reaching out to the rising star.
But something wasn’t right. As well as she was playing, Sudjianto felt like she wasn’t improving and may have capped her potential. With the help of her coach, she remade her swing.
“It was stressful because that’s when recruiting really starts to amp up, but I knew I wasn’t improving playing the way I had and this was the only way it could improve,” she said. “I feel like this year it’s really paying off.”
The swing change took some time to get used to and was frustrating at times. Like her busy 2019 summer schedule would indicate, Sudjianto doesn’t like to take time off but at times, the results were slow to come.
“It was hard because golf is one of those sports where the results aren’t going to be instantaneous,” she said. “I had to be patient and I had to believe in myself and also everything that my coach had taught me. I think overall it worked out well because it helped keep golf refreshed in my mind. I felt like a new player because there were magic moments where I felt like I just started playing because the change was so drastic.”
Finding a home
Sudjianto had plenty of suitors even with the swing change.
Although she had totally reinvented her game with a new swing, Sudjianto didn’t take long to get back in form.
In her junior year, she finished fourth at the NCISAA tournament and she was third this year, earning all-state honors both times to become a rare four-year all-state winner.
“I’ve worked really hard over the past four years,” she said. “The fact that I was able to keep doing it really encouraged me and told me I’m doing the right thing and should keep going with golf.”
But Sudjianto has other interests, too.
She’s never made anything lower than an “A” in a class at Charlotte Latin, even with taking advanced classes. Sudjianto said she wants to major in mechanical engineering and earn a minor in computer science.
Carnegie Mellon was the only place that fit her desire to play golf, receive an education at a great school and major in mechanical engineering.
Sudjianto said she one day wants to work at a tech company or for a golf manufacturing company where she can apply her love of the game with her understanding of engineering and design.
While that is in her future, and even with college golf on the horizon and her game clicking, Sudjianto said she doesn’t want to follow her cousin into professional golf.
That’s not to say she won’t give it her best for the next four years.
“I hope I can continue to improve, play well and play consistently, put up some good scores and win some college tournaments,” she said. “I’m ready to see what I can do.”
August 10, 2019 by Andrew Stark Leave a Comment
CHARLOTTE – After claiming four consecutive all-state selections while starring for the Charlotte Latin girls golf team, Alexis Sudjianto hasn’t simply ridden off into the sunset as one of the top players to ever play for the Hawks.
This summer, Sudjianto has climbed to the top of the Carolinas Golf Association’s Women’s Tour North Carolina rankings with an exhaustive schedule that has her playing some of the best golf of her young career.
“I feel like I play better when I play more and do so in a competitive setting as opposed to just going to the range or working on one part of my game,” she said. “I think it helps me play better. I enjoy going out there even though it’s 100 degrees and super humid.”
It seems strange that a girl who never played golf until she was 11 and didn’t start training with swing coaches until she was 13 would be in this position, but here she is, leading the state’s top junior circuit and playing great golf.
Most recently, Sudjianto checked the final goal off her summer list wish when she shot a 5-over par, two-day total of 149 in stroke play at the U.S. Juniors, which advanced her to the match play portion, which may be her biggest accomplishment to date.
Sudjianto said she first got into the sport after watching her cousin, George Gandranata, play in a tournament. Gandranata played at the University of California and is now playing on a branch of the PGA Tour.
Although she’s admittedly not the longest hitter on the circuit, she has risen to the top with persistence and a giant leap of faith.
Playing with a purpose
Sudjianto said she played the best golf that she had to any point before last summer, but so far the summer of 2019 has far exceeded that.
And it’s coming at an unexpected time. Sudjianto is committed to Carnegie Mellon University, where she’ll pair her gift for both academics and athletics, but more on that later.
Unlike most committed seniors who take the summer before college off to rest after competing for years on the local tours, Sudjianto circled a few tournaments on her calendar that looked fun. Before she knew it, she had a full slate and had set a few goals for herself, including winning a CGA championship, qualifying for the USGA Junior championship and, hopefully, playing well enough during the stroke play portion to qualify for the USGA Junior match play tournament.
All of those boxes mostly got checked off during a particularly strong one-week stretch in late June.
After an already torrid start to her summer schedule, Sudjianto found herself playing in the U.S. Girls qualifier on Monday, a practice round for another tournament on Tuesday and playing in a third tournament on Wednesday and Thursday in Monroe.
Sudjianto qualified on Monday, played well on Tuesday and came back from a deficit to win the Twin States Junior Girls’ Championship at Rolling Hills Country Club by one stroke.
“That was a pretty exciting week,” she said. “I parred my last hole and won by a stroke at that tournament in Monroe. It was funny because I had told my playing partner that I expected to finish around fourth. I didn’t even know I was in competition, but I was able to win that tournament. It was pretty special.”
Keeping the game fun
Sudjianto was already a two-time all-state player at Charlotte Latin when she entered the biggest summer of her life if she was to be a college player.
During the sophomore and junior season is when coaches can start contacting recruits, and some were already reaching out to the rising star.
But something wasn’t right. As well as she was playing, Sudjianto felt like she wasn’t improving and may have capped her potential. With the help of her coach, she remade her swing.
“It was stressful because that’s when recruiting really starts to amp up, but I knew I wasn’t improving playing the way I had and this was the only way it could improve,” she said. “I feel like this year it’s really paying off.”
The swing change took some time to get used to and was frustrating at times. Like her busy 2019 summer schedule would indicate, Sudjianto doesn’t like to take time off but at times, the results were slow to come.
“It was hard because golf is one of those sports where the results aren’t going to be instantaneous,” she said. “I had to be patient and I had to believe in myself and also everything that my coach had taught me. I think overall it worked out well because it helped keep golf refreshed in my mind. I felt like a new player because there were magic moments where I felt like I just started playing because the change was so drastic.”
Finding a home
Sudjianto had plenty of suitors even with the swing change.
Although she had totally reinvented her game with a new swing, Sudjianto didn’t take long to get back in form.
In her junior year, she finished fourth at the NCISAA tournament and she was third this year, earning all-state honors both times to become a rare four-year all-state winner.
“I’ve worked really hard over the past four years,” she said. “The fact that I was able to keep doing it really encouraged me and told me I’m doing the right thing and should keep going with golf.”
But Sudjianto has other interests, too.
She’s never made anything lower than an “A” in a class at Charlotte Latin, even with taking advanced classes. Sudjianto said she wants to major in mechanical engineering and earn a minor in computer science.
Carnegie Mellon was the only place that fit her desire to play golf, receive an education at a great school and major in mechanical engineering.
Sudjianto said she one day wants to work at a tech company or for a golf manufacturing company where she can apply her love of the game with her understanding of engineering and design.
While that is in her future, and even with college golf on the horizon and her game clicking, Sudjianto said she doesn’t want to follow her cousin into professional golf.
That’s not to say she won’t give it her best for the next four years.
“I hope I can continue to improve, play well and play consistently, put up some good scores and win some college tournaments,” she said. “I’m ready to see what I can do.”
