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Ryan Lai '24 Recruiting Profile
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November 2023September 2023Personal Statement
I began playing golf at 12 years old and it quickly became my passion. I love being paired with highly skilled golfers. I always want to surround myself with the best players because I find this highly motivating and gives me something to strive towards. I practice golf year round. During my high school season, I put in an additional 4-5 hours a day after team practice. I strive to be the hardest working player on the team and also lead and mentor the younger players. I am a PGA Junior member and work regularly with my swing coach in between tournaments. I incorporate conditioning and strength to my routine before school in order to increase my athleticism on the course.
Academics are also very important to me and I work towards maintaining a high GPA. It is my goal to excel in college as well. I hope to find a college that allows me to build on my golf career while also investing in my future with a degree in Business Management.
Finally, I am extremely dedicated to making it onto the PGA Tour and will not be satisfied with anything short of that. I am willing to do whatever it takes to work towards it, to make my family and friends proud. I know the mental toughness it takes to excel in this sport and I am ready to put in the work.
Athletics
High School Information
- Years w/ Varsity
- 3 years
- 2024 Varsity Team
Individual Awards
- Captain
- 2023 Varsity Team
- 2022 Varsity Team
- 2021 Junior Varsity Team
Individual Awards
- Player of the Year
Coach References
- High School Coach
- Jon Wiemann
- Private Coach
- Eric Stapars
Events
- Camp/Event
- USCAA National Championship
- 10/13/24 to 10/14/24
- Definitely heavily disappointed with 83-82 especially with all the momentum I had going into the week but I feel like I learned so much from the tremendous opportunity and will definitely apply that to the next opportunity if I am blessed enough to get it. That being said, I feel like I struggled around the greens a lot with the type of grass they had there. The conditions were brutal as well it was 35 degrees with the wind gusting 30 as well, so making it about 15 degrees with wind chill. So if I were to pin point three things to improve upon it would definitely be learning to play in the cold, learning to confidently chip green-side there, and finding a go-to shot off the tee. Very thankful for the opportunity though!
- Camp/Event
- YSCC Championship
- 10/06/24 to 10/06/24
- Fought the swing a bit but I really felt like I played very smart. In addition to that, i felt like this was one of the best putting rounds of my life, I made back to back putts of over 60 feet on 8 and 9, followed by a wedge to an inch on 10. The middle stretch of the course was amazing for me, I was two under on holes 8-11 which was great after a very up and down start. I went out in 2 over with just one par on the front. Overall, very pleased with a 75, good enough for second place individually at regionals.
- Camp/Event
- USM Husky Classic
- 9/22/24 to 9/22/24
- Greens had been punched a few weeks prior so they were a little better than Fairlawn but were still tricky. Felt like I played really solid and smart for the most part. I struggled kind of in the middle of the round from holes 11-13 and sort of battled with my swing a bit. However, I was able to turn it around nicely and finish one under in my last five holes.
- Camp/Event
- CMCC Invitational
- 9/21/24 to 9/21/24
- Hit the ball really well and played very smart, despite the punched greens. Shot a 75 and a bogey from the fairway on 17 ended up being the difference between second and a win.
- Camp/Event
- University of Maine at Augusta Invitational
- 9/14/24 to 9/14/24
- Greens were definitely playing tricky, however I still grinded out a 79 with which felt like by C game at best.
- Camp/Event
- University of Maine at Presque Isle Invitational
- 9/12/24 to 9/12/24
- Shot a 77, played very well in the middle 6 holes after a rocky start and silly double.
- Camp/Event
- NHTI Invitational
- 9/07/24 to 9/07/24
- Shot a 79 with a very steady back nine.
- Camp/Event
- Paul Smith's College Invitational
- 8/24/24 to 8/24/24
- I shot an 86 individually and got second as a team.
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr Chino Creek Summer Championship
- 8/12/23 to 8/12/23
- Tied for 9th place scored 80. Tournament on 72 par course 6,823 yards.
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr Rancho San Joaquin Summer Championship
- 8/10/23 to 8/10/23
- 72 par course 6,141 yards scored 84
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr PT 2 Day Tournament
- 6/26/23 to 6/27/23
- Scored 82 on day 1 and 80 on day 2. I scored a hole in one on hole 17 on the first day. 72 par course 6,619 yards.
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr Dos Lagos Summer Classic
- 6/24/23 to 6/24/23
- Par 70 course 6,441 yards tied for 5th scored 81.
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr Green River Summer Championship
- 6/10/23 to 6/10/23
- 72 par course 6,648 yards and finished 12th place
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr Arrowhead Spring Classic
- 4/29/23 to 4/29/23
- 72 par course 6,619 yards finished 13th place.
- Camp/Event
- SCPGA Jr El Prado Spring 4
- 4/15/23 to 4/15/23
- 72 par course 6,823 yards tied for 5th place with score of 80.
- Camp/Event
- Lake Forest Jr Open Championship
- 9/29/19 to 9/29/19
- 1st place finish
Statistics
Academics
Grades
Test Scores
Academic Accomplishments
Are you in honor classes?
Yes. Pre Calculas Honors / IBAre you in AP/IB classes?
NoRegistered with the NCAA Eligibility Center?
NoAwards and Activities
- AwardsScholar Athlete Award GPA 3.83 for 2022-2023, academic year Honor Roll 2021 and 2023