Cerritos’ Hie in Good Company After Winning Title
By Peter Yoon, Times Staff Writer
June 2, 2006

Comparisons to Tiger Woods are almost inevitable when you’re a hotshot high school golfer, but there aren’t many who can say they matched a Woods accomplishment.

Rory Hie can.

Hie, a Cerritos senior, shot six-under-par 66 Thursday at the SCGA Members Golf Course in Murrieta, then made a par on the first hole of a playoff with Jamie Lovemark of San Diego Torrey Pines to win the Southern California regional championship.

Hie won the Southern Section championship on May 22, and Thursday’s victory made him the only player since Woods in 1991 to win both titles in the same season.

“Wow,” said Hie, somewhat taken aback by his accomplishment. “That’s pretty cool.”

Hie, who has signed with USC, had seven birdies and a bogey in his round Thursday. His iron play was impeccable as evidenced by his 17 greens in regulation and eight approach shots to within five feet of the pin. Of his seven birdies, only one came on a putt of more than five feet.

On the playoff hole, he found a fairway bunker with his two-iron tee shot but hit a nine iron from 131 yards to within 15 feet for an easy two-putt. Lovemark found the trees on the right side with his drive and had to pitch out. His third shot ended up 15 feet short of the hole and he missed the par putt, setting the stage for Hie’s victory.

“I just tried to make as many birdies as I could,” Hie said. “It was a one-day tournament, so I had to play as aggressive as possible.”

He also had to play with the correct irons. A year ago, Hie received a new set of irons the day before the Southern Section championships and took a chance by using them in the competition. He shot 74, finished tied for 41st and did not advance to the regional.

“I switched back the next day,” he said. “And I’m still using the old ones. I guess I was just too excited to get them. I couldn’t wait to use them.”

Success is nothing new to Hie, who is ranked No. 8 in the nation among boys and has been as high as No. 2. He has won two national junior tournaments and has 20 top-10 finishes. Last summer, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur public links championships and he will play in the sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open on Monday.

“I’m playing very well right now,” Hie said. “I have confidence in every part of my game.”

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By Matt Zimmerman, Staff writer

This orange was not to be eaten, it would not be found in anyone’s lunch or provide Vitamin C for someone. No, it was destined to serve as inspiration, to be smacked by a small persimmon driver, 5-year-old Rory Hie swinging with glee as he enjoyed his first taste of golf. With form that would undoubtedly improve greatly in the coming years, Hie struck his target, sending it “about 10 yards” as it exploded.

And, 12 years ago four years before beginning serious lessons and three years before leaving his native Jakarta, Indonesia with his family to come to the United States Hie had his sport of choice. Today, he leads four area golfers into individual competition at the SCGA Tournament in Murietta.

“I’ve always been a quiet person, and it’s easy for me to get on task, just do it,” said Hie, a Cerritos High senior who is joined by Tommy Lee (Gahr), Alex Resurreccion (Poly) and Scott Yeakel (Wilson) in today’s competition. “I just like to see the ball go up in the air, and see it go in the hole when I’m putting.”

Hie joined the varsity team at Cerritos immediately as a freshman. He made a name for himself quickly on the course, averaging 37.4 strokes and finishing second at the CIF Southern Division Individual Tournament.

“It’s been a growing experience for Rory, because I understand when he first came here, most of the other players wondered, “Who is this guy?” second-year Cerritos coach Tim Paulson said. “And he was quiet, and he wasn’t as much a part of the team as you might think he would be with the scores he was shooting. Now, everybody looks to him, and he is definitely, without a doubt, the team leader.”

Hie received his first recruiting letter his sophomore year, from UCLA. He expected to join his two older sisters Steffi and Melissa, who are students there, before he found out

the team was out of scholarships.

Recruited by schools including UNLV, Georgia Tech, Duke and California, Hie accepted a full ride to USC.

“I think Rory wanted the opportunity to play closer to home where his parents (Tommy and Rita) could watch more of his play,” Paulson said. “They’ve been supporting him the whole time, they’ve been the backbone. This way, they get a chance to enjoy it a little bit more.”

As a sophomore, Hie won the individual title at the Knabe Cup, repeating the feat this season. In two of the past three years, he won the Suburban League individual title, relegating this year’s competition to a battle for second by shooting a 29 on the final back nine at Rio Hondo Country Club.

Last season, Hie won his first CIF Southern Division title, but his trophy case was not complete until last week. At Canyon Springs Country Club, Hie shot a 6-under-par 66 with zero bogeys to win his first CIF Southern Section Individual title.

“I read a lot of books, and I know a lot more about golf now than I did freshman year,” said Hie, who cites multiple books about Tiger Woods as well as tomes by Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus as essential in his development. “I still practice a lot these days, but I just know what I’m doing.”

So does Hie plan to write a book someday about his golf, about watching that orange explode, about watching his scores go down?

“Maybe,” Hie said. “When I’m like 60 years old or something.”

BY RAMONA SHELBURNE, Staff Writer

MURRIETA – They haven�t done any team bonding exercises yet, but future USC golfers Rory Hie and Jamie Lovemark sure acted like teammates at the CIF/SCGA championship Thursday afternoon at the SCGA Members Course in Murrieta.

Hie and Lovemark each shot 6-under 66s on a day when only 17 of the 124 players were able to break par. Hie, a senior at Cerritos High, beat Lovemark in a one-hole playoff to capture medalist honors. Hie also shot a 66 last week to win the Southern Section individual title at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs.

The top six finishers not on one of the top three teams advance to the CIF State Championship in Santa Maria on Monday. None of the 17 local players competing Thursday advanced.

“It’s weird. You want to beat him, but you don’t want to beat him because he’s going to be your teammate,” said Lovemark, a senior at Torrey Pines High near San Diego.

Hie, Lovemark, Evan Emerick (Carlsbad, -3), James Erkenbeck (Torrey Pines, -3), Rickie Fowler (Murrieta Valley, -3), Bryan Hogan (Stockdale, -2), Kevin Sepulveda (Paso Robles, -2) and Tom Whitney (La Quinta, -2) qualified for the state championship.