When she walked off the course at Scottsdale's Grayhawk Golf Club following May's NCAA Championship, Vivian Hou never could have imagined she'd soon be playing for the U.S. Women's Amateur title.
Hou played the Arizona Wildcats' spring season with a partially torn left hip labrum. She underwent an MRI and X-rays on her hip following the Wildcats NCAA semifinal run, and doctors determined she didn’t need surgery — just intense physical therapy. Hou worked on her balance, incorporated more stretching, and even tried cupping and acupuncture.
Five days before this month's U.S. Women's Amateur was due to begin, Hou booked a flight to New York and decided to give it a shot. She advanced through the stroke-play portion of the tournament in to match play, then made the 36-hole final before falling to Kentucky's Jensen Castle 2 and 1. Yu-Sang Hou, her sister and UA teammate, caddied.
“It’s really amazing how I finished the tournament as the runner-up and it’s really special,” Hou said. “I wouldn’t think this (would happen) three months ago or at the beginning of the year. With my sister caddying for me the whole week — she was there for me, talking with me and calming me down when I got nervous. It’s really crazy to think that I just finished runner-up in the USGA Amateur.”
It was the latest accomplishment for Hou, who was named WGCA Freshman of the Year in 2020 and was ranked as the top amateur last fall. She’s now back into the Top 20, at No. 17.
UA coach Laura Ianello calls Hou "a true champion."
"Last semester, she was playing every day with pain," Ianello said. "She always wanted to keep competing because she wanted to help the team but more than anything, she's relentless. She's very dedicated to her craft and she wants to turn professional someday — and she's a worker. She doesn't quit.
“If she is swinging it good, she's the best in the world. It's great to see her swinging with no pain and seeing a little bit of her old self again.”
Hou is the fourth Wildcat to finish as the runner-up for the USGA Amateur title. The others: Annika Sorenstam (1992), Marisa Baena (1996) and Ianello (2000).
Ianello — who went by her maiden name, Laura Myerscough, then — remembers being “insanely nervous” at the 2000 event. As a result, Ianello said, she had a hard time focusing on her golf and "couldn't play like I wanted.” Marcy Newton beat her 8 and 7 in the final.
Ianello told Hou to have fun, and that she "deserved this."
University of Arizona golfer Vivian Hou advanced to the U.S. Women's Amateur finals — just like her coach, Laura Ianello, had done in 2000.
“Luckily, she had her sister on the bag, which I think was very, very helpful having Yu-Sang there to keep her calm and keep her focused,” Ianello said. “But it’s heartbreaking. … it's been 21 years of saying that I'm the runner up of the 'U.S. Am' and it just doesn't sound as good as saying I won the 'U.S. Am.' I didn't want that for her. I really was pushing for her. I really wanted her to win just so she could say she was the U.S. Women's Amateur champion.
"I can think back to 21 years ago when I got runner-up. I'm still very proud of my performance that week, but I just I wanted it so badly for Vivian just so she could say she was the champion.”
Yu-Sang Hou almost wasn’t on the bag. Vivian's older sister vowed four years ago that she'd never caddy for her again, because her bag was "way too heavy." Vivian Hou promised to lighten her sister's load, a little: she carried eight balls instead of the usual 12.
With her sister's help, Vivian Hou played well — and kept advancing.
“The moment I made it to match play, I thought, ‘I can still play. My injury is not bothering me anymore and then, I have my sister, the best caddy; you know, I can play,’” Vivian Hou said. “I won the first match … and it gave me more and more confidence to play the next few days. I go into golf club, and then walking onto the golf course, playing step by step, and keep winning until the last round.”
The 36-hole final started promisingly, and Hou led Castle 2-up after the first 18 holes. During the nearly two-hour break, Hou stretched and used a foam roller on her hip.
By the time they started the second 18, the weather had turned rainy and cold. Castle took a 2-up lead early on, leading to Hou’s 2 and 1 loss.
“The first few holes were not a really good start for me and that really can’t happen in match play,” Hou said. “I did not do that well and I had a few bogeys. I tried my best and never gave up.”
And, best of all, she did it pain-free. Hou played nine rounds in seven days and a 36-hole final without any side effects — a win. She said she'll always look back fondly at the week.
“Wearing the UA uniform the whole week and representing my college is something that is more than just playing golf for myself," she said. " I play for UA, I play for my country (Taiwan), as well. That is something that is unforgettable and is really special.”
Chip shots
• Ianello took a red-eye flight to watch Hou play in in the 36-hole final — just as her college coach had done for her back in 2000. Well, her new coach. Greg Allen had "only been hired for three days at the University of Arizona when I got into the finals," Inello said. "I remember he flew to Portland, Oregon, to watch me, and I never really met Greg. I didn't know him. All I knew is he was going to be my new head coach at Arizona. I can't tell you how much it meant to me that he had made that trip that day to take a walk with my dad, and just to be there cheering me on. … I remember how great that made me feel, like I had the support of my college coaches. Vivian and Yu-Sang, they've meant so much to me and they've done so much for my program, that there's no way I would have missed being at that 'Women's Am.'”
• Hou changed her swing for the tournament in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure on her hip. “I actually hit a draw right to left,” Hou said. “In the beginning of this tournament I started hitting a little fade — totally opposite. … That was the big change in my strategy.”
• Hou's finish in the U.S. Amateur should help the Wildcats in recruiting, Ianello said. "I think it just is another piece of the puzzle that validates what we can produce champions and we can prepare these young women for future LPGA golf and we can get these ladies prepared to play at the highest level," she said. "I think it's also a testament that if you come and play for the golf team at the University of Arizona, you're going to get to play with other world-class golfers, on a weekly basis you're going to be pushed to another level of excellence. We probably have some of the worst golf facilities — we don't have a home, we don't have a clubhouse, we don't have all these fancy facilities like other schools have like Arizona State or Texas and all these other big Power 5 programs, right? We don't and we're working on that, but it just says that if you come to Tucson ... Tucson has an amazing affluent golf community. We've got phenomenal golf courses, we have good coaches, and you're going to get to play for a team that is continuously fighting for championships. Tucson and UA is just a great place, where if you're serious about the sport of golf and if you want to get better, this is the place you should come."
