Yu-Sang Hou was determined to turn pro. She said as much after the Arizona Wildcats came just one hole short of playing for an NCAA title at the end of May.
But then Hou slept on it … for a few months. Given time to think, she opted to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA because of the pandemic.
So Hou is back, planning to play one final year alongside her sister and teammate, Vivian.
“Why not stay for another year?” Hou said.
Given that she talked about turning pro all the time, Hou's decision surprised everyone — including Arizona coach Laura Ianello.
“I was a little bit in shock,” Ianello said.
“That's what really made me happy with that: She's going to graduate, she's going to get that degree, and she's going to play for us. She is still going to pursue LPGA Q School, which I want for her to do to just because that way after school she’ll have an option — have a place to play instead of just waiting another year.”
The LPGA's Qualifying School is this week. If Hou passes through all three stages, she'll have the option to either turn pro right away or defer it until after the season. Either way, Hou will be part of the Wildcats' roster when they open their fall season next month at the Annika Intercollegiate in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. The UA's fall schedule also includes the prestigious East Lake Cup in Atlanta.
Hou is coming off a stellar season, one in which she posted a 71.72 scoring average — the sixth-lowest in program history. She is also a three-time WGCA All-American, has 13 top-10 finishes in her career, won a national championship in 2018 and has played in the NCAA semifinals (or beyond) in each of her college seasons.
“She was a huge part of us winning the national championship and then, boom, the following year being in the semifinals. She's been an All American every year that she's been here," Ianello said. "For a young woman who really struggled with English right when she got here, she's (got) above a 3.2 GPA; she's just pretty remarkable. When she told me that she wanted to stay an extra year, I was just so thankful that she would consider that — that she had decided to stay one more year with her sister.”
The UA will have four new players on this year's roster: Carolina Malgrati from Italy, Lilas Pinthier from France, Caitlin Whitehead from England and UNC Charlotte grad transfer Ellinor Sudow, who is from Sweden.
“I have four incomers who were expecting Yu-Sang to be gone,” Ianello said. “She’ll set the tone, be a great leader, but she's also going to make the environment on our team a lot more competitive because, one of my incoming players is probably also realizing it's one less spot that's open in my lineup because Yu-Sang is a staple. Her scoring average is one of the best we’ve ever had. It’s going to be pretty darn difficult to beat her, kick her out of the lineup. It’s going to make everybody work harder.”
