Oak Park's Derica Chiu is The Star's All-County Girls Golfer of the Year for 2022
For some, the golf course may be a place of solitude.
Not for Derica Chiu.
One of the Oak Park senior’s favorite aspects of spending so much time on the course is there is plenty of time to get acquainted with your playing partner.
“You have a lot of time to talk to them and get to know them,” Chiu said. “Even if we’re just walking to our balls, we have time.
“That’s how I’ve made a lot of friends through golf. … I’d say I am a pretty social person.”
The sociable star was the talk of the local high school girls golf season after shooting 8-under par over 27 holes to win the Coastal Canyon League individual title.
“That’s unheard off,” Oak Park coach Donn James said. “When she shot even par last year, we thought that was good.”
The Star’s All-County Girls Golfer of the Year for the 2022 season earned CCL Most Valuable Player honors by averaging 34.22 per nine holes over 11 league matches and reaching the CIF-SCGA Southern California Championship at Brookside Country Club in Pasadena.
“She has a wonderful grasp of the game from the mental side,” James said. “She doesn’t overthink anything. She doesn’t let stress typically enter in the equation. She keeps the ball in play.”
Which helped Chiu shoot under par in six of 11 league matches.
“She’s just really strong mentally,” teammate Lily Huynh said. “I think that’s what a huge part of golf is. She doesn’t get upset or angry after a bad shot or bad hole. She keeps her composure and moves onto the next hole.”
Chiu advanced to regionals by shooting a 73 at the CIF-Southern Section Northern Regional Individual Tournament at Los Robles Greens Golf Course and a 76 at the CIF-SS Individual Championship at Western Hills Country Club in Chino Hills.
Chiu, a four-year all-league selection, helped Oak Park finish undefeated in league for the third straight season. Her season ended with a top-half finish at regionals, where only the top nine finishers advance to the CIF-State championship.
“It’s been such a good run for all four years,” Chiu said.
As she scouted her competition at the sectional finals in November, Chiu scanned the list of players, saying “I know her. … I know her. ... I know her.”
“It’s a wonderful aspect of that particular game,” James said. “Most of these golfers know that they’re not playing against each other. They’re all playing the course. Whoever manages the course better will come out on top.”
Growing up at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley, Chiu learned to manage the course from tee to green.
“She’s not the longest (hitter) on our team,” James said. “But she has all aspects of the game under control. She’s wonderful around the greens and out of the bunkers. She continues to amaze me how many times she gets up and down for par or birdie. She has wonderful chipping and sand play.
“She has everything she needs to compete at the next level.”
Chiu will make new friends next year when she joins the women’s golf team at Emory University in Atlanta.
Emory is the defending NCAA Division III champions.
Chiu is the younger sister of former Oak Park golfer Darren Chiu, who now plays at UC Davis.
“I was kind of dragged along to practices,” Chiu said. “I just ended up sticking with it. I saw him winning all kinds of junior tournaments. I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps. I just started practicing even more. It just became a love for golf.”
Chiu drives from Oak Park to Simi Valley daily to practice at Wood Ranch.
“It’s definitely a fun course,” Chiu said. “There’s water and there’s hazards that you need to beware of. … I’m used to it after playing it for a couple years. I know the ins and outs and know where to hit and where not to hit.”
The routine of working on her game does not wear on her.
“Every single day is different, which is quite fun,” Chiu said. “At times it’s frustrating, but that’s how golf works. Every day is different. One day you can be at your best and one day it can be the worst. But it pays off.”
Not even some recent rain kept Chiu from the course. With space between groups, Chiu and Huynh were able to work some wedge practice into their round.
As well as some chatter on the fairways to catch up.
“She’s just very sociable,” Huynh said. “It’s very easy to talk to her. A lot of people get along with her.”
THE STAR’S ALL-COUNTY GIRLS GOLF SECOND TEAM
Jayden Peters, La Reina
Kira Reisner, Simi Valley
Jiya Dalal, Simi Valley
Mary Heldwein, Nordhoff
Addison Kloch, Agoura
Sailor Graham, Oak Park
Avery Wells, Buena
Ava Aye, Oaks Christian
Savannah Bennett, Camarillo
Charlotte Sams, Newbury Park
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Derica Chiu is our All-Ventura County Girls Golfer of Year
