These Girls Frequently Have the Honors

It’s safe to say a fair amount of male chauvinism continues to lurk in the sports world. From high school to the pros, there are still male athletes who view women’s sports as frivolous fun and games, the Trivial Pursuit of physical fitness.

Fifteen-year-old Eunice Choi shrugs at the notion.

As the only girl on the Laguna Hills High School golf team, Choi, a sophomore, says she doesn’t feel any macho-fueled animosity from her teammates.

There’s a simple reason for this: The boys are in awe of Choi’s abilities.

The feeling is mutual at Foothill, where freshman Alicia Allison is not only the first girl to play for the Knight varsity, she’s also the team’s No. 1 player.

Foothill Coach Travis McWilliams says the boys on the team might have been leery at first, but having Allison on the team has made her teammates proud.

“We improve each day as a team because of her,” McWilliams said. “She’s a quiet leader with a fantastic attitude. I’m amazed at the level of her maturity.”

Laguna Hills Coach Bruce Ingalls echoes McWilliams’ assessment.

“If anything, Eunice has really helped liberate golf at the high school level,” he said.

Choi, whose father is from South Korea and whose mother is from North Korea, said she first wanted to be an artist, then a ballerina and then a pianist before finally deciding, at age 9, to pursue a career in golf.

Allison’s route was athletic, ranging from age-group swimming to tennis to skateboarding, skiing and snowboarding. Last fall, after going undefeated for two years in junior high cross-country competition, she helped Foothill to a Southern Section girls’ cross-country title.

Asked why she started playing golf, Allison rolled her eyes and said, “Well, my dad’s a doctor, so you know . . . .”

Last week, Laguna Hills played host to Foothill at the Pacific Golf Club in San Clemente. Cold gusts of wind--and an exceptionally tricky course--made for a frustrating day for most of the players.

At the first tee, the players gathered in their foursomes, joking and laughing as each took his first swing.

“Let’s party, duuuuuude! “ one beach-blond boy said to a teammate on the tee.

WHACK! A ball was lost in the rough.

PING! A shot hooked into the parking lot.

Allison was up next.

Squinting as she studied the fairway, Allison lifted a club from her pink golf bag. As she walked to the tee, the other players became quiet. Her swing was only moderately powerful, but accurate. The ball sailed straight down the fairway.

“Geez, nice ball . . . nice ball,” one boy said.

“Yeah . . . geez,” said another.

Choi, wearing a pink visor, went next. The result was nearly the same, and the compliments were plentiful.

After nine holes, Allison had a five-over-par 41 to lead Foothill. Choi shot a 43. Both were disappointed, but not as disappointed as one of the boys in their foursome. Throughout the afternoon, he threw and kicked his clubs, and heaved a ball or two in the rough.

It seemed the better the girls played, the more frustrated he became. Neither Choi nor Allison saw the connection.

“He was probably just mad because he got a 10 on one hole,” Allison said. “I don’t think it had anything to do with us.”

Perhaps not. Years ago, some boys openly admitted their resentment toward female players.

McWilliams says that in the early ‘70s, he watched one girl outplay many boys, most of whom grumbled and made excuses for losing. Her name? Amy Alcott, now a top player on the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. tour.

Reaching the LPGA is a goal for Choi and Allison. So far, that goal looks attainable.

Allison, who has an eight handicap, finished fifth in the girls’ 12-14 age group at the world junior championships last summer in San Diego.

Choi won the world junior title for girls’ 13-14 in 1989. She has a six handicap, and last summer shot a career-best 67 at the Lakewood Country Club, the course record for women.

Laguna Hills junior Darren Richards says while some boys might be jealous of Choi’s talent, he is proud to be her teammate.

“You see all these other guys trying to be Mr. Macho, powering the ball, but she just goes out and beats them with accuracy and consistency,” Richards said. “I look up to her and I always tell her, ‘When you turn pro, you’d better let me be your caddie.’ ”