Entering the Tri-County Athletic League championship at the Salinas Golf and Country Club, San Benito sophomore Ryan Han had one individual goal: Finish at least two shots better than Palma’s Jay Burlison.
The goal wasn’t because of a feisty Palma-San Benito High rivalry – although, the Chieftains had San Benito’s number all year long – but rather a two stroke victory would hand Han his season long goal of a TCAL Most Valuable Player award.
Entering the final five holes of the TCAL championship – down by a couple of strokes – Han’s goal seemed in doubt. But then, the day changed.
“I was within striking distance, I was just playing my own game,” Han said. “I made some birdies and he started to struggle. I noticed he got a little nervous there and it was definitely memorable. I was proud of myself for keeping my own game and not getting into his game instead.”
Han shot a 1-under par 71 to overtake Burlison and clinch the MVP award. Because of the TCAL MVP and a seventh-place finish at the Central Coast Section championships, Han was named the Free Lance/ Pinnacle’s Most Outstanding Male Athlete of the Spring.
Han’s season didn’t continue to the state championship like head coach Reggie Synegal thought it would, but Han’s season was “great,” Synegal said.
“Ryan had a great year,” Synegal said. “He is a great athlete with a lot of skills. He is going to continue playing pretty good golf for a while.”
But it isn’t just skill that sets Han apart at such a young age – it’s his work ethic, Synegal said.
“He doesn’t stop grinding,” Synegal said. “He is out there five to six hours a day.”
That work ethic comes from a competitive attitude. Simply, he “hates to lose,” Han said. In his mind, it’s never okay to stay the same.
“I think that’s just how I am,” Han said. “That’s everything, not just golf. I’m always trying to get better because if you can’t get better, why not? Just put a little more work in and a little more focus and try a little harder and you can just get better.”
He continued: “Actually, I’ve never been too happy with my game at one point. There has always been something in my game that I wanted to work on and that drove me to practice a lot.”
Practice was never Han’s favorite thing to do, but he has slowly come to appreciate the five hour days on the golf course.
“When I was little around 10ish, I hated practice,” Han said. “I always complained that I wanted to go play instead of practice. But when I started playing in some tournaments, I realized you can’t really play that well if you don’t practice.”
Eventually, his practice sessions changed from a chore to something enjoyable.
“I really hate to lose,” he said. “The work ethic came from really wanting to win and do better. It’s fun playing well. I just got that work ethic from really wanting to play really well and my frustration in playing bad. Overall, it came a habit of practicing a ton.”
And through all that time, Han’s father – Sung Han – has been at his side.
“He is the one that started me out,” Han said. “He is the one when I was little, when I didn’t want to practice, pushing me to practice. He doesn’t have to push me to practice anymore but whenever he can be, he is out there helping me out. He knows my swing better than anyone.”
Because of his drive to always get better, Han will compete in amateur tournaments around the country this summer. The tournaments will be held everywhere form California to Georgia.
“The reason for playing tournaments is getting experience,” he said, “Knowing how to handle certain situations and to be able to calm yourself down and stay in control. That’s one thing I’m working on by playing in a lot of tournaments.”
Those situations included blocking out the scores of competitors and focusing only on themselves – something Han used in the TCAL championship tournament.
“You are competing against them but not really,” Han said. “It’s really hard because you know playing against him is no different to paying against the course – it doesn’t help. It’s hard to block those things out because when you play your own game, you need to focus and play as well as you can and not think about the other person’s score.”
With more tournament experience, Han expects to continue to get better and eventually make it to the state finals.
“I mean, I expect I should be gradually improving,” Han said. “Although, I was disappointed with my second round in CCS before, I was kind of happy. I wasn’t playing too well before so it was reinforcement that I could play better. It was a confidence booster.”
With more confidence, Han should be even tougher to keep up with in the 2013 season.
