Saddleback women’s golf drives home after state finals

All-state honors recipient Brittney Do sits down for an interview

Brittney Do (Brandon Drey/ Lariat)

Coming back from leading the Saddleback women’s golf team in the regional and state finals, Brittney Do reflects on the game and her next steps. She put forth her best effort while confidently knowing each swing is one step closer to achieving her dream.

“My biggest dream is to become a PGA player,” Do says. “That or just traveling the world.”

She makes herself comfortable in the quad at Saddleback College on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Three days earlier she led her team at the California Community College Athletic Association State Tournament in Morro Bay.

‘It’s a lot of pressure, you know,” she says. “All the top golfers in one place.”

With back-to-back rounds of 79, the right-handed medalist finished 13th place among 59 other competitors. Do’s scores and name add to the list of accomplishments in women’s golf.

“I shot six over both days when easily I could have been, you know, lower than that,” she says. “But overall it was a good season.”

With a total score of 670 at the CCCAA championship the women’s golf team finished the tournament placing sixth, ranking second best in Saddleback’s history. In 2003 the team took the state championship contributing to the success of its athletics program.

“As a team we did better than we thought,” she said.

The aim of golf measures each players ability to compete against their surroundings, their opponents and most importantly, themselves. Do portrays this aspect of the game on and off the course observing her environment while maintaining focus on the conversation.

“One thing that psyched me out was the greens — I couldn’t read them,” she says. “I guessed every single putt. Last year I shot one under.”

Do began competing in tournaments and winning “a handful” at the age of 14. Her understanding of the game comes from experience in playing with the Southern California Professional Golf Association.

“Once you don’t have the mentality to play golf, it’s very hard to score low,” she says. “If you hit a bad shot, you dwell on it.”

She stretches back in her chair looking around the quad with a smile on her face.

“I wanted to get to state, so I played my best,” she says.

Do sits content after coming back from class at Irvine Valley College. She currently majors in business marketing and hopes to transfer to a four-year institution outside of California. .

“I want to see what it’s like to live out-of-state,” she says.

While her education remains just as much of a priority as golf does, her heart remains on the fairways after college.

“First golf,” she says. “Marketing is backup.”

Her love for the game began at the age of three when her father took her to the driving range. Do reminisces on where her passion began.

“I just started to observe him and picked up a club myself,” she says.

Saddleback women’s golf finished their last 18 rounds for the season this week and will pick back up next year. However, Do will continue play tournaments through and after college hoping to go professional within the next five years.

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