Golfer Seo enjoys the competition, friendships

Following a state championship and national invitational appearance, Mercer Island High School (MIHS) senior captain Yijoon Seo and his boys golf teammates are back in action this fall.

The Islanders began their KingCo season with a 2-0 record and also put their skills to the test in a few nonleague matches.

Seo, who captains the team with fellow senior Alex Harwood, enters his third year on varsity and has laid out a host of goals to shoot for during his final MIHS season. Three of them are notching medalist honors at least twice and shooting under par at least three times in league matches, and being the best teammate he can be with his playing partner.

“Team high school golf isn’t about just being your own game, it’s about having your partner and playing with them and helping them and feeling like you’re playing their game as well as yours. So I just want to also be there for my guys,” Seo said.

Seo said the team has been playing well while losing just one match overall this season at press time. He praised the talent of Harwood and senior Beck Peterson, who shot two-under-par to earn medalist honors in an exciting win against Sammamish on Sept. 10.

Over the summer, Seo helped his team finish tied for 19th out of 55 teams at the PGA High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. He led the locals by finishing tied for 47th with a final tally of 75-75-69-219 during the three-day tournament.

“My ball striking has been pretty much probably the best in my life, and my driver’s always in the fairway. I couldn’t ask for any more about my long game so far,” he said. “But my short game has been improving through time, so I’m just going to be patient, let it wait, and see what happens.”

The Islander swung into the golf realm at age 7 alongside family members and began competitive play at local tournaments about a year or two later. Seo doesn’t think he’ll continue playing team golf in college, but may still find his way onto the links as a hobby.

“I think it’s the time I get to spend with people,” he said of golfing. “It’s almost like a social time, like four to six hours. You’re just pretty much talking to your friends and family, getting to know them better and enjoying the time.”

The Reporter asked Seo a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his life:

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever been given?

It came last year with our old coach Nick Baker. It was called the ‘goldfish brain,’ something he told me that a lot of professional golfers use. It’s just where you forget the events of what happened the previous hole, and you only focus on the hole that you’re on. And so that really helped my mental game on the course because I’ve never really thought about that.

What would be your dream vacation spot?

I’ve been to Hawaii a number of times, but I’d like to go again right now. It’s getting a little cold up here in Washington. Probably O’ahu, Hawaii, just for a week and just enjoy some nice weather, good food, some ocean time.

And then speaking of food, what’s your favorite restaurant there on the Island?

Toshi’s Teriyaki.

What’s a skill that you’d like to learn?

Maybe run a six-minute mile, I guess. I’ve been trying to get into running for probably the past year, but I’ve just not really done it. I haven’t committed. But a six-minute mile sounds really nice to me. I think my record’s like seven minutes. Or, putting my entire palm of my hand on the ground when you’re touching your toes, going all the way down.

How do you spend your spare time when you’re not on the golf course there or running or doing whatever?

During school time, I’m obviously doing homework, studying for tests. Right now, I’m busy with college apps. But other than that, I just spend time on my phone. Sometimes I watch YouTube. Occasionally I go on hikes on the weekend or eat dinner out with my family, which is always a great thing to do. I’m a big sleeper, so I take a lot of naps as well.

What do you hope to major in in college? What subjects really interest you?

I think chemistry has pretty much been the topic of my interest for a while. I met some amazing teachers in high school. I’ve had a lot of older siblings talk to me about it. Now that I’ve taken all the core curriculum requirements for chemistry, it’s pretty exciting to me how the world revolves around that. I want to see where I can take that, maybe to help others or just find a passion for my own.

What’s a superpower that you’d like to have?

Definitely flying. It’s a pretty common one. I imagine you could just go wherever you want, things like that. You get to see great views and everything. You get to see a perspective nobody else gets to.