By Matt Zimmerman, Staff writer
This orange was not to be eaten, it would not be found in anyone’s lunch or provide Vitamin C for someone. No, it was destined to serve as inspiration, to be smacked by a small persimmon driver, 5-year-old Rory Hie swinging with glee as he enjoyed his first taste of golf. With form that would undoubtedly improve greatly in the coming years, Hie struck his target, sending it “about 10 yards” as it exploded.
And, 12 years ago four years before beginning serious lessons and three years before leaving his native Jakarta, Indonesia with his family to come to the United States Hie had his sport of choice. Today, he leads four area golfers into individual competition at the SCGA Tournament in Murietta.
“I’ve always been a quiet person, and it’s easy for me to get on task, just do it,” said Hie, a Cerritos High senior who is joined by Tommy Lee (Gahr), Alex Resurreccion (Poly) and Scott Yeakel (Wilson) in today’s competition. “I just like to see the ball go up in the air, and see it go in the hole when I’m putting.”
Hie joined the varsity team at Cerritos immediately as a freshman. He made a name for himself quickly on the course, averaging 37.4 strokes and finishing second at the CIF Southern Division Individual Tournament.
“It’s been a growing experience for Rory, because I understand when he first came here, most of the other players wondered, ‘Who is this guy?” second-year Cerritos coach Tim Paulson said. “And he was quiet, and he wasn’t as much a part of the team as you might think he would be with the scores he was shooting. Now, everybody looks to him, and he is definitely, without a doubt, the team leader.”
Hie received his first recruiting letter his sophomore year, from UCLA. He expected to join his two older sisters Steffi and Melissa, who are students there, before he found out
the team was out of scholarships.
Recruited by schools including UNLV, Georgia Tech, Duke and California, Hie accepted a full ride to USC.
“I think Rory wanted the opportunity to play closer to home where his parents (Tommy and Rita) could watch more of his play,” Paulson said. “They’ve been supporting him the whole time, they’ve been the backbone. This way, they get a chance to enjoy it a little bit more.”
As a sophomore, Hie won the individual title at the Knabe Cup, repeating the feat this season. In two of the past three years, he won the Suburban League individual title, relegating this year’s competition to a battle for second by shooting a 29 on the final back nine at Rio Hondo Country Club.
Last season, Hie won his first CIF Southern Division title, but his trophy case was not complete until last week. At Canyon Springs Country Club, Hie shot a 6-under-par 66 with zero bogeys to win his first CIF Southern Section Individual title.
“I read a lot of books, and I know a lot more about golf now than I did freshman year,” said Hie, who cites multiple books about Tiger Woods as well as tomes by Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus as essential in his development. “I still practice a lot these days, but I just know what I’m doing.”
So does Hie plan to write a book someday about his golf, about watching that orange explode, about watching his scores go down?”
“Maybe,” Hie said. “When I’m like 60 years old or something.”