There is a lot that Maya Fujisawa Keuling and Martha Kuwahara have in common. Their Japanese lineage, for one. Golf, too, as both girls are very strong players, with the 11-year-old Keuling boasting a handicap index of 2.5 and Kuwahara, at age 14, carrying one of 0.9. They also live in the Midwest, play a lot of tournament golf and root hard for reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. And this year marks the first time in two tries they made it to the national finals of Drive, Chip & Putt.
Born in Kawasaki, Japan and now residing in Carmel, Ind., Keuling was 5 months old when the Tohoku Earthquake devastated her native land – and almost caused Matsuyama to miss playing in his first Masters in 2011 due to the damage that event caused. Keuling moved with her family to the States shortly thereafter.
“I was almost 7 years old when I found a set of golf clubs in our garage,” she said. “I did not know anything about the game at the time but was curious. So I asked my parents about golf. Then I started playing it and found that I really liked it.”
In fact, the fifth-grader likes it so much that she plays a competitive schedule that includes 30 tournaments a year – and that has her at Augusta National as part of the Girls 10-11 division.
“I am looking forward to everything, but maybe putting on the 18th green excites me the most,” she said. “Of course, I want to win. I want to win for myself but also for the people at the Oakland Hills, whose clubhouse just burned down. It’s where I qualified for DCP, and I really want to do well for them.”
There is a lot Kuwahara is looking forward to on her first visit to Augusta National, where she will be vying for a win in the Girls 14-15 division.
“I am excited about DCP, but nervous, too,” she said. “And I hope to see Hideki play a practice round Monday, after the competition is done. I started following him after he won the Masters last year and really like his game, especially the power he generates in his lower body and his lag putting.”
Kuwahara was born in Libertyville, Ill., just north of Chicago. But she moved to Japan when she was 2 years old with her family.
“I came back to the States when I was 6 years old,” she said. “And I did not know any English at all.”
Kuwahara did not know anything about golf at that time either.
“But I started playing when I was 10 years old, thanks to my grandpa,” she said. “He liked bringing me to the range when I was a little girl, to watch him and my older brother hit balls. It looked like a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the social aspect of the sports, the way people were laughing and having fun when they played. So I started playing myself.”
It did not take long for Kuwahara, who plays out of Northbrook, Ill., to get good – and to get her handicap index down below one. Now an eighth-grader, she, too, maintains a rigorous tournament and practice schedule.
“I play in 16 or 17 events a year,” said Kuwahara, who considers putting the strongest part of her game. “And I try to practice every day, after school and then after I finish my homework.”
The practice has certainly paid off. For them both.
