Her world’s on a swing
GOLF: ANNE CHEN, SR., CLEMENTS
Golf merely expanded Anne Chen’s world of experiences. The parents of the 18-year-old Clements senior are from Shanghai, but she was born and spent half her life in Melbourne, moving to Houston in 2010. The family has dual citizenship in Australia and the United States.
Chen’s first challenge was Houston’s humidity. Once she conquered getting used to that, everything else fell into place.
“Houston is a great city,” Chen said. “You have so many different things you can do here. The people are so nice. I go to Clements, and it’s so diverse. You get to see every culture in every one of my friends. I definitely think Houston is one of the greatest cities out there.”
Everything fell into place on the course, too, where Chen qualified for the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open and LPGA Volunteers of America Texas Shootout. More success followed in 2018: a silver medal at the UIL state golf championships, an American Junior Golf Association First Team All-America
distinction, a national ranking as high as 10th by the organization, a Hunter Mahan Junior Championship title via rounds of 69 and 70, and a Wyndham Cup win. Chen reached the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship’s round of 16 last summer, too. Chen will continue her golf at Duke.
“It never really hits you that you’re officially done with high school,” she said, referring to an abrupt end to her Clements life off the course brought by the coronavirus pandemic. “You’re going to finish online school, and you’re basically done — prom and graduation, College Day, Senior Sunrise, all that stuff. Yeah, I’ve never experienced them, but it doesn’t quite feel like you’re missing out on much, because the whole world is missing out on it.”
In a sport that prioritizes individual success, Chen says competing for Clements has its charm. In the high school realm things always circle back to the team: setting records and creating new memories.
Chen looks forward to the same dynamic at Duke on a team of girls she is already familiar with, considering her vast travels.