Each week throughout the year we will spotlight one Epson Tour player and provide an in depth look into her life - both on and off the course. Up next in "This week is all about..." series is Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu.
First Impressions
First impressions have been instrumental in developing the golf career of 18-year-old Epson Tour rookie Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu.
Go back approximately 20 years, before the Chinese-Japanese golfer was even born. Her parents represented China for table tennis in the National Athletic Meet in Japan – her mother as a player and her father as a coach. They opted to remain in Japan, settling eventually in the port city of Takamatsu City, where Haruka was born and learned to play golf. Therefore, the origin of her lengthy name – Haruka Morita is her Japanese name and Wanyao Lu her Chinese moniker. She still plays under the Chinese flag because she cannot become a naturalized Japanese citizen until age 21 even though her first language is Japanese.
Cut to last fall when the amateur made her LPGA debut in the inaugural Blue Bay LPGA, played on Hainan Island, China. As a Japan Golf Association National team member and the winner of the 2013 Japan Women’s Amateur, she found her comfort zone among the game’s top players and was the low amateur in the field. She was paired with fellow teen Lydia Ko in one round and finished tied for 17th at 6-under par.
“It was a very, very good experience,” she said last week via her agent and interpreter, Kei Kita. “Playing with Lydia, Belen Mozo and Amy Yang allowed me to learn a lot in just one tournament.”
Coupled with a visit to Hawaii by her family years prior, it was time to come to the United States and try to make it on golf’s biggest stage.
“It was always a childhood dream to play professional golf in the United States,” she said. “That’s the reason I came to Orlando, Fla., and got ready for the LPGA Qualifying Tournament. Visiting Hawaii was heavenly. I like the fact that the U.S. is any easy place to live. I like the lifestyle.”
The Qualifying Tournament, where she competed as an amateur, earned Morita-WanyaoLu a spot on the Epson Tour for 2015. So she settled into Orlando at Orange Tree Golf Club and recently earned her high school diploma from Takamatsu City High School.
The transition from Japan to the United States has been eye opening, with an interest in learning English and figuring out a travel routine for the Epson Tour. A great asset in that orientation has been second-year Epson Tour player and longtime friend Dottie Ardina from The Philippines. She also keeps an eye out for LPGA rookie Minjee Lee, who represented Australia in amateur competitions the previous few years.
Her golf game has made a smooth conversion. In four starts this year, she has made every cut, with a best finish of a tie for ninth at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in late March. She is 18th on the Epson Tour money list, in pursuit of a top-10 finish and a LPGA card for 2016.
Another reason to feel comfortable is the large amount of teen golfers competing on the Epson Tour. Amateur Hannah O’Sullivan, 16, won the season-opening tournament. Two 16-year-olds, two 17-year-olds and three 18-year-olds – including Morita-Wanyaolu – played in the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.
Finally, just as One Direction has taken the teen-aged music world by storm, Morita-WanyaoLu has her own special musical interest. Japan-based J. Soul Brothers, particularly singer Hiroomi Tosaka, is a musical group that keeps her dancing, another hobby since taking jazz dancing as a youngster.
“I love dancing,” she said. “That’s always been a part of my life.”
Just as golf is now her primary focus.
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