Promising Morgan Hill youth priming for collegiate career
PLEASANTON — Golf was once just a game to Amay Poria, a video game at that.
Through Tiger Woods PGA Tour for Xbox, Poria first learned about club selection, course management and reading greens while fictionally mastering some of the best golf venues in the world. So good was Poria, he decided to play for real. The transition has been nearly seamless.
Less than three years after picking up the sport, Poria has made a name for himself in the state’s youth golf scene. The Morgan Hill 14-year-old ranks 17th on the Northern California Golf Association leaderboard among boys ages 11-18, fifth in the Bay Area Summer Series, despite playing in three of the eight tournaments, and first among Santa Teresa Junior Golf Club members. Monday, Poria wrapped up an impressive two-year stint with U.S. Kids Golf by placing second in the Summer Tour Championship at Ruby Hills Golf Club in Livermore. He shot 5-over-par 77 in both rounds.
“My goal was to finish in the top five at the tour championship, and I did that, so I wasn’t disappointed at all taking second,” he said Tuesday. “I knew I couldn’t play in every tournament, so I had to just do my best in the ones I could play.”
Beginner’s luck has nothing to do with Poria’s success. Though he does possess a natural talent for golf, Poria prowess stems from hard work and a genuine desire to grow as an athlete and a student. On top of playing in five tours this past year, Poria was the top student in his class at Martin Murphy Middle School and completed a 10th year in karate; he is second degree black belt.
Now a freshman at Oakwood Country School, Poria continues to practice with Don Leone, PGA director of instruction at Coyote Creek Golf Club.
“Amay’s maturity level has gotten bigger,” Leone said. “Kids have so much to learn about golf, but he’s really matured a lot this past year. He’s much more dedicated. He takes the game very seriously.”
Poria wants to make golf his life’s work. With the U.S. Kids series behind him (the age limit is 14), Poria is entering college-recruitment showcase circuits, such as the American Junior Golf Association and the Future Collegians World Tour. He is playing in an NCGA Junior Series tournament at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo this week.
“I definitely want to play in college,” said Poria, who later this month will make his AJGA debut in a qualifier at Vandenberg Air Force Base. “Playing in a lot of tournaments will be good. It gives you more experience, more recognition, and you make more friends.”
That he acknowledges his weakness — driving — speaks volumes about Poria’s maturity and potential. He is intently focused on improving his long game to better complement his solid approach play and putting.
“I can put the ball in the middle of the fairway, but my drives are usually 220, 225 yards,” he said.
Leone added: “His length may hurt him at the next age group, but he’s going to get better as he gets older. A lot of confidence comes with a good short game, so it’s good he has that. Amay is an intense competitor. He doesn’t have any fear.”
That will serve Poria well at any level of the game, be it fiction or reality.
