Love for her late mother inspires Pepperdine’s Chow

Pepperdine women’s golf has a tradition: Play with heart.

It falls on the Waves’ only senior, Marissa Chow, to keep the beat.

“We play in front and in back of each other, so (we) line up 1 through 5, and 5 goes out first and 1 goes out last,” Chow said. “So we’re all playing in a row. And we have this thing that we do, we give hearts to each other. We make a heart with our two hands.”

This is no mere impulsiveness. It has been going since the year before Chow arrived in Malibu out of ‘Iolani in 2012. For her, it’s as natural a motion as crushing a ball off the tee.

“It’s funny, the freshmen, they’re not used to it,” she said. “But after we finish the round, we’re like, ‘You didn’t give me any hearts!’ And so they learn. They learn really fast.”

They could do worse than trying to follow Chow’s example. The three-time All-West Coast Conference performer has been Pepperdine’s top individual finisher, or tied for it, in seven of nine events this season. Her best was a second-place finish at the Stanford Intercollegiate in October.

There’s another longstanding Pepperdine tradition, one that started way before the heart-seeking missiles, or the individual handshakes invented by this year’s tight-knit group of eight that includes freshman Hannah Haythorne of Honolulu.

The Waves have won the past 14 West Coast Conference championships. They’ll go for No. 15 starting Monday at the Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Chow said of the streak that predates when she first picked up golf clubs at age 9. “I think there’s definitely some pressure, but it’s also a really exciting time.”

After some early team struggles, the Waves have calmed. They finished third in each of their past two events, including the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational at Kaneohe Klipper in late March. Chow tied for fourth in that one, four shots off the lead.

Another strong showing in the WCC championships — Chow won it as a junior en route to league player of the year honors — could help propel the 5-foot-3 amateur into a pro career. She plans to try her hand at Q School in August, with a mind-set of no regrets.

Her aunt, former 20-year LPGA pro Lenore Muraoka Rittenhouse, thinks she has the mettle to make it, noting her mental toughness and drives could carry her far while her putting catches up.

Rittenhouse, a Hawaii Sports Hall of Famer who now lives in North Carolina, watched her niece a few times in the past couple of seasons. The time before that? Caddying for Marissa when she was 12. The difference, especially in demeanor, was eye-opening.

“I am just floored. She is so talented, and so strong,” said Rittenhouse, who packed a similar wallop in a 5-3 frame in her day. “She’s short in stature, but she’s long. She can play with the big girls.”

A young Chow was inspired not only by her aunt but by her mother, Lynne, who worked as a golf sales rep. Even when her mother died after a battle with cancer when Marissa was 14, the high school freshman kept playing.

“She totally introduced the game to me and she just loves it,” Chow said. “I think that’s why I enjoy it so much. It’s something that we did together.”

Said Rittenhouse: “I think she had more of a determination, because her mother really wanted her to play good enough to get a college scholarship. More that than anything else. I don’t think (my sister) would’ve even dreamed that she would’ve reached such a high level, in college and perhaps beyond. I mean, I can feel her presence every time I’m out there watching her play. Gotta be something to it.”

Now a game that can be so frustrating to so many is what Chow describes as a “great outlet,” a source of calm. Even on those rare occasions when she’s in a bunker or behind a tree.

Beyond the WCC championships, Chow is looking to end her college career with a surge in the NCAA regionals on May 5. Her best finish there is a tie for 22nd as a sophomore.

Seizing on this moment before the uncertainty — and thrill — of the next step is something she can surely take to heart.