Northwestern golfer Komoto grows her game

Professional golf certainly wasn’t on Kacie Komoto’s mind as she knocked the ball around Hawaii Kai’s par-3 course in grade school.

Nor was playing for pay among her aspirations when she won a state championship as a Punahou junior or even when she enrolled at Northwestern in 2013.

But, as is often the case, Komoto’s college years served as a time for defining goals and preparing to pursue them.

Komoto, Northwestern’s lone senior this season, approaches the end of her career with the Wildcats with dual motivations as she hones her game for one more postseason run and the professional career awaiting after graduation in mid-June.

“Wanting to turn professional has kind of been a newer dream for me,” Komoto said in a phone interview between classes and practice on Tuesday. “(For) a lot of people it’s something they always wanted to do since they were little. I didn’t really consider it until I was a sophomore in college. Here is where I realized that this is something that I want to do and I have the potential in it.

“I like competing. I like practicing. Basically, just the process of getting better is something that I’ve learned to enjoy over the years and something I’m passionate about. I think realizing that is what turned that switch.”

Practice wasn’t exactly her favorite after-school activity after her father, Gary, introduced her to the game at Hawaii Kai’s short course when she was 7. But she developed an appreciation for the sport as she progressed and took a significant step toward a pro career when she advanced to Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament last August to earn Symetra Tour status this summer.

“I’m grateful my dad had me stick with it,” said Komoto, who also plans to play in Q-school in Japan this fall. “Because if he wasn’t very persistent about it I don’t know if I would have continued to play. … He’s been very supportive and that’s one of the biggest reasons I’m still playing today.”

Before she takes her first swings as a pro, Komoto is eyeing a strong finish to her four-year run at Northwestern.

After splitting their matches with Duke in Greensboro, N.C., last weekend, the Wildcats head west this week and open the three-day Silverado Showdown on Sunday in Napa, Calif., with the Big Ten championships to follow starting April 21.

Coming out of the Chicago winter, Komoto considers playing outdoors again a treat.

“Right now I’m excited to have the opportunity to get back outside and play,” she said. “We’re still practicing indoors most of the time because of the weather, and being able to get out to Napa and play stroke play will help me get back into the mode of playing and get my timing back into place.”

Northwestern is ranked 15th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings — highest among Big Ten schools — and looking for a fifth straight berth in the NCAA Championships. The Wildcats shared the conference title with Ohio State the past two years and won the NCAA Shoal Creek Regional last season — where Komoto finished fourth — to qualify for the NCAA Championships. They finished one stroke out of eighth place and a spot in the match-play portion of the tournament.

“Getting in match play would just be a great opportunity and a nice sweet note to the end of my senior year,” Komoto said.

Komoto’s career scoring average of 73.86 ranks second in program history and she’s tied for second on the team this season at 73.29 in 17 stroke-play rounds, including a career-best 66 at the Dick McGuire Invitational in New Mexico in September.

Along with finding her focus during her Northwestern career, Komoto considers her transition from Honolulu to Evanston, Ill., as a preview of life as a pro.

“I had to find my friends and find the people that support me and I have a great support system here now with my team and the athletic community. But I always have to learn how to take care of myself,” Komoto said.

“I think it has definitely prepared me well and I’ve learned a new perspective here that will really benefit me in the future.”