Daily Journal Girls’ Golfer of the Year: Crystal’s Victoria Cui

Only, Cui seemed oblivious to all the pomp and circumstance of the moment because, well, she was. Because she doesn’t watch the leaderboard, Cui was oblivious to the fact a birdie on the 18th hole would land her a 4-under 67, one stroke ahead of Palos Verdes’ Rina Kawasaki, Santa Margarita’s Donina Zhou and Stevenson’s Ashley Gettleman, to claim the state crown.

“I had no idea,” Cui said. “I tell everyone ... I think that’s kind of what freed me up to hit those good shots. But it was a very cool moment for sure. Very special.”

Riding a wave of back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17, Cui simply collected herself, took a deep breath, and routinely sent the historic putt on its way. Off the clubhead, the sophomore feared she put too much mustard on it.

“There are just some putts that really fit your eye, and this was one of them,” Cui said. “It was not the plan to be that aggressive, but it all worked out.”

It didn’t take long for Cui to figure out the magnitude of her third straight birdie putt. The crowd roared in celebration as the ball dropped into the cup. Cui was immediately swarmed by teammates and fellow golfers, even one she had just defeated, all of whom had been paying attention to the leaderboard.

The state championship closed out an epic year for the Crystal sophomore, who, for the second straight year, earned West Bay Athletic League Co-Player of the Year honors; commanded her first Central Coast Section championship, Nov. 4, at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey, with a 4-under 67; and rocketed to third place at the CIF Northern California regional championships, shooting a 2-under 70, Nov. 10, at Berkeley Country Club in El Cerrito.

Adding to the list of honors, Cui has been named the Daily Journal Girls’ Golfer of the Year, becoming the second member of her family to earn a DJ Athlete of the Year award. Her older brother Edan Cui, now a freshman on the Stanford men’s golf team, was a three-time honoree as Daily Journal Boys’ Golfer of the Year in 2022, ’23 and ’24.

“He, as a junior golfer, had such a stellar career, and playing with him I obviously learned a lot,” Victoria Cui said. “It was really fun at a young age to be able to watch him. But as I matured on my own, it was good to have a role model, for sure.”

Crystal head coach Andy Ho, a former golf pro at Stanford Golf Club, knew Edan Cui, who grew up playing at Stanford Golf Course. Then, when the eldest Cui arrived at Crystal, Ho was coaching at neighboring Nueva School, and got to witness the start of a storied era for Gryphons golf.

Before he took over the Crystal golf program midway through the 2023-24 school year, Ho learned from a caddie friend there wasn’t just one more Cui in the pipeline, but two, as Edan and Victoria have a younger sister, Beverley, who is slated for her freshman year at Crystal in 2026-27.

While Crystal is set to graduate one of its two current American Junior Golf Association players in WBAL Co-Player of the Year Claire Zhong, the Cui sisters are set to headline a 2026 Crystal team with a strong incoming class.

“If all goes right, I should have six AJGA girls on my team year,” Ho said.

Ho has witnessed the highs and lows through two years of coaching Victoria Cui.

As a freshman, the middle Cui sibling had an immediate impact, sharing WBAL Player of the Year honors with Castilleja’s Norah Yang. Come the postseason, however, Cui made an early exit, scuffling through the CCS championship tournament with a 6-over 77 to finish tied for 25th, well off the cut for the CIF Nor Cal tournament.

This year, Cui’s playoff run started with another downturn. While her teammate, Zhong, claimed second place in the WBAL tournament to lead the Gryphons to the team championship, Cui scuffled through the first stage of the postseason.

“You could tell she wasn’t happy with her performance,” Ho said. “But she’s a legitimate golfer. She knows everyone isn’t always going to play super well.”

Cui indeed has a lifetime of golfing experience to draw from. While Edan Cui was the first in their family to discover golf — neither of their parents played the sport — Victoria Cui was the starry-eyed little sister tagging along to many of big brother’s tournaments. She quickly discovered a talent on the links as well, though, picking up a club for the first time as a kindergartener, and starting her own path as a competitive player when she was 7.

Owner of two AJGA titles — Cui won the first tournament she ever played, at the 2023 AJGA Junior All-Star at Quail Creek in Robinson, Illinois; followed with first place at the Sacramento Junior Championship at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in April 2025; “and I’m looking to get my third this season,” she said — Cui refocused after her stumble at this year’s WBAL championships, and looked to the near future.

“She didn’t play her best,” Ho said. “She was like 4 shots off the lead and tied for fifth. But one thing I noticed is she was a little bit more upbeat.”

While Cui and Zhong would have qualified for the CCS tournament individually, they didn’t have too, with the entire Crystal squad advancing by virtue of the WBAL team championship. From there, Cui’s only disappointment was in Zhong not qualifying for the Nor Cal field and having to go it alone through the CIF regional and state rounds.

“[Zhong] has been such a great role model for me, not just as a player but also as a leader and as a student,” Cui said. she’s really just a great person and a great player to be around. ... She played really well at WBAL both last year and this year. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get to play state together because that would have made it absolutely perfect.”

As a solo act, though, Cui reigned supreme. The key to her state championship success, she said, was her mental game.

“I don’t even know if she’s 16 yet and she’s a +5 (handicap),” Ho said. “For her, her fortitude is not only part of her game, but her mental fortitude is good.

“She doesn’t get too high, she doesn’t get too low,” he said. “She just stays in it.”