La Salle-Peru senior Sophia Chiu began golfing when she was about 4 years old.

She’d play with her father and two brothers, but eventually, because of her father’s job, “it was harder to find time to be able to golf,” and she fell away from the sport.

After playing volleyball her freshman year at L-P, Chiu found her way back to golf.

“My brothers started getting into it again, so I wanted to do what they were doing,” Chiu said. “They really introduced me to the game of golf again.”

Chiu liked golf because she could go out and play individually, but the sport also gave her the opportunity to spend more time with family.

She joined the L-P golf team as a sophomore and developed her game over the past three years.

This fall, Chiu led the area with a 47 average, was a four-time medalist, won the Ottawa Invitational, placed fourth at the Interstate 8 Conference Meet and qualified for the Class 2A Pekin Sectional.

For all she accomplished this season, Chiu is the 2025 NewsTribune Girls Golfer of the Year.

“She definitely took a step forward from last year,” L-P coach Patrick Goy said. “She was really, really solid. Everything just progressed forward for her this season, and it showed.

“I’m super proud of her and the season she had. I was very happy to have her on the team the last three years.”

Chiu worked through the offseason to improve her game by playing in a league at Pine Hills Golf Course and in the Illinois Valley High School Golf League, as well as going out golfing with her father. Her biggest area of improvement came in the mental aspect of the game.

“Over the summer, I was able to change my mentality and how I would approach each shot and how I would approach each round of golf,” Chiu said. “If I had a bad shot, I didn’t let it affect how the next shot would be. I’ve learned from years past. I would dwell on the bad shots, but this year I was able to just move on and think about the next shot, because the past ones are not going to affect how I play in the future.”

Chiu also improved her physical game by adding length to her driver and getting better at chipping.

“She just had more speed [on her driver],” Goy said. “She was getting the ball out there farther and giving herself a lot shorter iron into the greens, which was a big help for her to make a lot more pars and bogeys. The distances off the tee helped give her more chances to score.

“Her chipping and putting got better as well. She learned how to hit different shots. Whether it was opening the face more and getting the ball to stop quicker or working on pitch shots from 10-15 yards off the green, it was a lot of little things that end up making a big difference.”

Chiu’s all-around improvement was on display at the Ottawa Invitational, which she won by breaking 80 for the first time with a 77.

“It was one of those days where everything came together all at once,” Goy said. “She was hitting the ball off the tee the best she had all year. She was hitting a lot of greens in regulation and giving herself a bunch of scoring chances, and she capitalized on them. It was a picture-perfect day for her for every part of her game that she worked on.”

Chiu, who also broke 40 on nine holes for the first time this season with a 39, continued her success in the postseason as she shot a 95 to advance out of the Rich Township Regional and ended her career with a 99 at the Pekin Sectional.

“I was just so proud of myself and all the other girls who advanced with me,” Chiu said. “It meant a lot to be able to go to sectional with my teammates and during my senior year, because it was my last time I could give it my all.”

While Chiu plans to keep playing golf with her family, she’s leaning toward not playing in college as she focuses on studying to become a NICU nurse.

But she’s glad she returned to the sport in high school.

“I have improved so much from when I was a sophomore until now,” Chiu said. “I’m so happy with the relationships and bonds I have made with all the girls on the team, and I definitely think they will last a lifetime. I’m very happy with having Coach Goy, because he was always there to encourage us and tell us how we could improve, while also being a fun coach.

“This season and my career at L-P were very fulfilling. I felt it was the perfect part of my life for high school.”