River Hill golfers Helen Yeung and Benjamin Siriboury making their mark on the national stage

River Hill juniors Helen Yeung and Benjamin Siriboury spent their summer vacations much differently than most teenagers.

They traveled to play golf.

The defending state Class 3A-4A golf champions went as far as Washington state and Arkansas playing in separate American Junior Golf Association tournaments. Each also competed in an impressive national championship.

Yeung played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Chambers Bay, Washington earlier this month, missing the cut by two strokes. Siriboury shot eight under par and finished second at the High School Golf National Invitational in Pinehurst, North Carolina in July.

“Playing AJGA, each tournament you play will help your rankings and boost you up for the beginning of recruitment for colleges,” said Siriboury. “College coaches are scouting these tournaments, because the fields for these tournaments are strong. It’s also a good experience.”

With their resumes, they don’t need to play high school golf, but Yeung and Siriboury wouldn’t think of skipping it. Playing for the Hawks is about more than just golf and they love everything about it.

“I like playing for River Hill because I like to represent the school and it’s fun competitively even if it’s in a small tournament,” Siriboury said. “I love playing with my teammates and building a bond and relationships not just during golf but also outside of golf.”

Yeung agreed.

“Golf is such an individual sport,” she said. “Most of my tournaments, I’d be playing for myself, but to be able to represent River Hill and play for my teammates and be part of a team is just a special feeling and I’ve really enjoyed that.”

River Hill teammate Shawn Agrawal grew up with Yeung and Siriboury and he said watching them play inspires him and the other Hawks.

“They’re humble people,” Agrawal said, “and you see that with great athletes like them. They work incredibly hard and I think it’s just because they have a goal. They have a goal to be the best they can be and they’re driven to work as hard as they can and as hard as it takes to be great and that’s why they’re as good as they are.”

Yeung and Siriboury have been playing so long that they’ve developed not just impressive skills but the mental tenacity.

They both say nerves kick in at times, especially when a shot goes awry in a tight match, but they know tricks to ease the anxiety and center themselves. Siriboury focuses on himself and not what everyone around him is shooting, but when he gets tense, he said, drinking water helps calm him. Yeung does breathing exercises to keep her mind from running ahead.

That ability to focus is what River Hill coach Matt Graves said sets them apart. He was not surprised they won state titles in their first year in the competition. As freshmen, both won Howard County titles, but COVID-19 forced officials to cancel the 2020 state championships.

“These kids are so far ahead maturity-wise with their mentality that you can tell they know what’s going to happen if they get into trouble,” Graves said. “That’s what makes them such good golfers because it’s the mentality of the game more than the physicality of the game that separates them from a lot of kids, not only in Howard County, but in the state of Maryland and I think that’s what gave them the opportunity to win the state championship.”

It all started for Siriboury at Hobbits Glen Golf Club in Columbia when he was 4 or 5 and for Yeung, on a driving range in Thailand when she was 10.

At first, Siriboury was more interested in driving the cart from his father’s lap, but that soon evolved into enjoying the sport with his dad.

Yeung’s uncle introduced her to the game on a visit to see him in Thailand. She remembers how it felt the first time she hit a ball with a driver. She was hooked.

Yeung and Siriboury met in sixth grade and found themselves to be kindred golf spirits.

“We’re both competitive,” Yeung said, “and I think that’s an important mindset in every sport. You have to be able to try to get better every day.”

Siriboury said his drives are the best part of his game and he regularly drives the ball straight about 260-270 yards. When Yeung has a good match, she said, it’s usually because her iron play gets her close to the pin.

College coaches have already noticed them and they’ll have no trouble getting in wherever they chose to go. Yeung carries a 4.71 GPA and Siriboury, a 4.1. Both plan to major in business.

They’re not looking beyond playing in college although both grant that if professional golf becomes a possibility they likely would pursue it.

With such rigorous athletic and academic pursuits, Yeung and Siriboury take plenty of time for fun outside of school and golf to keep them fresh.

Siriboury likes hanging out with friends, listening to music and going to movies. Yeung enjoys her friends too and she also likes to curl up with a good book.

When they travel to golf tournaments, they manage to slip in vacation moments. In Washington for the U.S. Amateur, Yeung and her family climbed to the top of Mt. Rainier. At one of his AJGA tournaments, Siriboury saw the sites along the Maine coast, including some lighthouses.

When the Hawks tee off for their first match Wednesday vs. Wilde Lake at Hobbits Glen, they will be all business about their games, but they’ll have a little fun between shots.

Graves tries to make sure they have as much fun as possible. He said it’s difficult for them to make lasting connections with many other players on the junior golf circuit because they don’t see the same golfers at all the tournaments.

“These two kids have been playing golf for a long time and they love what they do. The biggest thing with kids their age is it’s hard not to get burned out and I think high school golf, for them, is enjoyment and social,” he said.

“It’s not them going out there and practicing how to hit the perfect shot or making the perfect putt, it’s about them socializing which I like. It’s about them playing putting games or hitting games and being boys and girls, because we don’t want them to be robots.”