Issaquah Highlands resident Ira Upadhyay, 11, consistently outscores her competition on the golf course. Most recently, she won the Washington Junior Golf Association (WJGA) state championship in the girls 9-11 division.
Ira scored two over par (72, 74, 72) in three days, defeating the runners-up by 26 strokes. She was happy to see that her score was better than the boys 8-11 division champion by 12 strokes, she said.
Prior to the tournament, Ira participated in a “long drive contest,” where she won the girls 8-11 division with a drive well over 200 feet.
“That was a fun moment for me,” she said. “…I prefer long drives because I can hit really far, sometimes I can almost reach the green in shorter yardages.”
Following the championship, Ira continued her successful record by winning the two-day Oregon State Invitational with three below par (71, 70). She outplayed the runners-up by eight strokes, she said.
“The most important thing I like about golf is shooting low scores and winning trophies,” she said.
Ira, who lives in the Crofton Springs neighborhood of Issaquah Highlands, was introduced to the game of golf by her father at six years old. She joined a local golf organization called “The First Tee of Greater Seattle” that same year, she said, and still volunteers there today as a junior coach.
She’s been winning local tournaments for the past two years, she said. Earlier this year, Ira was selected to compete in the IMG Junior World Championship for 11-12-year-old girls in San Diego, Calif. She placed 37th out of 96 girls from over 40 countries.
Other tournament wins include the Pacific Northwest Junior PGA Championship (under 12 division); WJGA Eastern Open; WJGA Players Open; and U.S. Kids Golf Seattle Local Tour. Additionally, Ira won three sub-district and district championships to qualify for the state championship tournaments.
Ira’s wedge is her favorite club to use, she said. She tries to chip/pitch in every tournament to minimize use of her putter.
She practices at The Plateau Club almost 2-3 days per week. Otherwise, she is always working on her swing at home.
Her family has lived in IH for the past seven years. Ira is entering sixth grade at Pacific Cascade Middle School. She previously attended Grand Ridge Elementary, she said, where her Principal Jill Ravenscraft was very supportive of her progress in golf.
Ira was a swimmer with the Issaquah Sockeyes Swim Team for three years before stopping during COVID-19 to focus on her passion for golf, she said.
