Her name is Madison Saysanasongkham. Jones or Smith it isn’t unless you’re in Laos, where her parents were born.
“I usually have to spell it,” said the Rancho Bernardo High senior golfer, who was born in the United States. “I’m always asked how it’s pronounced but often they’ll just give up and laugh.
“It’s pronounced ‘Say-sanna-son-com,’ but I just tell them to call me Maddy.”
She is certainly making a name for herself this season. Her 3-under par 33 at Bernardo Heights Country Club Red course front nine in a Broncos win against Mission Hills was her 12th straight round either even or under par. She entered the week ranked No. 3 in the section behind only Torrey Pines’ Kate Hu and Zoe Jiamanukoonkit.
“I started the season with a goal of shooting under par every round,” said the 17-year-old who has orally committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “I was two over par in the very first match. I just told myself, ‘OK, you need to practice.’
“It ended up motivating me. I was under par the next round and my confidence just soared. The highlight so far has been a 5-under (for nine holes) at Mt. Woodson, where I had five birdies.
“The funny thing was earlier in the day I wasn’t having a good day, so I thought maybe golf would make me feel better. My teammates were really cheering me on, and I was just having fun, doing what worked. I didn’t really know my score, just that I was playing well.
“That day I focused on my drive, then hitting the green and then making my putts. I’ve been able to put my bad shots behind me and not worry about them.”
She realized her ‘bad’ shots weren’t all that bad as they had been before, so she could quickly recover as soon as her next shot. That was something she’d been working on with her club coach, David Emerick, with whom she started 10 years earlier.
Alex Moreno, her high school coach, quickly saw the difference.
“Her confidence went way up as she got more consistent,” said Moreno. “She’s always been competitive, a fighter and a grinder. She could miss every green and still find a way to make herself and her teammates competitive.
“She has this look when she’s dialed in. She gets in a zone that says, ‘don’t bother me, I know what I need to do.’ She showed that as a sophomore and, well, it’s almost scary. She’s not mean or anything, she’s just focused, and others know not to take it personally.
“I recall her saying before a match on our course that she was going to shoot three under. She went out and shot a three-under. She called it.
“That’s how she earned her nickname — Maddy Slay.”
Saysanasongkham, who saw her streak ended before starting a new one, has reasonable goals: win the section title (individual) and lead the Broncos to the section crown (team). Even a second place would advance the Broncos to Southern California Regionals. Follow that up by doing well enough to play in the state championships.
“We know Torrey Pines is the team to beat and we beat them in the Longhorn Invitational, and they beat us on their course (Rancho Santa Fe),” said Saysanasongkham before the Falcons won the second head-to-head showdown. “We’re getting closer and closer. After that, we’ll just have to see.”
Saysanasongkham has played in the Junior World Championship in San Diego and after visiting San Luis Obispo, occasionally allows herself to look ahead — just not during a match.
“I know the competition will be fierce,” said the 5-foot-4 senior with a 3.92 GPA. “The fun part about golf isn’t just playing, it’s meeting new people who sometimes end up being lifelong friends.”
One of those is teammate Isabella Lorio, the only other senior on the team.
“We were talking about it, and this is the best team we’ve had since we started at RB,” she said. “The younger players are really improving fast.”
Looking way far ahead, she its if the opportunity presented itself, she might even compete for Laos if they fielded a golf team in the Olympic Games.
“Definitely, I’d do that if I could,” said Saysanasongkham. “I understand a little of the language because of my parents, but I’m not fluid or anything. That would be fun.”
But first things first.
