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THIS YEAR: John Ray Leary looks to be a key element for this year's Trojans after several solid performance as a first-year freshman.
1998-99: John played in nine tournaments as a true freshman...his stroke average of 75.4 was fourth-best on the team ... qualified for the U.S. Amateur this past summer after shooting a 141 (68,73) to finish first at the qualifying held at Mission Viejo Country Club in Mission Viejo, Calif. ... made the cut at the Western Amateur and qualified for match play at the USGA Pub-Links Tournament ... had two top-20 finishes on the year ... played his best golf at the Maxwell Invitational in Ardmore, Okla., shooting 216 (74, 69, 73) to finish in ninth place ... finished 22nd at the Compaq U.S. Collegiate Championships in Lecanto, Fla. and 18th at the Pac-10 Championships.
HIGH SCHOOL: At Culver City (Calif.) High, John was voted the Ocean League Golf MVP three times and was the runner-up at the 1997 CIF Championships ... won back-to-back AJGA championships in August of 1997, at the Ashworth/Golfweek Aviara Junior and the Polo Ralph Lauren Southwestern Junior Classic ... at the Ashworth/Golfweek Aviara Junior in Carlsbad, Calif., Leary shot a 7-under-par 65 in the first round to tie the course record held by PGA Tour pro Dan Pohl and current teammate Nick Webb ... in 1997, he also was the medalist at the Buick Invitational qualifier at Torrey Pines, a finalist at the Rolex Jr. Classic in Orlando and a quarterfinalist at both the U.S. Junior Amateur and California State Amateur ... qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur for three consecutive years and was selected to the SCPGA Jr. Golf All-Southern California team three times ... was a Rolex Junior All-American first-team selection and ranked at No. 7 in the Golf Digest Junior Rankings and at No. 13 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Amateur Rankings when he signed with USC in 1998.
PERSONAL: Born on February 9, 1980, John Ray is an undeclared major at USC. Most thrilling moment in sports-"Winning my first national tournament in New Mexico." Favorite pastime away from golf-"My favorite pastime is fishing. If there was as much money in fishing as in golf, well, I'd be seeing you at the docks!" Toughest player I've played against-"Jin Park from Arizona State." Why he chose to attend USC-"Because the history and the school spirit is so deep here."
SCHUETTE ON LEARY: "John is a good ball-striker and a great putter who came in with outstanding credentials last year. He is a very creative player who has learned a great deal about managing himself and his golf game in the past year. With continued strategic and mental improvement, he can take his place in the highest levels of collegiate golf. He tends to be a streaky player. We want to continue to build a game and philosophy that allows him to play extremely well when he's at his best but minimize mistakes when he's not at his best."
