Kayla and Kelsey Yi are no ordinary freshmen.

Not only are they identical twins in appearance, but they also share similar skills on the golf course. In fact, the two regularly put up identical scores throughout the season.

Instead of allowing their appearance and relationship to become a distraction to the Titan upperclassmen, the two stepped up to the first tee on the first day of tryouts, put on a display, and proved they were leaders.

The two combined to lead Todd Beamer in points per match, and the two will represent the Titans in the state tournament in May 2017. The duo took two of the 14 available spots for the state tournament. They punched their tickets to the state tournament after impressive performances at the 4A North Puget Sound League District Tournament and State Qualifier on Oct. 17-18 at Gold Mountain Golf Course.

The twins said getting to the state tournament was a collaborative effort. And since the two play together on the same team, they said it’s better to work with each other rather than against each other.

“We like it, playing on the same team,” the more vocal Kayla Yi said. “We always work together. We’re sisters, so when we’re on the course we’re pretty competitive, but like together, so we can do well against other teams.”

When the two are at home, though, it’s just like any other sibling rivalry.

“When we’re at home, it’s sister stuff,” Kayla Yi said. “We fight sometimes about stuff on the course. But when we’re on the course we come together to try our best.”

The first words Todd Beamer girls golf coach Tom Wallett used to describe Kayla and Kelsey Yi were “hard workers.” He said they end up with similar scores because both have talent and a tremendous work ethic.

“They both have a very high skill set,” Wallett said. “They practice a lot, they go out and play the courses before we have matches. They both have so much upside potential.”

The desire to practice and get better at their craft comes from their father, James Yi.

James Yi spends a lot of time on the golf course. When the twins were old enough, he thought it was a good idea for the girls to tag along. At first, it was simply for the company. But as the girls grew older, they began to show interest in the game they watched their father play.

This was crucial for James Yi because he had been itching for a playing partner. When the girls turned 11, they were joining James Yi on the golf course regularly. Their father realized in short order that he had a pair of talented golfers.

“We just got more serious as we kept going,” Kayla Yi said. “We realized we could be good at this. He didn’t though. He wanted to do it for fun.”

The next step was for James and Jennifer Yi to provide the girls with the best training possible. They enrolled Kayla and Kelsey Yi in private instruction to help take their game to the next level.

The twins are on the golf course anywhere between five to seven days a week depending on their schedule. If they have a light day, they will spend about three hours on the course. If Kayla and Kelsey have a lot of homework and James and Jennifer can’t get home early from work, the girls will only practice for an hour.

But the weekend is when the fun begins.

It’s the time the girls get to go out on the course and play a full round of 18 holes with James.

“James and I are very proud of what Kayla and Kelsey have been able to accomplish on the course,” Jennifer Yi said. “When they first started playing golf with James it was more for fun and something for them to enjoy doing together.”

The girls said they love it because James tries to makes each experience better than the last, but also providing tips and tricks to help the girls be better players.

“We love being out there with our dad,” Kayla Yi said. “He makes it fun. He always likes to have contests to see like who can hit a putt or hit the buckets at the range. So that’s pretty fun.”

There was always a little extra incentive if the girls could beat dad on the links.

If dad won, it was bragging rights until they beat him. If Kayla and Kelsey won, James had to splurge on the girl’s sweet tooth.

Jennifer Yi said James never intentionally lets the girls win because he wants them to develop a competitive drive. But, with ice cream and pie on the line, it didn’t take the girls long to assert their dominance on the links.

“They always played games on who could chip and putt or score better than dad, and if they won, they got to get ice cream, frapuccino from Starbucks, or their favorite pie from Shari’s restaurant,” she said. “They were getting good at beating James so we continued to encourage them to keep playing.”

The instruction from private coaching and their father led to opportunities to play club golf.

This was where Wallet got his first chance to scout the pre-teens.

Wallet said he was immediately impressed with how well the twins manage the game. He said it’s one of the most difficult skills for a golfer at any level to manage successfully.

And after speaking with the girls’ middle school physical education teacher and Jennifer Yi, it was a done deal. The girls were headed to Beamer.

“Their course management is extremely high,” Wallett said. “They are wise beyond their years. If they have a bad game, a bad hole, they’re able to overcome that very quickly and can move on to the next hole, the next play. There’s a certain maturity level that goes with that and they’re already there.”

For Wallett, he added the two girls golfers in Kayla and Kelsey Yi he coveted so highly, and he’s witnessed their maturity level since the first day of team tryouts in August.

“They have shown older kids that the harder you work, the better you can be as a golfer,” Wallett said.

For Kayla and Kelsey Yi, it’s been more about building relationships than stressing about results.

The twins said they didn’t know what to expect when they received word from Wallett they would be members of the Titan golf team.

But the two said it’s been nothing but a welcoming environment and a positive learning experience.

“All our teammates have been really nice to us, and they welcomed us,” Kayla Yi said. “We’ve liked making new friends, and it’s fun to play with them during practice.”

“We told them we were freshman, and they taught us a lot about their experiences,” Kelsey Yi added.

The pair took note of the lessons they were learning and applied it to their game.

As a result, the duo led the team in scoring average, dominated at the 4A NPSL state qualifier, and earned spots at the state tournament.

Wallet said while the girls had a dominant first season with Beamer, the two still have plenty of work to do leading up to the big stage in May.

“They’ll be spending a lot of time at the putting and chipping green this winter,” Wallett said. “They’ll work with a private coach on driving and distance, but that stuff will come later as they get older and stronger.”

While neither the girls nor their coach can predict what Kayla and Kelsey Yi will do at the state tournament in May and how the remainder of their time in the Todd Beamer golf program will go, the Titan twins could have anything but an ordinary future ahead.

“They know if they keep focused and work hard they will reach their goals not only in golf but also in school and in life,” Jennifer Yi said. “We don’t know where golf will take them, but just as long as they are enjoying it we will keep encouraging them”