Sports are unpredictable in that extreme amounts of dedication, practice and hustle can bring a team together for years at a time, or can leave a team struggling for wins season after season.

For Cougar redshirt junior Sang Lee, golf is a lifestyle filled with ups and downs. The Washington State men’s golf team’s season looks to be a bright upswing for the future of the WSU program.

 “I feel like if we all play consistently as a team, we’re very capable of making it to the NCAA Championships this year,” Lee said. “We have a great team this year, and we haven’t even showed what we’re fully capable of yet.”

Now one of the team’s vocal leaders, Lee’s journey to Pullman wasn’t always set in stone.

“I started golf a little late in Canada, but I had an event down at Wenatchee my junior year of high school where coach Walt (former WSU coach) came to watch me and fortunately I played well at that event,” he said. “He decided to recruit me through that. Coach Clegg came in after my redshirt freshman year at WSU.”

Born in South Korea, Lee’s family later moved to Calgary, Alberta. He didn’t begin to play golf until his teenage years, long after moving to Canada.

“When I was 12, almost 13, I started playing golf that winter,” he said. “I actually started in an indoor bubble because it snows quite a bit up there,”

His years practicing in Canada may pay off as the 2013-14 off-season rolls around after next weekend’s North Carolina-based tournament.

“During the off-season, we do a little more with our working out, but the off-season consists of a lot of rest because golf’s such a mental game that if you’re always practicing you can get burnt out,” said Lee.

While his team continues its quest for an NCAA Championship appearance, Lee has been quietly dominating the season himself.

Lee, along with teammates Michael Anderson and Blake Snyder, helped propel their team to a tied-for-first finish in the Mark Simpson CU Invitational. At one point in the event, WSU trailed first place team and tournament host Colorado by 12 strokes. Lee shot an even-par 72 (E) in the final round of play.

“I feel like it’s all about confidence out here week in and week out,” Lee said in reference to his team’s co-title in Colorado. “And to have two tournaments out of four as a win for us – it’s a good confidence booster, and it shows our team’s ability.”

Perhaps his most memorable moment in his fourth season with the Cougars came in the team’s last tournament: a 17-team event in Akron, Ohio. Washington State finished second overall after three rounds of play, but Lee’s gutsy performance in the final round almost gave the Cougars the victory.

“(Playing in the Ohio tournament) was a big week for my ball striking,” Lee said. “I’ve struggled with that before. It’s one of the weakest parts of my game. To have that show up for an event where you needed it because the course was very tree-lined was a confidence boost for me.”

Whether it’s the weakest part of his game or not, Lee’s ball striking was not a problem in the tournament. Scores of 74 (+2), 70 (-2), and 72 (E) sent Lee into a tie for eighth place overall in the Firestone Invitational, just two strokes out of third place on the individual leaderboard.

“Rather than the placing,” Lee said, “just being able to hit the ball well did more for my confidence than anything.”

As a team, Lee knew Washington State was close to breaking out for their third win of the year.

“We always focus on finishing well in a tournament because it usually comes down to the wire,” he said. “In Colorado, we were able to do that really well, but to lose (in Ohio) shows that it can be different week to week.”