ESPN RISE

Ever since she picked up the game at age 7, Jane Rah has worked with professional golf instructors to develop the kind of textbook swing even the most seasoned players dream of.

Others might hit the ball farther, but few have Rah's compact, picture-perfect stroke, the product of countless hours of work and a determination rarely seen in players of any age.

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Jane Rah has committed to Oklahoma State.

While that swing has made the 5-foot-1 Torrance senior one of the best junior golfers in the country  she was No. 29 in the American Junior Golf Association Polo Rankings at press time  it first received validation back in 2003, when her father submitted video of her to Golf Digest for a youth swing contest.

Rah won and was featured in the September 2003 issue of the magazine. One of the other golfers under consideration for first prize? Michelle Wie. And it's a good thing Rah got familiar with some media attention, because it was about to pick up dramatically.

She signed up for the 2004 Safeway Classic Amateur Open, an event in Oregon where the winner got to play in the Safeway Classic, an LPGA event. Rah's family made the 14-hour drive up north, and it proved to be worth every minute. Playing in rainy, windy conditions, Rah posted a 4-over 76 to win the amateur tournament by one stroke  securing a berth in an event featuring the best players in the world before she had even entered the eighth grade.

"I was playing against college girls who hit it really far, but we drove all the way up there, so I figured I might as well give it all I have," Rah says. "When I found out I had the lowest score of the day, I was shocked."

Even though she didn't make the cut at the Safeway Classic pro event, the experience reinforced Rah's determination to become a professional.

Rah has always been single-minded in her pursuit of athletic excellence. Since her family moved from Chicago to Southern California when Rah was 9 so she could play golf year round, nothing has distracted her from her drive to make the LPGA. Competing against the pros at Safeway made the dream seem like a reality.

"Watching them, I realized how much it takes to succeed," says Rah, who has verbally committed to national power Oklahoma State. "I knew that's where I wanted to be already, but seeing it up close made it even more definite. But I knew I had a lot of work to do to get there."

Given that experience, it's no surprise Rah wasn't intimidated when she became an integral part of Torrance's team as a freshman. The Tartars were loaded that year and were intent on winning their first-ever state title. Playing alongside senior Angela Park, now an LPGA pro, Rah proved to be the missing piece to the championship puzzle.

Coach John Wurzer could tell she was going to be special from the beginning.

"She's very determined to be the best," Wurzer says. "She has such a focused attitude, which is common with good players, but you don't always see it with freshmen."

With Rah and Park leading the way, Torrance rolled to the state championship, beating runner-up Long Beach Wilson by 24 strokes. But it was Rah's individual performance that turned heads that day. Or, more accurately, that night.

Playing in brutal conditions that saw only six players shoot below 80, Rah and Park went head-to-head down the stretch with an ending worthy of Hollywood. Darkness was setting in by the time Rah, in the second-to-last group, reached the 18th hole. To combat the problem, event officials parked a group of cars around the green and turned on their headlights to illuminate the course.

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Dustin Snipes

Rah is the No. 29 ranked golfer according to the American Junior Golf Association.

Despite the darkness and weather, Rah knocked her second shot onto the green, 30 feet away from the cup. She would've been happy with a two-putt for par. Instead, with the assembled motorcade providing the only light and the individual state title on the line, she drained the long birdie putt to seal a two-stroke win over Park. Rah shot a 71 and was the only player under par.

"That was a great putt," Wurzer says. "It was extremely windy that day, and by that point the wind was gusting upwards of 35 miles per hour. To shoot 1-under on extremely challenging conditions was really impressive."

Rah's ability to thrive under those circumstances comes from her unflappable demeanor. Regardless of the conditions or how she's playing, she focuses on the next shot.

"Coach Wurzer always says he can never tell how I'm playing by looking at me," Rah says.

The best example of that came at last year's state tournament. Playing in tough conditions once again, the Tartars were struggling early on, epitomized by Rah's double bogey on the ninth hole, dropping her to 3-over par.

Over the final nine holes, Rah shot 3-under to fight back to even par and finish second individually as the Tartars held off Stevenson of Pebble Beach by one stroke to win the team state crown.

"She had the ability to shake off that ninth hole and go into a mode where she was going to play better," Wurzer says.

Mental toughness comes in handy in the many elite junior tourneys Rah participates in. At the 2007 Rolex Girls Junior Championship, Rah headed into the final day one shot behind the leader. She took the lead on the second hole and never looked back, shooting the best score of the final round to claim her first major title.

"It's really important to stay consistent because golf is so frustrating at times," Rah says. "From hole to hole things can change so quickly, but I've been through a lot of it so I'm used to it."

But with talent like Rah's, there are also times when everything goes well. Like the 2005 Family Toyota/Family Honda AJGA tourney, where she shot 13-under to win the 54-hole event. That was tied for the fifth-best 54-hole score ever in an AJGA tournament.

It's not always going to be that easy, but Rah has a great chance this year to bookend her high school career with additional individual and team titles. After that, it's off to Oklahoma State and, eventually, a pro career.

Somebody call Golf Digest: It's time for a sequel.

Ryan Canner-O'Mealy covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.