LAKEWOOD, Calif. — When we arrive, with cameras in hand, brother and sister are practicing on the putting green. Brianna   Ð? then moves to the driving range, the first tee, the second tee, swinging with an ease that comes from the comfort of rhythm and the sight of her home course, the scenic Lakewood Country Club, just minutes from her home.

""This is great. I come here all the time,"" she says, trim, toothy and fit under a snug white sweater and red cap. Newly 18, with more than a handful of titles from high school and American Junior Golf Association matches, she’s heading for UCLA on a ""full ride"" scholarship, as her father proudly describes, to a recruiting class ranked No. 1 in the country by Golfweek.

Ð?, a senior at nearby Long Beach Wilson High, has been ranked seventh by the AJGA and earned Second-Team AJGA All-America honors in 2007. In June of 2006, she came in first at consecutive junior events, recording three other Top 10 finishes, and among her accomplishments is placing second at the PING Junior in Texas at The Woodlands last April.

Ð?  and her only brother, Max, used to go swimming, lugging much lighter gear. Their parents drove them to the historic Olympic-sized indoor pool in Long Beach, which they thought was a fun spot, and  Ð?, for a time, also pursued badminton. But now, the focus, as father Max  Ð?, Sr., says, is another ""full ride"" — for his son. Talent scouts already are calling the close-knit family from schools in the Midwest. The elder Max, who owns a Philly cheese steak restaurant and a video store, and who picked up golf in his homeland of Vietnam, says he hopes investing at least $30,000 annually on Brianna’s golf dreams will later pay off.

""This is a game that teaches young people discipline and independence,"" he says. ""You can play it forever.""

Playing it so far has allowed his daughter to tour the nation and the world, carting clubs to locales such as Latvia, Finland and the Virgin Islands. She has teed it up at Indiana’s famed Crooked Stick, where John Daly won the PGA championship on his first try in 1991. For domestic trips, her parents accompany her, while coaches and adult support staff guide the kids on international treks. ""I’ve been a chauffeur a long, long time,"" Max Sr., says, laughing as he recounts how one morning in 2006, while his daughter was entered in an event in Kentucky’s bluegrass country, he rose before dawn to ferry his son north across the stateline to Ohio.

""Luckily, I can drive now,"" says  Ð?, sporting Tiffany earrings that are her 18th-birthday present (her parents were traveling in Vietnam on the occasion.) She celebrated by going out to dinner with friends at Downtown Disney. Her hobbies, pretty much, are practicing and watching movies with pals.

Hanging out, that sounds normal. But the star athlete’s weekly schedule is far from average. Here, as we stroll along Bermuda grass, she gives Nguoi Viet 2 a glimpse:

NV2: What’s a routine for you?

Ð?: I try to play every Thursday after school in winter. I play four rounds weekly during tournaments; two to three rounds a week during the regular season. I play a lot — just me, Max and Jane (Rah, fellow juniors champion). We talk a lot to each other.

NV2: How do you deal with your emotions on the first tee?

Ð?: Three years ago, the first time I played the AJGA invitationals, I just tried not to think about it too much. I think, "I’m playing another round, not playing with the best juniors in the world."

NV2: Who gives you critiques?

Ð?: My dad can kind of tell me what I’m doing wrong, first. My dad wouldn’t also just clap for me if I make a good putt. He claps for other girls, too… I have my coaches, my support group. I just try to motivate myself.

NV2: I can’t believe you’re playing so comfortably with brand-new clubs.

Ð?: I have a Callaway (brand) connection. I know I can’t be sponsored until you turn professional. Three years ago, I was fitted for clubs, and now, I just got fitted again. I have a ton of balls, too.

NV2: How did you get introduced to the game?

Ð?: At first, it was going out there, having fun. Me and my dad, my brother and my mom. We played nine holes. At 11, I started these nine-hole tournaments around here… In eighth grade, after winning my first AJGA tournament, it kind of clicked. I thought, "I could be one of the best players’ at the junior level in the nation."

NV2: Is it too repetitive, playing on your home course so many times?

Ð?: No… I saw (PGA veteran) Jim Furyk play here, a skins game. He made a double-bogey on this hole right here. I know if he makes mistakes like that, it was like, "Hey, this is a learning thing. I’m here to learn."

NV2: What do you shoot here?

Ð?: 75 (par is 72. At nearly 5 feet 4 inches, she drives the ball an average of 225 yards.)

NV2: Tell us about your exercise routine.

Ð?: I go to a private gym with a personal trainer. We work on legs, core, upper body. I run one or two miles each week.

NV2: When did you begin looking at colleges?

Ð?: Start of junior year. I started visiting colleges. In January 2007, I got the offer. In May 2007, I accepted (UCLA.)

NV2: Who out there has inspired you?

Ð?: (Young LPGA professionals) Morgan (Pressel), Paula (Creamer), Michelle Wie. Them making it at their age shows that you have to be real focused, hard-working, to get to where you want to be.

NV2: What’s another aim for you?

Ð?: Europe. Go backpacking. It’s one of my to-do things on my list.

NV2: Have you thought about college majors?

Ð?: I’ve been thinking about sports management, sports medicine. Or business. And if I weren’t playing golf, I probably would have been a swimmer.

NV2: How do you think your life will change at UCLA?

Ð?: I can really learn a lot from the great players, how they approach the game. The goal is to finish college, and then… I’ll always have a backup plan.

NV2: What worries you now?

Ð?: I worry about the normal stuff. Tests. Grades. I still have to pass my classes and not get in trouble, even though I already committed (to a college.) There’s so much on the line that I can lose.

NV2: But there’s so much about the game that captivates you as well…

Ð?: Actually, there’s not a part of the game that I like above another part because you have to get it as a whole.

NV2: So what’s a plus?

Ð?: It keeps you very calm. There’s no foul language. There’s a code of conduct we follow. No throwing. No jeans. You tuck your shirt in. No tattoos. I agree with my dad. It’s a game you can play all your life.