Boys’ golf (13-0 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division) added to their undefeated record with a 202-214 win against Woodside High School on Thursday, April 18 at the Old Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links, clinching their second straight league championship in the process.
The players’ familiarity with the layout and confidence in their games helped them begin the match in impressive fashion. The first four holes provided players with noteworthy pars. However, the standout moment for Burlingame arrived during the middle of their round, with five out of six Panthers carding a birdie on the par-5 fifth. While all played this hole well, junior Zach Newman’s pitch from forty yards spun back eight feet to set up a particularly outstanding tap-in birdie.
The best scores of the day came from senior Nate Teitelbaum, who shot an impressive even par 36, and Newman, who shot 38. Junior Ian Lai, returning from a previous week that saw him shoot an all-time low three-under 33, shot 42 during the match. Not wholly content with his performance, Lai mentioned that he feels overwhelmed by the sheer amount of golf he has been playing.
“When I play too much golf, too many swing thoughts get in my head,” Lai said. “Things get screwed with my swing, and things just go off the rails.”
Despite his humble attitude towards his game, it is safe to say Lai is still playing spectacular golf of late. In fact, he was recognized as the Daily Journal Athlete of the Week for his 33 at the Panther’s April 11 matchup against Hillsdale High School. He said the secret to his success during that round was knowing when to attack pins and when to play conservatively.
“I think after the sixth hole, it hit me that I’m low,” Lai said. “ I had to keep things together, can’t take aggressive lines, just got to play it safe.”
Since the Panthers have consistently scored below 200 during their matches, this round served as an outlier to their dominance. But even though they did not perform their best against the Wildcats, assistant coach Taylor White was still proud of his players.
“What I shared with the team at the end of the match is even on a day when we didn’t have our best game going, we still managed to win the match,” White said.
White also mentioned that the Panthers’ inherently competitive nature, which was apparent in the team’s match against Woodside, is the main ingredient to their success on and off the course.
“I think they’re really pushing each other, and the level of competition amongst each other has motivated each of them to play their best golf,” White said.
With this win and PAL league title, Burlingame receives an automatic berth into the Central Coast Section tournament on May 7. The team will try to finish off its undefeated record with a victory against San Mateo High School on April 25.
