Following an 8-4 regular season in league play, the boys’ golf team is now getting ready to move on to the second round of CIF play.
“I think we have played continually better as the playoffs have progressed,” Adrian Berger ’15 said. “We started out okay, but I definitely think AP’s being over helped us concentrate on golf. I don’t think we were very happy with our league record, so we definitely were motivated to do well in playoffs.”
The team ended the regular season on a very high note, claiming victory in four of the last five league matches, including the final two against Chaminade.
“The team understood that our regular season meant absolutely nothing,” Bakari Bolden ‘14 said. “We couldn’t put up a solid team effort this entire season. However, starting at league finals we started to play and practice with a purpose.”
The Wolverines placed second in the Mission League Finals tournament. Brandon Kewalrami ’17 posted a 74 and Bolden a 76. Both Kewalrami and Bolden moved on to the first round of the CIF-SS Individual playoffs with their performances.
“We were very disappointed,” Bolden said. “We did not come out and play smart golf, which is why scores were so high including myself. We lost to Loyola by four strokes I believe. And as terribly as we played, we were still able to compete with the league champions of the past 4 years.”
On May 14, Kwealrami shot a 74, which landed him the top 20 out of 105 competing players. The performance elevated Kewalrami to the CIF-SS Individual Championship that will be taking place on Tuesday, May 27. Bolden also had an opportunity to move on to the CIF-SS Individual Championship, but was disqualified because he did not sign the scorecard that was turned in.
“I’m really looking to improve on my mental game,”
Bolden said. “I find that my biggest obstacle is my brain and once I improve my mental game, I know that my golf game will improve exponentially.”
In the first round of the CIF playoffs, the team shot 11 over par and finished in second place out of the 20 competing teams. Berger led the team with a 1-under 71, Kewalramani finished even-par and Tyler Graham ’15 shot a 75.
“We didn’t do as well as we wanted in League finals, but we played very well in CIF, finishing runner-up,” Berger said. “Since I have been frustrated with my performance all season, it was very rewarding to finish 2nd overall as an individual at CIF. We head to the desert next week to compete among the top 14 teams in Southern California, and I am personally excited to play well there.”
The team now moves on to the second round of the playoffs, along with 14 opponents from the southern section.
“Now that we are in CIF, we only get one round of golf to determine whether or not we advance and we understand the importance of every single shot,” Bolden said.
