The Paly boys Golf team had a strong season, even becoming league champions of the De Anza division, but ultimately ended up short of where they wanted to be. 

“I really thought we’d get past CCS and at least participate in the state’s tournament, but it’s fine,” Freshman Justun Kim said. “Like, this is just my first year ​​and I think we did really well.” 

The team finished with 10 wins, one loss, and one tie, finishing first in the league standings. They started their season out pretty rough, losing their first match to Cupertino, 213 to 210. The team quickly had to bounce back, which they did as never lost another match through the season.  

They had a close call, however, tying Monte Vista in the middle of the season with a score of 210 to 210, being the closest match that they had all season.

“That was like that was the closest [match] we had all season because like ties in golf almost never happen ever,” Kim said.

The team was constructed with a strong combination of both freshman stars Joshua Wang and Justun Kim along with upperclassmen like Kevin Lee (‘22), Julian Galindo (‘23), and Jeremy Yun (‘22), who all paved the way for the team’s success, with those five players playing every match. 

This underclassmen talent gives boys Golf hope for years to come, as a strong foundation has already been built with assistance from coach Doyle Knight leading the way. 

“I think next year, even though we’re losing two seniors, we’re gaining by a really strong player,” Kim said. “And I’m also hoping that the next year’s freshmen will also be really strong. So like, of course, everyone on the team right now is going to improve like that’s like it has to happen. So we’re definitely going to improve next year.”

The team automatically qualified for the league tournament, as they won the De Anza League, placing first in the standings, and had a strong enough performance in that tournament in order to qualify for the CCS playoffs.

The Vikes came in as the fifth seeded team of the second region qualifiers for the CCS playoffs, projected to not make the CCS finals. They came out strong, however, defying the odds as they breezed through the qualifiers, being third in the team standings, shooting 407 total, with Joshua Wang shooting 76, tying for fourth in the individual standings, and Kevin Lee not far behind, shooting 79 on the day, tying for 10th in the individual standings. 

They came out even stronger in the CCS playoff finals, shooting 405 total, two strokes better than their previous round in the CCS regional qualifiers but it was not enough as they came up short, placing seventh in the team standings for the finals, missing the cut for the Norcal championships, a rough ending for their season. 

As mentioned earlier, they look to come back next year even stronger, as they gain stronger players and use this offseason to become better as they defend their title as a league champion.