Sophomore Albert Jing tapped the golf ball with his putter on the final hole against Monta Vista on March 4. The ball glided along the green and then sunk into the hole for a birdie. That shot sealed the win for the team and it “felt pretty good,” Jing said.
Before Albert and his twin brother, sophomore Geoffrey Jing played their rounds, the team had been down by five strokes. With strong play coming from the duo (they beat their opponents by nine strokes), the team managed to make a comeback and won the match 182-192 since the last place score is dropped from each team.
Starting with the match against Monta Vista, the travel team, consisting of seniors Daniel Kraft and William Liu, junior Kevin Sze and sophomores Michael Burry and Albert and Geoffrey Jing, has had a four-match winning streak, with the most recent win coming against Gunn on March 14. The team smoked Gunn 190-221 and Milpitas 189-234 on March 11, while narrowly beating traditionally talented Palo Alto 193-198 on March 6. Their 4-0 record places them at the top of the De Anza League as of mid-March since all of the other teams have lost at least one match. Albert Jing and Sze are individually ranked first and second in the league respectively.
Their biggest match of the season so far occurred on March 19 against a strong Cupertino squad. (The Falcon was unable to cover this match in the print issue due to printing deadlines.)
While the team has seen a lot of success so far this season, Liu believes that they can still improve. Against Gunn, Liu said that while the team won by more than 30 strokes, they each had moments when they could have played better.
“Conditions were great, and we all played rounds that were easily capable of being under par, and for myself, further under par,” Liu said.
Similarly, against Milpitas, Albert said that the main reason for the team’s win was Milpitas’s inexperience with tougher competition.
“We won by a lot because Milpitas moved up a league and they weren't really good,” Albert said. “We played decently well but Milpitas played really badly.”
Nonetheless, the team’s hard work has been paying off for them this season, especially for the Jing brothers. Albert said that he practiced a lot during the offseason to improve his play. He also said that he can play better in tournaments compared to when he is just practicing because of the increased pressure.
“In tournaments, I really want to do well for the team,” Albert said. “Sometimes in practice, I don’t care enough to play closely. Also, I play with my brother in matches and we have some sort of chemistry; either both of us do really badly or both of us do really well. ”
For the season, the boys have high expectations because all of the members of the travel team are returning players. Although Liu did not play on the travel team last year, he played on the team two years ago.
Since the team sent individuals to the second round of CCS last year, Albert said he is hoping that this year, the boys can make it to the second round of CCS as a team and possibly send some players to NorCals.
Liu said that his goals for this season are primarily to enjoy himself more on the golf course, which will only come with playing better. However, he recognizes that the team is confident enough to have at least four “solid scores” per match.
“Like many other players, I want to play the best golf I can play,” Liu said. “I think our team has the capability to win this league and make it to states, so we'll see how we do from there. I trust my teammates to continue to improve and I know as a team we can always go lower."