Unlike other sports, high school boys’ golf is an individual sport with a team element, which means there are two ways an athlete can qualify for the Central Coast Section championships.
One way is to qualify as a team. In the Peninsula Athletic League, that means winning a Bay Division championship, or winning the four-team play-in tournament. The other way to qualify is an individual and that is accomplished by shooting a qualifying score at the league tournament.
But before we get to the postseason, there are league and division championships still to be determined. Burlingame tops the PAL Bay Division and head coach Jon Ramirez is more concerned about that than the upcoming PAL individual championship.
“Right now, it’s about our team and trying to win a league title and qualify as a team to CCS,” said Burlingame head coach Jon Ramirez, who is in his sixth season with the Panthers and 15th coaching in the PAL.
“My team, across the board, in my six years at Burlingame, this is my lowest-scoring team.”
Well, Ramirez and the Panthers, led by Cole Weyer and Leo Jun, can turn their attention to the PAL individual tournament now that the Panthers have wrapped up the Bay Division championship.
Burlingame’s 212-244 win over Sequoia, coupled with Menlo-Atherton’s 193-200 win over second-place Carlmont, clinched the division title for the Panthers. Burlingame plays Carlmont next week in the regular-season finale.
Burlingame (10-1 PAL Bay) has already beaten Carlmont (8-2) once this season, but if Carlmont made it to next week unscathed, it would set up a showdown for the title. But the Panthers now own a two-game lead with one match left to play.
“I guess there won’t be a dramatic end-of-the-season match for the championship,” Ramirez said.
Terra Nova has wrapped up the Ocean Division title and will be one of four teams plays in the PAL CCS play-in tournament. The loser of Burlingame and Carlmont will join Terra Nova and then the next two teams with the best differential. Erik Anderson, Mills’ head coach and the PAL director of golf, said as things stand right those final two teams will be Menlo-Atherton and Woodside.
“The parity continues to get stronger and stronger, which is exciting to see in the Bay Division,” Ramirez said.
Clear-cut favorite for PAL individual title
The PAL individual tournament championship is a two-day event that begins Monday, April 27 at Crystal Springs Golf Course. The top 24 players and ties will make the cut and then play a second round Tuesday at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.
As things stand right now, Menlo-Atherton’s Graham Martin appears to be the player to beat. The junior is ranked third in CCS by coaches who report their statistics to iwannamaker.com and has shot below par in six of seven PAL Bay Division matches this season.
“I’ve been involved with (PAL) golf since 1999 and he has probably shot the best scores I’ve seen,” Anderson said. “Normally, top guys will shoot one or two rounds below par. But not six out of seven.”
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But everyone knows anyone can be beaten on any given day and the rest of the PAL is not going to simply crown Martin. Carlmont’s Veer Bahl and Keegan Marlatt have battled it out for the top Scots’ spot, with Benjamin Brown also in the mix. Burlingame pair, Cole Weyer and Leo Jun, also expect to be in the mix for the PAL title.
The PAL will have a new champion this year. Hillsdale’s Alejandro Formosa won the title in 2024 and 2025, but graduated last spring.
Breaking through
While the top golfer in the section are used to shooting par or better more often than not, not everyone is the next Rory McIlroy.
And coaches are quick to celebrate the achievements of those who grind to find success. Burlingame’s Brandon Castillo is one such player, who transferred to Burlingame from Capuchino last year as a sophomore and went out for the Panthers’ golf team.
“He didn’t play a single match last year,” said Burlingame head coach Jon Ramirez.
Monday, Castillo shot a 1-over 36 at Peninsula Golf & Country Club — the best high school round of his life.
“He birdied the last hole. He was excited and very much should be,” Ramirez said. “When he came out this year, he was 10 times better than the year before. … He’s a (driving) range rat. He lives at public courses.”
Serra looking to make a lot of noise
The Padres have had some tremendous individual golfers over the years — from Jordan Cox in the mid-2000s to 2013 Daily Journal Golfer of the Year Isaiah Salinda to Willy Walsh, who is currently a sophomore at Pepperdine and ranked No. 25 in the nation.
Last year, Serra sophomore Kyler Heath was the Daily Journal Golfer of the Year, finishing second in the CCS championship and tied for seventh in the Northern California regional tournament.
And Heath has picked up where he left off. He is the top-ranked golfer in CCS and leads a Serra squad that is ranked No. 2 in the section, behind Pebble Beach’s Stevenson High School.
Heath is one of four Serra golfers ranked in the top 50 — Jacob Vierneza is No. 20, Connor Eichler is No. 33 and Blake Baldi No. 35.
There are a handful of other county teams ranked in the top 20 as well. Nueva School comes in ranked No. 10, Carmont No. 13, Burlingame No. 14, Menlo-Atherton No. 16 and Woodside No. 19.
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