Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Hillsdale’s Alejandro Formosa

So, before Formosa indeed captured his second straight PAL championship last week, the Knights rallied to deliver on his team goal, rallying to earn a bid to the CCS championships, as a team, for the first time in over a decade.

“This is my fourth time going down to Monterey, and my first time going with my team,” Formosa said. “So, it’s going to be awesome.”

Formosa was glowing at the end of the two-day PAL championships. After the team took care of business Monday in Burlingame, Formosa closed out the individual title Tuesday at the Half Moon Bay Golf Links. It was a reprieve after his freshman year, when placed second in the PAL championships, watching Aragon’s Lequan Wang finish two strokes better to claim the title on that very course.

However, there was a lot more to it than just the individual accomplishment.

“He was so happy because that was his goal,” Hillsdale head coach Dave Johnson. “His goal this year was to be an example and a mentor to our younger guys ... to try to have the best differential in the league ... to go as a team to Monterey for CCS, so he led that charge, and to defend his title as PAL champion. So, I think he went 4 for 4 ... which is pretty cool.”

And Formosa’s week only got better, with Hillsdale celebrating his signing ceremony as an NCAA Division I commit to Columbia University. Adding to his remarkable run of success, he has been named the Daily Journal Athlete of the Week.

The signing ceremony was a remarkable day for the Hillsdale program, as two of its golfers officially committed to play at the next level. Senior Ashlyn Johnson, a standout on the girls’ team, signed with reigning Division III women’s golf champion George Fox University.

For Formosa, who attended Hillsdale’s signing ceremony as a freshman, it was a full-circle moment.

“It was really special, “ Formosa said. “I had a lot of my friends there. I had two of my mentors there. It was a really special moment.”

Prior to winning any individual hardware, Formosa was already looking to put not just himself, but the Hillsdale team, on the map. He approached his former Little League baseball teammate Tommy Kane following their sophomore year. Kane was coming off two years of high school baseball. Formosa had given up baseball after their San Mateo National Little League Majors All-Star team closed out the memorable summer of 2019, when the “Nats” brought home district and section championships.

Formosa was still in the backswing of achieving one of the finest boys’ golfing careers in Hillsdale history when he made a pitch to Kane — give up baseball, join the golf team, and we’ll have a chance to share another prestigious championship in yet another sport.

It was fitting the player to officially clinch the PAL boys’ championship last Monday at Crystal Springs Golf Course was Kane, who sank a three-foot putt for bogey on the 18th hole.

“The whole team just really stepped up,” Formosa said. “Everybody knows this is going to be our last time playing together, so everybody wants to show up. ... So, just the team bonding, it was amazing.”

When Kane joined the 2024 team, the Knights still lacked depth. Along with Formosa, the only other returning players were seniors Taiga Sobajima and Max Lips, and fellow third-year junior Owen Nobrega. That’s when fortune smiled on the Hillsdale program. In addition to junior David Siu joining the team, incoming freshman Gus Ganesh showed up and quickly skyrocketed to the Knights’ No. 2 seed behind Formosa.

It was Ganesh who contested Formosa’s championship on Day Two, even overtaking him on the scorecard at a point. Formosa got rolling on the eighth hole, though, and would record four birdies over the next seven holes, reclaimed the lead on the 11th. Not only did Formosa birdie on 11, Gamesh found a water hazard and settled for a double bogey.

“It was sweet and sour at the same time,” Formosa said. “Gus is my teammate. You never want to see him go in the water, but. ...”

Overall, Formosa simply proved more powerful off the tee. He had to overcome rough starts both days, bogeying the first two holes on Day One.

“Obviously bogeying the first two holes, that’s not the start I wanted to have,” Formosa said, “and I knew after that I had my team riding on my back, I’ve really got to step up right now. So, I just tried to put my head down and just play golf.”

Formosa started his round in HMB on the Old Course with a bogey. So, he put his head down again and blasted away, finding his rhythm with a magnificent drive on the difficult par-4 ninth with what Johnson called “a John Rahm-type fade.”

“Oh, yeah,” Johnson said. “I think he’s maybe 15 to 20 yards longer off the tee (this season). ... He’s been working out like a maniac over the last year. And just his demeanor. He’s just a lot calmer out there.”

Formosa couldn’t have asked for a better backdrop for his final putt on the county links of his Hillsdale career. With the sun setting, and the Pacific Ocean at his back, he calmly putted for par to preserve a 2-over 74, totaling a 145 through two day of play. It was enough for him to win the PAL championship by six strokes.

“I think it was all just relief,” Formosa said, “realizing that I’ve done this back to back. ... Especially being in Half Moon Bay on the 18th hole, right next to the ocean, it’s a really nice place to be. ... So, I think that was a super special, super relieving moment. I think I was just looking back on my four years here. So, that was just definitely pretty special.”