Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that while Finn O'Kelly has been accepted to University of California, Santa Barbara, there is still question as to his spot on the golf team given the recent NCAA decision to extend an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus.
Siblings playing sports for the same high school is nothing new. But three brothers all playing on the same team? That doesn’t happen very often.
And yet the three O’Kelly brothers were doing just that for the Sacred Heart Prep boys’ golf team before the season was cut short — Finn O’Kelly is a senior and four-year varsity player. Beck O’Kelly, a sophomore, joined Finn last season, and this year Shay O’Kelly was added to the Gators’ mix.
“It was the most excited I’ve been for high school golf,” Finn O’Kelly said.
The O’Kellys are the second trio of brother to play for Gators during Mark Dowdy’s tenure as the SHP coach, joining the Knox brothers — Jeff, Kevin and Bradley, who played in the early to middle 2010s.
Unlike the Knoxes, however, this is the first time three brothers have played on the same team at the same time.
“It was unique to have half our starting lineup from the same family,” Dowdy said.
Finn O’Kelly is the most serious about the game, having recently been accepted to University of California, Santa Barbara where he hopes to join the golf team. Because of the extra year of eligibility given to spring sport athletes because of the coronavirus, the NCAA still has questions that need to be addressed about roster size in all spring sports.
He said he and his brothers have played golf for nearly their entire lives, but he said he stepped up his game after the family moved from New York City to Woodside in 2014.
“Our (prospective) high school team (in New York) was so bad they wanted me to play when I was a sixth grader,” Finn O’Kelly said. “In California, they take (golf) real seriously.”
Finn O’Kelly started working with a golf coach beginning in seventh grade.
“I was a scratch golfer by the time I got to high school,” Finn O’Kelly said, meaning he did not carry a handicap and could play a round of golf at par at the very least.
Beck O’Kelly said he recently started to devote his time to improving his game as he moved into the No. 2 slot for the Gators this season.
“Last year (as a freshman), I played JV soccer,” Beck O’Kelly said. “Playing back-to-back seasons (soccer and golf) was pretty rough and I was pretty rusty. I figured just playing golf was the best thing for me.”
Having played against his older brother during junior tournaments in the summer and fall, Beck O’Kelly was looking forward to the team dynamic high school golf provides.
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“You’re competing not only for yourself, you’re doing it for the team,” Beck O’Kelly said. “It’s definitely different.”
It was the ultra-competitiveness of the junior circuit that had Shay O’Kelly wondering if he wanted to play high school golf at all.
“We used to play a couple of tournaments (together) a year,” Shay O’Kelly said. “I hated them. (I hated) how individual it was, how competitive it was.”
Ultimately, the chance to play with his brothers in a team atmosphere won him over.
“It was the first time we played as a team in anything,” Shay O’Kelly said.
As much as the O’Kelly brothers enjoyed the short opportunity to play together before the coronavirus shut everything down, there was still a competitive drive that only siblings can understand.
“The oldest one can’t stand losing to either of the younger ones,” Dowdy said.
Finn O’Kelly can count, on one hand, the number of times Beck has beaten him — twice. He has yet to lose to Shay. Last summer, both Finn and Beck played in a tournament at Poppy Ridge in Livermore.
“He shot a 74 and I shot 78,” Finn O’Kelly said. “It was a long car ride home.”
But Finn O’Kelly also credits his brothers for pushing him to be better. During a practice round, the three decided to play match play — Finn versus both Beck and Shay, who would play best ball — meaning they would play the better shot of the two.
“I had six birdies on the front nine,” Finn O’Kelly said. “And I barely beat them. I think it was 1-up. It was super sad when they canceled the season.”
With the season canceled and the shelter-in-place still in effect, obviously the O’Kellys can’t get out on the course — or hit the waves, as they are also accomplished surfers. So they spend their time doing whatever training they can do in their backyard and garage.
And while this edition of the O’Kelly brothers was cut short, there is a very good chance there will be an O’Kellys 2.0 as Liam O’Kelly, who is in seventh grade, will be heading to high school when Beck in a senior and Shay a junior.
“[Liam will] probably be the best of us all,” Finn O’Kelly said.
“They all get along really well,” Dowdy said. “It’s super helpful when everyone is supportive of each other, which makes my job as a coach way easier.”
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