Mount Si’s golf team seemingly bucked the trend of what would normally be considered a year for rebuilding by finishing among two other schools in a three-way tie for first place in KingCo 4A.

With the loss of large senior representation to graduation last year, most sports teams would see a dip in overall performance while the new players, freshmen and students new to the sport, were training and learning the ropes. Instead, the Mount Si boys made a large improvement over last season’s placing, despite losing seven seniors.

These improvements shown by the existing players along with the addition of talented freshman golfers, helped Mount Si close out the season with a 7-1 record, only losing in an extremely close game against Newport on Sept. 7.

Brandon Proudfoot, head coach of boys golf, said that part of the team’s success was due to the performances from the top four players on the team. Seniors Jake Brady and Jordan Lau, and freshmen Cooper Neil and Drew Warford.

“This is probably the best single class I’ve ever had come in as freshmen,” Proudfoot said. “This may be the best freshman class ever at Mount Si. I was expecting this to be a strong class but I didn’t know how strong.”

Warford is the team’s highest-ranked player and individually is ranked second in KingCo 4A in league points. He has played in the Washington Junior Golf Association since he was 9 year old and has played in American Junior Golf Association events as well.

“He is a good kid and a really good golfer,” Proudfoot said. “He is probably is the most solid ball striker, he hits the ball very solid every time. One of the best I’ve ever seen, ever.”

Warford said he has enjoyed playing at Mount Si and getting to know his teammates as they work toward qualifying for the state tournament.

“It’s my first year, I’m getting to know all the guys and the courses we play. It’s been going really well. I think I’m second in points right now. I’m looking forward to districts and state if I make it,” Warford said. “Over the summer I practiced every day because I just love the game.”

Neil, the second freshman in this year’s top four, also put up an impressive performance this season with his strong short game.

Proudfoot said Neil’s consistency is what makes him a good golfer.

“He just doesn’t make mistakes and routinely beats kids who hit it twice as far as he does,” Proudfoot said. “He is the lively talker of the group and gets along with the seniors.”

Neil has been playing golf for about as long as Warford and the two of them are friends who occasionally practice together. When Neil tried out for the team, he earned the fourth place spot on the leaderboard but since has moved up to third throughout the season.

“I just came out with the best I could for tryouts and played well,” he said. “I just try my best and have coach help me with my swing angle and fix my swing because I had some issues halfway through the season. I definitely look up to the seniors on the team, they help me a lot and we have a great bond on the team.“

Proudfoot said that seniors Lau and Brady, the other half of Mount Si’s top four, have filled in the leadership roles on the team and have seen improvements in their game during the season.

“Every year has gotten better, him and Jake are good friends, so they played a lot this summer,” Proudfoot said. “They just all put in thousands of hours at the golf course. It’s want you want from a coaching standpoint.”

Brady explained that last season he felt saved by his short game, but was able to really improve his long game this year. Unfortunately, he had a mid-season dip in performance when three of his clubs broke during a round against Newport.

“Last year my short game really saved my rounds, but this year I started to hit the ball a lot better, he said. “In our match at Newcastle, I broke three of my irons in one round, the club heads flew off when I hit the ball and I ended up shooting my worst round in I don’t know how long. It was weird, but other than that I think I played OK.”

Lau also felt he made some important improvements during his last season at Mount Si. Currently fifth overall in KingCo, Lau attributes his improvement to off-season practice.

“My approaches have really improved,” he said. “I’m hitting a lot of greens now, which is probably the biggest difference in my game. I’m also hitting the ball a lot farther. A lot of the par fives are easier to get to.”

Proudfoot is looking forward to the future of the program and the developing skills of the strong freshman class.

“I expect us to continue to get stronger,” he said. “I’ve got the two kids, Drew and Cooper who are already contributing at the top, but right behind them I’ve got three other freshmen who have played most varsity matches, and a couple other freshmen who are on JV and have a lot of potential. It’s a big class with a lot of talent and I expect to keep getting better and be strong for a while.”