Walsh’s drive is par for family course
As an overachieving running back at San Jose State, a scrappy college infielder at the University of Texas and now as a highprofile head football coach at one of Northern California's premier programs, Serra's Patrick Walsh has largely preached, if not epitomized, a single concept.
Team, team and more team. So when his then-11-year-old son Willy told dad one day he wanted to skip batting practice to instead hit golf balls on the range, Patrick hesitated for a second, bowed and basically said “be my guest.”
As a sport, golf presents a unique set of challenges, none Patrick — a self-proclaimed “Army golfer ... left, right, left, right” — has been able to conquer.
“It's the ultimate game of one versus self,” Patrick said. “The conditions you battle deep within are so unique and so riveting.”
Willy gave up football and baseball — and soccer as well — and made his own path, largely clear of rough, sand or even divots.
A junior at Serra, he's ranked the nation's 50th-ranked player in his class by the American Junior Golf Association. He has committed to defending national champion Pepperdine after also receiving offers from golf powers USC, Oregon, Arizona and Wake Forest.
The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder will be the first to tee it up Tuesday morning at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey for the Central Coast Section tournament finals. The West Catholic Athletic League medalist leads a team that won the roundrobin and tournament WCAL crowns and has won or shared four CCS crowns, the last being in 2006.
The top three teams and four individuals not from those squads advance to the Northern California tournament at Berkeley Country Club on Monday.
“It was hard giving up the other sports, especially football,” said Willy, a receiver, defensive back and kicker. “I loved football, being on a team of 50-60 guys all committed and accountable for one cause. But to be truly great at golf, I had to commit everything. I truly think golf is the hardest sport there is. At least for me. I'm sort of a perfectionist. It's hard to conquer.”
None of it has been easy. At Willy's first junior tournament in Modesto, the temperatures soared over 100 and he shot 65 — for nine holes. “He finished dead last,” Patrick said. “He was pretty distraught. I asked him what he thought. He said, ‘I need to get better.' ”
He did, but his perfectionist ways can get the better of him. That's where dad comes in. Though mentor Marlo Bramlett and swing coach Matt Kilgariff got his game off the ground, Patrick filled in all other spots. “He's my mental coach,” Willy said. “Always has been. On a competitive level. He teaches me life skills. He doesn't care if I shoot 90 or 66, he cares that I compete all 18 holes and I'm not making excuses or throwing clubs.”
Willy remembered he hurled a club as a 12-year-old. “Dad was on the bag. He dropped them and said ‘I'll see you in the car.' I never did that again.”
Teammate Trevor Moquin said Willy's mental game is what sets him apart, though it helps to drive the ball close to 290 yards consistently. Willy, whose golfing idol is Jordan Spieth, is also considered the team's best putter.
“He stays super focused throughout every round,” Moquin said.
Willy has won several junior events, most notably shooting 13-under in a two-day AJGA World qualifier last summer in Las Vegas. Those wins helped secure him a scholarship and his ranking.
“The fact he's had athletic success independent of me is great. I don't think I've beaten him since he was 10 or 11 and now I never will,” Patrick said.
“What I'm most happy about is that he's humble and competitive at the same time. That makes me very, very proud.”
Brother/sister rivalry at Oracle: Besides Washington (15-10) trying to break a 16-game losing streak to Lowell (21-7) — and the Cardinals' seven-year title run — in Tuesday's San Francisco Section baseball championship at Oracle Park, there's also a serious sibling rivalry. Roman Fong, the starting third baseman for Lowell, and Bella Fong, just called up from the Washington junior varsity, are sophomore twins. Game time is 4 p.m. and admission is free.