Grass Is Greener

Youthful Pali High Golf Team Finishes Second at City Section Finals

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Palisades High boys golf coach James Paleno never likes to finish second, but even he couldn’t be too disappointed in the Dolphins’ runner-up finish at the City Championships last Wednesday on Griffith Park’s longer Wilson Course.

Last spring’s senior-laden lineup has been replaced by three freshmen, two sophomores and one junior, yet the Dolphins still shot a collective 408 and qualified for the Southern California Regionals at Brookside Country Club in Riverside.

Finishing one stroke behind Granada Hills at the 6A League Finals the week before gave the Dolphins hope that they could repeat as section champions, but the Highlanders brought their ‘A’ game and their 380 was too much for a Palisades squad loaded with potential but lacking in experience.

“I figured Granada Hills would play better and the 397 we posted [at league finals] wasn’t likely to be duplicated,” Paleno said. “They’re clearly better this year, but this inspires us to come back better next season. I’m very proud of my team. It’s a great group of kids who thirst to improve, they play on their own  on weekends and to finish second with a brand new team says a lot about how hard they’ve worked.”   

Captain Ali Zafar-Khan birdied the ninth, 17th and 18th holes to shoot 4-over par 76 and tie for fifth.

“I had a lot of birdie putts less than 10 feet and wasn’t making anything on the front nine,” said Zafar-Khan, who shot a hole-in-one on a Par 3 in Palisades’ league match April 26 against Chatsworth. “I finally drained one from seven feet with a right to left break in front of a Granada Hills gallery. I doubled 10 and had two more bogeys after that so I was flustered going to 17, but I had 120 yards to the hole, knocked the approach within one foot with a pitching wedge and tapped in. Then, on 18, my tee shot was down the middle but I didn’t hit the draw where I wanted so I lagged a putt from about 70 feet and it broke 10 feet and rolled right into the middle of the cup!”  

Sophomores Aaron Simon and Sam Swartz carded 81s and Simon birdied the 12th hole, a Par 4.   

“I hit a good drive and used my pitching wedge from 110 yards to stick it within three feet right below the hole,” said Simon, who shot a season-best 79 on the same course in league finals. “I prefer this course to Rancho. It’s fun and the greens are better.”    

Freshman Noah Mirza was the first back to the clubhouse, firing an 11-over par 83.

“I didn’t start the way I wanted to,” said Mirza, who went to Paul Revere and has played the sport since he was 8. “Some holes were a bit harder with tougher pin locations and the greens were faster than last week. Driving and putting are the strengths of my game. I would’ve been happy with a 78 or 79.”

Jackson Nettleship shot an 87, meaning fellow freshman Charlie Lovett’s 88 was discarded, as each team counts its five lowest scores.

Marshall’s Haram Shim chipped in with a wedge from the edge of the 18th green to win the individual title with a 3-under 69, two strokes clear of North Hollywood’s Diamond Lew.