West Ranch boys golf’s Gunnar Murray isn’t shy when he’s having a good day on the course.
“I like to stay humble, but I’m a confident person,” Murray said. “I like to show when I’m playing good … I’m going to be happy, I’m going to be cheering, but sometimes that can rub people the wrong may and I just take it as a positive. If you’re playing well, you’ve got to show it.”
Murray backed up his confidence with an impressive golf game that ultimately earned him the title of Foothill League boys golfer of the year for the second consecutive time.
The senior won three of six league meets across the season en route to a Newhall Cup title and Foothill League individual title.
Seeing steady improvement across his four years of varsity golf, the Wildcat wanted to see his scoring average drop by two strokes this season. He accomplished that goal, lowering his average from 74.5 to 71.8.
“I’m expecting more great play in college,” said Murray, who will play at Cal State East Bay in the coming season. “I’m a late bloomer and I’m excited to see what college golf is going to bring me.”
The results of his final campaign with West Ranch boosted his self-esteem, too.
“If you have that same belief in the practice range, the putting green … if you have that same belief whatever shot you want to hit, you can hit it and you can do it under pressure, it shows that you’re really a player if you really believe in yourself,” he said.
In addition to Murray, four other West Ranch golfers were named to the Foothill League boys golf First Team: Jack Dudeck, Ben Valdez, Favian Busnawi and Matt Monheim.
Each played an integral role on the team as the Wildcats were the runner-up at the CIF-Southern Section Divisional Team Championships on May 15. In that tournament, Murray and the freshman duo of Valdez and Monheim were each even-par.
Jess Scheller and Art Thompson represented Hart as first-teamers. Thompson was the runner-up in the Foothill League individual season. Scheller was the last individual golfer standing in the playoffs, reaching the CIF/SCGA Southern State Regional Championship.
Murray is eager to see the Cats duplicate this season’s success in future seasons, but urges them to enjoy the process.
“There’s more to life than golf and on the course, golf is everything,” he said, “but off the course, you can’t take it too seriously and you’ve got to trust in what you’re doing. All the hours you’re spending on the range that the time is going to pay off.”
