Redmond swings away against 4A KingCo competition

Mustangs gear up for conference tournaments.

By Andy Nystrom • October 7, 2019 3:30 pm

Redmond High’s Akshay Anand and Arnav Mittal both experienced solid summers on the golf course and they’re putting their clubs to the test this fall with the Mustang squad.

At press time, Redmond was 4-4 in 4A KingCo nine-hole contests, and the golfers will tackle 18 holes each day during the 4A KingCo medalist tournament and KingCo state qualifier on Oct. 15-16 at Snohomish Golf Course.

Over the summer, Anand won the boys 14-15 Washington Junior Golf Association state championship with scores of 72-68-62 on the Fircrest and Oakbrook courses. The sophomore set a Fircrest course record with the 62 en route to winning the title by seven shots.

“It was a round I’ll enjoy and I’ll never forget,” Anand said about the record following Redmond’s 169-203 loss to Mount Si on Oct. 3 at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge. Anand finished second with a 33 and Mount Si’s two-time state champion Drew Warford earned medalist honors with a 31.

Anand also won the Pacific Northwest Golf Association boys 14-15 junior pro-am (71-66) and just missed the cut for Junior Worlds over the summer.

Anand and Mittal were both part of Redmond’s sixth-place state team last season, and this year’s team also features talented senior returner Ryan Ho, who was out sick for the Mount Si match, according to Anand.

Mittal, also a sophomore, won the WJGA District 2 boys 14-15 title over the summer with a 65-68 on the Coyote Creek Course at Willows Run Golf Complex in Redmond. He finished ahead of second-place Anand in that tournament and later finished seventh at state.

The Mustang said he’s been struggling a bit with his game since the end of summer, but he’s getting back on track each time out. Mittal added that his teammates both encourage him and hand out constructive criticism, which will help improve his game.

“I think it’s just practicing smartly instead of just going and hitting balls. I need to work on things that I am struggling with on the course,” said Mittal, noting that he’s been hitting solid irons, but needs to work on his drives. “If I can get my tee shots in play, that’s half the game for me.”