Boys Golf preview: For Willy Yeh, taking on challenges is par for the course

Willy Yeh enjoys a good challenge.

After all, he’s enrolled in a class called “multivariate calculus.”

With an attitude like that, there’s never a bad day for Yeh to play golf.

“When I’m playing golf, I literally don’t care about the weather,” the Mountain View junior said. “It’s simply a matter of I have to time to play. I’ve played with it’s snowing outside. I remember one time it snowed like a couple of inches, and I was outside hitting ‘bunker shots.’ So I don’t care about the weather. When it’s bad, it’s actually fun. It’s a challenge.”

On most high school golf teams, Yeh would be the No. 1 golfer. But since he arrived at Mountain View High School two years ago, Yeh has played second fiddle to one of the top golfers in the state — two-time All-Region golfer of the year Graham Moody.

But as you might expect, that’s not a problem for Yeh.

“I really appreciated having a really high competitor as a teammate because what he’s done is push me to be better,” Yeh said of Moody. “When you have a standard that’s really high — and that’s what his golf game is — you learn from it. It’s really easy to learn from how he goes around the course, how he presents himself. I feel like I try to emulate certain parts of his game. The way he plays makes me better.”

Yeh won the 3A district title as a freshman and finished second to Moody last season.

At state is where Moody has distinguished himself. He won the 3A state title as a freshman, when Yeh finished 34th.

Last spring at state, Moody tied for third while Yeh finished 27th.

Even with Moody casting a long show, Yeh doesn’t even think he’s the most overlooked player on the Mountain View team. That title goes to fellow junior Tyler Klepec.

“I feel like a lot of the stuff that (Klepec) has done is underappreciated,” Yeh said. “But he’s definitely a great teammate, and we’re glad to have him. With him as our third seed, it’s going to help us go from a great team to the best team around.”

Klepec won the Royal Oaks junior championship this summer.

“Tyler’s actually on the course right now,” Yeh said on a recent Saturday afternoon at Royal Oaks.

Moody and Yeh also get to play at Royal Oaks after they both were selected to be part of the country club’s scholarship program last fall.

“Ever since, I’ve got to play such a great facility, and that has helped me improve my game so much,” he said. “The greens here are incredible, and the course is in terrific shape all throughout the year. Like I could play here in the winter and it feels like I’m playing in the summer.”

Well, except for the weather. But that doesn’t bother Yeh.

“I played at Bandon Dunes one time, and the wind was blowing so hard the carts would be moving by themselves,” Yeh said. “You’d have to put the brakes on them on a flat slope. That was fun for sure. The score wasn’t great, but the experience was fun for sure.”

Golfers to Watch

Graham Moody, Mountain View: The junior is a two-time All-Region golfer of the year. He tied for third at the 3A state tournament last spring after winning the state title in 2018.

Cade Bringhurst, Ridgefield: The junior returns to lead the defending 2A state champion Spudders this season. Bringhurst was the 2A Greater St. Helens League golfer of the year and placed third at district and 13th at state.

Owen Huntington, Camas: Another standout golfer from the Class of 2021, Huntington was the 4A Greater St. Helens League player of the year, 4A district runner-up in a playoff and placed 10th at the state tournament.

Eli Huntington, Camas: Freshman don’t normally get preseason attention. But Owen’s younger brother has established himself by becoming the youngest player to participate in the Royal Oaks Invitational in June. He also placed second to Moody in the boys 14-15 division of the Oregon Junior Amateur in June.

Other Golfers of Note: Nick Radosevich, jr, Ridgefield; Jarrett Christiansen, jr., Hockinson; John Dorotik, jr., Hockinson; Noah Gilchrist, jr., R.A. Long; Eli Saenz, sr., Ridgefield; Ryan Snyder, so., Columbia River; Caden Whitsitt, jr., Ridgefield; Isaac Kinsman, sr., Prairie; Tyler Klepec, jr., Mountain View; Josh Kuzmovich, sr., Prairie; Hugh Foster, sr., Prairie; Chase Williams, sr., Union; Caleb Shira, jr, Camas

Big Events

Titan Cup, Sept. 16 — Union hosts Camas, Mountain View and Ridgefield in a four-team Ryder Cup-format event at Camas Meadows.

Prairie Invitational, Sept. 25 — Annual event at The Cedars on Salmon Creek brings together most of the golf teams in Southwest Washington.

4A, 3A district tournaments, Oct. 7-8 — At Tri-Mountain.