Swinging toward state

Junior Chris Bean leads strong team to another crown

Stephen Odell

Special to the Gateway

The Peninsula Seahawks’ boys golf team, led by junior Chris Bean, has won 36 consecutive matches since 2005.

And it should come as no surprise who Bean tabs as his favorite golfer.

“Tiger Woods is so much fun to watch,” said Bean, 17.

Even Woods would be impressed by the Seahawks’ 6-0 start to the season. The most recent victory featured a 105-point difference in strokes between Peninsula and the Bremerton Knights.

Bean’s 6-under-par 64 paced Peninsula and was a mere two strokes off the course record at Canterwood Golf & Country Club, a record held by Peninsula assistant golf coach and Canterwood assistant professional Tony Robydek.

What’s more, Bean is a golfer who only began playing a few years ago.

“I played a little bit when I was younger,” Bean said. “I’ve really only been playing 3 1/2 years.”

Bean’s father, Pat, is a professional at Madrona Links Golf Course and has greatly influenced his son’s love for the game.

Chris and Pat are more than father and son, they are good friends as well, Peninsula golf coach Larry Gilhuly said.

“They just enjoy playing golf together,” Gilhuly said of the unique relationship.

Pat Bean has been a golf professional for nearly eight years.

“It’s fun because we are very equal golfers,” Chris Bean said.

Although his father has fueled his passion for golf, Bean said he was never forced to play.

“It was my decision to play again, but it does help to have your dad in the golf business,” he said.

The entire team has a special connection with golf professionals in the area. Both of their assistant coaches are professionals at Canterwood, including Robydek, who finished second at last year’s Washington State Open.

“That’s a big advantage for our golf team. They’re not getting advice from an amateur,” said Gilhuly, an employee for the United States Golf Association.

Gilhuly has been the golf coach for the girls and boys golf teams at Peninsula High for eight years.

“It allows me to keep in touch with kids in the game,” he said. “That’s probably my greatest joy is just being around these kids.”

Bean is one of many talented golfers for the Seahawks, who are atop the Olympic League yet again.

Having defeated teams like crosstown rival Gig Harbor and league opponent Port Angeles by a minimum of 20 strokes each, Peninsula looks to capture the league championship at 3 p.m. Thursday at Canterwood against the Olympic Trojans, who lost just once this season.

The subdistrict tournament will then take place Monday at McCormick Woods Golf Course in Port Orchard.

The top performers there will qualify for the state championships May 20-21 at the Bellingham Country Club.

The next five will qualify for the district tournament — with an opportunity to become eligible for the state championship.

“My expectation for the group is high,” Gilhuly said. “There isn’t a boy on the team who can’t qualify.”

This year’s team is better than the 2003 squad that qualified all six of the team’s golfers, Gilhuly added.

Over the past few years, Peninsula has finished fifth, seventh, and 12th at the state championship.

Bean hopes to improve his state performance after a top-40 finish last year. He did not make the second-day cut at state as a freshman.

“I’m expecting to do better this year,” he said. “Last year, I had the talent, but I didn’t have the mental side. This year, I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

Peninsula High golf team

This year’s boy team of Chris Bean, Chad Findlay, Kevin Keiter, Joey McNelis, Nick Fandel, Gary Howe and Christian Letts is better than the 2003 squad that qualified all six of the team’s golfers to the state tournament, Seahawks coach Larry Gilhuly said.