Princeton has some new kids on the tee block this season.

Seniors Stihl Brokaw, Noah Morton and Beckett Funderberg all came out for golf for the first time this fall and wished they would have tried it years ago.

Brokaw previously played fall baseball, but wishes he would have tried a swing at golf before.

“It’s really fun. I’m glad I tried out this year. I do wish I would have started earlier because I’m having a good time, playing pretty well,” he said. “I’ve been playing in the summer with my friends and they kept saying, ‘come try it out, you might like it.’ I guess they were right.”

Morton had played football, but said he lost his drive for the game and was looking for something different.

“I came out to golf just to fill in my year with sports and was just playing it for fun but fell in love with it pretty fast,” he said. “I’m having a great time playing it and wish I did come out and maybe started as a freshman.

PHS coach Brandon Crawford said they have all picked the game up well.

“On paper, they’re seniors in high school but in golf they’re freshmen because they’ve never done it,” he said. “Getting them to understand how this game is mental is really big for them. All three of them are very athletic so they’ve caught on very quick, but they’re seeing how the mental part of this sport plays into it more than anything else.

“They’ve had high their high moments and had their low moments, but they’re all doing really well.”

Mason places third at TRAC Meet

Princeton senior Jackson Mason made a good run on top the leaderboard of Tuesday’s Three Rivers Conference boys golf meet at Chapel Hill Golf Course.

He held a 2-stroke lead through 15 holes before settling for a third-place tie at 77, four strokes behind medalist Blake Shelton of Riverdale. He was disappointed not to be able to hang on to the top spot.

“When I go back and look at my round and see I only lost by three shots, I think about three putts that should have gone in,” he said.

Even so, Crawford said Mason made a good run.

“Jackson played well. Anytime you go to a match or tournament and Riverdale is there, you better bring your A game and he did that,” Crawford said. “He had a couple swings get away from him, but approached everything with the program philosophy of ‘One Swing At A Time’ and the results speak for itself. He lost to three players...all from Riverdale.

“I’m beyond proud of him and his accomplishments this season. He currently has (PHS’) lowest scoring average over the past 13 years (37.2). His mindset has been great and I would be very surprised to find any other player in the conference who works and prepares as hard as he has this year.”

Riverdale won its 12th straight Three Rivers crown, shooting a winning score of 309, 20 strokes ahead of Mendota (329).

Hall (332) took third led by Johnni Escatel, who tied for fifth with a 78 and Noah Plym, who tied for ninth with an 83. Luke Bryant (84) and Clayton Fusinetti (87) rounded out the scorers for the Red Devils. Also for Hall, Joseph Perez had an 89 and Jimmie Jablonski a 94.

Princeton (348) finished sixth on its home course, scoring with Mason, Cayden Benavidez at 89 and Brokaw and Funderberg each shooting a 91. Rounding out the Tigers’ card were Morton (101) and Andrew Boughton (108).

Numbers on their sleeves

Princeton’s golfers may wear their emotions on their sleeves, but this year they also have uniform numbers there along with their names. It’s a feature Crawford said he always wanted to do.

“Every other sport they are given a jersey with a number, so why not do that for golf as well?” Crawford said. “I like it as it is a small detail that separates our kids from others.”

Mason has chosen the number “72,” the year his dad, Pat, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year, was born. He said he wanted to keep his dad close to him on the course.

Princeton back in 1A

Princeton will take a swing back in the Class 1A ranks for the postseason for after 14 years in 2A. The last time Princeton played in Class A, Brian Church’s Tigers won the Putnam County Regional in 2010.

“Any time you get into a class that best suits you competition wise is really nice,” Crawford said. ”All the schools in our area were all 1A. To get back in the same class as all of the conference schools is a big thing because it’s hard to prepare for postseason as a 2A program playing 1A schools even though yes, you’re playing golf, you’re playing scores. But there’s a big difference. Send a 1A school against a 6A school (in football), that depth pool is huge.

“So to get back in that class that best suits our size of school is really nice.”

The Tigers will play out of the Class 1A Marquette Regional at Deer Park Golf Course on Wednesday, Oct. 1 in a field including Hall, Putnam County and Henry-Senachwine.

Bureau Valley has been assigned to the 1A Riverdale Regional at Byron Hills Golf Course, along with Mendota, which like Princeton drops from 2A, and Amboy.

On the girls side, St. Bede will host a 1A regional at Spring Creek Golf Course on Tuesday, Sept. 30, joined by Princeton, Mendota and Henry-Senachwine.

The Bureau Valley girls will play out of the Lanark Eastland Regional at Lake Carroll Golf Course.