MATSUNO, LANSANGAN SWING TO GOLF HONORS

By Charlotte Oh

The 2025 IIAAG High School Golf League concluded on Wednesday with the All-Island Tournament for both boys and girls at the Country Club of the Pacific. Beginning early in the morning and continuing until nearly sundown, golfers maintained their focus throughout a long day of competition as they battled for top honors. Ultimately, two seniors, Aki Matsuno and Lexi Lansangan, claimed the individual championship titles for the boys and girls, respectively.

St John’s Knight Matsuno finished with an impressive score of 73. Reflecting on his performance, Matsuno said, “I feel good, my game was there… It was a really good season overall. I played well today and showed how I improved over the season.”

Having played golf for many years, Matsuno emphasized the importance of a strong mental mindset. “The discipline really has to be there for golf. It’s a tough sport and so you have to be really dedicated, you have to keep focused, you can’t really mess around too much, but you also have to have fun with the sport. It’s a lot of mental games. You have to be disciplined in order to be able to shoot good scores.”

He also highlighted the camaraderie he shared with his teammates throughout the season, “I’d probably say the best moment is with my teammates and just playing with them throughout the rounds.”

Despite golf being one of the smaller high school sports, Matsuno recognized the effort put into organizing the league. “I’d probably just want to thank the whole committee for making this happen. Golf isn’t really the easiest sport to organize and it’s been a rough couple of years trying to get the sport back into motion.”

LANSANGAN WINS GIRLS TITLE

On the girls side, Academy senior Lexi Lansangan finished with a score of 100, marking the conclusion of her fourth and final year of high school golf. She shared,  “I feel very relieved. This season was really long, but I loved it too. It was very nostalgic for me because I’ve been playing golf for all four years of high school.”

Lansangan spoke about the challenges she faced throughout competition, particularly the mental aspect of the game. “I think the biggest struggle is your mental game during the actual game itself. No matter how much you practice, when you’re on the course you just need to remember that every shot you take is not only a reflection on how much you practiced, but it’s also your willpower. How much fun do you want to have as well on the course because at the end of the game golf is all about having fun and socializing with your peers.”

Although golf is often considered an individual sport, Lansangan emphasized the friendships she formed through the league.  “Golf truly means a lot to me and my relationship with these girls. I feel like we’ve become really good friends and I’m just really happy that they care so much about the season and me. I just want to thank them so much.”

She also credited her father as the inspiration behind her golf journey. “I started golf as just a fun hobby, mostly just to play with my dad because my dad is my biggest role model… At the end of the day my dad is the one who got me into this sport and I want to continue playing golf with him.”

In regular season competition, the Father Dueñas Friars finished in first place, followed by the St. John’s Knights in second. Unfortunately, none of the girls teams had enough players to field a complete team this season.

The 2025 IIAAG High School Golf All-Island Roster

Aki Matsuno, SJ

Samuel Teker, FD

Minjun Kim, SPCS

Kaynin McIntosh, FD

Talon Quinata, FD

Eric Kwon, SJ

Alex Puangco, SJ

Riel Brantley, FD

Harry Vitale,SJ

Lijah Cruz, FD

Michael Pono, SPCS

Lexi Lansangan, AOLG

Elsa Paulino, SJ

Bella Huang, SJ

T’Ana  Adamos, SPCS

Irene Park, SJ

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