'Odd Couple' Stars for BHS on the Links

Burlingame High golf standouts Tommy Economou and Jeff Carney are a combo for the ages.

Literally.

Economou, 18, is headed to Division I Rice University on a golfing scholarship in four months. Carney, 14, is less than a year removed from middle school.

Their elite-level golf games have helped them narrow the age gap, forging a “big brother/little brother” relationship on and off the course, Burlingame coach Steve Mills said.

“It’s not just about the golf dynamic,” Mills said. “They work well together and they help each other out a lot. I know Jeff looks up to Tommy.”

Economou, the defending Peninsula Athletic League individual champion, and Carney are both ranked among the league’s top five golfers this year. They are the league’s most formidable 1-2 punch in at least five years, according to Mills.

“Watching those two play in a match, they’re constantly communicating, talking, thinking about the next shot, and they’re doing it for each other. They’re not just doing it for themselves,” Mills said.

The Panthers’ Odd Couple has a chance to help put the team in the Central Coast Section playoffs next week. Burlingame will be among four teams competing in the league’s CCS qualifying match on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo.

Economou and Carney also figure to contend at the three-day PAL individual tournament, which starts Wednesday at Poplar Creek and continues May 3 and 4.

Economou is averaging 2.01 (over par) and Carney is averaging 3.06.

Economou has been golfing since he was five (and Carney was one). By the time he was nine he emerged as one of the Peninsula’s top youth golfers, going to the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego four times.

He had three top-five finishes in the Future Collegiate World Tour events from November 2009 to March of last year that he believes attracted the attention of Rice scouts.

Economou has been to the CCS individual tournament each of the last two years, missing the cut for NorCals by one stroke last season and three the year before.

But these days Economou is playing the best golf of his high school career.

Economou had a kink in his swing for much of the last two years while struggling with a new swing he’d developed with a private instructor. He’s added 40 yards to his driving distance since revamping his swing under the tutelage of his father, Mike.

“I had some good some good results with a really bad swing,” Economou said. “Looking back, I’m kind of amazed because I put together a good number of par and sub-par rounds, which is really what got me that scholarship.”

Economou believes that his struggles made him a better golfer though, forcing him to polish his short game and become a savvy competitor.

“That really helped me because I really learned how to score and I learned how to get the ball in the hole,” he said. “My putting improved a lot, and my short game improved a lot.”

For his part, Carney hasn’t experienced much failure.

He’s emerged as a rising star after tying for 13^th out of a field of 90 at a USGA Junior Amateur qualifying event in New Hampshire last summer, and tying for 21^st out of a field of 232 at the Alameda Commuters Golf Tournament earlier this month.

Carney was the only 13-year-old at the Junior Amateur tournament, and became the youngest player to ever make the top-50 cut in the ACGT’s 84-year history.

Carney became the first Burlingame player in seven years to shoot a hole-in-one when he aced the 150-yard par-3 No. 2 hole at Sharon Heights Country Club on April 13 during a 200-210 loss to Menlo-Atherton.

Mills described Carney as “unusually poised” for a freshman.

“I guess I find when I get into competition I find it easier to focus and concentrate,” Carney said.

Economou and Carney both say they’ve made each other better golfers.

Economou said he’s learned from Carney’s unflappable demeanor.

Carney said Economou’s mentorship has helped him develop leadership qualities that he’ll lean on in future years.

“It’s not like Jeff needed to have somebody take him under his wing, but I think he needed to have somebody who could play at the same level as him,” Mills said.

“Personality-wise, they wouldn’t necessarily be going out for burgers together, especially because of the age difference, but they’ve got golf.”