Brookline High's James Imai: Winning Drive On The Golf Course

BROOKLINE, MA — James Imai had accomplished just about everything he could as a golfer at Brookline High School. The senior won league and sectional tournaments. He qualified for, and traveled to play in, some of the most prestigious amateur events in the country for a player of his age. He clobbered the competition at the Bay State Conference Championships on a rainy day in Quincy and came within one shot of breaking 60.

The one thing left for him was at the state championship in Chicopee as Imai vied for his first individual state title.

"My freshman year I came in second place and lost by one," he recalled. "Then the last two years I didn’t play as well. But this year when I got off to a good start I was telling myself that I was not going to lose. I just wanted to get as low a score as I could."

Imai wound up shooting a 67 for a three-stroke victory, adding a state title to his incredible list of accolades. He added one more satisfying honor to that slate ahead of this weekend’s graduation when he was named Brookline High’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year.

"It was definitely humbling to get that because we had a lot of great senior athletes at the school this year," he said. "We had guys who made amazing runs and won state championships. But it was nice for me because it shows that golfers are recognized as athletes now. A few years ago, you might have been able to be out of shape and still played. But now golfers have to be strong and athletic."

You also have to be dedicated to the sport in a way that Brookline High coach Burt Skvirsky said reverberated through the entire squad.

"He was an incredible leader and team mentor," Skvirsky said. "When he would have the chance, instead of playing or going through a practice round with his best friend, he would always play with a younger player and help him. It was amazing to see the way he did that. The kids all looked up to him because even though he played so much competitive golf he really cared about the team."

Imai said it was the group experience that made him look forward to playing with the Warriors each year.

"In my mind if I am playing with a team I am going to whatever it takes to help the team do well," he said. "We had a couple of freshmen who are going to do really well, and a sophomore who is making an impact early, so I wanted to help get them accustomed to how we want to practice, how to use their heads to help them out on the course. Our 10th guy was just as important as one of our seniors."

Imai credited the knowledge imparted from Skvirsky and the tough-love coaching from Bill Camelio when he first arrived at Brookline High for helping him become the golfer he is now as he looks forward to playing for Northwestern University in the fall.

"It’s funny, because anything can happen in golf," Skvirsky said. "But I think everyone expected him to win every match."