The boys’ varsity golf team, the Eagles, is once again on its way to a perfect season with a 4-0 record. The Eagles went undefeated in 2007 and 2008, and hope to continue that streak. For now, though, they share the top of the Manhattan/Bronx Division with Bronx High School of Science.

Stuyvesant defeated Herbert H. Lehman High School, winning 5-0, on Thursday, April 2 at Pelham Bay Golf Course in the Bronx. In the match, sophomore and position three Darren Chiu, known for his power shots, hit a birdie at the par 4 hole. The two previous matches of the season were won the same way with scores of 5-0, for which junior and position two Alexander Shin hit pars at both par 4 holes. Shin remains undefeated in his three years on the team.

In the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL), golf is played according to the Match Play system. Unlike in the Professional Golfers Association (PGA), points are not awarded based on the number of shots a golfer takes, but simply which player takes the lowest number of shots. In a game, a maximum of nine holes are played, with the winner of each hole earning one point for his team. The team that wins the majority of the points wins the game, and thus, it is possible to win a game after only playing 5 holes, if all are won by a single team, as is the usual case for Stuyvesant.

However, the Eagles, who have had no trouble attaining a spot in the playoffs for the past four years, are not overly confident. “The competition in our division is relatively low as the teams we play are mostly first time golfers,” Chiu said.

“The main competition comes from the Staten Island schools that practice regularly,” junior Jack Margolis said. Last season, the team lost in the quarterfinals to Susan E. Wagner High School, which is located in Staten Island.

“This could be a problem for us,” coach Emilio Nieves said. “We’re usually never tested in the regular season and this may hurt us against the Staten Island schools, but we beat one two years ago, it was a close match last year, and we could do it again. We definitely have the talent to go all the way.”

Even though two of the five starters last year have graduated, including position one Frederick Meyer ’08, the team this season is still strong. “We’ve been practicing more often this season to try and be in a better situation for the playoffs,” Margolis said.

The team practices daily at Chelsea Piers on the Lower West Side or Mosholu Golf Course in the Bronx. “At practice, we usually work on our chips and puts, focusing us more on the short game,” junior and position four Cody Levine said. A chip is an abbreviated shot that lofts the ball slightly off the ground, and is one of the more difficult shots for a golfer to master.

The Eagles hope to continue their perfect season and advance further in the playoffs than they did last year. “Our goal is to win the city championship. The team this year is really great. We have a really strong starting five and all of us are devoted to golfing,” Chiu said.

“My players are ready to work for it,” Nieves said. “This could be the year.”