Andrew Kozan returned to the FHSAA Class 1A state tournament this year with some unfinished business.
No one in Palm Beach County has been as dominant on the links as the King’s Academy junior, who followed up his fifth-place finish at the state tournament last year by carding a 3-under 141 (72-69) at this year’s championships at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills.
It was the lowest winning total in any classification this year and earned Kozan his second consecutive Sun Sentinel Golfer of the Year honor.
“I had a lot on my shoulders coming into this year,” said Kozan, who also helped the Lions to a fifth-place finish at state in addition to winning the Biltmore in Miami, the King’s Invitational, Crutchfield Hawkins and regionals. The team also finished second at districts and the Honda Classic Invitational
“It felt good to finish that business off this year at states,” said Kozan, who averaged 68.7 for 18 holes this season.
It was also nice to have his team with him at states, especially after coming up short at last year’s regional.
“That was a lot more fun,” said Kozan, an Auburn commit. “We stuck to our practice routines this year. Over the summer we had lots of practices and we just put in extra hours of work as a team as a whole and it just paid off for us this year.”
King’s Academy coach Ross Cash lauded Kozan for his ability to compartmentalize and set things aside.
“Andrew is a real team player,” Cash said. “He is a humble kid who takes his game and his golf really seriously. He does his work and really gets involved and invested in that. He has also expanded some of that this year. He was a captain and he spent time helping the other guys this year. One thing about him and he is so good is that he readily accepts the things that the coaching staff talks to him about.”
