Athletes can provide mind-boggling numbers in sports.
Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe just ran the London Marathon in less than two hours. Miami Heat basketball player Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a game in March. Rory McIlroy just won his second straight Masters Tournament.
How about a high school golfer posting an average score of 3-under for the season?
That would be Crespi senior Grant Leary.
“He hasn’t sniffed 70 in weeks,” Crespi golf coach Nick Deleo said.
COURSE RECORD AT LOS ROBLES
In the last two weeks, Leary fired a career-low 62 at Balboa Golf Course in the California Junior Golf Spring Championship. He shot a 4-under 68 at Brookside in Pasadena against St. Francis then shot a 9-under at Los Robles in a Mission League tournament.
The 61 at Los Robles matches the course record.
“I believe mentality is the best part of my game,” Leary said. “It allows me to tap into my full potential on the golf course. I was definitely clear-headed that day.”
Leary was 5-under through four holes and 8-under through nine.
“Hot starts can mess up players sometimes because they start to chase a number. I was able to stay present the whole round,” Leary explained.
The San Jose State commit won the CIF Southern Section championship in 2025 with a 66 at Temecula Creek Country Club. Now, he’s eyeing more hardware this spring, including the CIF State title on June 3 at San Gabriel Country Club.
“A CIF State championship is on my vision board,” Leary said.
Leary just won co-Mission League MVP with Loyola’s Justin Tun. Both were crowned Mission League champions after the final Mission League event at Lakeside Country Club on Tuesday. He had a league-high 16 birdies and two eagles in five Mission League matches this spring. He totaled 48 birdies and five eagles this season.
Leary says driver is the best part of his game, averaging 300 yards off the tee.
“It’s been like that since I was 10. I feel like it’s my super power, and it’s my straightest club,” he said.
But he’s not all power, according to Deleo.
“He can adjust to courses. He can shape shots. He can do it all … it’s fun to watch.”
U.S. OPEN QUALIFIER
Leary isn’t just chasing high school accolades, he’s eyeing bigger things, like qualifying for the U.S. Open. He will compete in the Open qualifier on May 4 at Brentwood Country Club, where the top three or four finishers can move on to the sectional qualifier.
As a 15-year-old sophomore in 2024, Leary qualified for the sectional qualifier, which is a one-day, 36-hole event. The top two finishers get to play in the US Open.
“Honestly, I was there for experience, for seasoning,” Leary said. “But ended up getting to the sectional, which was pretty cool.”
This year, he won’t just be happy to be there.
“I need to approach the U.S. Open qualifying without an attitude, but with the confidence that I can do it,” Leary said.
LEARY MORE THAN JUST A GOLFER
Deleo has been coaching high school athletics for 25 years. He was at Malibu High coaching football and basketball before coming to Crespi, where he’s been for 10 years as a math and social studies teacher. He’s been the golf coach for the last eight years.
“He’s a great kid and a great golfer,” Deleo said of Leary. “He comes from a great family. He’s a grinder. He deserves everything he has. And he does it with a smile on his face.”
Leary’s father John Ray Leary was an All-American golfer in high school and college at USC. Grant says his father is his role model.
“He was in the same shoes as me. I’m grateful he’s my dad and coach,” Grant said.
When asked who Grant loves watching on the PGA Tour, he didn’t really have an answer. He says despite being a golfer, he isn’t glued to watching the pros every weekend.
That would make him like the area’s Scottie Scheffler, who openly shares golf isn’t really his identity, but that being a father and husband is. Grant says he loves football, photography and hanging with friends.
Sounds like Grant is a high school teenager first and a golfer second — just like it should be.