Golf is often a game of “what ifs” that can mean the difference between a bogey and birdie, between placing and winning.

What if I hadn’t shanked that one drive on the front nine. What if I hadn’t missed that birdie putt. What if that tree had grown a few feet to the left. What if I had had the V8 instead of the water. What if they had counted the back nine score rather than the front nine.

For example, if they had counted the back nine instead of the front Thursday at San Juan, Friday Harbor senior Tyler McKee would have won the match vs. Orcas, rather than finish fourth. If Orcas’ Jacob Hanson had warmed up, he might have done better on the first two holes and finished with 41, good enough for third, rather than 54.

In the end, Orcas seniors Tyler Diepenbrock, Alan Coe and Henri Bredouw led the Vikings to a 231-253 win over Friday Harbor at a muddy par 36 San Juan. Diepenbrock shot 39, a 10-stroke improvement over his last league match here in April. Coe shot 40, Bredouw 42.

School was out early, so the teams played 18 holes but only the front-nine scores were counted.

Friday Harbor’s McKee finished fourth with 44; he improved to 36 on the back nine. Friday Harbor junior Megan Cuomo — who shot 43 to finish third at the March 22 jamboree at Redmond Ridge — finished ahead of all female golfers with 47, good enough for fifth overall. Her game was highlighted by a birdie on the par 4 ninth hole.

Friday Harbor senior William King continues to show improvement — he shot 52 to finish third among Friday Harbor’s golfers and tied with Orcas’ Miles McCloskey and Sam Sare for sixth overall.

Next: Barring any schedule changes, the Vikings (1-0) are off until April 13, when they meet La Conner at Similk in Anacortes. The Wolverines (0-1) travel to Lynden Christian March 30 and to La Conner April 15.