Taking a little bit of time to relax before the state tournament, the Durango High School girls golf team decided to head to Coors Field and check out a Colorado Rockies game.
Brooke Kniffin, Natalie Lyon, Reiley Waldo and DHS head coach Kirk Rawles looked up at a scoreboard beneath press row to see a message congratulating them for reaching the state tournament.
“It is great for the girls to be recognized,” Rawles said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald on Sunday night. “It is interesting when you prepare for golf. You have to be relaxed when you get out there so you can have some fun playing. We hit it hard (Saturday), and watching the Rockies win in the 10th inning (Sunday) was a good way to relax.”
The three DHS Demons will hit the course Monday morning at the Country Club of Colorado for the first day of the two-day Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A Girls Golf State Championship.
After looking at all the regional scores from teams around the state, Rawles believes his team can compete for a top-five finish, with Colorado Academy and Montrose entering the tournament as the favorites.
“Depending on how we stack up, and if we can get everyone firing on all cylinders, we will be competitive,” Rawles said. “We are going to have to hit the mark both days because we only have a three-girl team.”
Most teams were able to qualify four girls for the tournament. The three lowest scores each day will be counted toward each team’s score. While other teams will have the luxury of throwing away their highest score, the Demons will have to take what they get.
Rawles expects the course conditions to be favorable with 80-degree temperatures and greens he said are playing similar to the Demons’ home course, Hillcrest Golf Club.
“I don’t expect the greens to be fast, and there is more grain to work with on downhill putts,” he said. “Everything breaks away from the mountains. Putts will roll fast downhill, and the girls will have to roll them hard uphill. I don’t think they will make them lightning fast this tournament, and they are in about the same shape as Hillcrest right now.”
During the past two weeks, Rawles has worked with Waldo’s driving out of the tee box, hoping to add a few more yards to her drives. Kniffin and Lyon have paid extra attention to their chipping and pitching.
In the individual competition, Rawles believes Dolores’ Kiselya Plewe has a strong chance of winning. She shot even-par at regionals, something only one other girl – Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho – did in the regional tournaments.
Waldo will be the first Demon sent off at 8:57 a.m. Kniffin will follow at 9:06 a.m., and Lyon will tee off at 9:15 a.m. Players will compete in threesomes, and all three Demons will begin play on the front-nine Monday.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
