Durango High School’s boys golfers have a bit of work to do to get where they want to be for next week’s regional tournament.
The Demons finished third in Monday’s Durango Invitational behind Montrose and Grand Junction. Cameron Barnhardt and Cy Spicer led the way for Durango, each shooting a 7-over 79.
“I think we’re getting closer to where we were last year,” said Durango head coach Kirk Rawles. “There are definitely some things that we need to work on, but they’re small things. A few putts here and there, some better decisions when it comes to club selection and little things like that can change the outcome of a round.”
As it does every year, the rain fell often at Dalton Ranch Golf Club. As the day went on, the weather and the scoring improved.
Fruita Monument’s Troy Dangler led for most of the day until back-to-back bogeys on his final two holes opened the door for Montrose’s Glen-Michael Mihavetz.
Mihavetz held a one-shot lead on the final hole and had a short putt to claim the victory. As the gallery was ready to crown the champ, the putt slid past the cup, which led to a three-way playoff with Mihavetz, Dangler and Grand Junction’s Canon Olkowski, each posting 73.
Olkowksi was eliminated on the first playoff hole, as the others posted par and he settled for bogey. On the second playoff hole, Mihavetz turned his earlier misfortune into celebration by hitting a perfect drive, stuffing a wedge shot in close and burying the birdie putt for the win.
“I really thought the putt I missed was to get into the playoff, so I thought it was over,” said Mihavetz. “When I realized that I had another chance, it kind of took the pressure off me, so I just went for the pins and it worked out for me.”
Although the Demons’ team total of 239 was just four shots worse than the winning Montrose group, the two-time defending regional champs know there’s room for improvement.
“As a team, we definitely need to work on scoring well as a group,” said Spicer, son of Scott Spicer. “All of us have our certain issues, and we’re going through some mental issues right now, but we also all have the ability to shoot 70. It’s just a matter of us all firing at the same time.”
Spicer had a slow start but found his rhythm in the middle of the round to post a respectable score. Barnhardt also had a tough start, followed up with back-to-back birdies but had trouble keeping the momentum going.
“I hit some good shots out there but I also hit way too many bad ones,” said Barnhardt, son of Beth and Bob Barnhardt. “I’ve been close all year, but my short game isn’t where I really want it to be. We’re not playing too well as a group right now but we expect to win. We always have a chance.”
Eric Walker (81), Lucas Robbins (84) and Cory Gillespie (85) rounded out the scoring for the varsity team.
The junior varsity squad continued to play solid golf behind Blake Martin (84), Caleb Newman (86), Ryan Genualdi (89), Kyle Pritchard (90) and Kobe Szura (91).
jfries@durangoherald.com
