The Durango High boys golf team had an up-and-down experience at the Southwestern League Championships on Monday and Tuesday in Grand Junction.
The Demons had a good start to the tournament, shooting a team score of 237 Monday at Bookcliff Country Club, which placed them in fourth behind Montrose (219), Grand Junction (225) and Fruita Monument (235). But the team fell off a bit in Tuesday’s second round at Tiara Rado Golf Course, shooting a 254 to stay in fourth place with a two-day team score of 491.
Montrose won the two-day event with a 434. Grand Junction was second with a 447, followed by Fruita Monument at 467.
“It was a rough day for the most part,” DHS head coach Kirk Rawles said. “We had too many blowup holes across the board.”
Rawles said a couple factors led to the 17-shot swing between the first and second rounds. He said the greens at Tiara Rado were a bit slower than Monday’s round at Bookcliff, and the Demons had a little trouble adjusting to the slower speed. Also working against DHS was the tightness of the course at Tiara Rado.
Rawles said a number of the holes feature different hazards and out-of-bounds areas, and wayward tee shots could quickly lead to triple bogeys or worse.
Montrose’s Micah Stangebye took medalist honors, shooting a 7-under-par 135 for the two days.
Rawles said there were positives to come out of the two days and that aside from the team carding sevens, eights and nines on some holes the Demons played well for the most part.
Durango’s Luke Tichi and Kyle Pritchard each shot 78 Monday at Bookcliff. Ryan Genualdi shot 81, Ethan Whideen recorded an 84 and Luke Napier signed for 86. Tichi shot 84 Tuesday at Tiara Rado, and Pritchard shot 85. Whidden scored an 86, and Genualdi and Napier each shot 89.
Durango will have a few days to adjust and regroup before heading to Montrose next week to play at The Bridges, the site of this year’s regional tournament.
“They’re a really solid team this year, and we’ll see if we can get somewhat close to them next week,” Rawles said of Montrose. “We can learn from the last two days and take it home and work on it. Then we’ll see where we stack up next week, then try to peak at regionals.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
