The Durango High School girls golf team faced some tough New Mexico competition and finished third on Monday as the Demons hosted the Durango Hillcrest Girls Open at Hillcrest Golf Club.
Ten teams came to compete on a beautiful spring day in Durango against the Demons with six New Mexico schools and four Colorado schools.
“I anticipated us being ranked just a little bit better,” Durango head coach Kirk Rawles said. “With the wind picking up as much as it did, the biggest thing is picking the right club and then putting. Putting on these greens when it’s windy is really tough.”
Durango finished third with a +36-over-par 249 team score. The team scores for girls golf are the top three players’ scores from each team combined.
Piedra Vista won the tournament with a team score of 229, or +16. Kirkland Central was second at +25 over par.
The Panthers were led by a phenomenal showing by senior Annie Yost. Committed to play golf at Division I Florida Gulf Coast University, Yost shot a -7 under 64 and won the tournament by 13 strokes over Kirkland Central’s Hayden Dan and Dallas Dan.
“I kind of got off to a slow start; my driver was really good today but I just couldn’t get up and down for birdie for the first five holes,” Yost said. “Then I started to figure out 30-yard pitch shots and got that locked in. I was putting really well from seven feet and in and it was really fun.”
Yost shot a -2 under 33 on the front nine before really turning it on to shoot -5 under 31 on the back nine. She finished with seven birdies and 11 pars. Incredibly, Yost played the par 5s even par and was seven under on the par 4s.
The 253-yard par 4 sixth hole really got Yost’s round going. She hit it 30 yards short of the green and then got up and down for birdie.
After her first birdie on six, Yost started rolling the birdies in and was close to an eagle on the 290 yards par 4 11th hole. She had a pitch shot from about 35 yards out that lipped out for an eagle.
Yost likes the Hillcrest course and can be aggressive with her driver since the course plays pretty short. She likes how the greens roll really well.
The Piedra Vista senior was paired with Durango senior Ellie White and Kirtland Central’s Dallas Dan.
“I love all of them,” Yost said. “It was a very relaxed group and we played as a threesome so we were flying. That’s also why I played so well. I wasn’t waiting on every shot; I was always going so that was really nice.
The defending 5A state champion, Yost is looking to go back-to-back as the individual champion as well as the team champion with Piedra Vista.
White was the top Demon on Monday afternoon, finishing in tied for fifth place with a +9 over-par score.
She had one birdie, eight pars, eight bogeys and one double bogey.
“On the front nine, I played good,” White said. “I felt very confident on the front nine and I shot a 37. Then on the back nine, the wind started to pick up and that’s where I struggled the most because I was either hitting through the wind or short.”
White said the wind affected her most on her approach shots. She said the Demons haven’t had to deal with windy conditions that much this year and that she’s usually good with dealing with the wind.
Playing with Yost, White wasn’t surprised to see her go low because she knows Yost pretty well. She didn’t feel the pressure of playing with her and White plays better when her group is moving at a good pace.
White was happy with her chipping and her recovery from bad shots. She still wants to work on her recovery shots and hitting her driver better.
A four-year varsity player, White has had plenty of different teammates during her time as a top golfer for Durango. This year, the Demons have a lot of depth with their top four golfers; this team reminds White of her sophomore year when Durango finished second at state.
“It’s really nice because for tournaments where maybe I don't do as well or Jaden (Craig) doesn't do as well, to have a three and a four that can also cover it, or me and Jaden do the same thing,” White said. “We're just a solid team and we have our number five, Riley (Harms), I see a lot of potential in her game. She's improved an insane amount. When me and Raimee (Brant) leave, she'll be filling in those spots … it's exciting to have depth because that's important when you are in state.”
White thinks the Demons could win it all at state if they play well.
Durango sophomore Dylan Livingston was the second-best Demon and finished tied-seventh; she finished with an 83. She had a +4-over-par 39 on the front and a +8-over-par 44 on the back. Livingston had one birdie, eight pars, six bogeys, two double bogeys and one triple bogey.
Livingston said she was happy with her round considering the weather.
“I’d definitely like to work on my chipping and putting, but that's every golfer's (area of improvement),” Livingston said. “I drove pretty well today. Every time I went to a sand pit, it only took me one shot to get out, which I’m really proud of. I don't think I three-putted today so that's good.”
Livingston said the key for her going forward is working on the mental part of her game. She’s come a long way; last year, she would hit a bad shot and it would be all over. Individually, she’s excited by the chance to win again but wants to finish top three at state this year.
Behind Livingston was Durango junior Jayden Craig in 10th at +15 over par. Senior Raimee Brant finished tied-11th for the Demons at +16 over par.
Demons finish third in Cortez at Panther Invitational
The Durango girls golf team had a quick turnaround and finished third in the Panther Invitational on Tuesday at Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez.
Almost all of the teams from the Hillcrest Girls Open competed in Cortez. Piedra Vista won the tournament at +24 over par. Kirtland Central was second at +28 over par and Durango was third at +36 over par.
Yost won the tournament at +1-over-par 73. White and Craig finished tied-fourth at 82 while Livingston was tied-12th at 88 and Brant was 14th at 90.
“You’d get warmed up, then it would get cold and then we get wind, a few squalls and even a little bit of moisture with that,” Rawles said. “But that was just kind of the way the day was. The course is in really good shape as far as the greens go, rolling really nice.”
After the Panther Invitational, the Demons are ranked second in 4A and first in the Southwestern League on iwanamaker.com
The Demons play again on Monday at Riverview Golf Course in Kirtland.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
