Cy Spicer was the ingredient the Durango High School golf team needed to repeat as regional champions.
Spicer, a Durango High School junior, fired a 1-over-par 72 on his home course of Hillcrest Golf Club to win the individual championship at the Class 4A Western Regional. Spicer claimed a two-stroke victory ahead of Montezuma-Cortez’s Hayden Plewe, and he helped the Demons claim a second consecutive regional team title in the process.
DHS finished the tournament at 16-over 229 to finish four shots ahead of second-place Steamboat Springs.
“I started out pretty conservatively. I was just going for pars, and then birdie chances kept coming, and I kept going for it,” said Spicer, son of Scott Spicer. “I missed of a few of them, but I didn’t have any blowup holes, and I was solid throughout the entire round.”
Spicer managed to shoot 1-over par despite a double bogey on the No. 4, a 477-yard par-4. That came one hole after Spicer birdied No. 3, a 527-yard par-5.
But Spicer’s biggest move came on two of the final three holes, when he birdied 16 and 17 with clutch putts.
Spicer hit a wayward tee shot out of the 16th tee box onto the rough on 14, but he recovered with a solid iron shot to the fringe below the hole. An uphill putt fell for his birdie, and then he played the par-5 17th to perfection with a drive in the middle of the fairway that was followed by a layup and a wedge shot to 6-feet. He made birdie there, and Steamboat Springs’ Spencer Peterson made double bogey after he lost his tee shot and had a pitch shot run well past the hole. That three-shot swing broke a deadlock between the two teams, and the Demons never looked back.
“They were definitely momentum changers,” Spicer said of his two late birdies. “I wish that they happened earlier in the round, of course. I would’ve felt a lot better. Still, I was happy to come through.”
Spicer had played his best golf of the season the two weeks leading into the regional tournament; he saved his best for the final day of the regular season.
“It’s just phenomenal. It is a great way to cap off the regular season for him,” said DHS head coach Kirk Rawles, who never before had coached a regional champion in his six years at DHS.
DHS junior Cameron Barnhardt scrambled much of the day Tuesday, but a two-putt on the 18th green left him with a 7-over 78 and alone in fifth place overall. He chipped in for birdie on the par-3 15th, and that helped the Demons get back into a tie with Steamboat Springs after the Sailors had claimed a one-shot team lead.
“It was downhill. I just knew I had to hit it to the right spot on the green, and it just went into the hole,” said Barnhardt, son of Beth and Bob Barnhardt. “I didn’t really make any putts, but that chip saved a couple.”
Cory Gillespie, another DHS junior who now has qualified for the state tournament all three years, hit a big 7-foot par putt on 18 to shoot a 79, good for a three-way tie for sixth overall.
Gillespie shot just one round in the 80s all season, and he was thrilled to break 80 once again Tuesday.
“I made a New Year’s resolution that I wanted to shoot in the 70s every round this year; that putt meant a lot to me,” said Gillespie, son of Jackie and Tracey Gillespie. “I really wasn’t on this year. I had a lot of things going on, and it feels good to have 79 here.”
Walker’s round of 15-over 86 placed him in a two-way tie for 13th, but the team’s lone senior will get to go to the state tournament thanks to the team victory.
Spicer finished his round two groups ahead of Plewe and the final group. Plewe missed a chance to birdie the par-5 17th, but he gave himself a great look at the flag with a monster drive off the 18th tee. But Plewe’s approach shot went long of the green, and he was unable to make a chip to send it to a playoff. Plewe wound up finishing 18 with a bogey to finish 3-over.
“The course got me a little bit, but it got everyone,” Plewe said. “I got beat by a good round, and that’s really cool that (Spicer) did that. I’m excited for him, because he is an all-around great kid and one of my favorite guys to play with.”
After Spicer’s two late birdies and the Steamboat Springs double bogey, Rawles informed Gillespie that the Demons had a three-stroke advantage. Gillespie, who traditionally struggles on the 17th, a par-5 that dog-legs hard right, hit 7-iron, 6-iron and a wedge onto the green for a safe two-putt par.
“I’ve never been so happy to hit a green in regulation in my life,” Gillespie said. “I felt like we were on the PGA Tour, with the live score updates coming in, and I knew all I had to do was make par after I heard what (Spicer) did.”
Gillespie said winning regionals again this year was even more special than last year at Gypsum Creek Golf Course. Not because it was at home, but because they made it back-to-back.
“It gives me chills,” he said.
DHS will have two weeks to prepare for the CHSAA Class 4A State Championships at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo.
“I am so happy about being able to go to state,” said Spicer, who qualified for the state tournament for the first time. “As a team, I think we can finish up there. I think we can win it if we all play well.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Class 4A Western Regional Golf Tournament
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Hillcrest Golf Club
TEAM SCORES
Note: Only the regional champion qualified for the CHSAA Class 4A Boys Golf State Championships. The lowest three rounds count toward the team score.
1. Durango +16
Cy Spicer, 72
Cameron Barnhardt, 78
Cory Gillespie, 79
Eric Walker, 86
2. Steamboat Springs +20
3. Montezuma-Cortez +29
4. Montrose +32
5. Summit +54
T6. Eagle Valley +57
T6. Palisade +57
8. Battle Mountain +60
9. Rifle +73
INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS
Note: Players in the top 10 outside of the Durango High School team also qualified for state, and there is one stand-in player. Brandon Martin and Jacob Smith won a one-hole playoff to clinch the final two spots. Ryan Aiken lost the playoff and will be the alternate for the state tournament.
1. Hayden Plewe, Montezuma-Cortez, +3
2. Britt Walton, Steamboat Springs, +4
3. Will Firestone, Steamboat Springs, +6
T4. Glen-Michael Mihavetz, Montrose, +8
T4. Zane Sauer, Montrose, +8
6. Spencer Petersen, Steamboat Springs, +10
T7. Brandon Martin, Steamboat Springs, +11
T7. Jacob Smith, Rifle, +11
T7. Ryan Aiken, Montezuma-Cortez, +11
Durango Herald
