Teeing off at the West Slope Regional Golf Tournament on Sept. 16, the Montezuma-Cortez High School golf team hoped to contend for the title.
Over the next six hours, the Panthers did just that, staying close to Durango and Steamboat Springs for 13 holes before settling for a third place finish. As a team, M-CHS finished nine shots behind Steamboat and 13 shots behind Durango.
“Through 13 holes we were two shots back,” said Panthers head coach Micah Rudosky. “Unfortunately, we had a couple of bad holes but we were in the tournament.”
Plewe qualifies for state
Keying the Panthers top-three finish, senior Hayden Plewe played well, finishing second in the tournament after shooting a three-over-par round of 74.
As impressive as Plewe’s round was however, things could have gone even better for the senior, who, after shooting even par on the front-nine, bogeyed the par-5 10th hole after a poor approach shot.
Still leading the tournament by three strokes, Plewe settled down to par the next five holes before bogeying the 16th hole to move to 2-over-par.
After Durango’s Cy Spicer moved to 1-over-par after birdying the 16th and 17th holes, Plewe needed to birdie at least one of the last two holes to force a playoff. The senior was unable to do so however, bogeying the 18th in route to a 3-over par.
“I felt like the front nine went exactly how I wanted it to,” said Plewe. “The back nine got away from me, but I’m going to state and that’s what matters.”
Plewe’s berth in the state tournament was especially rewarding since that the senior narrowly missed qualifying for state last year after shooting a 10 on the sixteenth hole.
“Last year was a disappointing finish for him,” said Micah Rudosky. “This year, he deserved to get to state and we’re going to state.”
In addition to his state tournament berth, Plewe was named the West Slope Region’s top golfer after finishing with the region’s best scoring average.
The senior, who was also named 1st team all-conference, hopes to perform well at state.
“I want to give myself a chance to win,” said Plewe. “It’s my senior year and I’m definitely going hoping to be in the mix.”
Aiken narrowly misses state
Among the other storylines for the Panthers at the Regional Tournament was the stellar play of senior Ryan Aiken, who tied for tenth overall with a round of 82.
Aiken’s round could have been even better absent a triple-bogey on the par-3 9th hole, which, according to Micah Rudosky, partially resulted from bad luck.
“(Ryan) made one bad swing on (the ninth hole), the ball hit the three, it could have gone anywhere and it went out of bounds onto the range,” said Micah Rudosky.
Even with the mishap, Aiken could have qualified for state by finishing first or second in a three-man playoff against Steamboat’s Brandon Martin and Rifle’s Josh Smith.
A double-bogey on the first playoff hole doomed Aiken’s state hopes however, leaving him as the first alternate for state.
“I feel like it was a pretty good day besides the playoff,” said Aiken, who had his appendix removed two weeks before the Regional Tournament. “I made a lot of mistakes, but I made up for them and made quite a few birdies.”
Shelby wraps up high school career
Finishing four shots behind Aiken and tied for 15th overall, M-CHS senior Tristan Shelby concluded his high school career with a round of 86.
While not altogether displeased with his score, Shelby admitted that his round could have been better if not for one bad swing.
“I had a really good round going until (hole) 13,” said Shelby. “I hit it into a tree, we never found it, I got a triple (bogey) and it kind of went downhill from there.
Shelby emphasized however, that rather than remembering his final five holes, he will focus on positive memories from his high school golfing career.
“I’ll always remember getting to meet people and being around the sport,” Shelby said. “I had a lot of fun.”
Rudosky gains valuable experience
Rounding out the Panthers varsity lineup, freshman Cristoffer Rudosky fired a round of 86 and tied for 15th overall.
While Cristoffer Rudosky admitted that his score was not as low as he would have hoped, the first-year high school player was not altogether displeased.
“It was tough, but it was a good experience,” said Rudosky. “Over the summer, I just want to improve my scoring and shoot in the low to mid-70’s. I want to make state and place at state next year.”
If Cristoffer Rudosky is able to accomplish his goal, it seems likely that the M-CHS golf program will once again be in the hunt for a Regional title next season.