Top Demons unsatisfied with performance, optimistic for future
Drew Jepson with the Durango High School golf team tees off on Monday at Hillcrest Golf Club. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
The streak continued for the Durango High School boys golf team on Monday. The Demons finished second as a team for the third consecutive event, this time at home.
Durango’s top golfers didn’t have their best day at Hillcrest Golf Club in Durango. However, finishing second as a team despite an off day for the Demons’ top players shows the depth and talent of this year’s squad.
“I’m sure someone of my guys were kind of disappointed in how they played, especially being here at Hillcrest,” Durango head coach Kirk Rawles said. “Nolan (Pace) didn’t have his best day. Two over for Drew (Jepson) doesn’t seem to be a very good day, but he’s just pretty solid. Nick (Lucero) kind of struggled today, but I think we’ll have some players coming in here that we’ll do better than they did during the qualifier a couple of weeks ago.”
The Demons fell short at home as Fruita Monument took the team win, with a team score of 12-over-par. High school golf in Colorado takes the top three players from each team and combines their scores for the team score.
Durango finished 21-over-par in second, followed by Pagosa Springs in third at +25, Grand Junction in fourth at +26 and Telluride in fifth at +28. There were 21 teams competing on Monday, including four from Durango High School.
Cody Lans from Fruita took the individual win at even par, followed by a three-way tie for second at 2-over-par by Grand Junction’s Hunter Simmons, Durango’s Drew Jepson and Fruita’s Collin Black.
Jepson finished his round on Durango’s home course with two birdies, 13 pars, two bogeys and a double bogey.
“It was terrible, to say the least,” Jepson said about his round. “I couldn’t hit a driver to save my life. I did make a few putts, which was nice. Overall, I’m just not very pleased with my performance.”
Drew Jepson with the Durango High School golf team watches his approach shot on Monday at Hillcrest Golf Club. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
Jepson thinks a few shots under par from the blue tees is a good round for him at Hillcrest after two strong seasons to start his high school career.
On Monday, he couldn’t stop hooking his driver off the toe of the face of the club, which led to him hitting a lot of second shots under the trees and off the fairway. This led to him punching out for his second shot and left him with some tough up-and-downs to save par.
There were some positives for Jepson in his round. He hit a beautiful drive down the par 4, 434-yard fourth hole and hit his approach shot to 10 feet. Jepson then sank the 10-foot birdie putt.
While Jepson played a lot of summer golf to prepare for the year, he knew he had to work on his mental game in the offseason. Jepson knows it can be hard for a junior golfer to stay composed even when the bad shots happen. He also worked on chipping, putting and experimented with different drivers.
Jepson finished ninth at state last year and wants to win it this year. He also thinks the team can do better than its fourth-place finish at state last year.
“Our team has a really good chance of winning state,” Jepson said. “If we all put together rounds, if me and Nolan shoot better … Carter Hansen I think is going to step up along with Wyatt Lafferty and Hayes Malone. We have a great team of depth overall and we have a team that can score super low.”
Behind Jepson in the individual standings for the Demons was Lafferty, playing for the Durango 2 team which finished tied-seventh as a team. Lafferty finished at 9-over-par and tied-15th. He tied with fellow Durango golfer junior Jakob Maycock, who played for the Durango 4 team.
Senior Nolan Pace started the season on a high by shooting 5-under-par and winning the Fruita Monument Wildcats Invitational on Aug. 11. Pace didn’t have his best game on Monday at home, also finishing tied-15th at 9-over-par. Pace finished with one birdie, 10 pars, four bogeys and three double bogeys.
“I’m feeling pretty poor about it,” Pace said. “It was poor, but I’m fine with it; it’s golf and it happens.”
Nolan Pace with the Durango High School golf team reads the green on Monday at Hillcrest Golf Club. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
Pace has had some bad luck with penalties recently and that luck continued on Monday. He hit a good drive on Hole 1 and thought he knew where it landed. However, Pace thinks someone then picked up the ball. He couldn’t find his ball and had to take a stroke penalty for a lost ball.
The same thing happened on Hole 16. He hit a great drive up the hill but couldn’t find his ball, had to play another ball and was assessed a one-stroke penalty for a lost ball.
Pace was happy with how he’s been hitting his driver. The highlight of his round was on the par 5, 532-yard Hole 10. He hit his drive around 360 yards and hit an iron shot onto the green. Pace then two-putted for birdie.
Nolan Pace with the Durango High School golf team tees off on Monday at Hillcrest Golf Club. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Jerry McBride
Like Jepson, Pace thinks the Demons can contend for a state title this year. Pace hopes to strengthen his resume for college. He’s talked to over a dozen college coaches already, but hopes a stronger college fit will come with some stronger results in his final high school season.
Rawles thought the course was in beautiful shape on Monday and credited Hillcrest Golf Course Superintendent Will Herz with having the greens and the course in spectacular shape.
At this point of the season, Rawles thinks Jepson and Pace are the cornerstone of the team, while other players need to fill the shoes of last year’s top players Ben Ogden and Owen Muraro.
“I’ve always thought if you can have three guys average 75 at state, you have a good chance at state,” Rawles said. “It depends on the layout of the course. As teams start putting in numbers, we’ll see where and how we matchup.”
Demons win first tournament in Cortez
The Durango boys golf team broke its streak of second place finishes on Tuesday in Cortez. The Demons took victory at the Panther Invitational at the Conquistador Golf Course.
“The greens were rolling good,” Rawles said. “You get over there, you get out in the native, out in the dirt, off the fairway and it can be a tough day. So a couple of the players found that out today and it’s tough even to find your ball in some places. So, a few of the guys struggled; a few guys did a little bit better today than they did yesterday.”
Durango won with a team score of +10. Pagosa Springs was second at +19 and Montrose was third at +22. Fruita and Grand Junction did not participate.
Jepson and Pagosa Springs’ Jonathan Smith finished tied for first at 1-under-par. It was a round that could’ve been a lot better for Jepson.
He finished with five birdies, but he had a triple bogey on the par 4 11th hole. Jepson found some water on his tee shot. Earlier in the round, Jepson had an eagle putt on the par 5 fourth hole. He then four-putted for bogey.
Behind Jepson was Pace tied for sixth at 4-over-par. Durango junior Hayes Malone broke 80 and finished tied-10th at 7-over-par on the par 72 course.
The Demons took a second team to Cortez which finished 11th in the 15-team field. Senior Austin Romero led that team with a 12-over-par performance and finished tied-22nd.
Durango hits the road to the Montrose Red Hawk Tournament at Cobble Creek on Thursday.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
Copy article link
