DRIVE – Omri Gildor of Aspen teed off on the first hole at the Divide Ranch and Club during a break in the weather on Friday, Aug. 8. The occasion was the Western Slope’s first high school golf tournament of the year.
LOG HILL – Despite a few last minute hurdles, Ridgway’s new Athletic Director Keith McCurdy pulled off his first big task with aplomb: organizing the first major sports event of the school year. During a break in the rainy weather on Friday, Aug. 8, McCurdy, golf pro Kevin Folga and the Divide Ranch and Club hosted a dozen teams from across the Western Slope for a round of golf.
Teams from Aspen to Telluride showed up to compete for their first trophies of the year. Ridgway fielded two golfers, and Telluride did the same, but with the small number of players neither school was in the running for a team award. Competing for Ridgway were Nick Purvis and Jake Stone, and for Telluride Walker Hollrah and Nathan Brannon.
In the first tournament of the year, Montrose dominated the competition at both the team and individual levels. Montrose varsity and junior varsity teams took the top spots with team scores of 232 and 238 respectively. Close behind were Durango at 249 and Delta at 252. Grand Junction’s Central High School (255), Fruita (258), Aspen (262), Palisade (285), and Cedaredge (292) followed.
Montrose golfer Justin Russell took the first-place individual medal, with a score of 76 on a par-72 course. Montrose junior-varsity golfer Mike Bell tied for second with Aspen’s Bobby Moyer at 77, and Zach Merritt and Pat Young, both of Montrose, tied for third with 78.
While the Ridgway team is getting off to a slow start, with several team members unable to make the first tournament, the season looks to be good. The addition of freshman Purvis is a good sign. Known as a particularly good golfer, Purvis is expected to perform well and may win himself a chance at the state finals.
McCurdy and the Ridgway team traveled to Grand Junction to play in tournaments on Monday, Aug. 11 and Tuesday, Aug. 12. Wednesday, Aug. 13 sees them in Montrose at the Bridges Golf and Country Club, and Thursday, Aug. 14 they will play at the Black Canyon Golf Club, also in Montrose.
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