Winning their home tournament was the boost the Durango Demons needed before heading to regionals.
Durango High School’s girls golf team won the Durango Invitational on Thursday at Hillcrest Golf Club. Brooke Kniffin, Natalie Lyon and Reiley Waldo combined to shoot 275, giving the Demons a 10-stroke victory ahead of second-place Grand Junction.
“I think it is a good shot in the arm for us. We are usually pretty competitive with Junction, so it is good to get a win over those guys,” said DHS head coach Kirk Rawles, whose team finished runner-up to the Tigers on Wednesday at Conquistador Golf Club in Cortez.
Playing at home was a welcome reprieve for the Demons after spending the first five weeks of the season on the road.
“We all know (the course) really well, and it makes it a lot easier to play,” Waldo said.
Waldo placed second as an individual with a team-low round of 16-over-par 87. A birdie on No. 17, a 469-yard par-5 that doglegs right, helped Waldo end the round on a high note.
Golfers battled fast greens that were in pristine early season conditions. The greens also were firm, making it hard for players to stick their approach shots close.
“The course is in better shape than anywhere else around right now. The greens were hard, though,” said Waldo, daughter of Allisa and Kurt Waldo. “You would hit them, and they would roll a lot further than you were planning.”
Lyon placed third with an 89. She didn’t make any birdies but scrambled her way around the course to salvage a round under 90.
“After a few holes, I was making some pretty good putts. I’m usually not very putting-inclined anyway, but I made real good ones on 2 and 14,” said Lyon, daughter of Chris and Doug Lyon. “I’m shooting a lot better this year and am consistently shooting in the low 90s to high 80s. I’m feeling pretty OK with my game.”
Kniffin shot a 99 for the Demons. That score put her in a tie for sixth alongside Grand Junction’s Bailey Summers.
“Brooke had one of those golf days; she just couldn’t get anything going,” said Rawles, who spent a lot of his day walking with Kniffin’s group. “She hit the ball well and had some good shots, she just wasn’t rewarded for it. We look for her to bounce back nicely at regionals.”
The lowest round of the day came from Dolores’ Kiselya Plewe, who shot a 10-over 81. Plewe struggled with the green speeds early in her round, making the turn to the back-nine after posting 43 on the front. She rallied to shoot 2-over 38 on the back nine.
“It was really good conditions. The greens were really, really fast to me, but they are great greens. They have a lot more break than my home course,” Plewe said. “I finally got a hold of the greens later in the day.”
Plewe has been a machine on the Western Slope this season, continually topping leaderboards.
“I’m really confident. If I’m putting well, I can do really well (at regionals),” she said.
Dolores took third place as a team with a combined score of 320. Gunnison was last in the four-team field at 412.
Katrina Chandler shot 125 and Taylor Edwards 130 for the Demons’ individual varsity golfers. DHS junior varsity golfers Holly Wurtz and Lauren Biery shot 134 and 142, respectively.
Grand Junction’s Hanna Starritt (91) and Avery Hill (95) rounded out the top five.
The Demons’ varsity squad won’t play again until the regional tournament May 6 at Adobe Creek National Golf Course in Fruita; they decided to back out of their scheduled round Monday at the San Juan Country Club in Farmington.
“I watched our players try to apply things to their game that we’ve been working on in recent weeks out there (Thursday). We will keep plugging away and put in the time to be ready to go at regionals,” Rawles said.
As any player under Rawles knows, the emphasis will be on chipping and putting.
“That’s definitely what I’m going to work on the next week or so,” Waldo said. “There are a lot of strokes I can make up with my putting and chipping. If I can do that, I am confident I can shoot somewhere in the high or low 80s at regionals, and I’m excited to get out there.”
jlivingston@ durangoherald.com
