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Dolores star Kiselya Plewe wins third Durango Invitation golf tournament in a row; Waldo 3rd

Only three players could navigate 30 mph wind gusts to break 100 at Hillcrest Golf Club on Monday.

For the third year in a row, the player with the lowest score at the Durango High School Girls Golf Invitational was Dolores’ Kiselya Plewe. The junior claimed her third consecutive win at Hillcrest with a 12-over-par 83, thanks to shooting 4 over on the back nine.

As a freshman, Plewe shot an impressive 6-over 77, and she won a year ago with an 81.

“I like this course and playing on good greens,” Plewe said. “It’s always in great shape and fits my eye pretty well.”

Plewe finished ahead of Aztec’s Linda Peralta

Durango didn’t have a full roster to field a varsity team, but two Demons made their way around the course Monday. Senior Reiley Waldo had hoped to break 80 for the first time in her career during her final competitive round at her home course, but the wind didn’t allow such a feat for any player.

Waldo, daughter of Allisa Oliger and Kurt Waldo, put two shots into the water lining the left side of the fairway and green on the first hole and was 4 over before walking to the second tee box. She regrouped to take third after shooting 96.

“It was a bit of a bummer, for sure,” Waldo said of the windy conditions during her final home meet. “It definitely bumps your score up. This wasn’t one of my better rounds, and I had a few shots in there that cost me a few strokes, but definitely some good ones, too.”

DHS head coach Kirk Rawles said he thought Waldo’s struggles on the first hole set the tone for her day, especially as the cold and wind continued to take its toll on the players.

“She didn’t hit it as solid as she can (Monday),” Rawles said. “She got eaten up by the conditions, and taking 8 on No. 1 was tough to dig out of.

“When you’re not hitting it as well as you can and into 30 mph winds, it will be frustrating.”

Waldo was unlucky again on the uphill par-4 16th. Her approach shot hit a tree lining the right side of the fairway, and the ball never came down, forcing Waldo to take another drop.

She settled for matching 48s on both the front and back nines.

Though she knows Hillcrest inside and out, Waldo said playing competitively at home almost makes it a tougher tournament than playing on the road.

“Everybody who plays at home knows there is more pressure. You know the course, so you feel pressure to play better than you do normally,” she said.

Waldo played in the featured group along with Plewe and Kirtland Central’s Daria Frank. Frank drilled a 20-foot putt on the 87-yard par-3 15th for her birdie.

Plewe found a birdie on No. 17, a 469-yard par-5. She hit a perfect drive, working the ball right to left as she did all day, and set herself up to reach the green in two with 3-wood. She drew another shot perfectly below the hole on the fringe of the green and had a look at eagle. She left her eagle putt short but tapped in for birdie.

But Plewe wasn’t sure she would be looking at an eagle chance. She didn’t see her approach shot come down and thought the wind might have taken it out of bounds, so she hit a provisional iron shot well short of the green. She walked up to the green and saw her first shot sitting below the hole.

“I was glad I pieced it together there at the end,” Plewe said. “I had a rough start but got back in there, and that was good.”

Plewe missed her first two greens in regulation during Monday’s round and took a double bogey on both of the opening par-4s.

“I just had to focus on hitting greens. After not hitting the first two, my goal was to hit as many greens as possible, but I still had too many three-putts.”

Though she wins nearly every tournament on the Western Slope, Plewe also has won the respect of her peers. Waldo said she enjoys playing with Plewe, especially because she has a faster pace of play than many players in the region.

“I’ve played with her a couple of times, and it’s awesome,” Waldo said. “She’s very talented and extremely nice and polite. It’s nice to play with somebody who knows what they’re doing.”

DHS’ only other varsity golfer, sophomore Katrina Chandler, shot a 108, just three strokes off her personal best in competition. She worked around an unfortunate 11 on the par-5 17th and turned in a round good enough for fourth place.

“She was on track for a personal best but took that 11 on 17 with the wind and out-of-bounds trouble,” Rawles said. “She’s playing very solid for where she is in her second year.”

Plewe helped lead Dolores to the team title with a score of 318. New Mexico’s Kirtland Central was second with 323, and Aztec followed with a 325.

DHS will travel to Montezuma-Cortez on Tuesday for another tournament at Conquistador Golf Course, Plewe’s home course.

“Some more teams from up north will be there (Tuesday) for some more competition,” Rawles said. “We all hope the weather is a bit better.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com



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