The Durango High School golf team hosted two days of tournament action Monday and Tuesday in Durango. While Trey Diehl and the Piedra Vista High School team led the charge, the Durango Demons proved to be a tough squad on a pair of home courses.
Diehl won Monday’s Hillcrest Invitational with a score of 3-under-par 68. He was three shots clear of Fruita Monument’s Blake Anderson and four shots in front of Telluride’s Carlo Pine and Piedra Vista’s River Smalley, who tied for third. Diel had five birdies and one double bogey, which he recorded on the par-4 13th.
Durago’s Luke Tichi placed fifth with a 4-over 76, and the Demons were second as a team at 19 over. Piedra Vista won as a team at 5 over. Fruita Monument was third at 21 over.
Diehl again had the low score Tuesday at the Dalton Ranch Invitational. He shot even-par 72 with four birdies on his scorecard on Nos. 2, 9, 14 and 16. He double bogeyed the par-4 third hole.
Montrose’s Micah Stangebye finished second on Tuesday at 1 over. Durango’s Levi Tichi was third at 4 over, and Durango’s Ethan Whidden was in a tie for fourth at 5 over along with Piedra Vista’s Tyler Diehl, Smalley and Quinn Yost.
Piedra Vista won the Dalton Ranch Invitational at 10 over. Montrose was second at 17 over, and Fruita Monument placed third at 20 over. Durango was fourth at 21 over.
Here’s a closer look at the two tournaments:
Levi Tichi, only a freshman, had a strong showing Tuesday. He had birdies on the par-3 third and the par-4 16th. He had a steady round with four bogeys and only one double, and he played holes eight through 15 at even par.
Whidden had a rough start but corrected his mistakes early. After he played his first four holes at 4 over, he found a birdie on the par-4 sixth and another on the par-3 14th, as he played his final 13 holes at 2 over.
Luke Tichi finished at 12 over at Dalton Ranch to place 21st. He shot 6-over-par on his second hole of the day, the par-5 fourth, and he ran into a double bogey on the par-4 sixth, but he played his next six holes at even to steady the ship a bit.
Anthony Flint tied for 22nd at 13 over. He had a strong front nine and was even through four holes, but a double and a triple bogey on Nos. 8 and 9 sent him to a front nine score of 42. He shot 43 on the back to finish with an 85.
Durango’s Luke Ford finished in a tie for 25th at 14 over, Sten Joyner was tied for 29th at 16 over, Josh Meador also was 16 over, Michael Marquez was 22 over to finish in 40th and Nick Dudley tied for 48th at 37 over.
Luke Tichi’s 4 over on Monday came despite a double bogey start. He found birdies on Nos. 6, 10 and 17, as he played the par-5 holes at 1 under. He reeled off nine even-par holes during the round.
Flint was the second-lowest Demon on Monday. He shot 7 over to tie for sixth. He birdied Nos. 9 and 11 to keep his score in the 70s at 78.
Whidden shot a 79 and tied for ninth. He had a hole-out eagle on the 310-yard par-4 11th.
Levi Tichi tied for 14th with his round of 9-over 80. He played the front nine at 1-over but struggled with consecutive double bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12.
Joyner tied for 16th with a round of 10-over 81. He picked up a birdie on the par-4 14th.
Ford tied for 29th at 15 over, Meador shot 18 over to tie for 35th, Marques tied for 48th at 22 over, Jacob Genualdi tied for 60th at 30 over, and Dudle tied for 63rd at 31 over.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
