Last year, he was the hunted. This time, Thayer Plewe will get to play the role of the hunter.
In a bid for his first individual state title, the standout senior golfer from Montezuma-Cortez High School sits just one stroke off the lead entering the final day at the 3A state championships at Pinehurst Country Club in Denver.
An opening round 70, including three birdies and three bogies, places Plewe by himself in second place behind Resurrection Christian freshman Clint Summers, whose round of 69 is the only under-par round in the field.
Plewe sits in a dense pursuit pack, as one of nine golfers within four shots of the lead entering the second round of the 36-hole tournament.
The senior held a brief lead, sitting at two-under through 12 holes, but back-to-back bogies on his 13th and 14th holes of the day backed Plewe up to even-par.
Meanwhile, the Panthers sit in ninth place as a team, shooting 240 in the opening round. Sophomore Vince Lopez overcame seven straight bogies to start the round to finish with a 79, good for a tie for 31st in the field. Three birdies in his final nine holes helped Lopez stay in the top third of the field.
M-CHS senior Kaden Huff and junior Airoughn VanGrandt posted matching 91s to round out the M-CHS competitors. Huff finished with five pars, while VanGrandt carded four in his state tournament debut.
The Panthers sit just 10 strikes outside of the top four places, while Vail Mountain holds the Day One clubhouse lead (221), ahead of Resurrection Christian (223).
The Panthers tee off Tuesday morning from Pinehurst with Plewe’s lead grouping set to start at 11 a.m.
