Playing against the Southwest’s top teams on fairways wet enough to be mistaken for streams, the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers’ golf team hung tough before eventually settling for fourth place at the Southwest League Championship.
Kicking off what would be an up-and-down tournament for the Panthers at Hillcrest Golf Club on Sept. 9, standout senior Jakob Rudosky set the tone, firing a tournament-best round of 69.
“The whole round went well,” said Rudosky, describing his day-one performance. “I shot 3-under on the front nine, I birdied 10, I doubled 17 and I birdied 18. It all went well, really, except for hole 17.”
Following Rudosky on Sept. 9 for the Panthers was Hayden Plewe, who shot a 77. Ryan Aiken shot a score of 81, while Tristan Shelby and Levi Gross finished with an 83 and 88 respectively.
“I felt the team performed pretty well,” said Plewe. “With the exception of (Rudosky’s) 69, we all kind of had a rough day. I mean, those courses are always tough.”
Hoping to improve on their first day total of 227, the Panthers moved across town to play the tournament’s second round at a waterlogged Dalton Ranch Golf Club on Sept. 10.
Again pacing the Panthers, shooting a round of 79, was Rudosky, who, with a two-day total of 148, tied for first place overall. Although the standout senior would go on to lose a two-hole playoff to tournament winner, Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction things look good for Rudosky heading into the postseason.
“I feel like I played pretty good for how the conditions were,” Rudosky said. “I’m looking forward to regionals.”
Also shooting a 79 at Dalton Ranch was Plewe, whose combined two-day score of 156 was good enough for 8th place overall in the tournament.
Other varsity scorers for the Panthers included Shelby with a second round score of 90, Gross with a second round score of 92 and Aiken with a second round score of 95.
“I started off alright,” said Shelby. “Things were okay until my last three holes, which I doubled to shoot 90. It just wasn’t the best day, all around, for everybody.”
As a team, the Panthers finished with a two-day score of 475, which was good enough for fourth place overall behind Fruita Monument, Durango and tournament winner, Grand Junction.
With the regular season now complete, the Panthers will prepare for regionals, which take place in Gypsum, Colo. on Sept. 17. In light of the team’s successful season thus far, Panthers players are feeling confident.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to win regionals,” said Rudosky. “We’ve got the players, we’ve had the rounds all year to do it and all it takes is one day to put it together and win four in a row.”
