(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — During the first day of the 2016 Class 4A boys state golf tournament, Discovery Canyon’s Luke Trujillo could do no wrong. During his first tournament of 2017, he felt like he could do no right.
The defending state champion shot a two-over-par 73 at the Colorado Springs Country Club to claim the win at Monday’s Doherty Spartan Invite, the same tournament that his former teammate Owen Pasvogel claimed a year earlier. The big difference is that Trujillo was anything but happy with his play through the course of the round.
“I didn’t hit the ball really well towards the beginning,” he said. “Once we started getting towards the end, I kind of figured it out. It was bad decisions mixed with bad shots.”
He started his round with a birdie on the par-five 15th hole and was able to hold par for the next five holes before a bogey put him back to even.
He lost another stroke two holes later to sit over par for the first time on the day. He gained it back on the par-five 11th hole. He was putting just off the green for eagle and the ball came up about three feet short of the hole. He was able to drill it in for a birdie to get back to even.
“I didn’t really figure out how hard the greens were until around my 13th hole,” he said. “That’s when I figured out I needed to land it short of the hole because everything was bouncing.”
He three-putted on the par-three 12th to take another bogey, tightening the battle between he and Denver East’s Kailer Rundiks.
Heading into 14 – the groups final hole of the day – Trujillo held on to a two-stroke lead. His drive found the right rough and his second shot went into a green-side bunker. Rundiks bombed his drive to give himself an easy wedge to the green.
But his birdie putt caught the lip of the cup and spun 360 degrees, giving him a par. Trujillo was unable to get up and down for par, but his lead heading into the hole held up regardless.
Rundkis ended the day with a 74, the same score as Salida’s Hunter Wall.
He may not have thought it was his best day on the course, but steady play was all he needed to beat the field, and the 45-minute lightning delay.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Unlike last year, however, the Thunder did not claim the team title as well. That went to Denver East, with a total score of 233. It was an encouraging day for the Angels as they got to see the course where they’ll be playing their regional tournament.
“We set a good pace and we know how we can improve,” Rundiks said. “And not only were able to come out and compete since it’s a country club, but get a feel for it before we come back in a month for regionals.”
For the Thunder, it was a good gauge to see where the team is after the graduation of Pasvogel and Hayden Fry. They finished second as a team, just three strokes behind Denver East. But coach Mark Liggett liked what he saw from his younger group of guys.
“I was really encouraged,” he said. “Kaden (Ford) is a freshman and shot 85 in his first tournament. Josh (Hampton) is a sophomore and he came out and shot 84. I think they’re both on the spectrum of being able to help us out so I’m really looking forward to that.”