Cherry Hills Village – Here is some sage advice: “Hard work and talent are a powerful ingredient,” Kent Denver golf coach Bill Coakley said. “Hard work will beat talent, if talent doesn’t work hard.”
Wise words from a man who has been around the high school game for more than 25 years.
The talent in the state is unquestioned, from ThunderRidge’s talented foursome, led by defending state champ Riley Andrews, to Durango and from Steamboat Springs to Yuma, in every corner of the state. You’re likely to find a talented and hard-working teen who on any given day can go out and fire 70 without blinking an eye.
“There is such an interest now at a young level, and it is just getting more and more competitive,” Kent Denver standout Gunner Wiebe said. “I think that is just going to breed more good players and broaden the spectrum on how many kids are coming from where.”
The state’s depth will be on display Monday and Tuesday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club for the Class 5A tournament and Wellshire Golf Course for 4A. All eyes will be on ThunderRidge and its quest for an unprecedented fifth straight team title, a feat that has only been attempted once in state annals, when Colorado Springs went for it in 1952.
ThunderRidge’s 22-shot team victory in 2004, in which teammates Luke Symons and Tyler Parsloe finished third and fourth, respectively, came on the heels of an 18-shot victory the season before in Grand Junction. Likely challengers to the Grizzlies include Fairview, Durango, Legacy, Fort Collins and Rocky Mountain.
“Year by year, the competition gets better and we may have been the favorite team, but by no means does that guarantee we win,” said Symons, who could become the fourth ThunderRidge player to take home individual honors in as many years. “We still have to go out there and play good golf.”
Andrews, though winning results weren’t there during the regular season, came up big at the regional tournament. A stellar 3-under-par 69 at Red Hawk Ridge in Castle Rock has him eyeing a repeat.
“This is the best I’ve ever felt about my game right now,” said Andrews, whose final-round 66 at The Pinery last season produced a six-shot victory. “I’m really excited for state.”
Class 4A is not nearly as cut and dried as the 5A level. It would be easy to point to defending champion Cheyenne Mountain or an impressive Kent Denver and say that it should be a battle between those two. But it’s not that easy.
“I’ve learned that you can’t really expect anything in state tournaments,” said Wiebe, son of PGA Tour player Mark Wiebe. “Anything can happen at the right time of year. You can peak at the right time and it wouldn’t surprise me if somebody else won.”
One of the biggest surprises of the year came from the middle of the Eastern Plains. Yuma, home to nine-hole Indian Hills Golf Course, will send its first team to the state tournament. The Indians, with Branson Real, Brian Loyd, Kendall Murphy and Chad Rayl, won the Northern Regional last week in Greeley, knocking off favored Greeley Central.
Said Yuma golf coach Tim Hill: “The kids can play. I knew we had a chance, but it’s golf … and you just never know. Now they have that confidence going into state.”
The most well-known golfer to come out of Yuma is Steve Jones. Jones, who after high school graduation in 1977 starred at the University of Colorado, has eight PGA Tour victories to his credit, including the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in Michigan.
Jones, also a two-time Colorado sand greens champion, paid a visit to Yuma last year while recovering from finger injuries. He was able to spend some time with the team and even played a few holes with each of the guys.
“I would tell them just to keep doing what they are doing and understand that they are there for a reason,” said Jones, who already placed a call to Murphy to wish him and his mates good luck from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. “In golf, it doesn’t matter where you are from or what your bag says. It’s how good you are.”
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or
