The contenders were hoping Steve Ziegler would come back to the field.
Ziegler knew he wouldn’t.
The Legacy junior completed a magical two-day run at the Class 5A state golf tournament at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, shooting an even-par round of 72 to win by seven shots over defending champion Riley Andrews of ThunderRidge and Branden Barron of Chaparral.
“I came out here and I just hit the ball well all week,” said Ziegler, who became the first state-title winner of any kind at the sixth-year Broomfield school. “I made some good putts, and I just tried to stay patient out there, not get too aggressive, and that was the key.”
After a flawless bogey-free round Monday, Ziegler faced a little bit of adversity early in his round Tuesday. A 3-foot par putt on the par-4 third lipped out for Ziegler’s first dropped shot of the tournament.
No problem. Ziegler got the shot right back on the next hole, rolling in a 6-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 fourth.
“I knew the bogeys could really get to me if I let them, but it didn’t really bother me too much,” Ziegler said. “It wasn’t even the lead being a factor, I just knew from tournament experience, if I just kept on playing there would be birdies out there to make up for those bogeys.”
Three more miscues through the round were more than accounted for, especially on the more difficult back nine. Birdies on Nos. 12, 14 and 16 only gave Ziegler confidence and those trying to chase him down a look of awe.
“In stroke play, you can just never give up, because you can always make a big number on the last hole,” Ziegler said. “It’s easy to make mistakes out here, and I just went out and played the course. It was just another 18 holes to me.”
Said Barron, who was playing in the second-to-last group: “I knew I would at least have to go 65 or maybe 66 if the conditions got really brutal. I was mainly focused on getting second, and I thought I could move up the leaderboard, but I knew Steve wasn’t coming back.”
Andrews, who played with Barron, kept a watchful eye on Ziegler most of the day, but was unable to close any ground.
“I played really well. I just couldn’t get any putts to go in,” Andrews said. “I played just as well and got everything together just in time. I’m really pleased with how I played.”
Andrews and teammates Tyler Parsloe, Luke Symons and Adam Perko claimed ThunderRidge’s fifth consecutive team title, breaking the record held by Colorado Springs (now Doherty) High School in 1952. ThunderRidge stretched its three-shot lead over Regis after the first day to 14. Fairview finished a distant third, 28 shots behind.
“It gets better every year,” Symons said. “It’s just awesome for our program.”
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
…
Results
At Green Valley Ranch Golf Club
7,101 yards, par 72-72-144
Team scores – ThunderRidge 224-223-447, Regis 227-234-461, Fairview 233-242-475, Grandview 246-235-481, Pomona 246-238-484, Fort Collins 242-243-485, Durango 241-245-486, Arapahoe 250-238-488, Columbine 242-246-488, Dakota Ridge 243-255-498.
INDIVIDUALS
Steve Ziegler, Legacy, 68-72-140; Branden Barron, Chaparral, 75-72-147; Riley Andrews, ThunderRidge, 72-75-147; Tyler Parsloe, ThunderRidge, 71-77-148; Jamie Marshall, Regis, 72-77-149; Luke Symons, ThunderRidge, 81-71-152; Matt Stratton, Dakota Ridge, 75-78-153; Chace Nathe, Fruita Monument, 77-77-154; Brandon McCoy, Mitchell, 79-76-155; Jon Tanner, Fort Collins, 77-78-155; Ryan Boshoven, Douglas County, 78-77-155; Kevin Ford, Fairview, 80-76-156; Jimmy Spierings, Regis, 78-79-157; Jon Lopez, Grandview, 81-76-157; Tyler Coates, Durango, 75-82-157; Eric Ptolemy, Regis, 80-78-158; Mitch Buchner, Loveland, 82-76-158; Sean Thomas, Pomona, 83-75-158; Ben Scully, Arapahoe, 83-76-159; Eric Berg, Doherty, 77-82-159; Jordan Cimino, Columbine, 80-79-159; Marty Marquez, Central (G.J.), 80-79-159; Michael Banion, Pomona, 82-77-159; Ryan Fergen, Smoky Hill, 81-78-159; Ryan Smith, Rocky Mountain, 81-78-159; Casey Coy, Chatfield, 77-83-160; Eric Thorson, Cherry Creek, 79-81-160; Brian Morfeld, Fairview, 79-82-161; John Fedotov, Grandview, 80-81-161; Ty Williams, Fairview, 74-87-161; Adam Pladson, Gateway, 80-82-162; Justin Tapia, Monarch, 83-79-162; Nick Golinvaux, Cherry Creek, 83-79-162; RichE Moore, Hinkley, 79-83-162; Tom Steiner, Green Mountain, 79-83-162; Clifton Sevra, Grandview, 85-78-163; Jordan Brown, Mountain Vista, 79-84-163; Matt Enssle, Chatfield, 79-84-163; Nick Barenberg, Dakota Ridge, 82-81-163; Alex Peckham, Heritage, 79-85-164; Jamie Beard,
Columbine, 78-86-164; Josh Wagner, Fort Collins, 80-84-164; Keenan Holt, Durango, 80-85-165; Lanny Cameron, Rocky Mountain, 84-81-165; Ross McLean, Boulder, 85-80-165; Tyler Conwell, Columbine, 84-81-165; Greg Johnson, Bear Creek, 88-78-166; Will Skinner, Fairview, 82-84-166; Adam Baca, Standley Lake, 90-77-167; Alex Dean, Overland, 85-82-167; Axel King, North, 85-82-167; Bret Bzdelik, Regis, 77-90-167; Chris Keirns, Horizon, 81-86-167; Daniel Mellott, Pomona, 81-86-167; Eric Finley, Arapahoe, 86-81-167; Jack Mathis, Chaparral, 84-83-167; Kendall Dilly, Fort Collins, 86-81-167; Nic Davis, Douglas County, 83-84-167; Ben Davis, Green Mountain, 80-88-168; Randall Colson, Arvada West, 84-84-168; Bryan Kruse, Pomona, 83-86-169; Kory Harrell, Air Academy, 84-85-169; Paul Beblavi, Smoky Hill, 88-81-169; Taylor Hamilton, Fruita Monument, 86-83-169; Aaron Woodard, East, 89-81-170; Kyle Tawara, Brighton, 83-87-170; Ben Honaman, Wheat Ridge, 87-84-171; Devin Schreiner, Durango, 86-85-171; Shaun Riley, Boulder, 88-84-172; Alex Frisby, Durango, 95-78-173; Mike Ross, Grand Junction, 88-85-173; Nick Taraseiwicz, Rampart, 86-87-173; Adam Perko, ThunderRidge, 86-88-174; Keith Brady, Eaglecrest, 87-87-174; Wes Davis, Columbine, 88-86-174; Grant Quiller, Fort Collins, 85-90-175; Dalton Becky, Arapahoe, 84-92-176; Jordan Gallacher, Mountain Vista, 85-91-176; David Sutula, Air Academy, 86-91-177; Chris Turner, Standley Lake, 90-88-178; Scott Meine, Bear Creek, 87-91-178; Jake Zitek, Dakota
Ridge, 86-96-182; Brandon Peters, Highlands Ranch, 101-86-187; Jeff Popick, Lakewood, 87-101-188; Scott Whiteman, Central (G.J.), 95-96-191; Nick Mason, Wasson, 87-105-192.
