Highlands Ranch – Chalk one up to experience.
A year after leading the Class 5A state golf tournament after Day One, Littleton’s Becca Huffer was in the same position Tuesday at a blustery Highlands Ranch Golf Club.
Three shots clear to start the round, the Lions sophomore saw her lead shrink to one after three holes. But a revived putter and some key up-and-downs righted the ship, and Huffer came home in 2-under-par 70 for a two-day total of 6-under 138 and won by three shots over Heritage’s Kayley Kempton. Favored Monarch won the team title by 35 shots over Heritage, firing a team-total 465.
“I’m glad that I put myself in that place after the first round, where I could just relax and go out there and play my game,” said Huffer, 15. “It made it a lot less stressful than trying to play catch up.”
Kempton, who opened with an even-par 72, started birdie-birdie and Monarch’s Chelsey Collins birdied No. 2. Each stood at 2-under and two shots back after two holes.
Huffer’s putter, which was key to her first-round 68, let her down early. A three-putt par on the par-5 second and another three-putt on the third, including a missed 2-footer, led to bogey.
“I think I was getting a little too anxious to see some of those putts go in,” she said.
The big save came at the par-4 No. 7. Huffer’s approach shot caught the cart path and ran some 30 yards past, leaving her a tricky pitch to a small target. She coolly pitched to within 8 feet and rolled in the par putt to stay one ahead of Collins.
“That one really helped,” she said. “It helped going into the second nine.”
Collins and Kempton never got any closer, and watched Huffer stretch her lead to three shots at the turn after a birdie on the par-5 No. 9.
Kempton made the shot of the day. After Huffer had stuck her tee shot to within 2 feet on the 101-yard par-3 13th, Kempton did her one better, jarring a knockdown pitching wedge for her second hole-in-one of the season.
“I thought it was going close, but I thought it stopped so I was just getting ready to go,” said Kempton, who didn’t see her shot go in. She nearly did it again four holes later, coming up 2 feet short on No. 17.
Collins’ disappointing finish, which included three straight bogeys on Nos. 13-15, was softened a bit by her team’s victory.
“I really wanted to go out on top, but I can’t really complain,” said Collins, who will join two-time champion Kelly Jacques of Skyline at Oklahoma next season. “I was just so focused on the individual title. It’s still exciting to be team champions.”
Chelsey and Brooke Collins, Caroline Miller and Katie MacIntyre became just the second team at Monarch to win a state title.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
