ELIZABETH — Andrew Cornella had one word to describe what happened on the par-4, 421-yard, No. 8 hole on Monday at Spring Valley Golf Club.
Weird.
The St. Mary’s sophomore was 1-over-par in the first round of the inaugural Class 3A state boys golf tournament when he teed off at No. 8 and started walking to his second shot.
Then he was notified that his tee shot went out of bounds — by a mere 3 feet, but still out. Thus, he faced a two-stroke penalty and a second tee shot.
His second shot was in the fairway and hit playing partner Joshua Mathis’ ball.
“I thought I was far enough right to be safe,” Cornella said of the first drive. “I hit my second shot, and it hits Josh’s ball. His bounces and mine bounces. It was just weird.”
Yet, after all that, the Southern Region champion managed a bogey en route to his 3-over-par 75. He’s three shots behind leader Min Kyu Jeon of Front Range Christian after the first round of the two-day tournament.
Only Denver Christian’s Michael Reitz (74) and Pagosa Springs’ Clark Reidberger (75) stand between Cornella and Jeon.
“There’s still a ton of golf left to play, so you’re really never out of it,” Cornella said
That may be true, but the heavy winds and fast greens appeared to play a role in how Estes Park’s Austin Logan played. The senior, who finished third at the 3A Northern Regional, bogeyed or double-bogeyed 12 of his first 13 holes and shot an 88.
“It’s definitely the worst round I’ve played in a while,” Logan said. “There’s so many things today that went wrong.”
