AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Now, they can call him Mr. Fribbs.
As calm, cool, collected and in command after the round as he was during it, Derek Fribbs earned justification for his schoolboy career. The Douglas County senior missed qualifying for the Colorado tournament after tying in regionals and losing in a playoff as a freshman, finished second as a sophomore and took himself out of contention a year ago with an opening-round 80.
However, with a precision-like 69, highlighted by outstanding iron play and pure putting on greens at the Eisenhower Blue Golf Course that broke as if they were waves at high surf and were as fast as a pool table surface, Fribbs rolled to a six-shot victory Tuesday and led the Huskies to the Class 5A team title.
Fribbs, who will sign with the University of Colorado next month, overcame a two-stroke deficit from Monday by finishing in 73-69—142, a 2-under-par total.
On one of those glorious early fall days that are all Colorado — play was delayed a half-hour because of frost — Fribbs excelled in brilliant sunshine and changing, light winds. He bogeyed two of his first three holes, but never fretted. After making the turn at 1-under, he put up three more birdies to come home in at 2-under 34, including a signature approach shot on 18 that set up a 3-foot, right-to-left curve that he calmly drained into the heart of the cup.
“I practiced really hard coming into this, particularly with irons and putting,” he said.
It worked. Fribbs didn’t lose control when he rolled his birdie attempt completely around the cup on No. 9, then burned the edge of No. 10.
“The greens were tough,” he said. “You had to be below the hole, below the mountains.”
And the Huskies were below everyone else. Junior teammate Cody Kent shot consecutive 74s to finish runner-up and Bryan Fickle rebounded from an opening 81 to also shoot 74.
“The unique thing about our team is that we preached team all year,” Huskies coach Jeff Riley said. “(Fribbs) is leading the tournament, and he’s asking what we needed to win as a team.”
First-day leader Alex Guerra of Air Academy, who tied with Fribbs at regionals, ballooned to a 78 after a first-round 1-under and tied for third with Overland’s Jonathan Park, who had quite a finish. A spectator kicked his ball behind the 16th green while talking on a cellphone. Undaunted, Park saved par despite his pitch sliding off the slippery green; and he pitched in for par at 18.
Cherry Creek edged defending champion Fairview by a shot for second place.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
