Spencer Painton was grinding. Then he went on a birdie binge.
The Regis Jesuit senior, who tied for second a year ago at the Class 5A boys golf state tournament, birdied his last six holes Monday and fired a scorching 29 on the back side for a 66 to take the first-round lead.
Bound for Kansas, Painton made the turn at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora in a not-so-special 1-over-par 37. However, he birdied the 403-yard No. 10, settled for two pars, then turned about as hot as a golfer can get. He birdied the 528-yard par-5 13th in recording just 19 strokes over the final six holes in taking advantage of glorious weather and conditions.
Legacy’s Li Chen, who tied with Painton in 2012 at Rolling Hills Country Club in Golden, shot 4-under 68. Ralston Valley’s Keegan Sheard is at 70, and Regis Jesuit’s Jake Kelley is at 71. Cherokee Trail’s Bradley Scalla and Grand Junction’s Donny Kinnaman are at even-par 72. Kyler Dunkle of Douglas County, the 2012 winner, is among six at 73.
Teamwise, Regis Jesuit, the three-time defending champion, sits at 4-under and nine strokes ahead of Ralston Valley.
In Evergreen, Andrew Rademacher-Howe of Silver Creek posted a 69 for the first-round lead in 4A at the picturesque Hiwan Golf Club. Competing at the former favored site of the Colorado Open, Rademacher-Howe’s 1-under 69 heads two others who matched par — Isaac Petersillie of Coronado and Glenn Workman of Pueblo West.
Wilson Belk of Cheyenne Mountain stands at even par.
In the team chase, Silver Creek holds the lead. The Raptors shot a combined 13-over 223, five strokes better than Valor Christian.
In 3A at Pueblo C.C., it’s all about Alexander Dawson. Cameron Connor and Cole Folwell each shot 2-under 69s. Tristan Rohrbaugh of Basalt is two back at 71. Alexander Dawson leads at even-par 213 and holds a commanding 22-stroke bulge over perennial power Kent Denver.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
BOYS STATE GOLF TOURNAMENT/FIRST ROUND
Monday
CLASS 5A
At Murphy Creek G.C., Aurora, par 72
Team scores — Regis Jesuit 212, Ralston Valley 221, Cherry Creek and Legacy 222, Fairview 225, Douglas County 228, Columbine 229, Grand Junction and Heritage 230, Boulder 232, Fort Collins 236, Arapahoe 238, Monarch 243, Fossil Ridge 247, Loveland 251.
Top Individuals
Spencer Painton, Regis Jesuit 66
Li Chen, Legacy 68
Keegan Sheard, Ralston Valley 70
Jake Kelley, Regis Jesuit 71
Bradley Scalla, Cherokee Trail 72
Donny Kinnaman, Grand Junction 72
A.J. Ott, Fort Collins 73
Grant Olinger, Pomona 73
Jackson Vacek, Fairview 73
Kobe Padilla, Cherry Creek 73
Kyler Dunkle, Douglas County 73
Will Matthews, Cherry Creek 73
Kevin Wohlfarth, Fairview 74
Michael Tait, Columbine 74
Neil Tillman, Ralston Valley 74
Sam Marley, Arapahoe 74
Chris Korte, Regis Jesuit 75
Devyn Solano, Grandview 75
Hunter Lee, Heritage 76
Spencer Roberts, Legacy 75
Alan Berry, Chatfield 76
Ashton Opperman, Columbine 76
Cole Edwards, Cherry Creek 76
Jackson Burke, Cherry Creek 76
Nick Smith, Douglas County 76
CLASS 4A
At Hiwan G.C., Evergreen, par 70
Team scores — Silver Creek 223, Valor Christian 228, Cheyenne Mountain 230, Coronado 234, Durango 239, Pueblo South 241, D’Evelyn 243, Evergreen 249, Steamboat Springs 251, Windsor 258, Thompson Valley 260, Ponderosa 274.
Top Individuals
Andrew Rademacher-Howe, S. Creek 69
Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 70
Isaac Petersillie, Coronado 70
Wilson Belk, Cheyenne Mountain 71
Jakob Rudosky, Montezuma-Cortez 75
Ross Macdonald, Valor Christian 75
Jackson Solem, Silver Creek 76
Josh Seiple, Valor Christian 76
Trevor Bogus, Durango 76
Dylan Hall, Vista Ridge 77
Jake Staiano, Valor Christian 77
Chase Federico, Pueblo South 78
Dalton Haase, Silver Creek 78
Turner Estes, Cheyenne Mountain 78
Coby Welch, Valor Christian 79
Skyler Miller, Palisade 79
Brett Krantz, Windsor 80
Cory Gillespie, Durango 80
Erik Sobeck, Steamboat Springs 80
Josh Ramirez, Green Mountain 80
Luke Toillion, Niwot 80
Rhett Pedersen, D’Evelyn 80
Todd Millard, Silver Creek 80
Wes Moran, Coronado 80
CLASS 3A
At Pueblo C.C., par 71
Team scores — Alexander Dawson 213, Kent Denver 235, Aspen 238, Lutheran 241, Peak to Peak 243, Holy Family 244, Vail Christian 250, Alamosa 251, Manitou Springs 252, Eaton 258, Vail Mountain 261, Colo. Academy 268, Trinidad 290.
Top Individuals
Cameron Connor, Alexander Dawson 69
Cole Folwell, Alexander Dawson 69
Tristan Rohrbaugh, Basalt 71
Behrod Keshtavar, Peak to Peak 72
Gary Schlatter, Kent Denver 73
Cooper Gould, Vail Christian 75
Dylan Jirsa, Estes Park 75
Yale Kim, Alexander Dawson 75
Payton DeVencenty, Lutheran 76
Matt Benevidas, Alamosa 77
Brian Coleman, Estes Park 78
Clayton Crawford, Aspen 78
Hayden Nicholaides, Lutheran 78
Ian Coberyly, Sterling 78
Trey Lambrecht, Dterling 78
Dante Duran, Trinidad 79
Mark Hillary, Kent Denver 79
Sam Taylor, Peak to Peak 79
Will Hazen, Aspen 79
Mason Munn, Resurrection Christian 80
Trevor Hunt, Manitou Springs 80
