The 2015 CHSAA 5A boys state high school tournament probably belongs in the “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” category.
Any one of these things would be improbable on its own, yet all of them occurred on Tuesday at Fort Collins Country Club:
— The host school, Fort Collins HS, which had just two players in the field, saw those two competitors finish 1-2, with Hunter Paugh (left) claiming the title and fellow senior AJ Ott placing second.
— Both of the top two finishers are left-handers.
— The individual champion, Paugh, won at his home course.
— Paugh led after the first round of the 5A state meet each of the last two years, but instead of shooting a second-round 77 and finishing third as he did in 2014, he closed the deal with an even-par 71 on Tuesday for the victory.
— Though Fort Collins HS has featured six state team champions over the nearly-70 years of boys state high school championships, it had never had an individual winner until Paugh broke the ice on Tuesday.
— With just a few groups left on the course, three schools (Regis Jesuit, defending champion Coronado and Lakewood) were tied for the lead in the team competition. Regis ended up prevailing by one over co-runners-up Coronado and Lakewood, with Fort Collins-based Fossil Ridge just four out of the top spot.
— In the last seven years, Regis has won five state team championships and finished second the other two years.
Suffice it to say it was a stellar ending to an eventful boys high school season. And the 5A was just one of the three state tournaments that concluded on Tuesday. For details about the 4A and 3A state meets, see below.
Paugh couldn’t keep the lead that he held after 18 holes last year, but this time around, no one ever caught him, though a couple of opponents crept within one shortly after he hit it into the water and made a double-bogey 7 on the seventh hole. He was solid as a rock thereafter, making two birdies and nine pars to fend off all challengers.
It was an ideal way to close out Paugh’s high school golf career — with a victory at state in his hometown and on his home course.
“This is just how my dream was — just exactly,” he said. “I can’t picture it any better, with all my family and friends around to support me after winning the state title. It’s amazing.”
Paugh, who has verbally committed to play college golf at the University of South Dakota, posted a 4-under-par 138 total, good for a three-stroke victory. Ott, his teammate, had gotten within one before placing second at 141 after closing with a 70.
Grand Junction junior Trevor Olkowski and Regis Jesuit senior Andrew McCormick (above) tied for third at 143, with Olkowski carding a day 2-best 69 and McCormick a 72.
Ott (left), a Colorado State University recruit who earlier this year finished third in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior and second in a playoff at the CGA Junior Stroke Play, notched his fourth top-10 at state. But a victory eluded him.
“It’s very disappointing,” he said. “I definitely wasn’t even close to my best. It’s just one of those days. It’s unfortunate it had to happen today.
“It bothers me, yeah, but it’s just one tournament. But then again, this year and last year especially I felt like I was really confident going in (to state).”
As for Paugh, he was unflappable following his double bogey on the seventh hole. After seeing his lead dwindle to one, he drained birdie putts of 10 feet on No. 11 and 6 feet on No. 12, and had a cushion of at least two the rest of the way.
“Last year gave me good experience going into today,” Paugh said. “Last year I went in (to the last day in) the same position. I knew what I needed to do today. No. 7 wasn’t a good hole but I knew I needed to let it go because you can’t do anything about it. I didn’t want to let it affect me. From there on I was just really comfortable.
“Winning state is big for anybody, but it’s huge after last year having a chance at it and I didn’t get it done. This year at my home course, being expected to play well, I filled those expectations. Having the state title is amazing. And it’s cool (for Fort Collins players) to be 1 and 2 at state this year.”
With Paugh holding a comfortable lead going up the final hole, the team title remained in doubt until the very end. But Regis, which won four straight 5A state championships from 2010-13, got birdies from McCormick at No. 16 and a 7-footer from junior Tyler Zhang at No. 18 to give the Raiders (left) a one-stroke victory.
“He hit one of the best drives I can imagine,” Regis coach Craig Rogers said of Zhang’s shot on 18. “He was about 95 yards out and hit it to about 7 feet. That was the difference at the end.”
Then McCormick sank a 4-foot slider on No. 17 and two-putted for par on 18 to keep Coronado and Lakewood at bay.
“Stepping up on the last tee box, all the people watching, hitting it down the middle of the fairway, then hitting it in the middle of the green, then hitting it about 2 inches …,” Rogers said of McCormick on 18. “For any kid to have that kind of poise, it’s just beautiful to watch. He’s a guy who loves the competition.”
Regis finished with a 15-over-par 441 total, while Coronado and Lakewood came in at 442 and Fossil Ridge at 445.
Solem Feels Right at Home in Claiming 4A Title: Paugh wasn’t the only golfer to win a state high school title in his hometown and on his home course on Tuesday. Junior Jackson Solem, who plays for Silver Creek High School in Longmont, earned the 4A championship at The Fox Hill Club.
Solem (left) shot a 1-under-par 69 on Tuesday to prevail by one over Valor Christian senior Coby Welch, who likewise carded a 69.
Solem, the 4A Northern Regional champion who earlier this year finished third in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, made two birdies and one bogey on Tuesday. He finished at 1-under 139 overall to become the first individual state champion to represent Silver Creek.
Welch, winner of the CJGA 14-18 Junior Series Championship this year, was one ahead of Solem after 14 holes on Tuesday. But a double bogey on No. 15 proved costly as the University of Northern Colorado recruit lost the lead for good.
Windsor’s Cole Krantz, winner of the 2015 Colorado PGA Junior Championship, tied for third at 142 with first-round leader Philip Lee of Valor Christian.
Speaking of Valor, it won its third consecutive 4A state title — and fifth since 2009. This time, it was 28 strokes better than runner-up Silver Creek and another three better than third-place Evergreen.
Peak to Peak Pulls off Sweep of 3A Titles: Peak to Peak, which had never had a team or individual state champion in golf, rectified that situation on both fronts on Tuesday.
The Pumas (left) prevailed by nine for the team title at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Eagle, and junior Sam Taylor ran away with the individual championship.
Taylor shot a 3-under-par 69 — the only sub-par round of the tournament — to finish at 3-under 141, good for a nine-stroke winning margin.
Taylor birdied five of his first seven holes on Tuesday before giving back a couple of strokes on the back nine.
Three players tied for second at 150: Oliver Jack of Kent Denver (75 Tuesday), Will Hazen of Aspen (72) and Ivan Richmond of Estes Park (74).
Defending champion Yale Kim of the Dawson School tied for sixth at 155.
Team-wise, Peak to Peak carded a 21-over-par 453 total. That was nine better than runner-up Kent Denver and 27 better than third-place Aspen.
SCORING: For scores from the state tournaments, click on the following: 3A, 4A, 5A
