Focus for Kim, regional teams turn to 5A State tournament in Fort Collins
Rock Canyon senior Nathan Kim has faced his share of disappointments but is now focusing on the upcoming Class 5A Boys State Golf Tournament.
Kim tied for second place in the Class 5A Central Region qualifying tournament on Sept. 20 at the University of Denver Club at Highlands Ranch.
He shot a 2-under par 70, which was one stroke behind medalist Brayden Forte of Cherokee Trail.
What was disappointing for Kim was the fact that he was 4-under-par heading into the 17th hole, but a pair of bogeys pushed him back into a second-place tie with Castle View’s Gavin Amella. Amella ended up with birdies on the final four holes.
“I played good overall, it was just the last holes where the putter wasn’t as good as I wanted,” said Kim. “I was four undergoing into 17 and three putted the last two holes. We still have state and I’m hoping to do good there.”
Now, looking at state, Kim said it will be about working on the essentials. He said all his focus will be on state.
Kim was focused on the regional tournament.
After advancing to the state tournnament as a freshman, he didn’t qualify as a sophomore or junior.
“I was pretty disappointed at regionals so I wanted to do well at this one, at least make it to state,” he said.
The entire Rock Canyon golf team made it to state, qualifying second behind Cherokee Trail.
The Jaguars had four of the top eight finishers and wound up with a 2-under-par team total of 214. Cherokee Trail had three players in the top four and came in with a 211-team score.
Besides Kim, Charlie Tucker tied for fourth place with a 1-under-par 71. Trey Kahrhoff had a 73 while Mason Conrad rounded out Rock Canyon’s scoring with a 74.
In order to qualify for the state tournaments, the top two teams from each regional advance and 13 individuals not on those top two teams also earn a ticket to the tournament.
The Class 5A state meet will be held Oct. 2-3 at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins.
In other 5A regional tourneys, the top five golfers in the individual standings were all under par of 70 in the Southern Region tourney which was played at Indian Tree Golf Course in Arvada.
Cherry Creek was first with a score of 209 and Highlands Ranch tied Denver East for second but the Angels won the tiebreaker to earn a spot in the state tournament.
Sophomore Billy Verstraate, of Highlands Ranch, was second in the chase for medalist honors with a 3-under-par 67. Cherry Creek teammates Henry Starr and Wyatt Isgrig tied for third with 68s while Kyle Bubier of ThunderRidge was fifth with a 69.
Valor Christian (219) finished second behind Regis Jesuit (210) in the Western Region at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder.
Three Valor golfers, Maxwell Eide, Campbell McFadden and Ian O’Fallon, tied for sixth place with 73s. Mountain Vista’s Connor Scheich also had a 73.
Heritage junior Sabastian Hein eagled the 18th hole and came in second in the Northern Region at Todd Creek Golf Course in Thornton. Heritage was third in the team standings, one stroke out of a second place finish,
Ponderosa finished second behind Erie in the Class 4A Region 1 meet and will be playing in the state tourney on Oct. 2-3 at The Bridges in Montrose. Pondo had a 230 team score.
Senior Bryar Moss of Pondo tied for medalist honors with a 2-under-par 70 at Pueblo’s Walking Stick Golf Course.
Lutheran was second with a score of 221 in the Class 4A Region 2 tourney at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Lions’ sophomore Nicholas Brooks was second in the medalist chase with a 1-under-par 70.
The Class 3A state tourney will be Oct. 2-3 at Rain Dance National in Windsor and SkyView Academy’s team has qualified.
Colorado Academy and SkyView Academy tied for second at 237 points apiece in the Region 2 meet but the Hawks won a head-to-head tiebreaker to get the automatic qualifying spot. SkyView’s Landon Webb was fourth with a 2-over-par 73.