Home

Steamboat Springs — The title at the Warrior Invitational golf tournament came down to a single stroke Tuesday at the Tiara Rado Golf Club in Grand Junction.

All Steamboat Springs High School golfer Kaelen Gunderson needed was a 10-foot birdie putt, but the ball stalled less than an inch from the hole in a sudden-death playoff, and his opponent took advantage.

Gunderson settled for par, but it wasn't good enough against Montezuma-Cortez ace Brian Grubbs. Grubbs, who shot a 73 in regulation, dropped his birdie putt to give the title to the Panthers. Steamboat took second, and Battle Mountain finished third.

"I'm so mad at myself," Gunderson said after the tournament. "I had a decent tee shot and a good approach : but the putt just didn't fall. It was pretty disappointing."

The showdown between Steamboat and Montezuma-Cortez was set up on the first 18 holes of the tournament, with both teams shooting combined rounds of 231. Gunderson, Scott Ptach and Ben Von Thaden each shot 77 to boost the team into contention for the title. Alan Capistron finished at 79, and Jace Hvambsal shot an 83.

Montezuma-Cortez rallied behind the strong showing from Grubbs. His teammate Chris Black shot a 78, and Dominic Johnson finished at 80 to get the Panthers into the shoot-out.

"I think we are all pretty happy right now," Ptach said of Steamboat's road trip. "We didn't win, but I think we are headed in the right direction. There are places where we can continue to improve, and I think we will continue to get better."

Coach Steve Dodson agrees.

On Monday, the Sailors finished fourth behind Montrose, Montezuma-Cortez and Battle Mountain at the Bookcliff Golf Club. Montrose didn't play Tuesday, but the Steamboat coach said the improvements his players made at Tiara Rado were evident from start to finish.

"I'm really happy. We had four players in the 70s, and that's pretty good," Dodson said. "Our players were focused today, and they all played really well and I'm really proud of this team."

After Tuesday's round, the team headed back to Steamboat, where Dodson and fellow coach Scott Berry will spend the next couple of days analyzing each player's rounds and working on the areas in which they think the team can continue to improve.

"I'm not worried about what we need to do to beat Montrose right now," Dodson said. "We just need to take care of ourselves and find ways to improve our own game. We can't worry about other teams at this point."

Steamboat is off until Aug. 21, when the Sailors are scheduled to travel to Eagle Valley for a tournament at the Cotton Ranch.