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Steamboat Springs — Golf can be an interesting and challenging game.

Add some wind at Haymaker Golf Course, and it can be downright frustrating.

So it was no surprise, when gusts picked up Wednesday at the Steamboat Sailors Invitational, scores and frustrations rose across the board.

Fruita Monument was the team best able to tackle the winds, winning the tournament with a team score of 233.

Steamboat Springs High School and Battle Mountain tied for second at 239. Powerhouse Montrose finished an unusual fourth at 244.

"It was just tough trying to make pars," said Battle Mountain's Cameron Brown, who won the tournament with an even par 72. "It was brutal. It was hard to deal with."

Brown finished his front nine at 2-under-par before the wind really started picking up on the back nine. But that's where the Huskies junior won the tournament. He made the least number of mistakes and finished the back nine with a 2-over-par 38.

"You had to really focus on club selection," Brown said of the back nine. "It was battling and making sure you were hitting your shots."

For Steamboat, it was an up-and-down type of day.

Sophomore Alan Capistron paced the Sailors on Wednesday with a 79. Capistron made a birdie on the par 5 No. 13 but missed two putts within six feet on his last two holes.

Still, he was happy with his round.

"I've been working on a couple of things," said Capistron, who had been struggling lately. "Thankfully I didn't shank one. It will be good to do well (today). Craig's not that hard of a course."

Steamboat and most of the field travel to Moffat County today for a preview of the course that will host the state tournament in early October.

Other top Steamboat finishers Wednesday were Scott Ptach and Kaelen Gunderson, with 80s. Ben VonThaden shot 83, and Jace Hvambsal was disqualified after he signed a wrong scorecard.

Gunderson's round was a microcosm of the day.

He finished the front nine at even par, including birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 before struggling on the back nine.

He had a triple bogey at the 10th hole before a birdie at No. 13. But that's when the wind and just about everything else started to go wrong.

Gunderson had another triple bogey at No. 16, and he followed with a double at the 17th.

"I haven't play-

ed like that for a while," Gunderson said. "I've been playing pretty consistent. It's always hard being 2- or 3-over with three holes left and falling apart like that. I was staying composed. I'd have a bad hole and make it up, but I kind of lost it there in the end."

A bright spot for the Sailors was the play of junior varsity golfer Drew O'Donnell. O'Donnell shot a 78 to win low medalist honors in the junior varsity portion of the tournament.

The Sailors continue play today at the Yampa Valley Golf Course in Moffat County.