Two-time defending 4A boys golf champion Montrose off to a good start

MONTROSE — Two-time defending Class 4A boys golf champion is off to a hot start to its 2019 season.

Montrose won the Devils Thumb Tournament in Delta on Aug. 8, finishing 2-under as a team — 13 strokes ahead of second-place finisher Fruita Monument. Jordan Jennings won that event at 7-under, while Micah Stangebye, the reigning 4A individual champion, was second at 5-under.

A day later, Montrose, playing without Stangebye, placed third at the Battlement Mesa Classic hosted by Grand Junction, behind defending 3A champion Aspen and Fruita Monument. Jennings led the team at 3-over.

On Tuesday, the team traveled to the Metro area to play in the Cherry Creek Invitational, and also won that event held at Buffalo Run Golf Course. Montrose finished at 10-under, winning the tournament by 12 strokes. Jennings again won the tournament as an individual, shooting 5-under. Ryan Lords was second at 4-under, and Stangebye finished in a tie for fifth at 1-under.

The win at the Cherry Creek Invite, in particular, put a spark into the team.

“The tournament win was a good momentum moving forward and beating all the top teams in Colorado,” Jennings said. “We are excited to keep going.”

Added Lords: “I have been hitting the ball good all summer. Just happy I finally made some putts. This was a good win in Denver and gives us momentum to achieve are main goal to win state.”

Said Stangebye: “We played great as a team. … Jordan is playing very well right now, but we are really just getting ready for the last at The Bridges.”

Coach Dave Woodruff said it was “just one step towards our at the end of the season.”

Then, on Wednesday, Montrose placed third at the Sun Devil Invitational, hosted by Kent Denver at Saddle Rock Golf Course, behind 5A programs Lakewood and Arapahoe. Lords led the way at 3-over, and a fourth-place finish individually. Stangebye (6-over) was tenth, and Jennings (7-over) was 14th.

“We will learn from tough conditions out there,” Jennings said of the Sun Devil Invite.

Added Stangebye: “Today, I started out with seven straight pars, then found some trouble on 8,9 and 10. I just need to forget today and work on the parts of my game that is struggling and prepare for our next event at Cobble Creek.”

Montrose hosts the Cobble Creek invite on Aug. 22.