4A girls golf: Windsor’s Kleve makes a hole-in-one as underclassmen pace the field

GRAND JUNCTION – Sometimes, all it takes is one swing to change the momentum of a round. Windsor freshman Macy Kleve can attest to that.
 
Her one swing on the par-3 14^th hole at Tiara Rado dropped for a hole-in-one and vaulted her back to the top of the leaderboard, where she had been sitting for a lot of the first round of the Class 4A girls golf state tournament. 
 
She played the par 3s at 3-under with two pars. That’s not a bad day as she finished with a 4-over-par 75 to sit in second place after the first round of tournament play.
 
“It was going straight at the flag,” Kleve said. “I couldn’t really see it because the hole was going uphill and (the flag ) was right behind a sand trap. Everyone started cheering really loud and it realized that I just got a hole-in-one.”
 
Erie freshman Haley Ashton has the solo lead after shooting a 74. Heading into Wednesday’s final round, it will be a trio of underclassmen vying for the state championship. Ashton has the lead with Kleve one stroke back and Ashton’s teammate Logan Hale is two back at 5-over.
 
“It’s going to be a battle,” Kleve said.
 
What could make Ashton and Hale dangerous on the second day is that the Tigers finished the first round with the team lead, meaning every shot she plays will count for the team as much as it counts for herself.
 
“We have really good team,” Ashton said. “We’re really good at playing off each over. I’m thinking more individually but I’m always checking the team to see how they’re doing and if I need to help.”

 
Ashton played the part of a freshman to perfection on the front nine as she made four bogeys in a five-hole stretch.
 
Her nerves settled and she played the back nine 1-under par to card her 74.
 
“I was a little nervous,” Ashton said. “I thought too much of it, being at state. The back nine, I just tried to play like me and focus on one shot at a time and see what happens.”
 
Collectively, the Tigers are 24-over par as a team which is 11 strokes better than the Wizards. Windsor is no stranger to winning a team golf title as it won back-to-back crowns in 2018 and 2019.
 
If the Tigers can put together similar rounds on Wednesday, they would claim the first state championship in program history. Kait Park finished with the third team score as she shot 86.
 
Still very much in the mix is defending champion Discovery Canyon. Emily Cheng led the Thunder with a 79 in the first round, but this is a group that could easily find its groove and put together a Round 2 run that could result in another state championship.
 
But with the lead in hand, this state title is very much Erie’s to lose.
 
“I’m happy with how we grinded,” Erie coach Brandon Bird said. “We talked about it last night. The course is really hard, we just have to stick with it. We just have to remember that everyone is in the same boat and everyone is playing the same course.”

Pairings and tee times for Day 2 will be released Tuesday night.