Riverdale Ridge’s Weinmaster looking for individual redemption after 2021 team title

At the end of the first day of the Class 4A state golf tournament last fall, Riverdale Ridge’s Bradley Weinmaster led the entire field. That lead, however, would not last.

He fell to 10th after hitting 7-over par through his second round, but it was just enough to hand the Ravens their first-ever team title. Still, he couldn’t forget what happened.

“I talked about it with Brad about having it within his grasp on day one,” head coach Bobby Brunswick said. “He walked up to me and he was like, never again, and he’s just been on fire with that. He’s got a look in his eye. He’s dedicated himself and the season’s shown it. He’s been the top golfer in the state this entire season, one of the top, and there’s some great competition.”
Heading into the 4A state tournament at Pelican Lakes in Windsor next week, Weinmaster holds the top spot among all golfers, across all classifications, with his season average score of 67.2. He’s already won six tournaments throughout his junior season along with two second-place finishes, during which his teammate Will Balliet edged him out.

Weinmaster credits the change to letting loose on the course. It’s made all the difference in his game.

“Last year, I put everything on myself,” he said. “I expected to shoot 60s every time, then I really beat myself up if I didn’t. I guess this year, I haven’t thought that. I just go out and play the shot as it is. I guess I don’t care about the score anymore.”

Knowing he can rely on his teammates to back him up certainly hasn’t hurt his chances. In tournament after tournament that Weinmaster has participated in, the Ravens have often risen to the top. Balliet, his fellow junior, ranked seventh in the classification with a scoring average of 70.2 strokes, just three behind Riverdale Ridge’s leading man.

And, although the Ravens enter the final competition ranked No. 1 in 4A, they know they’ll need every ounce of grit they can muster to repeat their state title feat from 2021. Cheyenne Mountain, Grand Junction and Evergreen don’t trail too far behind them.

Luckily, the Ravens will have a bit of an advantage when they take to the greens at Pelican Lakes starting Monday.

“The course that we’re playing is one of their favorites,” Brunswick said. “All four boys say it’s one of their top favorites in the state that they’ve played at. The fact that they’ve played together for so long, I think it’s going to help them out a lot this next week. I think the fact is that throughout the season, we’ve had some highs, some great highs and we’ve had some low lows.”