Lone Peak, Timpview in decent position after first round of 6A/5A state boys golf
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- Timpview senior Jeff Kendall hits his tee shot during the first round of the 5A state boys golf tournament at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
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- Timpview golfers get warmed up before the first round of the 5A state boys golf tournament at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
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- Spanish Fork junior Nick Shaheen watches his tee shot during the first round of the 5A state boys golf tournament at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
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- Golfers warm up before the first round of the 5A state boys golf tournament at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
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- Timpview senior Jimmy Hanamaikai watches his drive during the first round of the 5A state boys golf tournament at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
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- A Timpview golfer practices his putting before the first round of the 5A state boys golf tournament at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
The traditional adage in state high school golf is that you don’t win a state title on the first day of the two-day tournament — but you can lose it.
The 5A and 6A state tournaments got underway on Monday with 5A teams tackling the Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork and the 6A athletes teeing off at Old Mill golf course in Holladay.
While no Utah Valley teams or athletes were able to surge into the lead as they faced some stout competition, many of them positioned themselves to have a shot if they play well in the final round.
In Class 5A, the Timpview boys golf team sits in third at 295 (7-over-par), five strokes back of Olympus (290, 2-over-par) and two strokes behind Skyline (293, 5-over-par), while being two strokes ahead of East (297, 9-over-par).
Timpview sophomore Mo Lecheminant is tied for fourth with Spanish Fork junior Ben Clayson after finishing with 70s (2-under-par).
Salem Hill senior Cooper Nelson is also close enough to be in the mix for the individual title as he ended up with a 73 (1-over-par) and is tied for 12th.
Timpview freshman Calvin Lillywhite and Wasatch junior Graham Winzeler are another stroke back as they finished with first-round 74s (2-over-par) and are tied for 15th.
The other two counting scores for the Thunderbirds were senior Jeff Kendall (75, 3-over-par) and junior Kaden Linford (76, 4-over-par).
Spanish Fork also had a solid day, with senior Preston Field and juniors Josh Radford and Nick Shaheen all coming in at 77 (5-over-par). With Clayson’s score, that put the Dons in sixth place in the team competition at 301 (13-over-par) with a chance to make a move in the finals round on Tuesday.
The Skyhawks also just made the cut in 10th place with a first-round 312 (24-over-par) but the Salem Hills team will be back for the second day of action.
East junior Sean Lampropoulos leads the individual competition by two strokes after firing a first-day 67 (5-under-par).
In the 6A tournament, Lone Peak, Skyridge and American Fork didn’t do terribly in their first round as they ended the day in fourth, fifth and sixth — but they need to make a big move to get close to the top.
The Knights led the way with a first-round score of 292 (8-over-par), while the Falcons are at 294 (10-over-par) and American Fork is at 295 (11-over-par).
The problem is that the leaders from Corner Canyon blasted out to a score of 275 (7-under-par) and Herriman is in second at 282 (even-par), creating a sizeable gap.
There is a large group of golfers near the top of the individual leaderboard as 15 6A athletes finished under par or even for the day.
Lone Peak junior Kihei Akina is tied for fifth after shooting a 69 (2-under-par), while Knight sophomore Austin Jones, Lehi senior Toa Ofahengaue and American Fork senior Trevor Plewe are part of the group that ended at 70 (1-under-par). Skyridge junior Austin Holland is just one stroke further back (71, even par).
Sitting atop the leaderboard after Round No. 1 is Herriman junior Elliot Bond with a 67 (4-under-par) but there are certainly plenty of golfers capable of making a run at being medalist on Day 2.
Both the 5A and 6A tournaments will conclude with their second and final rounds starting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The 5A will finish at Fox Hollow golf course in American Fork, while the 6A event will be at Old Mill golf course in Holladay.
For complete results and second-round pairings, go to http://UHSAA.org.
