DENVER — Monarch senior Caleb Michaels was doused by a cooler full of water on the No. 18 green following his winning putt at the Class 5A state golf tournament.
Sopping wet with droplets running down his face, he joked that he was just really nervous on his final putt.
In truth though, it had been a nerve-racking finish at City Park Golf Course Tuesday.
In the final group, Michaels sunk a five-footer to edge Fort Collins’ Ian Hunn for the individual title. Fossil Ridge’s Austin Barry then followed, dropping in a four-foot look to lift the Sabercats past Rock Canyon for their second team championship in history.
“Right now, it feels like relief,” said Fossil Ridge coach Jamie Menefee, whose team last won a title in 2018. “But it’s going to turn into ecstasy real quick.”
Michaels won his first state title on his fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament, finishing with a two-day score of 3-under-par 137.
(Brent W. New)
The senior — while having side chats with his coaches about everything from the state’s high school football scene to what they were all going to eat for dinner — rallied from five shots back of Day 1 leader Barry to grab a share of the lead midway through his back nine.
He briefly had the lead all to himself before Hunn, two groups ahead, tied him, chipping in from 30 feet out for eagle on par-5 No. 16.
Hunn bogeyed 18. Michaels, surrounded by spectators and cameras some 20 minutes later, buried his par putt for the walk-off victory.
“I’ve had a pretty rough go at state, and I’ve shot myself out of it every year,” Michaels said just off the 18 green. “Being in it on the back nine, it just felt meant to be.”
Meant to be, Fossil Ridge may have thought the opposite.
The Sabercats came into the second day of the tournament with a seven-stroke lead but lost grip of it rather quickly Tuesday.
Rock Canyon’s Charlie Tucker surged up the leaderboard, helping his team go in front late on the front nine.
Barry, who saw his individual lead disappear early into his back nine, regrouped down the stretch. He and teammate Landon Houska, finishing tied for second and fourth, then parred No. 18 to push the Sabercats to a two-stroke victory at 3-over-par 423.
“It feels great, especially since Grant (Samuelson) is a senior and it’s his last year,” Barry said. “It feels great to win state as a team.”
Barry, who shot 64 on Day 1, finished runner-up alongside Hunn at 2-under 138. Houska, Pine Creek’s Wesley Erling, Highlands Ranch’s Aiden Krusoe and Boulder’s Luke Blankinship tied for fourth at 139.
Rock Canyon finished runner-up as a team at 425. The Jaguars were followed by Highlands Ranch (427), Pine Creek (432) and Eaglecrest and Cherry Creek, which tied for fifth at 436.
