St. Mary’s Academy’s Bante all smiles after taking 3A girls golf Day 1 lead

LOVELAND – In the history of Colorado high school girls golf, only three players have claimed three state championships.

As she begins her quest to become the fourth, St. Mary’s Academy senior Maddy Bante carries herself like it’s a stroll around the local muni with her best friends. History? Legacy? It’s all part of the deal if she finishes the task she’s more than capable of completing, but the pressure of joining elite company is non-existent.

“In my mindset, I’m just playing my own game and we’ll see what happens,” Bante said.

What’s happening is that she fired a 1-under-par 71 at the Olde Course to head into the final round with the lead for the fourth consecutive year. As a freshman, she was inexperienced and worried only about what those behind on the leaderboard were doing. Jefferson Academy’s Aubri Braecklein chased her down and Bante used that experience to gain a better understanding of what it means to play with a lead.

“I was only worried about Aubri,” Bante said. “I’ve learned so much since then.”

And she has two years experience of hanging on to that lead through the second day. She figured out that if she focuses her energy on her game and stop worrying about the other players, the results tend to be more favorable.

It also helps the golf course is where she finds her solace and brings her joy. She’s comfortable on fairways and greens and if the last two years are any indication, she’s comfortable leading the state tournament.

She’s comfortable in comfortable situations.

“When I play golf, I zone in and don’t think about anything else,” she said. “It’s my happy place. If you think of Happy Gilmore, golf is my happy place.”

For the briefest of moments on the front 9, she looked mortal. She bogeyed the third hole, but bounced right back with a birdie on No. 4. Prospect Ridge Academy’s Hope Torres got on a heater on the front, sinking three straight birdies and made the turn at 2-under.

Bante’s ball striking skillset was on display on the par-5 seventh, where she nearly holed out for an albatross before tapping in for a comfy 3.

“I hit a really good drive,” she said. “My balance was off, which is fine and I hit it down the middle were I wanted it. I actually ended up in a divot that was pretty deep. I’ve been practicing that the last few weeks and knew it was fine. I put it back in my stance, hit my pitching wedge 140 yards and it just trickled up there.”

That left her nine inches for the eagle.

A bogey on No. 8 moved her up to just 1-under and she took the outright lead as Torres ran into her worst stretch on the day, making double-bogeys on 10, 12 and 13. She made consecutive birdies on 14 and 15 and finished her day with a solid 73. That effort also powered Prospect Ridge to a 10-stroke lead in the team race.

By no means is a three-shot lead safe with 18 holes remaining. Torres has the distance, iron play and putting ability to make for a fun second round on Tuesday.

Bante led by three heading into last year’s final round and extended that lead to seven by the time the final putt touched the cup. A repeat performance would put her in the conversation as one of the best high school golfers in state history.

But she’s not worried about that. She’s just looking forward to playing another round of golf with a few friends.