DIVISION I GOLF: Weather, mountains give golfers fits in first round of state meet

RENO — The first day of the Division I state golf tournament at the Montreux Golf and Country Club greeted players with chilly weather and high winds, making the already difficult alpine course all that much harder.

The unfamiliar, tree-lined mountain course provides a unique challenge to the players from Southern Nevada, but Arbor View (417), Palo Verde (419) and Coronado (421) remain within striking distance of front-runner Bishop Manogue (414) after the opening round.

“First you go from a desert environment, which we’re so used to, to the mountains,” Arbor View coach David Fish said. “Then the wind was just swirling. It was strong, but it was hard to predict which direction it was going to go. It was a real mental game today.”

Leading the way for the second-place Aggies was junior Sam Dickey, who finished the day at 4-over-par 76, and sits in second place heading into Tuesday’s final round.

“It was playing really hard,” Dickey said. “It’s a tough golf course to begin with, and it was blowing 20-25 miles an hour out there. The greens are really fast, but I was able to make a couple of putts coming in.”

Tournament favorite, Jack Trent of Palo Verde, has a one-stroke lead over Dickey, but a bogey on 18 put him at 3-over and left him feeling displeased with his round.

“He played solid all day,” Palo Verde coach Todd Steffenhagen said. “But he was upset about the bogey on 18.”

The Panthers sit in third place and are just five shots off the lead. Palo Verde only had a chance to play the front nine during a short practice round. With an unfamiliar back nine and dropping temperatures, the Panthers labored late in the afternoon to make it back into the clubhouse.

“It was tough,” Steffenhagen said. “We struggled on the back nine. Conditions were difficult with the wind gusts. We need to finish stronger and play smarter, but having a round under our belt helps.”

Coronado sophomore Jalen Hodges shot 79, good for fifth place individually.

“I was playing really good,” Hodges said. “I had a couple of loose shots on the back that bit me. We are just trying to play our best and get in the best position we can to see if we can get anything done.”

Bishop Gorman’s Owen Rosebeck (77), and Foothill’s Andrew Chu (78) are in third and fourth place, respectively, after the first round.

The final round will tee off at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Montreux.