COMMERCE CITY | Davis Bryant left a few putts dead on, but short of the hole during Tuesday’s Cherry Creek Bruin Invitational.
Fortunately for the Eaglecrest sophomore, most of his putts rolled true on the slow greens at Buffalo Run Golf Course, which led him to a winning score of 3-under-par 69 in a massive tournament that featured a total of 31 teams and also doubled as the first Centennial League meet of the season.
Bryant’s season opener included five birdies and just two bogies, as he navigated the relatively short 6,531-yard course to a score that was his second-best ever in a tournament — a stroke higher than the 68 he dropped at the Junior America’s Cup in Flagstaff, Arizona, a few weeks earlier — and two more than a 67 he shot a few years ago in a “fun” round.
“I would have felt a little better if a few more putts dropped,” said Bryant, who shot nine strokes better than at the same invitational a year prior.
“I left several two inches short of the hole, so I thought it would be cutting it close,” he added. “My goal today was to win, so I was really nervous and hoped it didn’t come down to that.”
As it turned out, Bryant finished two strokes clear of five players in the competitive field that included teams from six other Aurora schools. The city’s top finisher was Regis Jesuit, which didn’t have its full regular varsity lineup and managed to finish in a tie for third place, five strokes behind winner Monarch and two in back of runner-up Fossil Ridge with three scores counted.
Bryant — whose summer included his trip to represent Colorado at the Junior America’s Cup as well as an appearance at the U.S. Junior Amateur — bogeyed his opening hole, the par-3 No. 4, but found the zone the rest of way. He was very familiar with the Buffalo Run course as he played it four times during the CJGA Junior Match Play tournament and a few times before that.
He just missed his typical goal of 30 putts or less in a round, which would have put his score even lower.
“I had 31 putts and shot 36 on the front and 33 on the back,” Bryant said. “A couple more putts could have dropped, but the ones that did miss were right in the center, so I could have gone 28 putts and gone 66. It was really good, I had a lot of fun…This is one of those rounds where I’ll build confidence.”
Cherokee Trail’s Ji Woo Jang played at 1-under-par for much of his round, but ended up with a 1-over 73 that put him seventh overall and second behind Bryant in the Centennial League individual standings in the early going.
Grandview junior Danny Taggart made birdies on three par-5 holes and had just one hiccup, a double bogey on Hole No. 17, to come in with a 4-over 75 that put in him a four-way tie for 11th overall.
Regis Jesuit — which finished second in its opening Continental League tournament at Raccoon Creek last week and first over a shortened 9-hole gathering Monday at South Suburban Golf Course — got 76s from both Andrew McCormick and Justin Markel, while Harry Woodward’s 78 represented the third score.
The Raiders were without co-captain Bennett Rogers, who shot a 35 along with McCormick over nine holes the previous day, and junior Tyler Zhang, who must sit out six varsity tournaments after transferring from Highlands Ranch.
Smoky Hill freshman Christopher Kennedy had a strong debut with an 81, while Cherokee Trail’s Ryan Loos and Grandview’s Mason Jowsey carded 82s.
Vista PEAK opened its season with a team score of 323, putting the 4A Bison 29th out of 31 teams.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2015 CHERRY CREEK BRUIN INVITATIONAL
Aug. 18 at Buffalo Run G.C.
Team scores: 1. Monarch 223; 2. Fossil Ridge 226; T3. REGIS JESUIT 228; T3. Fairview 228; T3. Kent Denver Red 228; T6. Arapahoe 230; T6. Boulder 230; T8. CHEROKEE TRAIL 233; T8. Denver East 233; 10. Cherry Creek White 235; 11. Mullen 236; 12. Poudre 237; T13. Mountain Vista 238; T13. Prairie View 238; 15. SMOKY HILL 240; T16. Kent Denver White 241; T16. Ralston Valley 241; T18. EAGLECREST 246; T18. Cherry Creek Red 246; T18. Dakota Ridge 246; 21. GRANDVIEW 248; 22. Columbine 249; 23. Rock Canyon 253; 24. Mountain Range 260; 25. Evergreen 264; 26. Fort Morgan 266; 27. Douglas County 282; 28. Loveland 305; 29. VISTA PEAK 323; 30. OVERLAND 328; 31. Northglenn 352
Top 10 individuals (par 72): 1. DAVIS BRYANT (EAGLECREST) 69; T2. Brock Dowdy (Denver East) 71; T2. Freddie Gluck (Boulder) 71; T2. Ethan Alexander (Monarch) 71; T2. Daniel Pearson (Fairview) 71; T2. Josh Caridi (Fossil Ridge) 71; 7. JI WOO JANG (CHEROKEE TRAIL) 73; T8. David Packer (Arapahoe) 74; T8. Buck Guthrie (Monarch) 74; T8. Caleb Maxey (Poudre) 74
Aurora team-by-team results (in order of finish)
Regis Jesuit (228): Andrew McCormick 76, Justin Markel 76, Harry Woodward 78, Charlie Thornton 83; Cherokee Trail (233): Ji Woo Jang 73, Bradley Scalia 78, Ryan Loos 82, Chase Street 99; Smoky Hill (240): Paul Cleveland 76, Christopher Kennedy 81, Kyle Colen 83, Cole Johnson 88; Eaglecrest (246): Davis Bryant 69, Michael Milton 89, Joel Jack 98, Tyler Haman 103; Grandview (248): Danny Taggart 75, Mason Jowsey 82, Alex Ollila 91, Brandon Armitage 92; Vista PEAK (323): Trey Severin 104, Sha Jefferson 105, Luke Meier 114; Overland (328): Mason Moore 103, Morgan Moore 107, Quinn Hiatt 118, Jackson Smith 130
