Three of coach Jason Preeo’s former players at Valor Christian High School had advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying in the last eight days, and he didn’t want to be left out of the party.

So the 38-year-old from Highlands Ranch not only earned a Sectional berth of his own on Tuesday, but he shared medalist honors in the U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournament at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins.

Preeo, who made the cut in the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, carded five birdies and shot a 4-under-par 67 to tie for the low score at Collindale with former Colorado State University golfer Parker Edens (pictured) of Greeley. So Preeo will be joining his former Valor players Jake Staiano, Josh Seiple and Ross Macdonald in advancing to 36-hole Sectional Qualifying, which will be held on June 5 at 10 sites in the U.S. The U.S. Open itself is set for June 15-18 at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.

“I’ve got to keep up with those (former Valor) guys,” said Preeo, an instructor at the MetaGolf Learning Center in Englewood. “We’ve had three of them get through, so I couldn’t let them show me up today.”

Five players in all — out of a field that originally numbered 84 — from the Collindale qualifier will be headed to Sectionals. In addition to Preeo and Edens, advancing on Tuesday were 2015 5A state high school champion Hunter Paugh of Fort Collins, the University of South Dakota golfer who lives on the course at Collindale and shot 69; former University of Colorado golfer David Oraee of Greeley (71); and CSU senior Blake Cannon (72).

Edens has been a fixture among those who advance from the Collindale qualifier, having made it to Sectionals from the site four consecutive years, twice claiming medalist honors. On Tuesday, he did the trick with a bogey-free 67 that included birdies on all three of the par-5s.

“I’ve always played good here,” said the 26-year-old, who has conditional status on the Web.com Tour this year. “I’ve kind of got it figured out. I feel pretty comfortable here” after playing the course roughly 100 times. “I putted well today, but I always putt well here. I can be putting bad (in general) and come here and putt well.

“It’s been a tough winter and I came back here and this place is always good to me. My game’s been coming around, and it came around at the right time.”

A year after Edens and Oraee survived a seven-man playoff to land the final two spots from the Collindale qualifier — and later finished one and two shots, respectively, out of Sectional playoffs for berths into the 2016 U.S. Open — there was a six-man playoff on Tuesday. Two days after shooting a 62 at nearby Ptarmigan Country Club, Cannon won the playoff at Collindale. After Andrew Moore of Loveland pitched in from 23 yards for birdie on the first extra hole, Cannon sank a 5-foot birdie of his own. Then Cannon prevailed on the second playoff hole with a routine par after Moore drove it into the left trees for the second straight time, then pitched out and eventually settled for a bogey.

“In a six-man playoff, obviously the odds are low,” said Cannon (left), a resident of Mesa, Ariz., who won two individual college titles in a week for CSU earlier this season. “Going to (hole) 10, you have to make birdie. Andrew hit a great chip — it’s not how you expect someone to make a birdie, but he did — and to make that 5-footer on top to extend it was fun. Then I played 18 really solid. I had a lot of good shots under pressure.

“It feels good to have an opportunity (to qualify for the U.S. Open). You can’t make it unless you get there (to Sectionals), so it’s just one step at a time.”

Like Edens, Paugh used his expansive knowledge of Collindale to pay dividends on Tuesday. The 19-year-old sank two 40-foot putts and chipped in from 20 feet.

“It was really nice to come back to this course, which I played growing up,” said Paugh, who estimates he’s played Collindale 200 times in his life. “I know the course, I know where to hit the ball, I know what to hit off the tee, so I feel like it gave me a great advantage going into it. Being familiar with the course is a big deal.”

As for Oraee (below) — a past winner of both the CGA Amateur and the CGA Match Play — after having to survive the seven-man playoff last year at Collindale, he desperately wanted to avoid the logjam at 72 on Tuesday, and he did that with a one-birdie, one-bogey round.

“The goal is always to play in the U.S. Open, so to have that opportunity is nice,” said the 23-year-old, who made it to the round of 16 at the 2015 U.S. Amateur. “I think I’m a lot better player than last year, so hopefully I can save a couple of shots here or there (at Sectionals) and get the job done. The goal today was obviously to get through; that’s all you’re thinking about. It’s my first tournament in a while, so it’s good to get the feet wet and get ready for tournament golf.”

This will be roughly the sixth Sectional Qualifying for Preeo, who on Tuesday was playing just his fourth round of the year; the fourth Sectional for Edens, all from Collindale; the third for Oraee; and the first for Cannon and Paugh, who was attempting to qualify for the first time.

Preeo remembers well being in 16th place at the midway point of the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (75-70–145) before struggling the last two rounds, shooting 82-84 on the weekend to finish 82nd.

“It was cool, but it was very bittersweet to have played decent golf the first couple of days, then play so poorly (on the weekend),” he said. “That’s the biggest motivation — to maybe play a little differently or do some things differently.

“It’s exciting just to get another chance. Having been through the whole process, you have an opportunity and hopefully you play well.”

Three professionals — Preeo, Edens and Oraee — and amateurs Paugh and Cannon made up the five players who advanced on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s round was delayed by about two hours in the afternoon by lightning, with 17 golfers sticking around to resume play after having their round interrupted.

Last week at the first Colorado-based Local Qualifying tournament at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, Zahkai Brown of Golden, Seiple of Castle Rock, Staiano of Englewood, Pat Grady of Denver, and Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield earned spots into Sectionals. Lindstrom originally was the first alternate, but he advanced when Chris Thayer of Golden withdrew the day after qualifying for Sectionals.

Then on Monday at CommonGround Golf Course, advancing were Rich Lash of Denver, Jackson Solem of Longmont, Jacob Lestishen of Lone Tree, Macdonald of Castle Pines and Andy Connell of Denver.

ELSEWHERE (Updated May 17): Meanwhile, other players with strong Colorado ties have advanced to Sectionals from Local Qualifiers outside the state.

Among them:

— PGA Tour player Shane Bertsch of Parker tied for third place with a 70 at the Dallas Athletic Club on May 17.

— Amateur Greg Condon of Monte Vista shared medalist honors with a 70 in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., on May 2.

— And former University of Colorado golfer Justin Bardgett was medalist in Raymore, Mo., on May 15, firing a 70.

U.S. Open Local Qualifying
ҬAt Par-71 Collindale GC in Fort Collins

ADVANCE TO SECTIONALS
Jason Preeo, Highlands Ranch 34-33–67
Parker Edens, Greeley 34-33–67
Hunter Paugh, Fort Collins 34-35–69
David Oraee, Greeley 36-35–71
Blake Cannon, Mesa, Ariz. 36-36–72

ALTERNATES (in order)
Andrew Moore, Loveland 39-33–72
Tony Aguilar, Arvada 36-36–72″¨

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

The 2015 CHSAA 5A boys state high school tournament probably belongs in the “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” category.

Any one of these things would be improbable on its own, yet all of them occurred on Tuesday at Fort Collins Country Club:

— The host school, Fort Collins HS, which had just two players in the field, saw those two competitors finish 1-2, with Hunter Paugh (left) claiming the title and fellow senior AJ Ott placing second.

— Both of the top two finishers are left-handers.

— The individual champion, Paugh, won at his home course.

— Paugh led after the first round of the 5A state meet each of the last two years, but instead of shooting a second-round 77 and finishing third as he did in 2014, he closed the deal with an even-par 71 on Tuesday for the victory.

— Though Fort Collins HS has featured six state team champions over the nearly-70 years of boys state high school championships, it had never had an individual winner until Paugh broke the ice on Tuesday.

— With just a few groups left on the course, three schools (Regis Jesuit, defending champion Coronado and Lakewood) were tied for the lead in the team competition. Regis ended up prevailing by one over co-runners-up Coronado and Lakewood, with Fort Collins-based Fossil Ridge just four out of the top spot.

— In the last seven years, Regis has won five state team championships and finished second the other two years.

Suffice it to say it was a stellar ending to an eventful boys high school season. And the 5A was just one of the three state tournaments that concluded on Tuesday. For details about the 4A and 3A state meets, see below.

Paugh couldn’t keep the lead that he held after 18 holes last year, but this time around, no one ever caught him, though a couple of opponents crept within one shortly after he hit it into the water and made a double-bogey 7 on the seventh hole. He was solid as a rock thereafter, making two birdies and nine pars to fend off all challengers.

It was an ideal way to close out Paugh’s high school golf career — with a victory at state in his hometown and on his home course.

“This is just how my dream was — just exactly,” he said. “I can’t picture it any better, with all my family and friends around to support me after winning the state title. It’s amazing.”

Paugh, who has verbally committed to play college golf at the University of South Dakota, posted a 4-under-par 138 total, good for a three-stroke victory. Ott, his teammate, had gotten within one before placing second at 141 after closing with a 70.

Grand Junction junior Trevor Olkowski and Regis Jesuit senior Andrew McCormick (above) tied for third at 143, with Olkowski carding a day 2-best 69 and McCormick a 72.

Ott (left), a Colorado State University recruit who earlier this year finished third in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior and second in a playoff at the CGA Junior Stroke Play, notched his fourth top-10 at state. But a victory eluded him.

“It’s very disappointing,” he said. “I definitely wasn’t even close to my best. It’s just one of those days. It’s unfortunate it had to happen today.

“It bothers me, yeah, but it’s just one tournament. But then again, this year and last year especially I felt like I was really confident going in (to state).”

As for Paugh, he was unflappable following his double bogey on the seventh hole. After seeing his lead dwindle to one, he drained birdie putts of 10 feet on No. 11 and 6 feet on No. 12, and had a cushion of at least two the rest of the way.

“Last year gave me good experience going into today,” Paugh said. “Last year I went in (to the last day in) the same position. I knew what I needed to do today. No. 7 wasn’t a good hole but I knew I needed to let it go because you can’t do anything about it. I didn’t want to let it affect me. From there on I was just really comfortable.

“Winning state is big for anybody, but it’s huge after last year having a chance at it and I didn’t get it done. This year at my home course, being expected to play well, I filled those expectations. Having the state title is amazing. And it’s cool (for Fort Collins players) to be 1 and 2 at state this year.”

With Paugh holding a comfortable lead going up the final hole, the team title remained in doubt until the very end. But Regis, which won four straight 5A state championships from 2010-13, got birdies from McCormick at No. 16 and a 7-footer from junior Tyler Zhang at No. 18 to give the Raiders (left) a one-stroke victory.

“He hit one of the best drives I can imagine,” Regis coach Craig Rogers said of Zhang’s shot on 18. “He was about 95 yards out and hit it to about 7 feet. That was the difference at the end.”

Then McCormick sank a 4-foot slider on No. 17 and two-putted for par on 18 to keep Coronado and Lakewood at bay.

“Stepping up on the last tee box, all the people watching, hitting it down the middle of the fairway, then hitting it in the middle of the green, then hitting it about 2 inches …,” Rogers said of McCormick on 18. “For any kid to have that kind of poise, it’s just beautiful to watch. He’s a guy who loves the competition.”

Regis finished with a 15-over-par 441 total, while Coronado and Lakewood came in at 442 and Fossil Ridge at 445.

Solem Feels Right at Home in Claiming 4A Title: Paugh wasn’t the only golfer to win a state high school title in his hometown and on his home course on Tuesday. Junior Jackson Solem, who plays for Silver Creek High School in Longmont, earned the 4A championship at The Fox Hill Club.

Solem (left) shot a 1-under-par 69 on Tuesday to prevail by one over Valor Christian senior Coby Welch, who likewise carded a 69.

Solem, the 4A Northern Regional champion who earlier this year finished third in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, made two birdies and one bogey on Tuesday. He finished at 1-under 139 overall to become the first individual state champion to represent Silver Creek.

Welch, winner of the CJGA 14-18 Junior Series Championship this year, was one ahead of Solem after 14 holes on Tuesday. But a double bogey on No. 15 proved costly as the University of Northern Colorado recruit lost the lead for good.

Windsor’s Cole Krantz, winner of the 2015 Colorado PGA Junior Championship, tied for third at 142 with first-round leader Philip Lee of Valor Christian.

Speaking of Valor, it won its third consecutive 4A state title — and fifth since 2009. This time, it was 28 strokes better than runner-up Silver Creek and another three better than third-place Evergreen.

Peak to Peak Pulls off Sweep of 3A Titles: Peak to Peak, which had never had a team or individual state champion in golf, rectified that situation on both fronts on Tuesday.

The Pumas (left) prevailed by nine for the team title at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Eagle, and junior Sam Taylor ran away with the individual championship.

Taylor shot a 3-under-par 69 — the only sub-par round of the tournament — to finish at 3-under 141, good for a nine-stroke winning margin.

Taylor birdied five of his first seven holes on Tuesday before giving back a couple of strokes on the back nine.

Three players tied for second at 150: Oliver Jack of Kent Denver (75 Tuesday), Will Hazen of Aspen (72) and Ivan Richmond of Estes Park (74).

Defending champion Yale Kim of the Dawson School tied for sixth at 155.

Team-wise, Peak to Peak carded a 21-over-par 453 total. That was nine better than runner-up Kent Denver and 27 better than third-place Aspen.

SCORING: For scores from the state tournaments, click on the following: 3A, 4A, 5A

Hunter Paugh and AJ Ott will play their final round of high school golf on Tuesday, and the opportunity couldn’t be more ideal. The two Fort Collins High School seniors, both left-handers, not only are on the top of the leaderboard in the 5A state tournament, but they’re doing it in their hometown of Fort Collins. In fact, Paugh is closing out his prep career at the course where he and his family are members, Fort Collins Country Club.

Paugh (left), who finished third individually at last year’s state tournament, used his home-course advantage to shoot the lowest score of his life, a 4-under-par 67, in Monday’s first round of the 5A meet.

“It was a great day,” said Paugh, who has verbally committed to play college golf at the University of South Dakota. “I’ve been looking forward to this since last year, when I finished third. It’s my home course. It was a great day for golf. It was fun to hit the ball well and to play well.”

His teammate, Ott, played his back nine in 3 under par Monday to share second place, four behind Paugh. While he, like Paugh, is facing a little additional pressure this week while competing at home, he’s embracing the opportunity.

“It’s fun,” said Ott, who is likely to record his fourth top-10 finish at state on Tuesday. “I think it’s good for the town and good for our school.”

Ott (left) is one of four players who shot 71 and share second place four back of Paugh. Also at even-par are Griffin Barela of Lakewood, Austin Hardman of Mountain Vista and Regis Jesuit’s Andrew McCormick, the runner-up in the 2015 CGA Junior Match Play.

Paugh closed his round with three consecutive birdies — from 15, 8 and 2 feet — to give him five for the day, while carding one bogey.

“I knew it was there. I just had to do what I did, I guess,” said Paugh, winner of a Rocky Mountain Junior Golf Tour event shis summer. “There’s been some pressure because it’s my home course. I’m expected to play well. But I really didn’t let that get to me. I’m just going out to have some fun. It’s my last high school tournament, so enjoy it.”

As for Ott, it’s certainly no surprise to find him near the top of the leaderboard. This year, he finished third in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, second in a playoff at the CGA Junior Stroke Play, 13th at the Big “I” National Championship and 16th at the Junior America’s Cup. He’s verbally committed to Colorado State University.

On Monday, Ott had a rough start, double-bogeying the fourth hole en route to a 3-over-par 38 on the front nine. But he birdied 10, 11, 12 and 18 on the back — offset by a bogey on 17 — to fire a 33 on his incoming half.

“I just had to stay patient because I don’t think anybody is going to make a ton of putts out here,” he said. “I got off to a bad start, but I made a few coming in on the back side, which felt good. I think some of my experience in big tournaments this summer has helped me.”

Though two teammates will be among those who will battle it out for the 5A individual title on Tuesday, they’re accustomed to competing against one another.

“We’ve always competed since we were little since we’ve been in the same schools,” Paugh said. “It’s really been him and I all four years (at Fort Collins HS) and it’s always been a little rivalry. It’s always been fun, and it will be fun tomorrow.”

With Fort Collins not having the third player at state needed to compete as a team, the team competition is very tight after round 1. Lakewood and Regis Jesuit are tied for the lead at 6-over-par 219, with Fort Collins-based Fossil Ridge (221) and defending champion Coronado (223) within four of the top spot, and Mountain Vista (226) and Heritage (227) also well within striking distance.

Valor’s Lee Closes Strong to Fire 67 at 4A Tournament: Two Valor Christian teammates were the two players who broke par Monday in the 4A state tournament at the Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

Philip Lee shot a 3-under-par 67, while teammate Tim Amundson fired a 69.

Windsor’s Cole Krantz, the 2015 Colorado PGA Junior Championship winner, and Silver Creek’s Jackson Solem, who’s playing in his hometown of Longmont, matched rounds of 70.

Another Valor player, 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier Coby Welch, posted a 71.

Lee made six birdies on Monday, including on four of his last six holes.

Valor, winner of the last two 4A state team titles, holds an 18-stroke lead over Evergreen after shooting a 3-under-par 207 in round 1.

Peak to Peak’s Taylor, Datta Set Standard at 3A Meet: Sam Taylor and Nishant Datta, teammates at Peak to Peak, shot even-par 72s to share the lead after the first round of the 3A state tournament at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Eagle.

The next-best players going into Tuesday’s final round are Kent Denver’s Oliver Jack and Basalt’s Linc Kleager, who carded 75s.

Defending champion Yale Kim of Dawson opened with a 79.

After posting a 6-over-par 222 total, Peak to Peak holds a 10-stroke advantage over Kent Denver in the team competition.
 

SCORING: For scores from the state tournaments, click on the following: 3A, 4A, 5A

Two high school golfers who didn’t win an individual title all season are in good shape to make the 5A state meet their first victory.

The only two players to match or better par in Monday’s first round of the 5A tournament at Colorado Springs Country Club were certainly dark horses to make a run at the championship. Hunter Paugh of Fort Collins shot the round of his life — a 2-under-par 69 — to grab the lead. And fellow junior David Packer of Arapahoe matched his best score ever numerically with a 70.

“I’ve only won one tournament before — 7th-grade districts for middle school,” Paugh noted. “I’ve had a couple top-10s on the Rocky Mountain Junior Golf Tour. Those are pretty nice to have. I haven’t really won anything big. It’s nice to go into tomorrow hoping I might have a chance.”

On a day when play was suspended twice due to lightning — for a total of two hours — and which also featured hail and plenty of rain (left), only one other player shot below 74 in Monday’s opening round of the 36-hole event: Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction, who carded a 73. Olkowski was among four players who represented Colorado in the 2014 Junior America’s Cup.

Seven players shot 74, including 2013 4A state champion Isaac Petersilie of Coronado, who double bogeyed two of the last six holes; Legacy’s Li Chen, runner-up in the 5A tournament each of the last two years; and Fort Collins’ AJ Ott, a 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier.

In the team competition, Coronado, a program which moved up from 4A last season, leads the way with a 13-over-par 226 total. Highlands Ranch is next best, at 230, while Boulder is at 236. Regis Jesuit, winner of the last four 5A team titles, shares fourth place at 237 with Cherokee Trail.

Paugh, who like teammate Ott is a left-hander, birdied his first three holes of the day (10, 11 and 12), making putts of 6, 6 and 10 feet. Then he drained a 25-footer on No. 14 to go 4 under through five. He was still 4 under through 15, but he bogeyed his 16th and 17th holes before finishing his round — following the first weather delay — with a two-putt par.

Monday’s round was about six strokes better than Paugh’s season average and three better than his previous best high school tournament round.

“It’s just great,” he said. “I’ve been practicing a lot since regionals and I’ve been looking forward to this tournament. It’s nice to be able to play well.”

This marks Paugh’s third state appearance, with a 28th-place showing last year his best showing as a freshman or sophomore. But Tuesday will be his big opportunity.

“I hope to go out and do what I did today — play a solid round and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I think I have a chance to win it. It’s going to come down to how everything goes tomorrow.”

Packer (left) could have had the outright lead — or at least a share of the top spot — but a double bogey on his final hole Monday dropped him back to 1 under par. His approach on the par-4 ended up well short of the green, and his pitch was still short, on the fringe. And he couldn’t get up and down from there.

“That’s a rough way to end it,” he said. “Nerves got to me, but you’ve got to look at it as a whole. You can’t (judge) it by one hole. I’m proud of the way I played today.”

Indeed, overall, Packer finished with an eagle, five birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey. He only posted seven pars. Packer’s eagle came on the 547-yard 15th hole (his sixth), where he hit a 5-iron in and sunk a 60-foot putt.

He had separate stretches in his round where he birdied three straight holes and where he went 4 under par in a four-hole run.

“I had the putter rolling really well and I hit a lot of fairways,” said Packer, who won an RMJGT event at Fort Carson in June. “I’ve got to work on finishing it for sure, but I’m excited for tomorrow. I feel good about my chances.”

Valor Posts 10 Under Par to Build Big Lead in 4A: The Valor Christian boys golfers once again lived up to their billing on Monday by posting an impressive 10-under-par 206 team total and putting all four of their players into the top six individually in the 4A state tournament at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo.

The defending 4A team champions built a 14-stroke advantage over Pueblo South in their bid for four state titles since 2009.

Senior Jake Staiano, who made the round of 64 at the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur, and junior teammate Coby Welch matched 5-under-par 67s and share the individual lead in 4A. Meanwhile, Valor’s other two players, seniors Ross Macdonald and Pierce Aichinger, are tied for sixth place at 72 with 2013 runner-up Wilson Belk of Cheyenne Mountain.

Staiano has verbally committed to Colorado State, while Macdonald and Aichinger are headed to the University of Colorado.

Staiano made six birdies and one bogey on Monday, while Welch recorded an eagle, four birdies and a bogey.

Taylor Rodriguez of Pueblo South holds down third place at 69, while Braden Bentley of Mesa Ridge and Britt Walton of Steamboat Springs are tied for fourth at 71.

Lambrecht, Sterling Feeling Right at Home in 3A: Trey Lambrecht of Sterling took advantage of having the 3A state tournament in his hometown by opening up a three-stroke lead at the halfway point of the event at Northeastern 18.

Lambrecht fired a 4-under-par 68, making an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys in the process. He played the four holes starting on No. 13 in 5 under par.

Sam Taylor of Peak to Peak and Max Messner of Colorado Academy share second place at 71. Cole Folwell of the Dawson School, who finished third at state last year, checked in at even-par 72 despite a 7 and a 6 on his card.

Host Sterling leads the way in the team standings, posting a 6-over-par 222. Defending champion Dawson, with just three qualifiers, sits in second place at 228.

Scores: For scores from the three state tournaments, click on the following: 5A, 4A, 3A.