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