Let it not be said that Monday’s first rounds of the three boys state high school golf tournaments lacked for pizzazz.

Let’s count the ways they filled the bill:

— Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon had perhaps the best start in the history of Colorado boys state high school tournaments as he played his first five holes in 6 under par at the 4A state meet at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale. He shot a 6-under-par 30 on his first nine holes and was 8 under after making eagle on his 11th hole. But he finished double bogey-bogey to settle for a 5-under-par 67, which was still good for a three-stroke lead.

— At the 5A tournament at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction, three players — Nick Caldwell of Rock Canyon, Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest and Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch — shot 66 or better. Caldwell fired a 6-under-par 65 to lead the way.

— In the 3A tournament at Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora, senior Yale Kim of the Dawson School put himself in position to become just the fifth two-time Colorado boys state high school champion since 1995. Kim, who won as a sophomore in 2014, shares second place, one out of the lead, after round 1. For the record, the other two-time champs over the last 21 years are Tom Glissmeyer of Cheyenne Mountain (2003 and ’04), Steve Ziegler of Legacy (2005 and ’06), Wyndham Clark of Valor Christian (2009 and ’11), and Ethan Freeman of Kent Denver (2010 and ’11). Jackson Solem of Silver Creek, who trails by four strokes in 4A, also has a chance to repeat as champion.

“I’m really excited,” said Kim (left), who’s been seventh and sixth in his other two trips to state. “I already have one (state win) in my bag. I’m just trying to play the best golf I can. I’m still going for the No. 1 spot.”

Notably, Kim is in contention for a state title despite not winning a tournament so far this high school season.

“I was busy for the whole summer, visiting my family in Korea, and my swing wasn’t that great.,” he said. “But I got my game together in time for state.”

— Also at the 3A tournament, Oliver Jack of Kent Denver birdied four of the last six holes to close out his round, including draining a 30-footer on No. 18, to grab the lead with an even-par 72. The junior finished with six birdies on the day.

Here are brief roundups on each of the state high school tournaments:

5A at Bookcliff: Caldwell, Bryant and Pearson separated themselves from the field in Monday’s opening round.

In his 65, Caldwell eagled the 553-yard 12th hole and added five birdies, while making just one bogey.

Bryant, a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier last year, likewise made just one bogey on Monday, while he notched a half-dozen birdies in his round of 66. Starting on No. 14 (his fifth hole), he ran off four in a row, part of an eight-hole stretch which he played in 6 under par.

Pearson also carded six birdies an a bogey on Monday.

The only other player under par in round 1 was Tommy Packer of Arapahoe, who posted a 1-under-70, leaving him five out of the lead.

Regis Jesuit, winner of five of the last six 5A state team titles, leads after round 1 at 7-over-par 220. But four schools are within seven strokes heading into the final round: Rock Canyon (222), Fossil Ridge (225), Highlands Ranch (225) and Lakewood (227).

4A at River Valley Ranch: After his impressive round, Trujillo (67) was the only player to finish with a score in the 60s on Monday.

But five other players posted subpar totals on Monday: 2015 Colorado Junior PGA champion Cole Krantz of Windsor (70), Reice Hendricks of Air Academy (71), Owen Pasvogel of Discovery Canyon (71), Micah Stangebye of Montrose (71) and defending champion Solem of Silver Creek (71).

Discovery Canyon, with a stellar 4-under-par 212 total, holds a healthy 13-stroke lead over second place Montrose. Evergreen (231) is third, while three-time defending champ Valor Christian (232) is fourth.

3A at Saddle Rock: Jack, who tied for second place at state last year as a sophomore, was 4 over par through 12 holes on Monday. Then his round turned on a dime as he went birdie, par, birdie, par, birdie, birdie.

“I was struggling a little with my putting, but I finally got some to drop,” he said. “That was a nice confidence booster.

“I knew they had to drop at some point because I was getting close. I was waiting for the first one to go, then I knew (more would follow).”

Kim, who was 3 under par through 10 holes before going bogey-double bogey on 11 and 12, sits a stroke behind Jack along with Ivan Richmond of Estes Park and Jacob Mason of Jefferson Academy. Richmond tied Jack for second place at state last year.

Host Kent Denver, winner of a record-tying eight state team titles in boys golf, shares the team lead with Peak to Peak at 9-over-par 225. Aspen is third at 234.

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

This fall, the 5A state tournament is set for Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction and the 4A is at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale. The 3A state meet, meanwhile, will be hosted by Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora.

Also unusual this year is that there will be three former individual champions that will be seeking their second state high school title. Jackson Solem (pictured) of Silver Creek (4A) and Sam Taylor of Peak to Peak (3A) won individual state crowns last year, and Yale Kim of the Dawson School (3A) prevailed in 2014 before finishing sixth a year ago.
     
Meanwhile, the two schools that are tied for the most boys state high school team titles in Colorado, Cherry Creek and Kent Denver, both qualified a team this year and have the opportunity to notch championship No. 9 — Creek in 5A and Kent in 3A. Kent, in fact, will be one of the favorites in the 3A tournament after having placed second last year.

Here’s a quick look at each of the state tournaments:

5A at Bookcliff: Regis Jesuit has had a remarkable run in recent years, having won five state team titles in the past six years. But last season, the Raiders won by just a stroke over runners-up Coronado and Lakewood. And Regis finished third in this year’s regional state qualifying tournament, behind Fairview and Lakewood.
   
Fairview’s Daniel Pearson, who has committed to play his college golf at the University of Nebraska, had the best score in a 2016 regional state qualifying tourney, a 6-under-par 66 at Broadlands.
   
Here are the top 10 finishers from state last year who will be in the field at Bookcliff: Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction (third in 2015); Tyler Zhang of Regis, Josh Caridi of Fossil Ridge and 2016 Colorado Junior Match Play champion Griffin Barela of Lakewood (tied for fifth). Barela is headed to the University of Wisconsin for his college golf.

4A at River Valley Ranch: Solem, a future University of Denver golfer, will attempt to become the first back-to-back winner of the 4A individual title since Cheyenne Mountain’s Tom Glissmeyer in 2003 and ’04 (Valor Christian’s Wyndham Clark won two 4A titles, but not consecutively.)
   
Solem, who won a regional title en route to his state crown last year, shot a 5-under-par 67 at Boomerang in claiming a 2016 regional championship.
   
Five top-10 finishers from 2015 return for this year: Solem (first in ’15); Cole Krantz of Windsor (third); Mathew Casias of Pueblo South (fifth); and Glen-Michael Mihavetz of Montrose and Lenny Urbas of Evergreen (tied for seventh).
   
Meanwhile, Valor Christian will try to win its fourth straight 4A state team title — and sixth since 2009. Silver Creek, winner of nine consecutive regional championships, may make a run at the top spot this time.

3A at Saddle Rock: An amazing nine of the top 11 finishers from last year will be back for next week’s tournament. That includes former champs Taylor and Kim.
   
Here the rundown: Taylor (first in 2015); Oliver Jack of Kent Denver and Ivan Richmond of Estes Park (tied for second); Billy Howenstein of Dawson School (fifth); Kim and Holden Kleager of Basalt (tied for sixth); Brayden Lambrecht of Sterling, Ian Thorpe of Peak to Peak and Nishant Datta of Peak to Peak (tied for eighth).
   
Taylor also will be hoping for a repeat in the team competition as Peak to Peak claimed the title last year.
 

Here are the team and individual champions from the recent regional state qualifying tournaments:

— 5A Southern (at South Suburban GC) — Team: Arapahoe 222; Individual: Ethan Alexander, Monarch, 71.

— 5A Central (at City Park GC) — Team: Highlands Ranch 217; Individual: Kyle Pearson, Highlands Ranch, 68.

— 5A Northern (at Saddle Rock GC) — Team: Fossil Ridge 221; Individual: Bradley Scalia, Cherokee Trail, 71.

— 5A Western (at Broadlands) — Team: (tie) Fairview and Lakewood 218; Individual: Daniel Pearson, Fairview.

— 4A Region 4 (at Adobe Creek GC) — Team: Montrose 223; Individual: Micah Stangebye, Montrose, 69.

— 4A Region 1 (at Elmwood GC) — Team: Discovery Canyon 219; Individual (tie) Luke Trujillo, Discovery Canyon, 71; Drew Egan, Pueblo County, 71; and Owen Pasvogel, Discovery Canyon, 71.

— 4A Region 2 (at Broken Tee GC) — Team: Valor Christian 221; Individual: Jake Welch, Valor Christian, 70.

— 4A Region 3 (at Boomerang GL) — Team: Silver Creek 217; Individual: Jackson Solem, Silver Creek, 67.

— 3A Region 3 (at Northeastern 18) — Team Sterling 227; Individual: Brayden Lambrecht, Sterling, 72.

— 3A Region 4 (at Devil’s Thumb) — Team: Aspen 233; Individual: Holden Kleager, Basalt, 73.

— 3A Region 1 (at Hollydot) — Team: Alamosa 239; Individual: Hayden Wehe, Alamosa, 69.

— 3A Region 2 (at CommonGround GC) — Team: Kent Denver 216; Individual: Oliver Jack, Denver East, 71.

Here are the pairings for Monday’s first rounds of state: 5A, 4A, 3A

In a boys high school golf season that’s already featured its share of superlatives, three tournaments remain to add some more.

Among the things we’ve seen in the last month and a half:

— Sophomore Oliver Jack from Kent Denver shot a stellar 9-under-par 63 at The Pinery Country Club in a Metro League tournament. That broke the school record of 64 posted by Kevin Stadler, who last year won an event on the PGA Tour.

— A couple of weeks later at a Jeffco 4A League event at Deer Creek Golf Club, Valor Christian senior Coby Welch did that one better by firing a 10-under-par 62 for his school’s record. With Welch leading the way, Valor recorded a team total of 22 under par for its top four golfers.

Like the PGA Tour says in a tagline about its players, “These Guys are Good.”

They’ll get to prove that one more time this season as this week’s regional state-qualifying tournament set the fields for the 5A, 4A and 3A state tournaments that are scheduled for Oct. 5-6. The 5A meet will be played at Fort Collins Country Club, the 4A at the Fox Hill Club in Longmont, and the 3A at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Eagle. Eighty-four golfers will compete in each event, culminating a two-month-long season.

Here are some of the 5A state storylines:

— Two of the state qualifiers are in Pebble Beach, Calif., this weekend competing in the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, a Champions Tour event that will be nationally televised Friday through Sunday (Sept. 25-27). Both Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest and Brock Dowdy of Denver East are paired with Tour professionals who are also from Colorado — Bryant with Mark Wiebe and Dowdy with Craig Stadler. Bryant and Gowdy represent First Tee chapters in Colorado — Bryant The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch and Dowdy The First Tee of Denver.

Before heading out to Pebble Beach, Bryant shot a 78 at regionals to advance to state, while Dowdy carded a 79 at the same course, Lone Tree Golf Club. Bryant qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur this year.

— AJ Ott (pictured above) of Fort Collins, who will play his college golf at Colorado State, is a good bet for four consecutive top-10 finishes at state, having gone sixth, sixth and 10th his first three years and now wrapping up his high school career at a state meet in his hometown. Ott, who placed third in this year’s AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior and second in a playoff at the CGA Junior Stroke Play, carded a 70 in the Central Regional at Lone Tree. Ott finished 13th this year at the Big “I” National Championship and 16th at the Junior America’s Cup.

— Isaac Petersilie of Coronado has had an outstanding run at state the past two years, winning the 4A title in 2013 and finishing runner-up in 5A last year while Coronado claimed the team championship. Petersilie, who’s committed to the University of Denver, posted a 78 in the Southern Regional at Colorado Springs Country Club. Earlier this year, he won the CGA Junior Stroke Play.

— Andrew McCormick of Regis Jesuit tied Arapahoe’s David Packer for the lowest round of anyone at a regional tournament — a 68. This year, McCormick finished runner-up in the CGA Junior Match Play.

— Nick Leibold of Heritage earlier this year won a prestigious national honor for leadership as the male recipient of the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award. The award recognizes one male and one female junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character and community service through their involvement with the Leadership Links program, a joint initiative founded by the USGA and AJGA to further develop junior golfers through volunteerism. Leibold advanced to the state meet with a 79 at the Northern Regional at Broadlands Golf Course.

— Regis Jesuit had its string of four consecutive 5A state titles snapped last year by Coronado, to which the Raiders finished runner-up. Regis is back with a four-man team this year. Coronado will return with the top three players from last year’s championship team: Petersilie, Austin Burgess and Wes Moran.

As for the 4A state meet:

— Welch (left), the senior from Valor Christian who shot 62 earlier this month, has had a strong year, qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur, finishing seventh at the Junior America’s Cup and winning the CJGA 14-18 Junior Series Championship. Welch, who placed fourth at the 4A state tournament last year, has verbally committed to the University of Northern Colorado. He shot a 74 at the 4A Metro Regional at Spring Valley to advance to state.

— As a team, Valor will be shooting for its third consecutive 4A state title and its fifth since 2009.

— Jackson Solem of Silver Creek won the 4A Northern Regional at Quail Dunes with a 73. Solem finished third earlier this year in both the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior and the CGA Junior Stroke Play. Meanwhile, Silver Creek teams have won eight consecutive regional tournaments. This time at state, the Raptors will be competing in their hometown of Longmont.

— Cole Krantz of Windsor, winner of the 2015 Colorado PGA Junior Championship, qualified for state with a 76 at the 4A Northern Regional at Quail Dunes.

And in the 3A tournament:

— Yale Kim from the Dawson School (3A) will be the only 2014 individual state champion back to defend his title as Pomona’s Grant Olinger (5A) and Pueblo South’s Taylor Rodriguez (4A) both graduated earlier this year. Kim shot a 74 at the 3A Northern Regional at Highland Meadows to punch his ticket to state.

— Sterling, the 2014 3A state team champion, will defend its title with a three-man contingent: Brayden Iambrecht, Bradon Baxter and Riley Schaefer.

— Jack, who shot that 63 at The Pinery earlier this season, fired a 70 at CommonGround to win the 3A Northern Regional title. He will lead the team from Kent Denver, which won an unprecedented seven straight Colorado state high school championships from 2006-12.

For Monday tee times for the three state tounaments, CLICK HERE.

Here’s a rundown on the teams and individuals that won regional state-qualifying tournaments this week:

5A Southern at Colorado Springs CC — Individual: David Packer, Arapahoe, 68. Team: Arapahoe 221.

5A Central at Lone Tree GC — Individual: Andrew McCormick, Regis Jesuit, 68. Team: Regis 215.

5A Northern at Broadlands GC — Individual: (tie) Daniel Pearson, Fairview, 73; Taron Ford, Prairie View, 73; and Reese Leiker, Heritage, 73. Team: (tie) Fossil Ridge and Heritage 228.

5A Western at Bookcliff CC — Individual: (tie) Austin Hardman, Mountain Vista, 71 and Danny Gallant, Monarch, 71. Team: (tie) Mountain Vista and Lakewood 223.

4A Southern at Shining Mountain GC — Individual: Matthew Casias, Pueblo South, 73. Team: (tie) Discovery Canyon and Pueblo West 238.

4A Metro at Spring Valley GC — Individual: Lenny Urbas, Evergreen, 73. Team: Valor Christian 225.

4A Northern at Quail Dunes — Individual: Jackson Solem, Silver Creek 73. Team: Silver Creek 233.

4A Western at Haymaker GC — Individual: Britt Walton, Steamboat Springs 71. Team: Durango (won playoff) and Steamboat Springs 223.

3A Southern at Hollydot — Individual: Hayden Wehe, Alamosa 72. Team: Alamosa 232.

3A Metro at CommonGround GC — Individual: Oliver Jack, Kent Denver, 70. Team: Kent Denver 223.

3A Northern at Highland Meadows GC — Individual: Harrison Turner, Resurrection Christian, 69. Team: Resurrection Christian 224.

3A Western at Steamboat Springs GC — Individual: Dominic Lanese, Aspen, 76. Team: Aspen 244.

It may not have been nearly of the magnitude of Arnold Palmer’s final-round comeback in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, but similar to “The King”, Grant Olinger of Pomona rallied from seven shots behind going into the last 18 holes to claim the individual title in the 5A boys state high school tournament at Colorado Springs Country Club.

The senior shot a bogey-free round of 4-under-par 67 on Tuesday — the best score of the tournament by two strokes — to erase the big deficit and prevail by one shot.

“It’s not my lowest round — I’ve had a 65 before in a tournament,” Olinger said. “But this one feels a lot better. It’s my best round, I would say.”

Playing in the seventh-to-last group and starting almost an hour before the round 1 leaders, Olinger birdied the third, fifth, 11th and 17th holes while those under par after Monday slowly came back to the pack. By following up his first-day 76 with a 67, Olinger finished at 1-over-par 143 overall.

Even Olinger himself seemed a little taken aback by his comeback. After all, not only was he seven out of the lead, but he was in 15th place.

“I knew if I shot under par, I’d be top-10,” said Olinger (left and above), who placed 14th at state last year. “But I didn’t think I could get a chance (at the win) if I was that far back. I knew it would take something really low — one of my best rounds ever.”

Junior Isaac Petersilie of Coronado, who won the 4A state title last year, shot a 70 on Tuesday to check in one stroke behind Olinger. First-round leader Hunter Paugh (left) of Fort Collins held the top spot through 11 holes, but played his final seven in 3 over par to finish with a 77 and in third place, at 146 overall.

With Petersilie leading the way, Coronado claimed its first state team championship in golf, with the win coming in the school’s hometown. With daily totals of 226 and 220, CHS posted a 21-stroke team victory over co-runners-up Regis Jesuit and Lakewood. Regis had won the previous four 5A titles.

“It was really good because a lot of the guys came up clutch today,” Petersilie said. “That was really good to see. And also, it’s the first (state golf title) for Coronado.”

Joining Petersilie on the state championship team (left) were Wes Moran (151 total), Austin Burgess (151) and Luke Travins (158).

While Petersilie obviously relished winning the team championship, he would have loved to double up by claiming a second individual title. But two double bogeys in the final six holes on Monday proved difficult to overcome.

“I’m a little disappointed,” he said. “But kudos to (Olinger). He played real well and made a birdie on 17 coming in. And I was happy with the way I played. I was consistent all day. “

Indeed, Olinger’s 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th proved the difference between an outright win and a playoff.

So what turned Olinger around so much from Monday (76) to Tuesday (67)?

“I made a lot more putts, I hit a lot more greens, I hit a lot better shots,” he said. “And the swing felt a lot better today.

“I was a lot closer to the hole on every iron shot and wedge. That really helped. You really need to do that to shoot a good out here.”

It also didn’t hurt that Olinger was removed from the pressure and the spotlight of the final several groups during the final round. He admitted as much.

Olinger hopes to play college golf, though he isn’t sure where that might be. But it’s safe to say that Tuesday’s round — which produced his third individual victory this season — might translate into some opportunities.

But for now, he’s just relishing becoming a state champion.

“It feels really good,” he said. “It means a lot of hard work paid off. I worked real hard this summer and played in a lot of tournaments. Then this week I worked my butt off getting my swing dialed in.

“I really wanted to win. That’s why I was working so hard this year, because I felt like I had a chance to. That made it a little easier today.”
 

Rodriguez Overcomes Leaders, Valor Repeats as 4A Team Champ: Valor Christian placed all four of its players in the top six individually at the 4A state tournament at Walking Stick in Pueblo, but the top spot went to Taylor Rodriguez of Pueblo South on Tuesday.

Rodriguez fired his second consecutive 3-under-par 69 to overcome a two-stroke deficit entering the day and post a two-shot win.

Rodriguez bogeyed his final two holes on Tuesday, but he’d given himself a cushion by playing the previous 12 holes in 5 under.

Valor senior Jake Staiano, who will play his college golf at Colorado State, placed second on Tuesday after coming in fourth a year ago. After being the co-leader following round 1, Staiano carded a 1-over 73 on Tuesday for a 140 total.

University of Colorado-bound teammate Ross Macdonald, winner of the last two CGA Junior Stroke Play titles, came in third at 142 after a 70 on Tuesday.

Valor’s Coby Welch, who shared the top spot with Staiano after Monday, struggled to a 79 on Tuesday and shared fourth place with Braden Bentley of Mesa Ridge (71-75).

The fourth Valor player, Pierce Aichinger, who’s headed to CU, tied for sixth place at 147 with Steamboat Springs’ Britt Walton.

With an 8-under-par 424 team total, Valor Christian easily won its second consecutive 4A state team title, this one coming by 23 strokes over runner-up Pueblo South. Valor has claimed four state golf championships since 2009.
 

Dawson’s Kim Wins 3-Man Playoff in 3A: Yale Kim of the Dawson School in Lafayette parred the fourth playoff hole to win the 3A state high school title at Northeastern 18 in Sterling on Tuesday.

In a three-man playoff, first-round leader Trey Lambrecht of host Sterling bowed out with a triple bogey on the first extra hole. Then Kim earned the championship with a par on playoff hole No. 4 when Cooper Gould of Vail Christian made bogey.

Kim and Gould shot consecutive rounds of 1-over-par 73 for 2-over 146 totals. Lambrecht, who led by three after day 1, needed a birdie on his final hole of regulation to shoot a 78 and join the playoff.

Max Messner of Colorado Academy claimed fourth place after going 71-76. Cole Folwell of the Dawson School recorded his second top-five finish at state in two years by placing fifth, at 148.

Sterling, playing in its hometown, won its first state golf title. Its 459 total was five better than runner-up Kent Denver.

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