Ronan golf headed in the right direction
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RONAN – The Chiefs' and Maidens' number one golfers made the most of their home field advantage Friday.
At the Ronan Invitational at the Mission Mountain Golf Course both Riley Dennis and Alex Dulmes shot the best round of their high school careers.
With her short game working for her, Dulmes shot a 92 to finish third – her highest placing in a tournament. Ronan coach Rupe Paulson said that the whole week leading up to the invite they've been practicing her short game and the work paid off – Dulmes shaved nine strokes from her opening tournament. It was the senior's pitching and putting that helped her par the 106-yard eighth hole and the 111-yard 11th hole – both holes were par-3s.
Dulmes, who placed fifth at the invite the past year, said that she would like to match her placing Friday at the divisional, which will also be held at the Mission Mountain Golf Course.
While Dulmes used her short game for her career-best round, it was Dennis' woods that drove him to a career-best 78 and sixth-place finish. Dennis, a junior, had just shot a then career-best 80 the week before in Anaconda.
"I was pretty relaxed today. I was in a good group that made it a lot of fun. It was just a fun day," Dennis said.
Paulson said that Dennis has always had the skills to be a good golfer, but sometimes he would get intimidated playing with the other golfers.
"That 80 in Anaconda did him a world of good. It proved that he could play with all the other guys," Paulson said.
Like Dennis and Dulmes, most all the Chiefs and Maidens shot better than they did in Anaconda. In only her second varsity tournament, Payge Delaurenti, finished with a 112, 22 less strokes than in Anaconda. Turquoise Haggard shot a career-best 114 to help the Maidens finish fourth in the 15-team invite.
Payton Adams made the biggest jump for Ronan, a week after a 116-round, Adams finished with a 92 – a 24-stroke improvement. John Romero's 120 was a 22-stroke improvement and Alex Killian shaved 12 strokes off his opening tournament score to finish with a 96.
A week after combining for a 435, the Chiefs finished with a 386. Breaking the 400-mark was a milestone for the Chiefs, according to Paulson and he only expects things to get better.
The Chiefs and Maidens travel to Browning Friday.
