Forbes ends regular season as top 4A golfer

GOLDEN — There were suggestions April 28 that Chance Forbes was mentally at prom two days after the fact, while her body, meanwhile, was competing at the 14th annual Ashley Forey Invitational.

Those suggestions, albeit light-hearted, came when Forbes would miss-hit a tee shot or leave a medium putt a little short at Rolling Hills Country Club.

In her defense, Forbes carded an 11-over 84 for the day, which tied her for sixth, and turned in the second-lowest score of any Class 4A golfer. She also helped lead the Cougars to a fifth-place finish in the team standings and – as the event was also a Jefferson County League tournament – she finished the season as the top 4A golfer in Jeffco.

So ee let the girl dance.

“I really like this kind of course,” Forbes said. “I knew I was going to be pretty confident on the greens. They were a little bit faster than I thought.”

While Forbes was steady – carding a 42 on both the front and back nine – teammate Christina Spinzig continued her fine play by scoring an 86. Spinzig’s score tied her for 14th overall in the invitational and tied her for third in the Jeffco regular season.

Spinzig, a sophomore who began the shotgun start on the fifth hole, carded a 45 on the front nine and a 41 on the up-and-down back nine.

“I’m glad I did better than last year,” Spinzig said. “That was my goal. That was definitely what I was shooting for and that’s what I got. I’m satisfied.”

Schlichter scored a 95 to complete Evergreen’s scoring.

The Cougars scored a 265 as a team. Monarch won the event with a team score of 250. In terms of 4A squads, Evergreen trailed only Colorado Academy, which scored a 258, and placed one stroke ahead of Broomfield, Glenwood Springs and Kent Denver.

Monarch defending Class 5A state champion Brooke Collins shot a 77 to win the event by three strokes. Last season Collins and Forbes tied for second at the Ashley Forey.

The added significance of the tournament for 4A players is that the state tournament will be held at Rolling Hills next month.

“You can really hit your driver a lot,” Forbes said of the course. “It’s pretty open.”

Forbes was riding the bogey train for a while until she hit par on the 128-yard 13th hole. Forbes drove to the backside of the green but stroke a great putt to get within a few feet of the cup.

She nearly hit par again on the par-4 14th hole but had her putt lip out of the cup.

Although she said she hasn’t had a “stellar season,” Forbes said she believes she can turn her game up to a much higher level as the season winds down.

“I think I’m kind of under the radar a little bit,” she said. “Last year I was more under the radar than this year.”

In the Jeffco race, Evergreen’s team score was not enough to catch Golden in the overall standings as the Cougars took second

this season.

Team scores: Monarch 250, Cherry Creek 252, Skyline 256, Colorado Academy 258, Evergreen 265, Broomfield 266, Glenwood Springs 266, Kent Denver 266, Golden 270, Fort Collins 270, Lakewood 276, Mullen 278, Heritage 282, Chatfield 282, Rifle 285, Fairview 285, Bear Creek 293, Dakota Ridge 294, Pomona 295, Standley Lake 295, Ralston Valley 296, D’Evelyn 307, Green Mountain 317, Wheat Ridge 318, Yuma 320, Northglenn 322, Arvada West 324, Elizabeth 324, Thompson Valley 330, Columbine 341, Conifer 368, Highlands Ranch 369, Horizon 372, Poudre 379, Arvada 405.

Top individuals: Collins, Monarch, 38-39 – 77; Garard, Kent Denver, 42-38 – 80; Curd, Cherry Creek, 40-40 – 80; Kresock, Colorado Academy, 41-40 – 81; Ball, Monarch, 43-39 – 82; Hodgkinson, Skyline, 45-39 – 84; Becker, Glenwood Springs, 43-41 – 84; Forbes, Evergreen, 42-42 – 84; Forney, Rifle, 39-45 – 84; Saracino, Cherry Creek, 46-39 – 85; Kempton, Heritage, 45-40 – 85; Engle, Colorado Academy, 45-40 – 85; Harrison, Fort Collins, 44-41 – 85; Tatman, Skyline, 48-38 – 86; Stolte, Golden, 47-39 – 86; Spinzig, Evergreen, 45-41 – 86;Larson, Skyline, 45-41 – 86; Stripp, Glenwood Springs, 43-43 – 86.