Nic Pevny, the Aspen boys’ golf enters an uncertain fall season with a lot of firepower

When the pros started swinging their clubs again, Cole Kennedy saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The Aspen High School senior believed there would also be a golf season for skiers after months of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Once the PGA started, I knew we would probably have a season. I was happy with that, “Kennedy said.” It’s great. We don’t even know if we’re going to school, but we can play golf. “

Men’s golf is one of the four traditional autumn sporting seasons that can be played quite normally this year. The Colorado High School Activities Association released its updated COVID-19 program Tuesday, with golf joining men’s tennis, softball, and cross country as approved to play. Soccer, volleyball and men’s soccer were all moved to March.

“The whole thing is creating an opportunity for us to teach kids to be resilient,” said Mary Woulfe, AHS longtime golf coach, who admitted she was doubtful they would have a season. “I am as surprised as anyone else. I am so excited that Aspen High School has embraced it and the CHSAA has embraced golf, because it is a great distance social sport. During the summer we proved that it is one of the best places to go to stay healthy. “

The statewide competition for men’s golf officially began on Thursday. The AHS golfers will make their seasonal debut Friday at Cedaredge Golf Club. Much will look different – more masks, more social distances, tee times instead of shotgun starts – but hopefully once the clubs are in hand, it will look golf as it should.

And if so, expect skiers to compete for more championships, as is usually the case.

“There are a lot of guys who can go into the low 70s or mid 70s and keep us steady throughout the season,” said Jake Doyle, AHS elder. “It’s amazing to be able to come here. Many of us didn’t think it was going to happen and it would be a real shame, especially being our senior year. But we are all happy to be here. “

COVID INFLUX

With other fall sports, notably men’s soccer and soccer moving into the spring, this has led to many requests from AHS students wishing to go out to play golf this fall.

“I think it’s really nice to have all these athletes who wouldn’t normally be here, due to conflicting sports,” said Coulter Young, assistant coach and AHS graduate. “There are a lot of guys from the soccer team who are here. It’s just great to have that mix of people who are a little bit into golf and are giving a competitive shot. “

ALL EYES ON PEVNY

Another season, another Pevny leading the charge for AHS golf. Junior Nic Pevny enters the 2020 season as the undisputed best golfer on the team, stepping into the shoes of his older brother, Jack Pevny, who graduated last spring. Nic Pevny, who is very capable of filming in the 1960s, had decided to participate in many national and regional events this summer, but like so many others he has seen them canceled due to the pandemic.

“I am really excited. It will be fun to play in tournaments and to be able to compete again, “said Nic Pevny.” I feel quite comfortable. I have played a lot of tournaments and gained a lot of experience, so I’m not too worried about that. “

Nic Pevny had just stepped out of the sidelines for skiers as a freshman, competing primarily as a sixth player. Behind a deep senior class, AHS won the Class 3A state championship in 2018, its first as a program. Jack Pevny, then junior, finished fourth overall.

AHS finished fourth as a team at the state in 2019, and Nic Pevny even beat his brother by one stroke to finish fourth overall. It’s easily in the mix as far as individual state title contenders are concerned this fall.

“I feel like the team is strong enough this year,” said Nic Pevny. “We have a lot of seniors who are pretty good. So we should be pretty good this year. “

BATTLE ROYAL

Who exactly makes up the regional team will not know anyone this fall. While Pevny remains a relative block, the other three spots will drop to an intense 36-hole stretch next month. Last season, Woulfe crunched a lot of numbers to decide who made the regional team, but that wasn’t necessarily a popular method. This year, the plan is to have players compete on 36 holes before the regional tournament, with the lowest scores getting the seats.

“I like it better that way, because last year was a little confusing,” Doyle said. “But this year will only show that it is much easier to understand why you joined the team or not.”

Doyle, who is again co-captain of the team with Kennedy this fall, was the first player to leave the regional team last year. He’s using that disappointment as fuel for this season.

“It motivated me, for sure,” he said. “I practiced everything when the quarantine started and that’s pretty much all we have done is practically playing golf.”

Senior John Hall and junior Lucas Lee formed the rest of the four-man state team in 2019 alongside the Pevny brothers and will return this fall. But the list of regional wannabes is much longer and includes a couple of impressive young freshmen who could make a splash from here at that free-for-all 36-hole course.

“There was a lot of disappointment from some older guys who thought they should have those seats but maybe they didn’t have the stats,” Woulfe said of last year’s qualifying format. “We came to the conclusion that there was a lot of worry, anxiety and upset about it.”

POSTSEASON FAMILY

Should the schedule remain as planned, AHS will host the regional tournament alongside Basalt High School at River Valley Ranch near Carbondale in September. Skiers hosted regional at Aspen Golf Club last fall and plan to host a regular season tournament this season on September 14, a week before regional.

The state class 3A tournament is tentatively scheduled for October 5-6 at Dos Rios Golf Club in Gunnison. It’s a very familiar route to skiers, and Doyle even won a tournament there a year ago.

“I can’t wait for it to be there,” Woulfe said. “We own that course in many ways for us. It will be a busy year for us. We have great talent. We don’t have the national experience or the depth of the tournaments we’ve had in the past, but these guys are really ready and they’re hungry for it. “

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