Basalt/Glenwood golfers qualify for state tournament

The Basalt Longhorns will send two golfers to the Class 3A State Golf Championships.

But they’ll also represent Glenwood Springs High School.

The two golfers are students in Glenwood Springs but play on the Basalt golf team because the Demons don’t field a boys golf squad in the fall.

Playing for the Longhorns, Roger Gauther and Linc Kleager qualified for state based on their finishes Monday in the Regional Championships at Hillcrest Golf Club in Durango.

Gauthier’s score of 11-over 82 placed him seventh among the 41-golfer tournament field, finishing two strokes behind Coal Ridge’s Riley Tamborello and one behind the sixth-place score of Dylan Hardenbergh of Vail Mountain.

Kleager finished in a three-way tie for ninth place with Vail Mountain’s Oliver Pesso and Vail Christian’s Tony Clark.

The top 13 individuals in the tournament earned berths in the 3A State Championships, which will be played Sept. 29-30 at Northeastern 18 Golf Course in Sterling.

Gauthier, a senior, stayed steady over the course of his golf round, making par on the first three holes and holes 13 through 16 before carding a birdie on the par-5 17th hole. He had carded an ace earlier this season as a senior highlight.

Kleager, a sophomore, was among the tournament’s leaders and was at 6-over par through 12 holes.

He went four-over on the 13th, however, but recovered with pars on his next two holes before carding a birdie on the par-4 16th.

The Basalt/Glenwood duo will join the full Aspen Skiers’ team at the state meet. The Skiers won Monday’s 3A regional title, and Aspen’s Trey Robinson was the individual medalist in Durango.