MONTROSE • There was no shortage of raindrops, divots and high scores at The Bridges Golf & Country Club on Monday.

CHSAA hosted Day 1 of the boys golf state championships in Montrose, and the combination of rain and cool temperatures made for tough play. Only one golfer — Evergreen’s Liam Houlihan — finished under par.

Rain wasn’t originally in the forecast for Monday, and as a result, many golfers were ill-prepared for the conditions.

“Dude, it was brutal,” Air Academy junior Sam Brennan said. “I didn’t have an umbrella or a raincoat, so it was tough. It was really wet.”

Brennan entered state with a top-10 scoring average in Iwanamaker’s 4A rankings. He shot 88 (17-over par) on Monday, putting him tied for 67th.

Cheyenne Mountain — the defending team champion in 4A — didn’t see much of last year’s success on Day 1.

The Red-tailed Hawks finished the day in sixth place with 233 team strokes.

Freshman Brayden Destefano posted their best score at 76, ending the day tied for 19th. Junior Charlie Doyle, who entered with the No. 2 scoring average in 4A, shot 79.

Cheyenne Mountain coach John Carricato admitted the conditions were nasty. But he said it’s not an excuse for his team’s Day 1 struggles.

“Everybody’s playing in the same conditions,” Carricato said.

“Execution, putting it in the right spots — those are the things we’ve done all year and didn’t do today.”

It wasn’t just the Red-tailed Hawks and Brennan who struggled. Many of the state’s best players didn’t play well.

Defending individual champion Bradley Weinmaster of Riverdale Ridge shot 4-over par to finish the day tied for 11th. Kellen Ball of Windsor, who entered with the No. 3 scoring average, shot 75.

“It makes me feel a little better, knowing that I’m not the only one who didn’t play well,” Brennan said. “To see some of those scores, it’s shocking.”

The tournament concludes on Tuesday — and the forecast looks much better. Sunny conditions are projected for the entire day with highs in the mid 60s.

With very few strong performances across the field on Monday, golfers and coaches have hopes of climbing the leaderboard on Day 2.

“It’s going to be up to them,” Carricato said. “They need to have short memories and forget about today. Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’ll be competitive tomorrow.”

“I just hope it doesn’t pour rain,” Brennan said. “I’m going to bring an umbrella tomorrow, that’s for sure.”

Pine Creek golfers in top 40 in Class 5A state tournamement

The Denver area dominated Day 1 of the Class 5A tournament. Rock Canyon is five strokes ahead of Regis Jesuit and first place in the team standings, and Jaguar senior Charlie Tucker is first place individually.

From the Pikes Peak Region, Pine Creek golfers Luke Wright and Grant Boyle each shot 79 to finish tied for 36th.

In Class 3A, Manitou Springs’ Hayden Dorsey shot 87, tying for 33rd.

Peak to Peak’s Om Mathur shot 70 and leads the Class 3A tournament. Resurrection Christian is in first place in the team standings.