Buckendorf closes in style
Resurrection senior birdied final hole of career at state, averaged an area-best 83
Something felt different as Jacob Buckendorf stepped inside the teeing ground.
The typically cool-headed senior mastered a short memory through four seasons as a varsity golfer at Resurrection Christian. Never too high, never too low. Whether he stroked an eagle or clunked a bogey, Buckendor f played one hole and moved on to the next.
Only this time, there wouldn’t be a next hole as the upperclassman pulled out his driver for the 36th hole of the 2020 Class 3A state tournament and final fragment of his career. He knew the moment would arrive eventually, but it still felt surreal while suddenly becoming sentimental with family members and coaches absorbing the emotion alongside.
“I was just sitting there looking down at the long fairway with the Rocky Mountains in the background,” Buckendor f said of the pristine scene at Dos Rios. “Everything went super quiet. It was like a movie. I had tunnel vision.
I’m not usually very emotional when it comes to sports, other than like the passion, competitive edge I have. But I really got emotional there. On that last shot, it was kind of a rite of passage of moving on. It was a really, really cool moment. I’ll never forget it.”
Permanently entrenched to Buckendorf’s mind, the par-4 at Dos Rios Golf Club marked the end of a near and dear chapter of his life – – and one in which he capped by seizing consecutive state tourney appearances, most recently placing 33rd overall.
The final hole in Gunnison won’t only live on because it represents a prolific era’s conclusion, either. The mental souvenir also persists in light of Buckendorf launching a massive drive into orbit before stroking a birdie –– virtually defining the senior’s entire season in a mere few minutes, his last few minutes, on the green.
Now, deservingly so, Buckendorf obtains RH boys golfer of the year honors after his 83.1 scoring average over 13 rounds led the Loveland area.
“I bombed it, luckily,” he said. “That was the cherry on the top. I creamed it to about 350, 360 (yards) down the middle of the fair way on the 18th green, where I birdied. So it was awesome.”
For more reasons than not, the culminating shot constituted his campaign in a nutshell. For one, the senior utilized his power ful, vastly-improved driver to set up manageable putts all year long while shooting 81 or below on seven occasions by season’s end.
“He’s got tour speed on his swing, which is not prevalent in a lot of high school kids,” coach Rick Meis said. “I mean his clubhead speed is that of PGA Tour. He can hit it 350 yards with a driver. His iron, same thing, which is tough for a high schooler to discipline himself with that kind of clubhead speed. Jacob could discipline himself with that.”
Physical skills aside, Buckendorf recorded the area’s only eagle, most birdies (21) and most pars (92) in par t because of his ability to shelve any and all psychological obstacles.
Does that ring a bell? Oh yeah, he cer tainly tamed an overflow of emotion upon nailing the aforementioned final hole at state.
“He just had a mental strength about him,” Meis said. “He could overcome anything. He would get down himself during the bad shot but overcame that when he stepped up to the next one, which is a mental toughness you have to have as a golfer. Jacob always set his goals high. But if he didn’t achieve those, he still knew he was good enough to be one of the upper golfers in 3A. So that was his mental toughness right there.”
The senior indeed set lofty goals while aspiring to win state after placing 15th as a junior. However, it wasn’t as if Buckendorf bestowed too much pressure on himself.
After all, what’s the point of playing if you aren’t enjoying your time on the course? Though ambitious, instead of obsessing over expectations, Buckendorf focused on achieving a balance between his lofty objectives and the game’s sheer joy.
He attained this sense of desired equilibrium as his comfort level resultantly skyrocketed. And as all golfers know, the more comfor table and poised on the course, the better chance one possesses of consistently posting low numbers. As a senior, Buckendorf had “nothing to lose.” So, while soaking in every stroke, Buckendorf hit the green and simply let it fly.
“I remember my last drive vividly at state,” Buckendor f said. “That was really my last one ever. I knew that it was inevitable and that it was coming eventually. So I made sure to cherish ever y swing and ever y round up to that. And I was just a lot more comfortable with my position this year. That comfor tability drove my passion for the sport better. I just made sure to enjoy it all, whether it was a good or bad round.”
Keaton Koch – Despite falling a tad short of reaching state, the Loveland freshman constructed the area’s second-lowest scoring average at 83.7 through 11 rounds while leading the Indians’ varsity lineup with 96 birdies and pars combined.
Wade Shields – A formidable complement to Buckendorf, the Resurrection Christian senior coasted to his first state-tournament appearance upon shooting an 83 at regionals. He posted an 87 in the final round at state.
Christian Foxworth – Riding a late-season surge all the way to state, the Ber thoud sophomore shot a campaign-low 83 at regionals after boasting a respectable scoring average of 89 throughout the year.