Gunbarrel golfers to state

Maddy McCambridge, Kelsey Webster and Taylor Sunset, who live within a couple of miles of each other in Gunbarrel, went to state in Class 5A girls golf last year as part of Coach John Zerwin’s Fairview High School squad.

They hoped to return this season, but Sunset, a junior, fell sick during the regional tournament, and had to withdraw. As a result, it will be up to McCambridge, a senior, and Webster, a sophomore, will represent the school at state again this year.

Webster moved into the No. 1 slot for Fairview this season, and shot an 80 at the Western Regionals in Grand Junction at Tiara Rado on May 10. McCambridge, who was the conference player of the year last year, struggled a bit earlier this season, but found her game at regionals, shooting a 74, good for third place.

Webster attributes her improvement to taking swing lessons from Dan Smithen. “He’s helped me a lot,” Webster said. She also credits her father, Bob Webster, for helping her learn course management. “I grew up on the Boulder Country Club golf course,” she said. “I’ve played a lot with him. He was an Evans Scholar, so he knows a lot from being a caddy.”

McCambridge plans to take her golfing talents to the college level next year at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, a D-3 program. “She’s a really good player,” Webster said. “She could play division one, but that school offers what she wants to study.”

Webster’s round at the regionals didn’t start well as she carded three bogeys. But she got on track by making a 60-foot putt from just off the green on hole number nine for a birdie. She finished seventh overall, and might have been higher but for hitting a ball into a puddle in the middle of the fairway.

The regional course did not exactly suit Webster’s strengths. “It’s a very short course,” she said, and she routinely drives the ball 240 yards off the tee. “But it let me hit my pitching wedge a lot, which is my favorite club.” Webster said she definitely learned a couple of things, including not letting a tough hole get her down. “I kept my head in it.”