BROOMFIELD >> When Fairview freshman Ash Edwards stepped into the tee box on hole 18 at the Broadlands Golf Course on Wednesday afternoon, he charted an unconventional path to the green.

Instead of hitting it straight down the final hole of the Holy Family Bobblehead tournament, he landed it on the fairway of the adjacent 10th hole, believing it would give him the best shot toward the green. He finished that hole with an even par to complete his round with a 1-under-par 71, tying for second place in the field of 119.

That type of ingenuity has come to define the young athlete’s game as he charges into regionals as one of Fairview’s top two men.

“It takes the water out of play, and it’s just something I’ve always done here,” Edwards explained. “Something I think I’ve always been pretty good at is being super creative and making sure I take the best way on each hole.

“On 7 or on 8, most people don’t like to go over the water at all there. I decided to take it on today, and it worked out, and I had a good drive. I didn’t make a birdie, but it worked out. I had a pretty short distance in.”

He sunk three birdies on the back nine to help him reach his final tally, lagging just one stroke behind the tournament winner, Evergreen’s Lincoln MacKay. Edwards’ teammate, junior Miles Kuhl, tied for fourth by carding a 73. The Knights won the tournament with a collective score of 219, pacing just four strokes ahead of Evergreen.

The pair will lead the cavalry for the Knights when they head to Columbine Country Club for their regional next Wednesday. Edwards said he believes the Knights have the manpower to qualify for the Class 5A state tournament as a team, and he’ll be shooting for an individual state title or top five.

Legacy’s Jensen Riederer was the only other golfer on the course on Wednesday to match Edwards’ efforts, tying at second alongside him for his first tournament round under par. The senior, who admitted he didn’t play well at last year’s state tournament, believed his travails from earlier in the season will only help set him up for a strong regional.

“It was really tough at the beginning of the season,”Riederer said. “I wasn’t playing that great. I had a couple high scores — 77, 78. And really, in the past couple weeks, I’ve been around even par. I really just started to figure out my ball striking. I’ve been putting better. I learned how to putt this season. The short game’s really saved me. I had a big breakthrough in my mental game, and it really helped me get across the finish line.”

He hopes that all of those aspects of his game will converge even further when he returns to Broadlands on Monday for his regional competition. Erie junior Sean Cary will be right there alongside him after carding a 73 for fourth.

Cary took a more relaxed approach to his game while not letting any minor setbacks spiral out of control. He believes his Tigers team is much more experienced than their seventh-place showing at the 4A state tournament last year, and he hopes that they’ll be able to impress at Broadlands next week for their 5A regional debut.

“I didn’t play great, but I managed my game and didn’t throw any big numbers on the card,” Cary said. “I think that’s a really good skill to have, just in case I don’t have my best days at state or regionals. My putter usually kind of saves me on most of my rounds, but today I was hitting the ball really great and my putter just wasn’t the best.”

He outperformed Holy Family junior Oliver Kinsel by a single stroke, which earned the HFHS senior his first standing among the top 10 at any tournament, at seventh. Kinsel’s teammates honored his accomplishment with a water bath — water cooler and all — as he walked past the green of No. 9 on his way to the scorer’s table.

His score fell about 10 strokes lower than his average throughout his first season with Holy Family golf. Up until 2024, he had focused much of his athletic prowess on football.

“I saw (senior teammate Joe Lucas) coming I was like, ‘Oh I know exactly what’s happening.’ So I just prepared myself for it,” Kinsel said through a laugh. “It felt great. I worked my entire season for that. I did not think I was going to come out here and shoot a 74. I’ve never been happier.”

He said he’ll lean on his irons when his team embarks on its regional quest at Quail Dunes Golf Course in Fort Morgan on Tuesday.