SEDALIA — Trey Rusthoven is right where he wanted to be.
The Fort Zumwalt East senior fired a 1-under-par 69 to tie Rolla junior Jonathan Jordan for the lead after Monday’s first round of the 2-day Missouri Class 4 boys golf state tournament at Sedalia Country Club.
“This year, I want to go get it,” Rusthoven said. “I had a practice round (Sunday), but this is my first time really playing it, so I’ll take the 1-under. I’m coming off the 65 at Golf Club of Wentzville (at last week’s Class 4 District 2 tourney) and I was 1 under today, so I feel pretty good where I’m at.”
The skies opened up over Sedalia overnight Sunday and they threatened to do so all day Monday, but anything heavy held off.
“I knew I had to have a good first round just because I knew the weather might not be good. With golf, weather can change everything,” Rusthoven said. “It rained overnight and that changed the course quite a bit. It rained off and on while I was playing, so that played a little bit of a factor.”
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Rusthoven’s first round included nine pars, five birdies and four bogeys.
“Should have been a lot better. It’s frustrating. I could have shot 65 and instead I shoot 69,” he said. “I would make a 20-, 25-foot putt for birdie and then the next hole I’d three-putt or get myself in a spot where I had to get up and down. That’s just the day it was. I know (Tuesday) is gonna be completely different. It could be good, it could be bad.”
Rusthoven will head into the final round Tuesday armed with a vast amount of experience playing on the final day of a two- or three-day tournament and he hopes to use that to his advantage.
“Going into (Tuesday), I feel pretty good. I’ve just got to clean it up a little bit,” he said. “When it comes to experience, there’s certain shots out on the golf course that could play into that. On the second day, one hole can cost you the tournament. I’ve gone into final rounds with leads, but I’m still learning how to pull it out and win.”
Parkway West sophomore Savyasaachi Kandula shot an even-par 70 to sit just one shot behind the co-leaders heading into Tuesday’s final round.
“I think it went really well. I’m really happy with the way it worked out in the end,” he said. “I didn’t miss too often, but when I did miss, I made sure I missed in the right spots, which definitely helped.”
Kandula began his day on the front nine and fired off eight pars and a birdie to make the turn at 1-under 34.
“I did actually get lucky on a few holes, like on the first hole, I hit my drive pretty far left, but I had a pretty clean shot at the green, and I was able to roll a nice one in on 2,” he said. “I think I was able to hit nine out of nine greens on the first nine. I never had anything inside of 10 feet for birdie, but just putting it on the green and two-putting was a good way to rack up pars and keep a good score.”
Kandula is happy to be right there in the mix heading into the final round.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in the mix like this. It feels good,” he said. “I think I’ll do the same thing I did today. Get some rest, eat a nice healthy dinner and go out there and play golf.”
A pair of area players — MICDS sophomore Ben Gelven and Washington senior Haiden Bean — are part of a four-way tie for fifth at 72.
Gelven, a first-time state qualifier, had a steady round Monday with 16 pars and two bogeys.
“Couldn’t really get the birdie putts to drop, but I also didn’t have a three-putt,” he said. “I felt pretty good about it. The first round is important to set a steady pace and tomorrow there’s nothing to lose, so just go out there and stick the shots as close as you can and try to make as many birdies as you can.”
Bean began his day with three straight bogeys, but three birdies over the next five holes brought him back to even at the turn.
“It started off pretty rocky, but then I stuck one close on No. 13 and I think that really got the day going,” he said. “Putting came through today and driving the ball really helped out a lot.”
There is also a four-way logjam for ninth place at 73, including Ladue senior Ben Rich and Summit senior Jacob Schreiner.
Rich called his round “pretty average” and said it could definitely be better on Tuesday.
“I had so many birdie putts — probably four or five of them — that just didn’t drop for me. I made a couple of pretty good par saves, so it kind of evens out,” he said. “I want to just play the best I can. I’ve practiced a lot this year and gotten a lot better since last year, so I feel like I can really compete.”
Schreiner’s 73 represented a season-best score for him and was also the best first-round total he has posted in his three trips to state.
“I saved myself with my putting quite a few times. I would have liked to do a little better on the par threes, but overall a solid day,” he said. “I’m on a really good ending stretch with districts and our conference tournament. It felt good to come out here and perform.”
And the final all-state spot (top 15) also features — you guessed it — a four-way tie at 74 with Ladue senior Logan Malott among that group.
The four area teams in Sedalia occupy the final four spots in the eight-school team standings, but all four are still within striking distance.
Summit had the area’s best team score with a fifth-place 313, which is just 10 strokes behind first-round leader Pembroke Hill.
“We were here last year and, after Day 1, we were in last place and we finished in last place,” Falcons coach Sam Haug said. “One of things we said coming back this year was we wanted to put ourselves in contention Day 1 to maybe be on the medal stand, which we’ve never done at Summit.”
Ladue shot 315 to sit just two strokes back of Summit in the sixth position.
“We’re right where we need to be, I think,” Rams coach Todd Basler said. “The practice round was a big help yesterday and after this round they’re familiar with the course. It’s a course in which you have to select the proper clubs.”
Parkway West’s 318 also puts it right in the mix heading into the final day and just five shots out of a top-four trophy spot.
“We’ve got a shot (Tuesday) and we’ll see what happens,” Longhorns coach Greg Schade said. “That (top four) was their goal coming in and to be in that position is exciting for them.”
Rounding out the Day 1 team standings was Fort Zumwalt South with a 329.
“We just got off to a rough start on the front nine,” Bulldogs coach Andy Delahaunty said. “A couple unfortunate events on a couple holes and we posted a few big numbers. Luckily, the guys did bring it back and played much better on the back nine.”
