Rams well prepped to host Antelope Invite

Four 18-hole rounds of golf may just be another week for PGA Tour members and winter visitors in Yuma.

On the high school golf scene, however, it's a rarity.
 
But the Antelope Rams couldn't ask for a better way to find their mid-season form, and by the end of Saturday's Antelope Invite its five varsity players will have 72 holes under their belts.
 
This weekend's tournament is only a 36-hole event, beginning Friday at 11:30 a.m. at The Links at Coyote Wash, but the Rams spent Monday and Tuesday playing in another 36-hole tournament in River Valley, where senior Fred Blohm grabbed medalist honors.
 
Blohm was the only player in the 10-team field to shoot two rounds in the 70s and won with a total score of 157 as Antelope finished second in the team competition behind Class 3A school Blue Ridge. Mieke Canan was fourth individually at 168, and Cody Rivera had a top-10 finish at 176, bouncing back on Tuesday to shoot an 84.
 
"I'm really pleased with Fred's improvement, and his 79-78 in cold and windy conditions both days makes it particularly remarkable," Antelope coach Allen Hill said.
 
River Valley and Globe (both 3A schools) are new additions to this year's Antelope Invite, and familiar faces Holtville, Ray, Arizona Lutheran and Gilbert Christian are back to compete along with last year's champion, Phoenix Christian. Antelope will field two teams, and rival Yuma Catholic will also be on hand.
 
"When you've got two 3A schools and the second, third, and fifth-place finishers at state, it should be pretty competitive," Hill said. "I would have liked to have a couple more schools. We weren't able to get the Tucson schools to come out this year. When I talked to the coaches and athletic directors they said it wasn't because they didn't enjoy the tournament, they just wanted to cut back on travel time and expenses, and we understand that."
 
Antelope's varsity team will be among the first groups that head out on Friday, and Yuma Catholic's first tee times begin at 11:56 a.m. Play will resume on Saturday at 8 a.m., with the top four teams going in the last five groups.