SUNSET REGION: Palo Verde displays depth

As he drove to Pahrump for his final Sunset Region meet, Palo Verde’s Dillon Dudley felt the second day of the Sunset Region meet could be a good day.

And so it was.

Dudley sank four birdies on the back nine en route to a 3-under-par 69, finishing with a two-day total of 140 to take second place and lead the Panthers to their sixth straight region title on Wednesday at Mountain Falls Golf Club.

“I felt really good, especially with the good weather,” Dudley said of his commute. “Yesterday, I hit the ball really well, but I just didn’t make the putts. Today, I hit the ball well too, and set myself up on the fairway nice.”

Palo Verde carded a 385 for a two-day 766, 13 strokes ahead of second-place Bishop Gorman.

Dudley made five birdies to only two bogeys after shooting 71 on the first day at Siena Golf Club.

The senior fell one stroke short of the individual title, which was successfully defended by Shadow Ridge sophomore Ben Davis, who carded 70 on the second day for a two-day 139.

“I never thought it would be a 19 (stroke lead), when the first day ended,” first-year Palo Verde coach Todd Steffenhagen said. “I would’ve been happy with five, or any lead, because the Southwest and Northwest have had very tight (team) scores. That’s what you can see with five teams making it to the second day.

“This course sets up well for a lot of people; they can rattle off numbers in the 60s.”

Brandon Bauman added a two-day 146 for Palo Verde, finishing tied for fifth.

“I wasn’t surprised by him,” Steffenhagen said. “Last year, he played so well at state, right near the top even as a freshman. He’s good friends with Ben Davis, so those guys play a lot. I knew that Brandon and Dillon were our guys, and Cody (Kelly, who shot 77) was right there, too.

“Every week, we’re almost playing four guys for that No. 1 spot. There’s a tight-knit group of guys that are 75 or better every week, so it makes for a good playoff.”

Bradley Collett shot 77 for the Panthers.

Arbor View’s Zane Thomas played bogey-free golf with seven birdies to card a meet-low 65 and finish third with a two-day 141.

Thomas notched three straight birdies on the ninth, 10th and 11th holes and finished the front nine with a 32.

Younger brother Van Thomas was fourth at 145, and Desert Oasis’ Soungjae Baek finished tied with Bauman at 146.

Pahrump Valley’s Dorian Patel rebounded from an 80 at Siena to card 68 on his home course and finish at 148 to round out the qualifiers for the Class 4A state meet, which begins Monday at TPC Las Vegas.

Bryce McEachern shot 74 to lead the Gaels, who edged third-place Arbor View by eight strokes to clinch a team berth at state.

Dylan Garrett added a 75 for the Gaels, who got a 76 from Ben Schlichting.