The meat of the tournament golf season in Colorado is still several months off, but they say that anticipation is half the fun, so this is a good time to see what awaits us on the 2010 schedule.
While the Senior PGA Championship coming to Colorado Golf Club in Parker May 27-30 will be the highlight of the golf year in many respects, let’s take a look here at key events conducted by the CGA and the CWGA.
With that criteria in mind, it’s only appropriate that we start with two facilities that will be front and center for several notable competitions in 2010: CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and the Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs.
With the recent addition of a state high school meet, CommonGround will host three major championships this year — the 5A high school girls state tournament (May 24-25), the CGA Match Play (July 5-9) and the CWGA Match Play (August 2-5). In addition, the finals of the inaugural CGA Team Interclub net event (Sept. 25) are set for the Tom Doak-designed course that the CGA and CWGA opened in May 2009.
As for the Broadmoor (pictured), it’s apparently the place to be for USGA qualifiers this year. The East Course will host qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open (May 31) and the U.S. Senior Open (June 28), and the West Course will be one of two sites for U.S. Amateur qualifying (Aug. 2, along with Saddle Rock in Aurora on Aug. 10).
Colorado doesn’t always get the opportunity to host a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier, but with the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open coming to the Broadmoor, it was a natural to build some local interest a year ahead of time. And, of course, there’s also a Broadmoor connection with the U.S. Senior Open as the East Course hosted that national championship in 2008. Looking another year down the line, the 2012 U.S. Amateur will be coming to Colorado, at Cherry Hills Country Club.
The addition of the Senior PGA Championship to the schedule will make for one very busy stretch on the golf calendar around Memorial Day. In a 12-day period, there will be two high school girls state meets (4A at The Bridges in Montrose and 5A at CommonGround, both May 24-25), qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Publinks (May 26 at Meadow Hills in Aurora), the Senior PGA at Colorado Golf Club (May 27-30), U.S. Women’s Open qualifying at the Broadmoor (May 31), and the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open at Green Valley Ranch in Denver (June 2-4). And Sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open follows in short order (June 7 at Columbine in Littleton).
While CommonGround has the Match Play Championships covered for both men and women amateurs, Lakewood Country Club will host the CWGA Stroke Play (June 22-24) and Boulder Country Club the CGA Stroke Play (Aug. 12-15).
Other highlights of the 2010 golf schedule include a national PGA Junior Series event (June 29-July 1 at the Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Club), the Trans-Mississippi Championship (July 12-15 at Denver Country Club) and the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational college tournament (Sept. 27-28 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie).
