How about a trip to Hawaii or California or Arizona to knock that winter rust off your golf game? And if it’s 70 or 80 degrees in February, who’s to complain?
That’s the enviable position Colorado-based college golf teams find themselves in as they start the second — and most important — portion of the season. Most of the Division I programs in the state officially will begin their “spring” season within the next two weeks, and the University of Colorado men (a tournament in Hawaii) and University of Northern Colorado men (Arizona) start this week.
Golf is one of the rare college sports that operates with a split season. The fall portion generally runs from September through mid-November, and spring tournaments normally are scheduled from February through May or early June.
Obviously, the spring season is the more crucial of the two as it culminates in the NCAA Finals. This year the women’s Finals will be May 18-21 in Wilmington, N.C., with the men’s set for June 1-6 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
But the fall does gives us some indication of who the top teams and individuals might be. The University of Denver women, for example, finished the fall ranked 18th or 19th in the country, depending on the poll, while Colorado State is the leading local Division I men’s team, falling in the 34-41 range nationally. (The CU-Colorado Springs men are ranked eighth to 14th in Division II polls).
Individually, DU senior Stephanie Sherlock (pictured), winner of seven college tournaments so far in her career, is ranked among the top 35 female college players in the nation. And DU senior Espen Kofstad, Air Force senior Tom Whitney and CSU senior Riley Arp had the best springs for Colorado-based men’s players.
With the winter hiatus over, let’s preview the spring season for the local Division I programs:
“¢CSU MEN
Open spring season: Feb. 14-16 at Battle at the Beach in Newport Beach, Calif.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 3.
Best team finish in fall: Victories in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational and the Del Walker Invitational.
Top player in fall: Riley Arp (71.29 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 4.
Notable: The Rams, after two fall team victories, are ranked anywhere from 34th to 41st nationally, depending on the poll. CSU has won 10 tournaments over the last 2½ seasons. “¦ Arp stands fifth in the Mountain West Conference in stroke average and is ranked 75th nationally by both Golfweek and Golfstat. He finished in the top 10 in four of his five fall tournaments.
“¢DU MEN
Open spring season: Feb. 8-9 at Callaway Farms Invitational in San Diego.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 3.
Best team finish in fall: Fourth in Saint Mary’s College Invitational.
Top player in fall: Espen Kofstad (71.13 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 4.
Notable: The Pioneers are ranked 47th in the nation by Golf World. “¦ Kofstad was named to Golf World’s 12-man mid-season All-American team. He finished in the top eight in all five of his fall tournaments, placing second once and third twice. Kofstad is ranked anywhere from 28th to 73rd nationally among male college players.
“¢CU MEN
Open spring season: Feb. 3-5 at Mauna Lani Invitational in Hawaii.
Top 5 team finishes in fall inviationals: 1.
Best team finish in fall: Third at Alister Mackenzie Invitational.
Top player in fall: Justin Bardgett (71.86 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 1.
Notable: Bardgett, who qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur last summer, posted two top-eight individual finishes in the fall.
“¢AIR FORCE ACADEMY MEN
Open spring season: Feb. 15-16 at UTSA Oak Hills Invitational at San Antonio, Texas.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 1.
Best team finish in fall: Won Service Academy Golf Classic.
Top player in fall: Tom Whitney (71.0 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 5.
Notable: Kyle Bailey won the individual title at the Service Academy Golf Classic, where the Falcons claimed the team championship. “¦ Whitney, who placed second once and third twice in the fall, owns the second-best stroke average in the Mountain West Conference. He’s ranked 68th among the nation’s male college players by Golfstat.
“¢UNC MEN
Open spring season: Feb. 1-2 at Arizona Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 1.
Best team finish in fall: Fifth at Bill Ross Intercollegiate.
Top player in fall: Stephen Bidne (72.1 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 2.
Notable: Bidne scored one of the biggest individual victories in recent UNC golf history by winning the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy. In all, he recorded three top-seven finishes in the fall.
“¢DU WOMEN
Open spring season: Feb. 8-10 at Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes, Calif.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 1.
Best team finish in fall: Won Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate at Highlands Ranch.
Top player in fall: Stephanie Sherlock (73.08 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 3.
Notable: The Pioneers, who have finished sixth and fifth, respectively, in the last two NCAA Championships, are ranked 18th or 19th in the nation, depending on the poll. “¦ Sherlock, a three-time second-team All-American who finished 11th at the NCAA Finals last year, won the season-opening Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate for the seventh individual title of her college career. Sherlock, Canada’s top women’s amateur, is ranked 35th among female college players nationally, while freshman teammate Kimberly Kim is 49th or 55th, depending on the source. Kim, the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, has been invited to play in early April’s Kraft Nabsico Championship, the first women’s golf major of the year.
“¢CSU WOMEN
Open spring season: March 8-9 at Spartan Invitational in San Jose, Calif.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 2.
Best team finish in fall: Second at Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic.
Top player in fall: Kasey Claussen (74.33 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 1.
Notable: Klaussen’s stroke average ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference. In her five fall tournaments, she finished second and eighth.
“¢CU WOMEN
Open spring season: Feb. 8-10 at Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.
Top 5 team finishes in fall inviationals: 0.
Best team finish in fall: Sixth in Heather Farr CU Memorial.
Top player in fall: Emily Talley (74.5 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 0.
Notable: Talley posted CU’s only top-10 individual finish of the fall.
“¢UNC WOMEN
Open spring season: Feb. 27-28 at Red Rocks Invitational at Sedona, Ariz.
Top 5 team finishes in fall invitationals: 0.
Best team finish in fall: Seventh at Shocker Invitational.
Top player in fall: Carleigh Silvers (80.3 stroke average).
Top 5 individual finishes in fall invitationals: 0.
Notable: Silvers, a freshman from Indiana, leads the team in stroke average, while sophomore sister Chelsea is No. 3 (81.5).
