Colorado isn’t known as a mecca for college golf, but based on the schedule of notable tournaments being held in the state during the 2010-11 school year, it’s apparently making some inroads.
It’s hard to say definitively, but it’s a good bet that Colorado will host more Division I tournaments this season than it ever has before. And the great majority of those events will take place from mid-September to mid-October.
Six tourneys — three men’s and three women’s — will be contested during that stretch, including two events never before held in Colorado.
And there may be only one spring tournament, but it’s the biggest of the entire bunch this season. The men’s NCAA Central Regional, which will help determine the field for the NCAA Championship Finals, will be played May 19-21 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. The University of Colorado, which calls Colorado National home, will host the event.
The top women’s tournament on the schedule is the second annual Golfweek Conference Challenge, which is being played in Colorado for the first time, at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club (pictured) in Wolcott, 22 miles west of Vail. The No. 23-ranked University of Denver, which is co-hosting the tournament, is one of six teams ranked in the nation’s top 25 that are scheduled to compete.
Here’s a quick look at each of the seven Division I tournaments that will be played in Colorado this season, including the three at Colorado National:
Sept. 13 — State of Colorado Cup, Ballyneal Golf Club in Holyoke. These matches between the CU and Colorado State University men’s teams will be played for the second year. CSU won 6-4 last season.
Sept. 13-14 — Ptarmigan/Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. This tournament, which the CSU women have hosted for more than a decade, also will feature CU and the University of Northern Colorado.
Sept. 19-20 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower Golf Club (Blue Course) in Colorado Springs. The Air Force Academy men’s team has conducted the Falcon Invitational since 1969. Joining the Falcons for this year’s event will be two-time defending champion CSU, CU, DU and UNC.
Sept. 26-28 — Golfweek Conference Challenge, Fazio Course at Red Sky Ranch Golf Club in Wolcott. The Ron Moore Intercollegiate, which the DU women won the last six years in Highlands Ranch, is no longer part of the schedule, but the Pioneers will host the highly regarded Conference Challenge. DU, ranked No. 23 in the preseason, will be joined in the field by fellow top-25 teams Arizona (7), Virginia (9), Pepperdine (11), Tennessee (12) and Texas A&M (17).
Sept. 27-28 — Mark Simpson Invitational, Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. The CU men will host an invitational in Colorado for the first time since 1993, and it’s named in honor of Mark Simpson, the Buffs’ golf coach for nearly 30 years before he died in 2005 after battling cancer. The tournament will have a strong local field, with CU, CSU, DU, Air Force and UNC participating.
Oct. 8-9 — Heather Farr/CU Memorial Invitational, Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. The CU women’s invitational tournament, which debuted in 1997, will feature CSU and UNC, in addition to the Buffs.
May 19-21, 2011 — NCAA Men’s Central Regional, Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. CU will host one of six NCAA regional tournaments, which have never before been held in Colorado. The top five team finishers in the 13-school field will advance to the NCAA Finals, which will be held May 31-June 5 in Stillwater, Okla.
LOCAL COLLEGE NOTES: Gunner Wiebe of Aurora, the CGA Match Play champion, is listed among the top 50 male college players to watch by Golf World magazine. Wiebe is a senior at the University of San Diego. “¦ No Colorado-based schools — men or women — qualified for the NCAA Finals as a team in 2010. “¦ The DU women, who finished sixth and fifth in the NCAA Finals the previous two years, just missed making a return trip in the spring. The Pioneers lost two of their top players after last season — Stephanie Sherlock to graduation, while freshman Kimberly Kim opted to turn pro. “¦ The CSU men won four tournaments last season, including the Mountain West Conference championship, but lost three key seniors to graduation: Riley Arp, Bryce Hanstad and Dustin Morris, all top-10 golfers in the MWC. But Ryan Peterson, the individual conference champion, returns for his final season. “¦ Among the other top local players who wrapped up their college careers in the spring were Denver’s Espen Kofstad and Air Force’s Tom Whitney.
