Any retrospective about Colorado golf in 2013 wouldn’t be complete without including significant doses of both good and bad.

After all, while there were plenty of highlights during the year — most notably the Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club — the September flooding definitely put a damper on 2013, with its effects extending into 2014 and perhaps beyond.

With that in mind, we’ll count down the top 18 stories of the Colorado golf year, in reverse order. We’ll also include an honorable mention list at the end.

Here’s the rundown:

18. Before this year, Jennifer Kupcho had never competed in a USGA championship. In 2013, the 16-year-old played in four national championships: the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the USGA Women’s State Team. Individually, she advanced to the round of 32 at the Girls’ Junior. And, along with Hannah Wood and Melissa Martin, she helped Colorado finish sixth in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship, tying the state’s best showing ever in the event.

Also, Kupcho joined with Calli Ringsby, Wood and Sydney Merchant in leading the CWGA team to a third-place finish in the Girls Junior America’s Cup, tying the state’s second-best performance ever in that event.

Kupcho won titles in the Colorado Junior PGA and the Big I Junior Classic state tournament, and she was runner-up in the 4A state high school meet and in the girls division of the CJGA Tournament of Champions.

17. After leading the University of Denver women’s golf team to two top-six finishes in the NCAA Championship finals, Sammie Chergo resigned in February after 15 years as the head coach.

Lindsay (Hulwick) Kuhle, who served as an assistant coach under Chergo for seven seasons before departing in 2012, returned to replace Chergo.

16. Senior teammates Spencer Painton and Jake Kelley led Regis Jesuit to its fourth consecutive 5A state high school title, but their link went far beyond that.

The two both qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur, and they finished 1-2 (with Painton winning) at both the 5A state high school meet and the CJGA Tournament of Champions.

In the first round of the 5A state meet, Painton made six consecutive birdies to end a round of 66 that included a 29 on the back nine.

15. Caine Fitzgerald of Parker, an assistant professional at Murphy Creek Golf Course, qualified for the PGA Championship by finishing 14th at the PGA Professional National Championship. READ MORE. 

14. Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird out-battled Rory McIlroy with a 63 in the final round to win the Valero Texas Open in April, marking the third PGA Tour victory of his career. Any Tour victory is a big deal, but an added bonus was that it came the week before the Masters, which earned Laird a spot in the field at August National. READ MORE. 

13. Esteban Toledo, who lived in Castle Pines for several years in the last decade, had a memorable rookie season on the Champions Tour, to the point that he was seriously in the running for the Rookie of the Year award.

After going through Q-school to qualify for the circuit, Toledo won twice in his first full Champions season, both times in playoffs. The first victory for the native of Mexico came, appropriately enough, on Cinco de Mayo.

12. In a year in which the CGA announced it was discontinuing the CGA Public Links Championship, Derek Fribbs (left) sent the tournament out with a bang.

Fribbs shot an 8-under-par 62 in the final round to win by six with a 17-under-par total for 54 holes. The next day, he shot 66-65 to qualify for U.S. Publinks. That gave Fribbs a 64.8 stroke average for five tournament rounds over four days.

Fribbs went on to claim the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Award.

11. Former University of Colorado golfer Emily Talley competed in two of Golf Channel’s Big Break competitions, and she won the season-ender, Big Break NFL, along with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and Isaac Sanchez.

The victory was worth $50,000 cash and a spot in the Shoprite LPGA Classic. READ MORE. 

10. Evergreen resident Craig Stadler looked as if his days of winning Champions Tour events were over. But after an 8-year, 9-month victory drought, the former Masters champion claimed a title in the Encompass Championship in June.

Stadler, who had just turned 60, set a Champions Tour record for longest time between wins. READ MORE. 

9. Vail resident Harry Johnson hadn’t won an individual CGA championship or qualified for a USGA championship before this year, but he certainly made up for lost time. At age 63, he swept the CGA’s Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play championships, becoming one of the oldest winners of both events. He also qualified for the USGA Senior Amateur.

8. It’s ironic that when Golf World magazine recently published a list of state champions in various events, it left off Keith Humerickhouse and his victory in the CGA Mid-Amateur. It was a bad one to exclude.

It was in that tournament that Humerickhouse became just the third player in history to win the same CGA championship for four consecutive years. And keep in mind that CGA championships have been contested since 1901. READ MORE. 

Beyond that, the Eagle-based golfer made it to the round of 16 at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he defeated two-time champion Tim Jackson in the process.

7. For the first time in history, all three Colorado Open championships were won by Coloradans. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale prevailed in the Senior Open, Zahkai Brown of Arvada in the Open and Becca Huffer of Denver in the Women’s Open.

Huffer, a two-time state high school champion, won despite battling a severe case of tendinitis in her wrist. And Brown shot 64-64 on the weekend to claim the top spot.

6. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton retired from CWGA championships after sweeping the CWGA individual senior titles in 2013 and winning 21 times in her 41-year CWGA career.

Eaton, who won six state titles in 2013 (three in Arizona, two in Colorado and one in California), was named to Global Golf Post’s Women’s Senior Amateur first team for her performance this year. READ MORE. 

5. Doug Rohrbaugh’s 2013 season was one for the ages, at least by the standards of a Coloradan who’s 51 years old. The head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship for the second straight year, and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. In the case of the last of the three, he may be the oldest winner of the tournament ever.

Beyond that, he qualified for the U.S. Senior Open for the second straight year and finished third in the HealthOne Colorado Open. He also made it to the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying.

If all that weren’t enough, Rohrbaugh’s son, Tristan, won the 3A state high school title and signed a letter of intent to play college golf at Boise State.

4. Mark Wiebe of Aurora hadn’t won a Champions Tour event since 2011, but ended that drought in grand fashion. When he beat Bernhard Langer in a playoff that lasted five holes, Wiebe claimed the first major championship of his career, the Senior British Open. READ MORE. 

And that wasn’t all Wiebe accomplished in 2013. With his victory in the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship, he won twice in the course of eight weeks, and for the fifth time in his Champions Tour career.

3. In a move that should pay dividends for years to come, the Colorado Golf Foundation was launched early in 2013, thanks to a seven-figure lead gift from philanthropist George Solich.

The foundation — chaired by former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., managed on a day-to-day basis by the CGA, and guided by a board of directors and additional advisors — will provide assistance “for innovative programs that use the game of golf to instill hard work and self-reliance in young people.”

Look for the foundation to make a major difference through worthwhile youth-oriented golf programs for a long time to come. READ MORE. 

2. The torrential rain that produced flooding in many areas of Colorado in September had a big impact on golf, as it did on many other aspects of life in the state.

Many Colorado golf courses were affected over the short term (a week or less), but a handful or so suffered more significant damage. That included Coal Creek in Louisville, CommonGround in Aurora, Mariana Butte in Loveland, Twin Peaks in Longmont and Pelican Lakes in Windsor.

In some instances, getting back to normal will take well into 2014. In the case of Coal Creek and the estimated $3.5 million in damage it suffered, the course is closed and may not reopen until 2015.

Meanwhile, a couple of other Colorado courses closed for good in 2013 for reasons unrelated to the flood. Falling into that category were Gleneagle Golf Club’s course in Colorado Springs and Centre Hills par-3 in Aurora.

1. The Solheim Cup matches between the best American and European women’s players are held in the U.S. just once every four years, and Colorado Golf Club in Parker was the first host site in the western U.S. (Nancy Lopez is pictured at top leading the cheers for the Americans behind the first tee on the final day.)

The six-day event — three practice days and three competition days — drew about 110,000 fans.

The outcome, however, wasn’t what most of the gallery wanted to see: The Europeans, with six Solheim Cup rookies, won the Cup on U.S. soil for the first time. The 18-10 margin was the biggest in the history of the event.

Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall became the first player to go 5-0 in a single Solheim Cup, while 17-year-old Brit Charley Hull, the youngest player in Solheim history, went 2-1 and beat Paula Creamer in singles. Hull subsequently was named the Best International Newcomer at the 2013 SJA British Sports Awards. READ MORE. 

The U.S. fared far better in the Junior Solheim Cup held at Inverness Golf Club. The Americans, led by captain Kathy Whitworth, defeated the Europeans 14.5-9.5.

Honorable Mention Selections — Former University of Colorado golfer Steve Jones, the 1996 U.S. Open champion, was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. … Two golfers from Valor Christian High School, Ross Macdonald and Jake Staiano, swept the CGA junior championship titles. … Melissa Martin became the seventh player to win three or more CWGA Stroke Play titles. … Former Grand Junction resident Monte Montgomery won his third Rocky Mountain Open. … 2011 HealthOne Colorado Open champion Ben Portie was named coach for the new Metro State women’s golf team. … The University of Denver women’s golf team won its 10th consecutive conference title, this one in the Western Athletic Conference. … Derek Tolan and Tom Glissmeyer, who each qualified for the U.S. Open as 16-year-olds, advanced from the same Local qualifier to the Sectionals, but fell short of returning to the Open. … The CWGA won a national handicap-service award for Best GHIN Service for a Medium Association.

Two Coloradans won junior tournaments with strong national fields — Castle Rock’s Josh Seiple (Jones Cup Junior Invitational) and Centennial’s Hannah Wood (Kathy Whitworth Invitational). … Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim earned her 2014 LPGA Tour card by finishing in the top 10 on the Symetra Tour’s season-long money list. … Part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy advanced to match play in both the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, but in each case she lost to players who would go on to win the national championship. … Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village qualified for the U.S. Amateur for the third time in four years and made it to the round of 64 in match play. … Former Denver resident Mark Hubbard and Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch earned Web.com Tour cards for the first time. … Former U.S. Women’s Public Links champion Annie Young was named women’s golf coach at Colorado State. … Coloradan Paige Crawford won the Big Sky Conference women’s title.
 

The CGA Team Interclub Championship is a breed apart when it comes to golf tournaments.

Where most tourneys last four days or fewer, the 2013 Team Interclub will span 175 days. It began with a couple of regular-season matches on May 5, and it’ll conclude with the championship finals Oct. 27 at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.

What started out as a competition involving a record 64 teams — seven of which later withdrew or forfeited all their matches — will finish on the final Sunday of October when a contingent from Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton squares off with its counterparts from the Golf Club at Bear Dance in Larkspur.

All told, 95 matches will have been played in 2013 in the season-long net match play competition that involves golf clubs from throughout the state.

The “regular season” lasted from May through early August, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advances to the playoffs, which run August through October.

Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.

Either way next weekend’s finals go, a first-time champion will be crowned. This is only the fourth official season for the CGA Team Interclub, with the Ranch Country Club winning in 2010 and Lone Tree Golf Club each of the last two years. This summer, Lone Tree finished third in its regular-season group and failed to advance to the playoffs.

As for the 2013 finalists, the Bear Dance team has appeared to live a charmed life. It won its regular-season group by a single point (57-56) over runner-up Heritage Eagle Bend, then won tiebreakers in both the round of 16 (over Meadow Hills) and quarterfinals (over Sunset) to advance in the single-elimination playoffs. Overall for 2013, Bear Dance sports a record of 3 wins, 1 loss and two ties in its six matches to date. But it did win its semifinal match handily, 28-8 over West Woods.

Todd Creek, meanwhile, has gone 6-0 to this point, outscoring its opponents by a combined 142-74. It defeated 2012 finalist Rifle Creek 22-14 in the semifinals.

Though neither of the semifinals went down to the wire, the previous rounds of the playoffs certainly had their share of nail-biters. In the 11 round-of-16 and quarterfinal matches that were played — one was forfeited — there were five 18-18 ties that had to be broken and three other matches that were decided by four points or fewer.

This year’s number of entries for the CGA Team Interclub — 64 — was up from 59 in 2012, 52 in 2011 and 40 in 2010.

The Team Interclub concludes the 2013 CGA championship season.

For the rosters and pairings for the Oct. 27 competition, CLICK HERE.

Any statistician — or apple buyer, for that matter — knows as much.

That’s what makes the Colorado public golf course Rounds and Revenue Survey, which is compiled by the CGA, an interesting piece of data.

On the one hand, it’s a useful snapshot of what is happening at Colorado public courses on a year-to-year basis. On the other hand, the survey itself obviously doesn’t tell the whole story.

Such is certainly the case this year. The survey points out the fact that, over the first two-thirds of 2013, rounds and green-fee revenue at Colorado public courses dropped on average compared to the same period in 2012. But the “why” is crucial in making use of the numbers.

After good weather in 2012 yielded more than the usual number of playable days for golfers, 2013 hasn’t been nearly as nice to golf operators. April and May were unusually wet, and while the rounds and revenue survey accounts for only January through the end of August, the mid-September rain and flooding were another major setback. That’s not only from the standpoint that several courses sustained major damage, but because of lost business during the prolonged rainy period — and possibly beyond, depending on the course.

The bottom line was this in the report shared Wednesday at the public golf operators meeting held at Lone Tree Golf Club: In the first eight months of the year, rounds at the 76 public courses that responded to the survey were down an average of 8.8 percent compared to the same period in 2012. And green-free revenue dropped about 7 percent on average.

“Last year’s weather was perfect. This year’s weather has been terrible, so I think everybody has learned to adapt,” said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director of the Colorado PGA.

Added CGA executive director Ed Mate: “Last year was an outlier year. That really exacerbated the difference between 2012 and ’13.

“As I say every year, it’s the same number of golfers playing on — fortunately — the same number of courses whatever number of rounds that are available to them based on weather. There’s the same number of golfers, and the same amount of inventory (number of golf courses) the last five years. The only thing that changes year-to-year is weather.”

Proving the point about 2012 being abnormally good, weather-wise, is that when comparing the first eight months of 2013 to the average of the last five years, the decline in rounds was far less pronounced, generally speaking.

“From everybody I’ve heard and talked to at different golf courses, in some cases rounds are down but revenue has been pretty good,” Ainsworth said. “They’ve made the necessary adjustments in managing their facilities, so I think net they’re pretty good.

“Everybody was making a strong comeback from the bad spring we had until we had all that rain in September.”

While officials from most of the courses represented at Wednesday’s meeting indicated that they experienced less than five days of interruption of business due to the torrential rainfall, some courses — such as Coal Creek, CommonGround and Mariana Butte — have sustained considerable damage because of flooding. Coal Creek is closed indefinitely and CommonGround and Mariana Butte have less than 18 holes open.

Meanwhile, another public facility, the nine-hole par-3 course at Centre Hills in Aurora, closed as of Sept. 30 because it was no longer financially viable for Aurora Golf to keep it open.

While the ups and downs of the weather can’t be controlled, golf leaders like Mate and Ainsworth are generally optimistic over the long haul because they’re confident that “growth of the game” initiatives that continue to be implemented will eventually pay dividends.

Mate was particular encouraged when several operators of multiple courses indicated Wednesday that they’ve added or significantly expanded times when kids can play at their facilities for free. Such courses often take little-utilized tee times late in the day to carve out opportunities for free — or reduced-rate — junior golf.

“The thing I really took away from today is this ‘kids play free’ program has officially gone viral,” Mate said. “It’s taken a while, but it’s now being adopted as an industry standard. Everybody is focused on it because everybody realizes that we lost a whole generation of golfers by being very unfriendly to kids, basically telling them, ‘We don’t want you.’

“And now we’re the opposite. They’re expanding the number of days (free golf is available to juniors); it used to be just weekends. I think it’s fantastic. To me, it’s very, very encouraging. That will change one of the metrics, which is that people playing golf will go up.”

The Colorado PGA has teamed up with the CGA, CWGA and other major golf organizations in the state to greatly expand the Golf in Schools program in recent years, and the Section has made “Get Golf Ready” initiatives a high priority. And now the Colorado PGA has other plans designed to effectively lure juniors into the game — and keep them in it. “Team Golf”, which has been used effectively in Texas to build the participation rate of junior golfers, is among the things on the agenda.

“I think our work is still ahead of us,” Ainsworth said. “We’ve got to grow the base so everything grows. I think our best days are ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of stuff in the pipeline (growth of the game-wise) that’s going to come out next year that I think we’ll be all right.”

More generally speaking, Ainsworth believes that despite the rounds and revenue numbers just released, things are headed in the right direction.

“You saw the hands in the room of the (course operators) who are going to raise fees. That’s a good sign (for the health of the industry),” he said. “A lot of people are getting new equipment; that’s a good sign. To me, there’s a lot of optimistic indicators. When you factor in how bad the weather has been (in 2013), I would say overall it’s been a good year.”
 

But this year’s Colorado tournament schedule isn’t just a one-hit wonder.

Here are some of the other highlights and/or notable golf tournaments the state will host in 2013:

— On May 29, the West Course at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs will be one of just 20 sites nationally where Sectional qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open will be held. Competitors will vie over 36 holes for spots in the 2013 Women’s Open, set for Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., June 27-30.

Last year, the Broadmoor qualifier produced two U.S. Open contestants from Colorado: Becca Huffer and Kelly Jacques (pictured).

— The Broadmoor’s West Course also will host U.S. Senior Open Sectional qualifying. The 18-hole test on June 17 will be one of 34 conducted across the country for the Senior Open, which is scheduled for Omaha Country Club July 11-14.

And though Colorado lost its U.S. Open Sectional qualifier several years ago, three Local qualifying tournaments are set in the state: May 6 at Desert Hawk in Pueblo West and May 13 at Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster and Collindale in Fort Collins.

— Some of the best female junior golfers from the U.S. and Europe will compete against one another in a Solheim Cup-related event in Colorado. The seventh Ping Junior Solheim Cup will be held Aug. 12-14 at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood.

Each team will include 12 players, age 12-18, with the contestants being finalized in July.

World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth will captain the U.S. Junior Solheim Cup team, while Scotland’s Janice Moodie will lead the European squad.

— The PGA Junior Series, which features strong national and local fields for both boys and girls, will return to Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy June 25-27.

Last year’s PGA Junior Series event at Eisenhower Golf Club was canceled at the last minute due to the Waldo Canyon Fire that burned near Colorado Springs.

— The Colorado Cup matches, where some of the best CGA/CWGA amateurs face their counterparts from the Colorado PGA, will be played on just one day this year after traditionally being a two-day affair. The 2013 Cup matches are set for June 5 at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

— In hopes of improving the field for both events, the typical dates of the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open and the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open have been flopped this year. The seniors will compete May 29-31, with the women set for Sept. 4-6, and Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver again will host both tournaments.

The HealthOne Colorado Open will remain in its usual date slot, with the tournament scheduled for July 25-28 at GVR.

— As for the state’s top amateur championships, here’s the lineup: the CGA Match Play, first held in 1901, July 8-12 at Bear Creek Golf Club; the CGA Stroke Play, which dates back to 1937, Aug. 8-11 at Pinehurst Country Club; the CWGA Stroke Play, originally held in 1948, June 26-28 at the Ranch Country Club; and the CWGA Match Play, first contested in 1916, July 15-17 at the Club at Rolling Hills.

— Neither the boys nor girls Junior America’s Cup will be held in Colorado this year, but four of the state’s best boys players will have quite a treat this summer.

A year after the Colorado Girls’ Junior America’s Cup team got to compete in Maui, it’s the boys’ turn this time to head to Hawaii. The squad representing the CGA will play in the event July 30-Aug. 1. The girls, meanwhile, will be in Albuquerque this year, on the same dates.

— For the first time in recent years, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship — the highlight of the Colorado PGA tournament schedule — will be contested on the Western Slope. This summer’s tournament is set for Sept. 9-11 at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

— The Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, which combines a college tournament with a high school all-star event, is set for Sept. 23-24 at Erie’s Colorado National Golf Club. The University of Colorado will host the tournament, which includes a separate competition — the CJGA Collegiate High School Invitational — featuring about 10 of the best boys players in the state.

— Top CJGA players will have the pleasure of competing at Cherry Hills Country Club — home of the PGA Tour’s 2014 BMW Championship — for the CJGA Tournament of Champions Oct. 5-6. A couple of months earlier, the CJGA 14-18 Junior Series Championship will go out of the norm in being held at two sites: Colorado Springs Country Club Aug. 5 and the Country Club of Colorado Aug. 6.