Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster earned CWGA Player of the Year honors in 2014, and she gave the association no reason to unseat her this year.

Kupcho, now a freshman at Wake Forest, this fall became the fifth person to claim the CWGA Player of the Year award for two consecutive years, joining McKenzie Dyslin (2001-02), Kelly Schaub (2005-06), Kim Eaton (2009-10) and Somin Lee (2011-12).

The CWGA started selecting players of the year in 1995.

In choosing Kupcho (left), the CWGA is honoring not only its best, but one of the top women amateurs in the world. Kupcho is 71st in the most recent women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. And only a couple of months into her freshman season, she’s also ranked among the top 100 women’s college golfers in the country.

Kupcho is one of three golfers who were recently selected for CWGA player of the year honors. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Eaton was selected senior player of the year for the sixth time in the last seven years (she didn’t compete in CWGA championships in 2014). And Mary Weinstein, a Regis Jesuit High School senior who recently signed a letter of intent with Regis University, was chosen junior player of the year.

Kupcho, a graduate of Jefferson Academy, landed a CWGA player of the year honor for the fifth time, having earned the junior award in 2012, ’13 and ’14.

The 18-year-old had won tournaments by eye-opening margins in previous years, but outdid herself in 2015. She claimed the CWGA Stroke Play Championship by a remarkable 21 shots at Pinehurst Country Club, where she posted a 16-under-par 200 total for three rounds (68-65-67).

And a year after winning the 4A girls state high school title by 14 shots, she prevailed by 10 in 2015.

“It’s real exciting to be playing as well as I am,” Kupcho said at the CWGA Stroke Play. “To just be one of the best players in Colorado is cool.”

But Kupcho’s talents know no state boundaries. After qualifying for her second U.S. Women’s Amateur, she advanced to the final 16 in match play, losing to Hannah O’Sullivan, who went on to win the national championship.

Kupcho also made it to the round of 16 at the Women’s Western National Amateur Championship, the round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (with Gillian Vance), and finished third at the Big “I” National Championship after winning the state title.

In her first four college tournaments, Kupcho posted an impressive three top-10 finishes as a Wake Forest freshman. She leads the Demon Deacons in stroke average (73.25).

Elsewhere, Kupcho was a semifinalist in the 100th CWGA Match Play and finished third among the girls in the inaugural AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. And she was the Sportswomen of Colorado’s golf honoree in 2015.

As for Eaton (left), soon she might need a separate trophy case for all the CWGA player of the year trophies she’s won. This not only makes her sixth senior player of the year honor since the Greeley native turned 50 in 2009, but she’s been the overall POY four times since 2004. That’s in addition to being the Arizona Women’s Golf Association senior player of the year four times.

This year, she “unretired” from CWGA championship play and finished runner-up to Jill Gaschler in the Senior Stroke Play. But Eaton, now a full-time resident of Arizona, won the AWGA State Amateur Seniors Championship in October, giving her 16 state senior titles when factoring in stroke-play and match-play events in Colorado (6), Arizona (9) and California (1).

Eaton, a three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist, made match play again in that event this year, but lost in the round of 64 to eventual national champion Karen Garcia of Cool, Calif., after placing 10th in the stroke-play portion of the tournament.

Weinstein (left) had a breakout year in 2015, mainly in the junior ranks, though she did finish a distant second to Kupcho in the CWGA Stroke Play. She won both the CWGA Junior Stroke Play and the CJGA Junior Series Championship, and was runner-up in the CJGA Tournament of Champions.

A new member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course, Weinstein placed 15th in the prestigious IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships, marking the best finish ever by a Coloradan in the girls 15-17 age group there. The Highlands Ranch resident also represented Colorado at the USGA Women’s State Team Championship and at the Girls Junior Americas Cup. Overall, she won four CJGA tournaments in 2015.

Mark and Lynn Cramer have run the Denver Golf Expo for the last 15 years, and never before last weekend had the weather — and what came with it — wreaked such havoc with the show’s attendance.

After being about 350 attendees ahead of last year’s day 1 pace after a very nice February weather day on Friday, the bottom fell out on Saturday and Sunday. With a snowstorm hitting the metro area hard starting on Saturday afternoon, and several local broadcasters advising people not to go out unless they had to, it had an unmistakable effect at the Expo.

Attendance for the three-day show that ended on Sunday at the Denver Mart came in at 7,195, the lowest number for the Expo since 2002. The total was down 24 percent from last year’s 9,486, and it’s more than a third less than the Expo’s record of 11,202, set in 2008.

“I don’t know if it’s so much the weather, or the media hyperbole about the weather,” Mark Cramer said on Monday. “It was a good storm, but it wasn’t the storm of the century and the sky wasn’t falling. They were overly hyper about it. There were news teams yesterday telling people to stay home. It was very disappointing. They don’t realize how badly they hurt small businesses.

“It’s unfortunate that the media does what the media does to make themselves relevant. It’s at no cost to them at all. They’re creating a bigger story.”

The amount of snow from the storm varied widely over the metro area, with some areas receiving 6 inches and others 20.

With about 2,300 fewer people attending the show than last year, it’s no surprise that other numbers associated with the Expo took a hit also:

— The Used Club Sale (pictured at top), which raises money for junior golf development programs through the Colorado Golf Foundation, netted $11,845 over the weekend. While that was solid compared to the 13-year average for the Used Club Sale, it was down about 18 percent from last year.

“The attendance was down and the weather played a major role,” said CGA director of junior competitions Eric Wilkinson, who was overseeing the Used Club Sale. “Both Saturday and Sunday things cleared out earlier than normal.”

Taking the weather into account, the CGA was happy the Used Club Sale raised what it did. The sale has netted almost $60,000 for junior golf over the last four years combined.

“Anytime we can raise that amount for the program, it’s great,” said Wilkinson, who is leaving the CGA this week to become championship assistant for the 2016 Ryder Cup. “The golf community has been generous, as always. This year we had more quantity and not as much quality, but it was still a success for us. It’s still a large number to raise for the Foundation and junior golf. We’d like to thank all the donors.”

— Meanwhile, Colorado PGA professionals provided 483 free 10-minute lessons to Expo attendees. That total was down about 9 percent from 2014.

— Over the three days, 235 kids went through the Junior Golf Central area (left), participating in the Drive Chip & Putt Experience. That was off about 22 percent compared to the number of juniors who took part in the Expo’s Junior Golf Experience in 2014.

The bottom line for the Expo is that no matter how well show organizers and the golf industry — including the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA — prepare and plan for the event, the overall success is still somewhat dependent on things that are out of the control of them all.

Things like the weather and related issues.

“I was talking to Lynn this morning and she said we did everything right; we did a very good job,” Mark Cramer said. “We were very well organized and had a lot of participation from the golf industry. But a major winter storm and the media scaring the (heck) out of people doesn’t help. But this is the first time a major storm has hit us like this (during the Expo). We had always been pretty fortunate.”

Colorado’s annual February golf shindig — also known as the Denver Golf Expo — will be held this weekend for the 22nd consecutive year.

The show, set for Friday through Sunday (Feb. 20-22) at the Denver Mart just east of I-25 on 58th Ave., as always is designed to whet the appetite of local golfers as the season approaches. There are deals on everything from equipment to green fees to travel, instruction and educational seminars for golfers of all ages, a demo area, contests, some fun for kids and much more. Typically, about 10,000 people attend the three-day event.

Let’s hit on some of the Expo’s 2015 highlights:

— The popular Used Club Sale this year will feature not only clubs and equipment, but clothing from the 2014 BMW Championship PGA Tour playoff event that Cherry Hills Country Club hosted in September. All the net proceeds from the sale go to the Colorado Golf Foundation, with the money benefiting junior golf development programs. The sale raised $14,400 last year and about $32,000 over the last two years combined.

Those who still wish to donate quality used equipment for the sale can bring it to the Denver Mart on Thursday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

— As part of its centennial celebration this year, the CGA will display its new logo to the public at the Expo. And all CGA members who visit the association’s booth near the entrance to the Expo will receive a CGA centennial ball marker.

Both the CGA and CWGA — which will have an exhibit nearby the CGA’s — will be informing non-members about the many benefits of membership, and telling people about their core programs. And the CWGA will be encouraging women to sign up for one of its CWGA Experience events, golf outings that combine small-group instruction with some fun social interaction with other women interested in the game. The CWGA will be giving out mementos to members who show their GHIN cards — or the smart-photo equivalent.

— As has been the case for years, Colorado PGA professionals will provide free 10-minute lessons to interested attendees.

— The newly rebranded “Junior Golf Central” — formerly known as the Junior Golf Experience — will cater to the younger set. This year, Junior Golf Central will have a theme based around the new nationwide Drive, Chip & Putt junior skills competition that culminates at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday before the Masters. Each of those three skills will be emphasized at JGC, which will feature a running leaderboard. And the long drives of the youngsters will be announced over the public address system.

— The Colorado PGA, CGA and others will lead educational seminars, with a dozen scheduled over the course of three days. Look below in the “Essentials” area for specific themes and times for the seminars.

— The club demo area, sponsored by Lenny’s Golf, is another popular feature of the Expo, with attendees able to try out clubs that could be difference-makers in their games.

— Some contests will be held — with prizes available — including a long putt challenge and a closest to the pin challenge.

— And, of course, many of the exhibitors give special deals at the Expo. This year, about 135 exhibitors are expected to be on hand. CLICK HERE for a list.

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Denver Golf Expo: Just the Essentials

What: 22nd annual Denver Golf Expo.

When: Friday through Sunday (Feb. 20-22). Open Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Denver Mart (58th Ave., just east of I-25).

Tickets:
Adults, $13; Seniors, $11; Military with I.D., $11; Kids 16 and Under, $3. Available by CLICKING HERE, at King Soopers or at the Denver Mart during Expo days.

Scheduled Educational Seminars:
— Short Game Myths and How Tour Players Hit the Spinning Pitch Shot (Patrick Nuber, PGA), Friday, 11 a.m.
— Par Plan: Break Your Personal Par in 30 Days (Andy Hilts, PGA), Friday, noon
— Prior Teacher of the Year Panel (Ty Walker, Patrick Nuber, Andy Hilts), Friday, 1:30 p.m.
— Uncommon, But Effective Practice Methods (Tom Gibbs, PGA), Friday, 3 p.m.
— Rules of Golf (CGA), Friday, 4 p.m.
— Putting/Short Game/Learning Styles (Don Graham, PGA), Saturday, 11 a.m.
— Colorado Golf Fitness Club (Dee Tidwell), Saturday, noon
— The Difference Between Your Driver & Irons, and How to Take Your Game to the Course (Trent Wearner, PGA), Saturday, 1 p.m.
— GolfSquid (Gary Robinson), Saturday, 2 p.m.
— Navigating College Golf Recruiting (Dustin Jensen, CGA), Saturday, 3 p.m.
— The Importance of Club Fitting (Corey Butler, PGA), Sunday, noon
— Rules of Golf (CGA), Sunday, 1 p.m.

More information: CLICK HERE.

The Denver Golf Expo has undergone plenty of tweaking over its 21-year run. There’s always something that gets changed from year to year in attempts to make the show better or to attract more attendees.

This winter’s 22nd annual Expo will be no different in that respect. And for the first time in recent years, one of those alterations will involve a small but notable change of dates.

In recent years, the Expo has been a fixture at the Denver Mart (58th Ave. and I-25) during the first two weeks of February — usually the second weekend of the month. In the past half-dozen years, it’s always been held sometime between Feb. 6-14. But this year, the 10,000 or so regular attendees of the show will mark a different set of dates on their calendar.

With show organizers especially aware of not wanting to compete against the Super Bowl (Feb. 1 this year) or Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), the Expo will have some of its latest dates ever, Feb. 20-22 — two weeks later than last year.

“We never want to be up against the Super Bowl, and Valentine’s Day is historically not good for us,” said Mark Cramer, who owns and operates the Denver Golf Expo along with his wife, Lynn. “Couples are doing couples’ things that day — understandably so — and attendance drops off.”

Attendance for the Expo has fallen each of the last three years, so perhaps a date change might help in that regard. As always, much will depend on the weather that weekend. But Cramer is taking some proactive steps to attract more visitors to the show.

Most notably, in order reach more people who might attend, Cramer hired a Boulder-based internet marketing firm to rebuild the Expo web site (denvergolfexpo.com) and help with search-engine optimization. That search-engine work is designed to give the show an even higher profile among golf fans, particularly in the weeks and days leading up to the Expo.

“Everything is going mobile and internet regarding marketing and advertising; newspaper, TV and radio and not pulling like they used to,” Cramer said. “All the years I’ve done this (since July of 2000), every year I hear ‘I forgot about it or didn’t see any advertising’. It drives me nuts because we always spend a lot of money on advertising in order to get as many people in as we can. So I hope what we’re doing will pop up in attendance.”

And, as in recent years, the Expo will run ads locally during telecasts of tour events as the show approaches.

During the Expo itself, Cramer is planning more interactive activities, as attendees have requested through surveys.

As has regularly been the case since the Cramers began running the Denver Golf Expo, the CGA, CWGA, CJGA and Colorado PGA will have a major presence at the show, hoping to grow the game by reaching out to attendees.

Among their efforts will be the Used Club Sale (pictured above), which benefits junior developmental programs; the newly renamed “Junior Golf Central” for kids; the Colorado PGA’s free 10-minute golf lessons; and educational seminars that will take place throughout the Expo, including the USGA Handicap Seminar that CGA and CWGA staffers will conduct.

In addition, as part of the CGA’s centennial year celebration in 2015, the association will publicly launch its new logo and branding at the Expo. Both the CGA and CWGA, with adjacent booths at the Denver Mart, will be promoting their core programming and the many and varied services that they provide. CWGA members who show their GHIN membership card — or the smart-phone equivalent — will receive a memento.

The CGA and CJGA continue to accept donations for the Used Club Sale both at their office (5990 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Suite #102, in Greenwood Village) and at the PGA Tour Superstore (9451 E. Arapahoe Road, just east of I-25) during normal business hours. For those who can’t travel to donate clubs, the CGA/CJGA can pick up donations in the metro area. To arrange for that, call 303-366-4653. Reminder: The associations no longer accept clubs on consignment for the Used Club Sale — just straight donations.

Junior Golf Central, which evolved out of the Junior Golf Experience (left), will have a “Drive, Chip and Putt” theme this year, playing off the championship of the same name that was launched in 2013 by the Masters Tournament Foundation, the USGA and the PGA of America. The DC&P Championship is a free nationwide junior skills competition — designed to promote interest and participation in golf — that culminates each year on the Sunday before the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Drive, Chip and Putt holds local and regional qualifiers throughout the U.S. for boys and girls age 7-15. This year, local qualifiers will be conducted in June and July in Colorado (CLICK HERE for sites), with winners advancing to the sub-regional Aug. 30 at CommonGround Golf Course. From there, the top players go to Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., for the regionals on Sept. 19.

At the Denver Golf Expo, each of the three skills (drive, chip and putt) will be part of Junior Golf Central. The Colorado PGA, which hosts the local and sub-regional DC&P qualifiers in the state, will have a running leaderboard throughout the weekend. And the long drives for kids will be announced over the public-address system.

All in all, Cramer hopes the efforts of event organizers and participants make for a better show than ever.

“We always try to hit all the right bases,” he said.

For a list of exhibitors who plan to participate in the Denver Golf Expo, CLICK HERE.
 

For the 43-year period from 1972 through 2014, there’s been only one year (2007) that Colorado hasn’t hosted a significant tour event or a major national/international amateur golf competition.

The LPGA Tour held tournaments in the state for 16 consecutive years beginning in 1972. The Senior/Champions Tour had a six-year run in Colorado beginning in 1982. And the PGA Tour visited annually from 1986-2006 thanks to The International at Castle Pines Golf Club. In addition, there were numerous USGA championships and other big events held in the Centennial State during that time span.

And since The International exited, Colorado has hosted the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2008, the 2009 Palmer Cup (a Ryder Cup-like competition for the best college players), the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2012 U.S. Amateur, the 2013 Solheim Cup and Junior Solheim Cup, and the 2014 BMW Championship.

If nothing else, the state deserves an “A” for variety of major golf events in recent years.

But with the calendar having just flipped over to 2015, this year is an anomaly by Colorado standards. No major tour is paying a visit, nor is a major national/international amateur event.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a healthy smattering of significant and/or out of the ordinary championships to look forward to in Colorado golf and the surrounding area in 2015.

Here is a sampling of such events:

— 100th CWGA Match Play Championship: The CWGA Match Play was first contested in 1916, making it by far the oldest continuously played statewide women’s golf championship in Colorado. CWGA records list Mrs. M.A. McLaughlin, the wife of the first president of the CGA, as the winner of the first two Match Plays, in 1916 at Colorado Springs Country Club and ’17 at Denver Country Club.

The event has been played every year since — and now has a senior championship held concurrently. Among the winners of the tournament is Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Joan Birkland (a four-time champ), who won both state golf and tennis championships in the 1960s.

The 100th CWGA Match Play will be held July 7-9 at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton.

— Inaugural AJGA Hale Irwin Junior: Some of the best junior golfers in the nation — both boys and girls — will compete at CommonGround Golf Course as the AJGA returns to Colorado for the first time since 2013.

Hale Irwin, winner of four CGA championships, a Colorado state high school title and an NCAA championship while at the University of Colorado, will lend his name to this new event. The inaugural tournament is set for June 2-4, with a qualifying round scheduled for May 31 and a Junior-Am on June 1. CommonGround, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA, served as one of the two courses for the stroke-play portion of the 2012 U.S. Amateur that Cherry Hills hosted.

— Women’s Pac-12 Conference Championships: Many of the best women’s college golfers in the world will come to Colorado for the Pac-12 Conference tournament that Boulder Country Club will host April 20-22.

Despite LPGA Tour qualifying prompting three of the conference’s top players to turn pro last month, four of the current top six teams in the nation, according to Golfweek — Washington, UCLA, Stanford and Southern California — will be among those competing in Boulder. In addition, the defending NCAA Division I champion (Doris Chen of USC) will be on hand.

— Girls’ Junior America’s Cup in Cheyenne: Though Cheyenne obviously isn’t in Colorado, it’s right across the state line — and just 100 miles from Denver. Cheyenne Country Club will host the 2015 Girls’ Junior Americas Cup competition that features some of the best female junior players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. The dates of the tournament are July 28-30.

Colorado fields one of the 18 teams that annually participate in the Girls’ Junior Americas Cup.

Meanwhile, here are the 2015 dates and sites for some of the top tournaments held annually in Colorado:

— June 3-5: HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

— July 6-10: CGA Match Play, Broadmoor Mountain Course.

— July 7-9: CWGA Match Play, Raccoon Creek Golf Course.

— July 21-23: CWGA Stroke Play, Pinehurst Country Club.

— July 23-26: HealthOne Colorado Open, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

— Aug. 13-16: CGA Stroke Play, CommonGround Golf Course.

— Sept. 14-16: Colorado PGA Professional Championship, Meridian Golf Club.

Note: The dates for the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open haven’t been finalized, but they are expected to fall in the second half of August.
 

Who would have thought that an event summarized in two newspaper paragraphs — fewer than 60 words — would have such a longstanding and ever-growing impact?

On Aug. 21, 1915, a small item appeared in the Denver Post under the headline, “M’LAUGHLIN HEADS GOLF ASSOCIATION”. The “short” — as it is often referred to by newsroom staffers — notes the events of Aug. 20, detailing a newly formed organization called the Colorado Golf Association and the election of its officers, including president M.A. McLaughlin.

The story further reports on the other officers elected and says, “The organization will control the state tournaments, give the cups and appoint the officers, and the winner will be the recognized champion of the association and state.”

One hundred years after that humble beginning, the CGA’s mission has expanded dramatically over the decades, and the association moves forward as a steward for the traditions and future of golf in the state. And now the CGA is gearing up to celebrate its centennial throughout 2015. That will culminate with a Century of Golf Gala, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 14. At that event, a number of Colorado golf’s all-time luminaries will be honored, and both the history and future of golf in the state will be celebrated.

During the coming year, the CGA plans to unveil a new logo along with artwork that will highlight a century of golf in Colorado. Also on the docket are a monthly series of articles — published on COgolf.org and in the first-of-each-month CGA Revision newsletters throughout the year. A decade at a time since the CGA’s founding — 1915-24, 1925-34, etc. — will be focused on in each of the series of stories, with the last article of the year being a look-ahead.

In addition, the CGA will hold a season-long fundraising event that will support the Colorado Golf Foundation and benefit its many programs that foster youth development through golf. That event will be called “100 Holes for 100 Years”, and participants will raise money through donations pledged for a personalized golf-related activity centering around the number 100. For instance, a person could play 100 holes in a day, or in another set period of time. Or participants can add any twist they’d like to the event, as long as it involves the number 100.

“The goal is to raise awareness and engage the golf community to play golf for a purpose,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate. “It will get the whole state involved.”

The CGA plans to set up an internet portal in which the financial aspects of 100 Holes for 100 Years will be handled. Details about that will be forthcoming.

“Why we’re doing all this is to advance golf in Colorado,” Mate said. “It’s not just a celebration, but that’s the driving force behind it all. We want to seize on the centennial to position the CGA, the community of golf and the Colorado Golf Foundation for the next 100 years. We want to make sure that the game not only will be around, but will be thriving.”

As for the upcoming series of stories focusing on the last century of Colorado golf, there is certainly no lack of history having been made in the Centennial State. Just consider this list of golf “firsts” that occurred in Colorado:

— Arnold Palmer won his only U.S. Open in Colorado, in 1960 at Cherry Hills Country Club. (Palmer is pictured at left tossing his visor in celebration on the 18th green.)

— Jack Nicklaus won the first and last of his eight USGA championships in Colorado, prevailing in the 1959 U.S. Amateur at the Broadmoor and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open at Cherry Hills.

— Phil Mickelson won his only USGA event (to date) in Colorado, the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills.

— Annika Sorenstam made the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor the first of her 72 LPGA Tour victories.

— Frank Woodward of Denver, who won the first CGA championship ever in 1901, was elected the first president of the United States Golf Association from the western U.S.

— In 1959 at Wellshire Golf Course, Bill Wright became the first African-American golfer to win a USGA championship, in his case the U.S. Amateur Public Links title.

— In 1996, Judy Bell of Colorado Springs became the only female president in the history of the USGA.

— And just recently, Colorado Golf Club was the site of the first victory on U.S. soil by a European team in the Solheim Cup.

Winners of big tournaments in Colorado have included a who’s who of golf: Besides Palmer, Nicklaus, Sorenstam and Mickelson, that list features Babe Zaharias, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Kathy Whitworth, Hale Irwin, Greg Norman, JoAnne Carner, Judy Rankin, Juli Inkster, Pat Bradley, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Hubert Green, Betsy King, Amy Alcott and Davis Love.

The centennial series will explore all that and much, much more. After all, a lot has happened, golf-wise, in Colorado since that two-paragraph story appeared in the Denver Post during World War I.
 

In fact, there will be five such events held in Colorado next month. We’ll give a rundown on those later in this story, but first let’s note the two new or reinstated tournaments on the local schedule — both set for after the September rush.

First, as has been previously reported, the University of Denver women’s program will bring back the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate Oct. 10-12 at Highlands Ranch Golf Club. The tournament was last held in 2009. Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, was a major supporter of DU athletics, and in 2011, the Moore family donated Highlands Ranch Golf Club to the university.

But the real eye-catching college tournament that will be conducted in Colorado during the 2014-15 season will be the Pac-12 Conference Women’s Championships, set for April 20-22 at Boulder Country Club.

The University of Colorado, of course, switched to the Pac-12 three years ago, but this is the golf program’s first chance to host the conference championships. And what a conference it is from a women’s golf perspective.

Barring the unforeseen, the field at Boulder Country Club in the spring will include the defending NCAA Division I champion (Doris Chen of Southern California) and three other top-seven finishers from the 2014 national finals (Lauren Kim of Stanford, Manon Gidali of Arizona and Louise Ridderstrom of UCLA). Also expected to be on hand at BCC are Alison Lee of UCLA, currently the No. 3-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world, and Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State, presently No. 9 among the world’s top women’s amateurs.

The Pac-12 field in Boulder will feature four of the top seven team finishers from the 2014 NCAA finals — Southern California (second), UCLA (third), Arizona State (fifth) and Arizona (seventh) — along with seven of the top 22.

And besides CU hosting and competing in the event, adding local flavor will be the presence of former longtime University of Denver coach Sammie Chergo, who is just beginning her first season as head coach at Oregon State.

As for the men’s golfers from Colorado-based Division I programs, four of the five local teams (Air Force, Colorado, Colorado State and Northern Colorado) will begin their seasons at Air Force’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational Sept. 6-7 at Eisenhower Golf Club. Other Division I tournaments set for Colorado are CSU’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club Sept. 15-16, and the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie Sept. 29-30.

On the women’s side, September tournaments in Colorado include CSU’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins Sept. 8-9, and the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott Sept. 22-24.

Here’s a rundown of all this season’s NCAA Division I tournaments scheduled in Colorado, with the local participating teams:

MEN

Sept. 6-7 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy (Air Force, CU, CSU, UNC).

Sept. 15-16 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC (CSU, DU, Air Force, UNC).

Sept. 29-30 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie (CU, DU, Air Force, UNC).

WOMEN

Sept. 8-9 — Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins (CU, CSU, UNC)

Sept. 22-24 — Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott (CU, DU)

Oct. 10-12 — Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, Highlands Ranch GC (DU, UNC)

April 20-22 — Pac-12 Conference Women’s Championships, Boulder CC (CU)