Following up from last week, when we started our two-part retrospective on the top Colorado golf stories of 2016 (CLICK HERE for the first installment), we continue our countdown with the top dozen stories of the year — in reverse order. And at the end, included is a list of honorable-mention selections.

12. For Whom the Bell Tolls: Judy Bell of Colorado Springs, the first female president in the long history of the USGA, received the USGA’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award, during U.S. Open week. READ MORE.

11. Jobe’s Big Rookie Year on PGA Tour Champions: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe made quite an impression in his freshman season on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, chalking up seven top-10 finishes and winning $900,000. Most impressive was notching top-five finishes in three PGA Tour Champions majors, the Senior PGA, Senior Players and the Senior British Open.

10. Good Idea Yields Big Dividends: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Gary Potter had an idea that turned into a big winner for the Hall of Fame: the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame Classic 100, in which participants garnered pledges and then played 100 holes for a couple of good causes. The event raised more than $95,000 for the History of Golf in Colorado Foundation — a 501c3 which benefits the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and its museum — and for youth programs. READ MORE.

9. Going Low: Three golfers with strong Colorado ties went low — meaning really low — in tournament golf in 2016.

— University of Colorado senior Esther Lee set a women’s NCAA record for single-round scoring relative to par when she shot an 11-under-par 61 en route to victory in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque.

— Denver resident James Love went still lower in carding a 12-under-par 59 in the first stage of Web.com Tour Q-school in St. George, Utah.

— Tom Whitney of Fort Collins didn’t just win his second consecutive Waterloo Open, but he did so after firing a 12-under-par 60 in the final round.

8. A Happy Duck: Wyndham Clark of Highlands Ranch had a very impressive start to his one and only season as a University of Oregon golfer. The five-time U.S. Amateur qualifier finished the fall portion of the college season ranked No. 1 in the nation (according to Golfstat’s head-to-head player standings and the Haskins Award watch list) or No. 2 (Golfweek). The fifth-year senior finished second, third and sixth in fall tournaments, and went 2-0 in the match-play portion of the East Lake Cup. The third-place showing came at the inaugural Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

7. A Paige from Her Book: Paige Spiranac, who grew up partly in Colorado and won the 2015 CWGA Match Play, didn’t compete on a major tour in 2016, but that didn’t keep her from being a major player in golf. Her good looks and huge social media presence helped put her on the cover of the May edition of Golf Digest (left). The “Innovators and Influencers” issue included the cover headline, “Social Star Paige Spiranac Leads the Innovators and Influencers of 2016”. Later in the year, Spiranac finished ninth in her first CoBank Colorado Women’s Open. READ MORE.

6. CWGA Centennial: A year after the CGA celebrated its 100th anniversary, the CWGA had its centennial shindig — or rather, a series of them. One hundred years after its 1916 founding, the CWGA recalled highlights from its past while looking to the future. Featured events were the CWGA annual meeting at Inverness; Denver Country Club following up hosting CWGA major championships in the association’s 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary years by holding the 2016 CWGA Stroke Play; and a centennial tournament at Hiwan Golf Club. During the year, the CWGA gave out centennial honors for outstanding volunteers and players and exceptional friends of the association. READ MORE.

5. Innovative Year for Colorado Open Championships: With CoBank coming on board as title sponsor of the three Colorado Open Championships, change was the name of the game. Most notably, the purse for the Colorado Open doubled, to $250,000, with the winner’s portion more than quadrupling, to $100,000, the most for a state open. READ MORE.

And, leading up to the three championships (Senior, Open and Women’s), the Open held a series of kids clinics conducted by, respectively, well-known tour players Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer and Paula Creamer. 

4. Eaton One of World’s Top Senior Women’s Players: It was an appropriate culmination to the competitive season for Kim Eaton. Late last month, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer was named one of Global Golf Post’s 11 players on the women’s senior amateur first team — as in, the best players in the world in that category. During 2016, Eaton advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur for the fourth time in eight years, won the senior title in the prestigious Ione D. Jones/Doherty national women’s amateur championship and the Women’s Trans National Four-Ball crown with teammate Leigh Klasse. In state events, Eaton prevailed in the CWGA Senior Match Play for the third time and was named the CWGA Senior Player of the Year for the seventh time in eight years. And in Arizona, where Eaton now resides, the 57-year-old won not only the AWGA State Amateur Seniors Championship, but the open-age-division title in the AWGA State Amateur Stroke Play. She captured both the Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year awards from the AWGA this year.

3. Year of Loss: Every year brings notable deaths, but in 2016 the Colorado golf community lost more than its usual number of prominent members. Included were Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Will Nicholson Jr., Jim English, Bill Bisdorf and Ed Nosewicz, along with golf writer Tom Kensler, golf professional Bob McNamee, and former amateur standouts Mick Brethower and Bob Heiny. Then there was the passing of Arnold Palmer, winner at Cherry Hills Country Club of the 1960 U.S. Open, which this year was ranked the most memorable moment in U.S. Open history.

2. Kupcho Soars to New Heights: Jennifer Kupcho was certainly no stranger to followers of Colorado golf before this year. But the Westminster resident took things to another level in 2016, becoming, arguably, the most accomplished young female golfer in Colorado since Jill McGill, the Cherry Creek High School graduate who won the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the ’94 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links before earning more than $2.3 million in her LPGA Tour career. Kupcho finished an eye-opening sixth as a Wake Forest freshman at the Women’s NCAA Finals. And as a sophomore in the fall, she won not only her first, but her second individual college title, and finished the fall as the top-ranked player in the country, according to Golfstat’s head-to-head player standings. Currently in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, Kupcho sits 15th. On top of her college results, Kupcho and fellow Coloradan Hannah Wood qualified for their first U.S. Women’s Open. And Kupcho swept the major CWGA championships in 2016, becoming the first player to win three consecutive CWGA majors since the late 1980s. She was 31 under par for the week in winning the CWGA Match Play and 13 under par at the Stroke Play, where in round 2 her 65 broke the women’s Denver Country Club course record of 68 shot by none other than world-renowned athlete Babe Zaharias on July 3, 1946. For her stellar season, Kupcho was named the CWGA Player of the Year for an unprecedented third consecutive year, and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year. Whew!

1. Outstanding First Year for Junior Golf Alliance: The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which held its inaugural season in 2016, was a hit on a number of levels. For one thing, it proved what a powerful force a concerted collaborative effort can be. With the CGA and Colorado PGA teaming up, with the help of contributing partner CWGA, the idea of JGAC is to streamline, improve and expand the junior golf experience in the state. And whether measured in terms of membership, tournament participation or expansion of other junior-related programs, JGAC reached far more youngsters than its predecessors have in years past. As for elite-level players and competition, four junior majors were contested for the first time, and AJ Ott and Mary Weinstein were named the first JGAC Players of the year. READ MORE. 2016 JGAC Honors: READ MORE.

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Honorable Mention

— The PGA Tour-licensed TPC Network announced the groundbreaking for the TPC Colorado golf course in Berthoud. TPC Colorado is expected to be the first new 18-hole course to open in Colorado since CommonGround in Aurora debuted in 2009. A new 13-hole short course at Ballyneal is planned for a 2017 formal opening.

— While Thorncreek Golf Course in Thornton will be closed for major renovation work in 2017, a second Colorado Topgolf site is planned for nearby. Looking further out, another Colorado course that may close for a year (in this case 2018) — pending ongoing legal challenges — is Denver’s City Park Golf Course, as part of a stormwater drainage project the city plans.

— Colorado Golf Club hosted the first Paintbrush Invitational college tournament.

— Three juniors become the first Coloradans to qualify for the national finals of the Drive Chip & Putt event held at Augusta National Golf Club.

— Carty’s individual win helped the DU women claim their 13th straight league title.

— Former Colorado prep champ Cohen finished 3rd and won a team title in NCAA Div. III.

— Coloradan Vlosich qualified for his fifth U.S. Senior Open.

— Denver’s Nick Mason became the first Colorado resident since 2010 to win the overall championship at the Rocky Mountain Open in Grand Junction.

— UNC freshman Coby Welch, in just his fourth college tournament, claimed the title at the Mark Simpson CU Invite.

— The Super-Senior Stroke Play title was added to Kent Moore’s varied and long CGA resume.

— CU’s Jeremy Paul represented Germany at the World Amateur Team Championship.
 

It’s that time again. Each year, after covering golf in Colorado for the CGA and CWGA, yours truly compiles a roundup of the top golf-related stories from the Centennial State.

And because there are so many worthy candidates, the list comes out in a two-part series — and in reverse order, to maintain a little suspense. We also throw in an honorable-mention rundown, included with Part II.

So without further ado, here are the Colorado golf stories of the year, Nos. 25 through 13. The top dozen will be published shortly after Christmas.

25. Kent Denver Boys Set Record: In late September, the Kent Denver boys high school team went where no Colorado golf program has gone before. By capturing the 3A state title, the Sun Devils earned their ninth state championship, a record for the state. Bob Austin, who as a player helped Cherry Creek claim two titles, coached Kent to eight of its championships. READ MORE.

24. Weinstein’s Junior Dominance: Mary Weinstein (pictured above) of Highlands Ranch played her final year of junior golf in 2016 — and what a year it was, both statewide and nationally. In Colorado, Weinstein captured the 5A state high school individual title, then added victories in the first two “majors” ever held by the new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. Then in nationwide events, she finished fifth in the Optimist International Junior and 15th in the Junior PGA Championship. And, for good measure, Weinstein won a college tournament in her first semester at Regis University. It’s little wonder why Weinstein was named the JGAC Girls Player of the Year a year after earning CWGA Junior Player of the Year honors.

23. NCAA Division II Players Show Their Stuff: While Colorado-based NCAA Division I schools boast plenty of golf talent, two golfers from the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference won the CGA’s top two open-division championships in 2016. Nathaniel Goddard, who wrapped up his Colorado Christian golf career last spring, prevailed in the CGA Match Play, while current University of Colorado-Colorado Springs golfer Colin Prater won the CGA Amateur by five shots.

22. USGA Championship Performances: Coloradans made inroads at several USGA championships in 2016. Two advanced to the quarterfinals, with Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton doing so in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and Alex Buecking of Columbine Valley in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with Jason Enloe of Dallas). Then Kyler Dunkle of Parker made it to the round of 16 out of 312 players at the U.S. Amateur a year after placing 311th in the same event.

21. 2 College Titles in a Week: Colorado State University senior Blake Cannon accomplished one of the most impressive feats of the fall college season — not just locally but nationally. After not winning an individual title in his first three-plus seasons of college golf, Cannon captured two victories in the course of five days in September. First, he prevailed at the Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club, then later in the week he won the prestigious William H. Tucker tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. READ MORE.

20. Amateur Colorado Cup Sweep: The Colorado Cup matches between some of the best Colorado PGA professionals and CGA and CWGA amateurs usually are a mixed bag in terms of results. But this year, for the first time, one group swept all three divisions — open, seniors and women’s. The amateurs prevailed 13-5, 9.5-8.5 and 6-3, respectively, in the three separate competitions. READ MORE.

19. Duval Ends Prolonged Win Drought: It took 15 years, but Denver-area resident David Duval got back in the win column in a nationally televised event in 2016. The former top-ranked player in the world teamed with stepson Nick Karavites to claim the title in the PNC Father/Son Challenge this month in Orlando, Fla. READ MORE.

18. NCAA Championship Finals Return to Colorado: When both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division II Championship Finals were contested in Colorado in 2016, it marked the first time NCAA Golf Finals from any division were held in the state since 1969. Green Valley Ranch Golf Club hosted the DII men and CommonGround Golf Course the DII women, with Metropolitan State University of Denver serving as the host school. St. Leo freshman Hugo Bernard claimed the men’s title with a record-setting score, his school landed the team championship, and Grand Valley State’s Gabrielle Shipley and Rollins College earned the women’s victories.

17. New Director for CWGA: In 2016 — and in the midst of the CWGA’s centennial year, Laura Robinson joined a very small group. The Hiwan Golf Club member became just the fourth executive director in CWGA history, following Maggie Giesenhagen (1988-1991), Robin Jervey (1992-2014) and Ann Guiberson (2014-15). READ MORE.

16. Top-5 National Showing Gives Northern Senior PGA Berth: In November, Mike Northern of Colorado Springs recorded one of the best finishes ever by a Colorado PGA member in the national Senior PGA Professional Championship by tying for fourth out of 264 players and qualifying for the 2017 Senior PGA Championship, one of the senior majors. Northern won the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship earlier in the year, and finished runner-up in the Section’s top tournament, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. READ MORE.

15. 6 Million Reasons to be Thankful: The Evans Scholars house for caddies at the University of Colorado (left) underwent a major-league renovation and expansion that wrapped up early in 2016. The project cost about $6 million, with the house dedication taking place in April. Rick Polmear, a University of Michigan Evans Scholars alum, proved a very capable project manager. READ MORE. 

14. Breaking New Ground for Women: There were several notable female firsts in Colorado golf in 2016. Among them were Janene Guzowski and Tracy Zabel becoming the first female members of the CGA Board of Governors; Alexandra Braga from Denver Country Club winning the inaugural Colorado PGA Women’s Championship; and Valley Country Club instructor Sherry Andonian-Smith becoming the first female to win one of the Colorado PGA’s top tournaments, in this case the Colorado PGA West Chapter Championship. All this took place the same year national plans were announced for two new tournaments, the Senior LPGA Championship and U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship.

13. Next-Level Feats for Former College Golfers from Colorado: Several former college golfers from Colorado-based schools had time in the limelight thanks to strong performances in 2016:

— Former CU golfer Jenny Coleman earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour.

— Sebastian Heisele (formerly of CU) and Espen Kofstad (DU) gained spots on the European Tour.

— Former DU golfers qualified for two of the biggest events of the year, with Oskar Arvidsson going to the British Open and Kofstad competing in the Olympics for his native Norway.

— Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous of Englewood earned additional status on the Web.com Tour by finishing 23rd in the final stage of Q-school.

— After winning the Colorado PGA Assistant Professional title in August, former CU golfer Pat Grady finished 11th out of 132 players in the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

— Steven Kupcho, who played his college golf at Northern Colorado, teamed with fellow Colorado resident Braden Baer (formerly of Loyola Marymount) to make it to the semifinals of the national Topgolf Tour Championship.
 

They say that golf is a sport for all ages, and the 2016 CGA amateur players of the year certainly prove as much. The award winners range in age from a brand-new twentysomething to a player in his early 60s.

Kyler Dunkle of the Club at Pradera, who turned 20 just last month, has been named one of the youngest recipients of the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Award. Chris Thayer of Bear Creek Golf Club earned the Mid-Amateur POY honor for the second consecutive year. And Robin Bradbury, 60, of Heritage at Westmoor landed the Senior player award.

Also being honored by the CGA is rules official Mike Bureman, who receives the Jim Topliff Award as on-course official of the year for the third time since 2005. Bureman has been a mainstay as a volunteer rules official in Colorado since 1998.

Dunkle (pictured above), a former 5A state high school champion who transferred in the offseason from Colorado State to the University of Utah, took his game to another level in 2016.

“For me, it’s really cool to be the player of the year for Colorado,” the Denver native said recently. “This summer, I was able to relax and enjoy the game a little, whereas in the past I stressed myself.”

The highlight of the year for Dunkle was not only qualifying for the U.S. Amateur for the second consecutive year — he was medalist by four shots at Fort Collins Country Club — but advancing to the round of 16 at a national championship which features a starting field of 312. A year after rounds of 86-85 at the event left him in 311th place in the stroke-play portion of the tournament, Dunkle finished 41st in stroke play in August at Oakland Hills in Michigan. Then he won two matches before falling in the round of 16 of arguably the world’s top amateur championship. It marks the second straight year a Coloradan has made it to the Sweet 16 in the U.S. Am, after the University of Colorado’s David Oraee did likewise in 2015.

In CGA championships this year, Dunkle made it to the quarterfinals of the CGA Match Play and finished 11th in the CGA Amateur. He won the CGA Western Chapter title and placed second with his dad, Jason, in their title defense at the CGA Parent/Child.

In the college ranks, Dunkle has posted three top-10 individual finishes so far this calendar year — one with CSU and two in Utah’s first three tournaments of this season.

Dunkle is the ninth college-age golfer in the last 10 years to be named the CGA’s Player of the Year, with the exception being Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs in 2014.

Thayer, meanwhile, becomes the second golfer to be honored in back-to-back years as the CGA’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year, joining Keith Humerickhouse (2012 and ’13).

Also for the second straight year, Thayer (left) finished runner-up to Jon Lindstrom in the CGA Mid-Amateur after Thayer prevailed in 2014. And in open-age-division CGA championships, Thayer placed 11th in the CGA Amateur and made it to the round of 32 of the CGA Match Play.

At his first U.S. Mid-Amateur, Thayer finished 45th in the stroke-play portion of the event, earning a spot in match play, where he lost in the round of 64. Thayer also advanced to the second stage of the two-stage U.S. Open qualifying process.

He earned an invitation to represent Colorado in the USGA Men’s State Team Championship, but couldn’t participate this year.

Bradbury (left) went the first six decades of his life without qualifying for a USGA championship, but broke the ice at the age of 60 when he shared medalist honors as Fox Hollow Golf Course hosted a qualifier for the U.S. Senior Amateur. And Bradbury took it a step beyond that as he finished 48th in the stroke-play portion of the national tournament and landed a spot in match play, where he exited in the round of 64.

Bradbury also secured low senior amateur honors at the Rocky Mountain Open, finished 16th in the CGA Senior Amateur and advanced to the round of 16 at the CGA Senior Match Play. He placed eighth in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play.
 

The players from Battlement Mesa Golf Club had to travel a long, tough road — literally and figuratively — but that didn’t keep them from emerging with the title in the season-long CGA Team Interclub Championship that concluded Sunday at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

After a trip of more than 200 miles to participate in the finals of the net match play championship, Battlement Mesa handed The Broadmoor Golf Club its first loss of the season, scoring a decisive 26-10 victory in the title match. Battlement Mesa claimed the trophy despite being the 16th seed in the 16-team playoffs.

It marked the first CGA Team Interclub title for Battlement Mesa (pictured above), which made it to the finals in 2011 but lost to Lone Tree Golf Club, which remains the only two-time winner of the event.

“Anytime you can play for a state title, definitely it’s a big deal for the club,” said Doug Choate, the head superintendent at Battlement Mesa, who won both his singles and four-ball matches on Sunday. In fact, in singles, Choate defeated The Broadmoor’s David Schroeder Jr., the runner-up in the 2011 CGA Amateur that was played at CommonGround. (Choate is pictured at left, in white, with four-ball partner Mark Barlau.)

All in all, the result was quite a feat for the golfers from the Western Slope.

“It’s such a great accomplishment for such a small community,” noted Jack Elsea, Battlement Mesa’s longtime team captain who wrapped up his run with the club as he recently moved to Montrose. “But it’s a quality course and that probably sharpens everybody up.

“For us to come over here and have the opportunity to play The Broadmoor was a great experience. We played them last year and they took us out in the quarterfinals so we kind of owed them one. This is redemption, so to speak.”

Battlement Mesa finished the year 6-1, having avenged its one loss of 2016 — to Lincoln Park Golf Course in the regular season — by beating LPGC in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. The Broadmoor, which has made the finals an unprecedented three times — each of the last three years — lost for just the third time in 21 matches since the beginning of 2014, the year the club won the title.

“When you get to this point, everybody is good,” noted Mike Allred, one of three Broadmoor players to win in Sunday’s dozen singles matches. “You’ve got to play your best golf or you’re not going to win. We’ve played these (Battlement Mesa) guys two years in a row and they’re good.” (Allred is pictured in purple at left, with four-ball partner Schroeder.)

Both Battlement Mesa and The Broadmoor advanced to the finals from an original field of 42 clubs after roughly five months of competition. First, there’s a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams lasting from May through mid-summer. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with five runners-up, including Battlement Mesa. Playoff matches ran from August through October.

“It starts out pretty relaxed,” Choate said of the Team Interclub season. “But the farther you go the more competitive it gets.”

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.

Seven players won both their singles and four-ball matches on Sunday — six from Battlement Mesa and one from The Broadmoor.

From Battlement Mesa, the 2-0 players were Charles Perrin, Dan Rzonca, Choate, Charles Hall, Fred Inman and Jeff Bradley. (Perrin and Rzonca are pictured below.) The Broadmoor’s Jim Hafemeister, one of six Broadmoor players to have competed on the club’s 2014 title-winning team, also was 2-0.

Five Battlement Mesa players were back after playing in the 2011 finals loss to Lone Tree: Choate, Perrin, Hall, Elsea and Ken Seidel. The seven others on the 2016 championship team are Bruce Knuth, Luke Cody, Rzonca, Barlau, Inman, Eddie Rubin and Bradley. 

As the 16th and last team to make it into the playoffs, Battlement Mesa routed top-seeded Riverdale 29-7 in the round of 16, then defeated No. 8 Lincoln Park 19-17, No. 12 The Meadows 20-16 and No. 3 The Broadmoor 26-10. For three of those playoff matches — versus Riverdale, The Meadows and The Broadmoor — Battlement Mesa made the six-hour roundtrip drive to the Denver metro area.

The seventh year of the CGA Team Interclub concludes the CGA’s 2016 championship season.

As part of the Team Interclub, the CGA will donate $500 each to the junior golf programs at Battlement Mesa and The Broadmoor.
 

CGA Team Interclub

At Par-71 CommonGround GC in Aurora

OVERALL TOTAL: BATTLEMENT MESA 26, THE BROADMOOR 10

Four-Ball Total: Battlement Mesa 9, The Broadmoor 3

Duke Mitchell-Jerry Petersen (B) halved with Bruce Knuth-Luke Cody (BM)
Charles Perrin-Dan Rzonca (BM) def. Marcus Meyer-Tom Foyer (B), 3 and 2
Doug Choate-Mark Barlau (BM) def. David Schroeder Jr.-Mike Allred (B), 2 and 1
Charles Hall-Fred Inman (BM) def. Bill Carder-Scott Meagher (B), 5 and 4
Roger Perry-Jim Hafemeister (B) def. Eddie Rubin-Ken Seidel (BM), 2 and 1
Jack Elsea-Jeff Bradley (BM) def. Jeff Freyschlag-Ed Hayden (B), 3 and 1

Singles Total: Battlement Mesa 17, The Broadmoor 7

Duke Mitchell (B) def. Bruce Knuth (BM), 2 up
Luke Cody (BM) def. Jerry Petersen (B), 1 up
Charles Perrin (BM) def. Marcus Meyer (B), 3 and 2
Dan Rzonca (BM) def. Tom Foyer (B), 3 and 2
Doug Choate (BM) def. David Schroeder Jr. (B), 3 and 2
Mike Allred (B) def. Mark Barlau (BM), 1 up
Charles Hall (BM) def. Bill Carder (B), 5 and 4
Fred Inman (BM) def. Scott Meagher (B), 1 up
Eddie Rubin (BM) def. Roger Perry (B), 3 and 2
Jim Hafemeister (B) def. Ken Seidel (BM), 6 and 4
Jeff Freyschlag (B) halved with Jack Elsea (BM)
Jeff Bradley (BM) def. Ed Hayden (B), 4 and 2
 

Core-Drevecky (pictured) was one of a dozen special award winners announced on Thursday by the Colorado PGA. All will be honored on Nov. 4 during the Section’s Awards Gala at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

The Golf Professional of the Year award goes to a Section member for overall performance, including leadership, service and promotion of the game of golf.

Core-Drevecky has been a PGA member for 23 years, and prior to being elected president she served for six years on the Section’s board of directors, as well as two terms on the PGA of America national Education Committee. She has twice won the Colorado PGA Horton Smith Award for outstanding and continuing contributions in developing and improving educational opportunities for the PGA golf professional. 

During Core-Drevecky’s time as president, the Colorado PGA teamed up with the CGA to form the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which oversees many junior tournaments and events and features Golf in Schools, PGA Junior League, the Drive Chip & Putt Championship and more. Core-Drevecky was also instrumental in the creation of the Colorado PGA Women’s Championship, which debuted this year.

Among the other Colorado PGA award recipients is longtime CGA executive director Ed Mate, who has worked alongside Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth in forging a strong alliance between the two organizations to nurture and grow the game of golf in the state. Most recently, that includes forming the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which just wrapped up a successful inaugural season. Mate, who worked for the Colorado PGA before being named the head of the CGA staff in 2000, will receive the President’s Award.

(Updated Oct. 6) Here are the Colorado PGA’s special awards recipients for 2016:

— Golf Professional of the Year:  Leslie Core-Drevecky, Murphy Creek Golf Course.

— Teacher of the Year: Steve Patterson, Hiwan Golf Club.

— Assistant Golf Professionals of the Year: Brad Gannaway, Colorado Springs Country Club.

— Bill Strausbaugh Award (mentoring fellow PGA professionals): Dale Smigelsky, Collindale Golf Course.

— Horton Smith Award (exceptional contributions to promote and improve PGA educational programs): Mark Bacheldor, UCCS PGA-PGM.

— Warren Smith Award (special contributions to game of golf, the Colorado PGA, junior golf and their facility): Craig Parzybok, Fox Hollow Golf Course.

— Noble Chalfant Inductee (distinguished service to the Colorado PGA) — Tom Apple, Country Club of the Rockies

— Player Development Award: Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Golf Academy.

— Youth Player Development Award: Katie Milstead, The First Tee at Green Valley Ranch.

— Private Merchandiser of the Year: Greg Bryan, Roaring Fork Club.

— Resort Merchandiser of the Year: Rich Parker, Kissing Camels Club.

— Public Merchandiser of the Year: Mark Pfingston, The Golf Club at Bear Dance.

— President’s Award: Ed Mate, CGA

— Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year — Geoff Keffer, PGA Learning Center at Park Hill

— Senior Player of the Year — Mike Northern, Colorado Springs

— Apprentice Player of the Year — Pat Grady, University of Colorado
 

Whether — or should we say weather? — it’s unseasonably snowy, cold or warm can have a big effect on the bottom line for the Denver Golf Expo.

Last year, when a major snowstorm hit the metro area the weekend of the Expo, the show drew its fewest attendees since 2002. This year, a dramatically different weather issue tooks its toll, according to organizers.

The three-day Expo, which concluded on Sunday at the Denver Mart, attracted 8,130 people, said Mark Cramer, who, along with Lynn Cramer, has run the show for the last 16 years. That total is up 13 percent from last year — and marked the first time since 2011 that attendance has increased compared to the previous year — but as noted, 2015 was a low point. From 2011 through ’14, the average for the show was 10,132.

Mark Cramer believes the issue was in stark contrast to last year: weather so warm that many golfers hit the course and played rather than possibly coming to the Expo. Temperatures approached the mid-60s on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday’s high was more typical — in the high 40s.

“I have mixed feelings,” Cramer said. “I came in with expectations high. After the blizzard last year, I thought there would be a real strong bounceback. But again, weather kind of bit me. The weather was too good. Talking to golf course operators, their tee sheets were full. If you multiply that out, that’s a lot of golfers. The courses have been under snow for two or three months. If I wasn’t doing the show, I would have finagled a tee time.

“I think we would have been between 9,000 and 9,500 if the weather had not been so nice. I’m looking forward to getting back to my (more) regular dates next year, Feb. 10-12. Those have been good dates for us.”

Other numbers from this year’s Expo were a mixed bag compared to recent norms.

The CGA’s Used Club Sale, which raises money for junior golf development programs through the Colorado Golf Foundation, sold $6,150 worth of clubs and equipment at the Expo. While that number was down considerably from recent years, it brings the total raised from the event since it started in 2002 to $146,500. The total over the last five years has surpassed $66,000.

“We didn’t have the high-end donations” that we had in recent years, said Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s managing director of operations, who helped oversee the Used Club Sale. “But it was a good show. We moved a lot of lower-dollar things. We appreciate the donations and the opportunity to showcase all that we do.”

Elsewhere, about 290 kids went though Junior Golf Central, with its Drive Chip & Putt theme — up a little from 2015. And Colorado PGA professionals gave 375 free 10-minute lessons to Expo attendees (left), down somewhat from 2015.

Cramer plans to move both Junior Golf Central and the free lesson area from the back to the front of the Expo next year.

Meanwhile, Cramer said he sold out exhibitor booths this year, with the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA and the new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado among those on hand.

“I’m disappointed when I don’t meet (some of my expectations),” Cramer said. “But it’s also about getting customers in front of exhibitors. I always see myself in partnership with exhibitors. I didn’t get my numbers, but talking to exhibitors, they were very happy. The people that were there came to buy. There were less ‘tire-kickers.’

“It was a good show. I was proud of it. Just about all the (exhibitors) I talked to were really happy.”