New year, new big-time events, new rules, new look for old courses and new dates for some mainstays.

Such is the outlook as Colorado golf enters 2019 with more than the usual amount of major happenings to look forward to in the Centennial State.

Let’s hit some of the highlights:

— U.S. Mid-Amateur: For just the second time ever and the first since 1983 — when Cherry Hills Country Club hosted the proceedings and Jay Sigel added the U.S. Mid-Amateur title to the U.S. Amateur victory he had posted 32 days earlier — Colorado will host the national championship for amateurs 25 and older.

This time, Colorado Golf Club (left) in Parker will be the primary championship site for the 264-player event, which will run Sept. 14-19. Aurora-based CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA, will serve as the second host facility for the stroke-play portion of the event Sept. 14-15. CommonGround did likewise for the 2012 U.S. Amateur that Cherry Hills hosted.

It will be the latest feather in the cap of Colorado Golf Club in terms of hosting big-time tournaments. It’s previously been the site of the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup. Bill Coore and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw designed Colorado Golf Club, which opened in 2007.

Besides the national title being on the line, the winner of the U.S. Mid-Am will receive a berth in the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York — and likely the 2020 Masters.

With the national championship coming to Colorado, the state will host two qualifying tournaments instead of the usual one for the event: Aug. 13 at the Omni Interlocken Golf Club in Broomfield and Aug. 19 at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood.

Admission to the U.S. Mid-Amateur will be free.

— TPC Colorado Championship: The other national/international tournament coming to Colorado in 2019 will be the inaugural TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, set for July 11-14 at Berthoud-based TPC Colorado, which opened to the public in 2018.

The tournament, the first of at least five Web.com Tour events scheduled for TPC Colorado, will be mark the first visit to Colorado by the PGA Tour’s feeder circuit since 1997, when the second of two Nike Colorado Classics was held at Riverdale’s Dunes Course in Brighton. Stewart Cink, who has since won six times on the PGA Tour including the 2009 British Open, prevailed in the 1996 event at the Dunes.

The 2019 TPC Colorado Championship will feature a $600,000 purse and a 156-person field. Monday qualifying tournaments are set for Riverdale Dunes and Highlands Meadows Golf Course in Windsor on July 8.

— Return of City Park Golf Course: Sometime this year, after being closed for two years for a course redesign and construction project, a new-look City Park Golf Course (left) in Denver is scheduled to reopen. The return is no small matter given that City Park GC dates back to 1912 and has a strong regular clientele.

Todd  Schoeder and his Broomfield-based iCon Golf Studio teamed with design advisor — and three-time U.S. Open champion — Hale Irwin in the course redesign for the site, which will integrate stormwater detention areas to help protect some of the city’s most at-risk neighborhoods from flooding.

When the redesign project is complete, the site will feature the new 18-hole par-71 golf course, a full-size driving range, a dedicated four-hole course for The First Tee of Denver, a new clubhouse and maintenance facility, stormwater detention, and a reforestation program with a net gain of 500 trees.

— Comeback for Cornerstone: It was several years ago at a CGA senior championship that a member at Cornerstone, the Greg Norman-designed course in the high country near Montrose, said that there were plans to reopen the club, which stopped operating in 2012. And while it took a few years, it appears as if that member was correct.

The highly acclaimed private course is undergoing a renovation — at the hands of Matt Dusenberry and Dusenberry Golf Course Design — with plans to reopen in the summer of this year.

Cornerstone originally operated from 2008 through ’12.

— Colorado’s Second Topgolf: Since August 2015, there’s been one Topgolf location in Colorado — the one in Centennial. But three-plus months ago, ground was broken at a second site — at I-25 and 60th Ave., in Thornton. The 65,000-square-foot, three-level facility is scheduled to open to the public in late 2019. It will have 102 climate-controlled hitting bays — where players hit microchipped golf balls at targets with varying point values — in addition to a restaurant and three bars. There will be 250 HD televisions, a rooftop terrace with fire pits and 3,000 square feet of space devoted to private events. The Centennial Topgolf employs about 500 people, the same number that is expected in Thornton.

— Playing by the (New) Rules: The new Rules of Golf, part of a rules modernization project long in the works, took effect with the new year. But for those who don’t play golf outside of Colorado, there’s still some time to get up to date on the changes given that the first tournaments of the year are months away and that scores from Colorado courses can’t be posted for handicap purposes until March 15.

Whether it be putting with the flagstick left in or dropping from knee height, the CGA did a good job during recent months with a video series highlighting the key changes. To watch, CLICK HERE. 

— The Old Switcheroo: For the second time in six years, the dates of the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open and the Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club have been swapped, so that now the women are back around Memorial Day — as they were in 2012 and earlier — and the seniors return to around Labor Day.

Specifically, the Women’s Open is set for May 29-31 and the Senior Open for Aug. 28-30. (The CoBank Colorado Open remains in its same basic slot, with this year’s event planned for July 25-28.)

As Kevin Laura, CEO of the CoBank Colorado Open Championships, said in an email early last month, “We wanted to strengthen the field of our Women’s Open championship by going against the U.S. Women’s Open so that we can pull players from the LPGA and Symetra tours (the latter is expected to have an off week that week).

“Our purse ($150,000) and especially first place ($50,000) should entice players to compete who have not otherwise been able to do so while we were against an LPGA and Symetra event.”

As for the Colorado Senior Open, it’s very possible the date switch will cost the event a possibility at its top draw from a fan and media standpoint. Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway has played in the tournament four times (2010, ’14, ’16 and ’18) — in addition to the Colorado Open four times. But given that the new dates for the Senior Open are now roughly a week before the start of the NFL regular season, and that Elway is the Denver Broncos general manager, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll compete at Green Valley Ranch in 2019.

— CGA Majors: The CGA will return to some familiar courses for its two men’s “major championships” in 2019. The 119th Match Play is set for June 17-21 at The Club at Rolling Hills in Golden, which hosted the event in 2012 as well as 1997, ’88 and ’79. And Aug. 8-11 the CGA Amateur returns to the recently renovated course at Lakewood Country Club, the site for the championship four times just since 1999 — and numerous times prior — with 2014 being its last time as the host.

On the women’s side, the two majors will be played at venues which are hosting their respective events for the first time. The CGA Women’s Stroke Play is scheduled for June 17-19 at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora, where the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links was contested. And the 104th CGA Women’s Match Play is set for July 9-11 at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton, which was the site of the men’s CGA Match Play the past two years.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who has matched Carol Flenniken’s record for CGA/CWGA women’s championship titles with 25, would grab the record outright with her next victory in one of the CGA events.

— USGA Qualifiers: A total of 18 qualifying tournaments for USGA national championships are scheduled in Colorado in 2019. Here’s the rundown on the men’s side:

* U.S. Open Locals: May 7 at Collindale in Fort Collins; May 9 at CommonGround in Aurora; and May 13 at Walnut Creek in Westminster.

* U.S. Senior Open: May 28 at Valley in Centennial.

* U.S. Junior Amateur: June 24 at Ptarmigan in Fort Collins.

* U.S. Amateur: July 1 at Columbine in Columbine Valley; and July 8 at Fort Collins Country Club.

* U.S. Senior Amateur: Aug. 5 at TPC Colorado in Berthoud.

* U.S. Mid-Amateur: Aug. 13 at Omni Interlocken in Broomfield and Aug. 19 at Inverness in Englewood.

* U.S. Amateur Four-Ball: Oct. 1 at Saddle Rock in Aurora.

And here’s the lineup for women’s USGA qualifiers:

* U.S. Senior Women’s Open: April 29 at Glenmoor in Englewood.

* U.S. Women’s Open: May 6 at Walnut Creek in Westminster.

* U.S. Girls’ Junior: June 24 at Colorado National in Erie.

* U.S. Women’s Amateur: July 3 at CommonGround in Aurora.

* U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur: July 24 at Meadow Hills in Aurora.

* U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur: Aug. 1 at the newly renovated Thorncreek in Thornton.

* U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: Sept. 30 at The Ranch in Westminster.

— Junior Tournaments: While the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado schedule is still being set in stone, the biggest junior tournament in Colorado for 2019 is finalized as the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior is scheduled for June 3-6 at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster. It will be the fifth year for the event, with Walnut Creek serving as host for the third straight season.

The girls state high school tournaments this spring are set for May 20-21 at Harmony Club in Timnath (5A), Pelican Lakes in Windsor (4A) and Eagle Ranch in Eagle (3A).

— Colorado PGA Championships: The Colorado PGA will hold its biggest tournament, the three-day Section Championship, Sept. 9-11 at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood.

The CPGA Women’s Championship is set for Glenmoor in Englewood June 19-20. The Assistants Championship is planned for Walnut Creek in Westminster July 29-30, and the Senior Championship Aug. 12-13 at Inverness in Englewood.

And, after an off year, the CGA amateurs and the Colorado PGA professionals will square off for the Colorado Cup Matches on Oct. 16 at the West Course at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

— Winter Events: Meanwhile, one of the first major Colorado golf events of the year will take place in about a month as the Denver Golf Expo returns to the Denver Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave.) Feb. 8-10. Typically, the three-day show attracts close to 10,000 people. Last year, the Expo celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The CGA Women’s Golf Summit, traditionally known as the Annual Meeting, will take place on March 9 at Pinehurst in south Denver.
 

For an event that in many respects he treated like “just another tournament for me,” Dillon Stewart certainly gave the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior a special performance this week.

In the fourth year of the tournament, the 17-year-old from Fort Collins became the first Coloradan to win the boys title. Last year, Hailey Schalk of Erie was the first in-state golfer regardless of gender to claim the Irwin Colorado Junior championship.

Not only did Stewart (left and below) earn his first AJGA victory, but he won with an exclamation mark. The Fossil Ridge High School senior-to-be shot a 6-under-par 66 in Thursday’s final round at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster to win the boys title by six strokes — four more than the previous boys record for the event.

“It’s kind of just another tournament, but it’s big in the fact that it boosts my confidence a lot,” Stewart said. “I can shoot some low numbers and make some putts and finish strong. The golf course really fit my eye this week.

“It’s pretty special (being the first Colorado boy to win) because we only have one AJGA tournament in the state. You feel like the younger kids, it might motivate them. Having Hale Irwin as the big role model for a whole bunch of Colorado golfers — because he’s probably the best one to come out of the state — it’s pretty special to me being the first one (to win).”

In-state players actually claimed the top two spots in the boys ranks on Thursday. Davis Bryant of Aurora, who had outdueled Stewart for the championships in the 5A state high school meet and the Colorado Junior PGA last year, was runner-up this time around as the tables were turned among the friendly rivals.

“That was nice actually,” Stewart said. “Me and Davis, we’re pretty neck and neck usually. Eisenhower (for the Colorado Junior PGA) and state, it was unfortunate that I was coming up on the losing end of that. So it was nice to put a low number up there when we play together. It felt good.”

Stewart — who has committed to play his college golf at Oklahoma State, which just won its 11th NCAA title — finished with a 10-under-par 206 total this week at Walnut Creek. That tied the tournament record relative to par for 54 holes.

Stewart, wearing an Oklahoma State shirt, bogeyed his first hole on Thursday after missing the green from the native grass. But he played his remaining 17 holes in a bogey-free 7 under par. And he finished things off by pitching to 6 inches for birdie on the 18th hole.

For the tournament, Stewart racked up 18 birdies in three rounds. In the first eight holes alone on Thursday, he drained birdie putts of 30, 18 and 12 feet, along with a couple of short ones.

Bryant (left), who will play for Colorado State University beginning in the fall, closed with a 70 for a 212 total, good for second place.

“I’m bummed I couldn’t challenge Dillon more, but the guy shoots a 66 and finishes at 10 under par, so you can’t really get mad about that,” said Bryant, the 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year, “He played well. He drove the ball well, made a lot of putts and didn’t really make any mistakes out there. He had one bogey and that was on the first hole.

“This is my last (AJGA event), and I wanted to finish it with a win,” added Bryant, who notched his second career runner-up showing in an AJGA tournament. “But when a guy shoots 66 on this hard of a golf course, you can’t really get mad. I’m discouraged but I’ll try to beat him next week at Eisenhower (Golf Club for this year’s Colorado Junior PGA).”

But for now, Stewart will relish this win as one of the best of his career.

“The AJGA is the biggest junior golf tour around,” he said. “Winning one of these tournaments will help a lot with the confidence. It’s kind of nice to have that one on your record.”

Grant Herrenbruck of Salina, Kan., set the competitive course record with an 8-under-par 64 on Thursday to tie for third place at 215 with Taehoon Song of South Korea and Buena Park, Calif.

Walker Franklin of Broomfield played his final 11 holes in 3 under par to shot 73 and tie for fifth place at even-par 216.

Grewal Runs Away With Girls Title: While no Coloradan prevailed this year in the girls competition, the winner on Thursday is no stranger to the spotlight. Champion Savannah Grewal (left) of Ontario, Canada won the 2017 Drive, Chip & Putt national title in the girls 14-15 category on the Golf Channel at Augusta National on the eve of the Masters.

But Thurday marked the first AJGA victory for Grewal, who is No. 70 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.

“It feels great,” she said. “I felt really confident in my game heading into this event. I stayed calm, trusted myself and trusted my gameplan. It all worked out. Everything kind of came together here.

“I’ve come close to winning a couple of times, so I’ve kind of proven to myself that I know now that I have it in me to win. It feels really good. I’m happy.”

Grewal made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole Thursday to shoot a 3-under-par 69, which gave her a 1-under 215 total and a seven-stroke victory — the record margin for this event regardless of gender.

The 16-year-old, who has committed to play collegiately at Clemson, made four birdies and one bogey in the final round. She finished fourth in this event last year.

Thursday’s victory is big, but it doesn’t quite rank up there with winning the Drive, Chip & Putt national title on the 18th hole at Augusta National last year.

“The whole thing was incredible, a dream come true for me,” Grewal said, noting it was her first time competing in the event. “To win on the 18th green at Augusta is a pretty big deal, and also because I was the first Canadian to win. That felt really nice too.”

At Walnut Creek, Sara Camarena of Mexico City finished a distant second among the girls with a 222 total after closing with a 75.

Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, the 2017 4A girls state high school champion, led the way for Coloradans by placing third at 223. She shot a 74 on Thursday despite a triple-bogey 7 on the eighth hole, where she thinned a 40-yard shot into the hazard. She then finished her round with 10 consecutive pars.

“It was intersting to say the least,” Lehigh said. “It was an adventure.”

Lehigh (left) led after the first day, but was happy with a third-place finish, by far her best in an AJGA event.

“I feel really good about it honestly, especially after that second day (a 79),” she said. “I ended with nine three-putts for the tournament. With that going on, I’m feeling really good about how I finished. This is by far the best finish I’ve had in an event like this.”

Meanwhile, Schalk tied for ninth place in her title defense, going 73-80-76 for a 229 total.

The Hale Irwin Colorado Junior is conducted annually by the American Junior Golf Association with the help of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and local volunteers from the CGA and JGAC.

For the scores for the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.
 

Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, who has verbally committed to play golf for 2018 NCAA champion Oklahoma State starting next year, retained the lead among the boys at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster.

Stewart shot his second straight 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday, which leaves him with a two-stroke lead heading into Thursday’s final round. He birdied his first three holes on Wednesday and two of his last three, and finished day 2 with seven birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.

Davis Bryant of Aurora, who edged Stewart for the 5A boys state high school title in the fall, matched the low round of the tournament with a 3-under-par 69 on Wednesday to check in at 142, two back of Stewart. Bryant, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2017 Boys Player of the Year and a Colorado State University signee, carded six birdies and three bogeys on the day.

Rounding out the players under par through 36 holes is Walker Franklin of Broomfield, the 3A state high school runnerup in 2017. He shot a 71 on Wednesday and holds third place at 143. Franklin eagled the 392-yard, par-4 first hole on Wednesday and bogeyed his last, with 16 pars in between.

In the girls competition, Savannah Grewal of Ontario posted her second straight 73 to grab a one-stroke lead at 2-over-par 146. She made a birdie and two bogeys on Wednesday.

Sara Camarena of Mexico City, ranked No. 84 in the girls Rolex AJGA rankings, shares second place at 147 with Paige Harrison of Castaic, Calif. Camarena had a rough finish on Wednesday, going 5 over in her final three holes.

First-round leader Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, the 2017 4A girls state high school champion, holds fourth place at 149 after struggling to a 79 on Wednesday.

Defending champion Hailey Schalk of Erie, winner of the last two 3A state high school titles, posted a second-round 80 and sits at 153, in eighth place.

For the scores for the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.
 

Two Colorado high school seniors-to-be who are headed to some prominent NCAA Division I golf programs in 2019 are proving their worth in the early going of the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster.

Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, who plans to sign a National Letter of Intent this fall with Oklahoma State — the NCAA champion — shot a 2-under-par 70 to grab a two-stroke lead in the boys division.

And Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, who has verbally committed to University of New Mexico, matched that 70 to set the pace by one in the girls division.

Stewart (left) finished day 1 with four birdies and two bogeys and posted the only subpar round of the day for the boys. The 17-year-old played his final six holes in 2 under.

“I don’t really like to think of this as a huge tournament” despite a quality field from all over the U.S., Stewart said. “I just think of it as another tournament, really. Obviously there’s going to be some better players, some better competition, and they set up the course pretty tough for us. It’s more toward a college level is how they set it up. The greens are firm and fast. Other than that, it’s just another tournament for me.”

Walker Franklin of Broomfield and Ty Findlow of Lone Tree share second place at 72 with Elliott Horton of Edmond, Okla. Among those at 73 is Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado 2017 Boys Player of the Year Davis Bryant of Aurora, who was running on empty after playing 36 holes — and failing to advance — at U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying in Portland on Monday. He flew back to Denver early Tuesday to make his 12:10 p.m. tee time in the AJGA event.

“Not too bad for like five hours of sleep, waking up at 3 a.m., flight leaving at 6, getting (to DIA) at 9:30, racing across town, warming up, getting a turkey sandwich before I teed off,” said Bryant (left). “All in all, I’m pretty pleased with it. I’ve got to lower the expectations a little bit with how hard the golf course plays and obviously what happened yesterday and in the last 15-20 hours.

“I need bed and I need a good dinner.”

The Colorado State University signee began and finished the day with a birdie and ended up with four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.

“Now that I’m in the tournament, three shots back of the lead, I’ve got two days to win a tournament I’ve been trying to win for a while,” the 18-year-old said. “I’ll try to make it happen.”

Stewart, who finished second behind Bryant at the 5A state high school meet last fall, still has one more year of high school remaining. Then it’s off to join the Oklahoma State men’s golf team, which just won its 11th national title, this one on its home course. The Cowboys earned 10 tournament victories this past season, the most for any NCAA-winning program since 1977.

“I’m super excited, with them trying to do again what they did this year,” Stewart said of OSU. “The big picture (in going to Oklahoma State) is, college is a step toward what I want to be — play professionally. I feel like Oklahoma State is going to give me the best chance” of achieving that goal and being successful at it.

Also on the boys side at Walnut Creek on Tuesday, defending champion Artem Yalovenko, a native of Russia who now lives in Florida, shot a first-round 76 in his title defense despite a birdie on the final hole.

In the girls division, Lehigh, the 2017 4A state high school individual champion, shot her 70 despite missing three putts of 3 feet or less. She finished with five birdies — including a 70-footer on No. 5 — and three bogeys.

“The score was good and I was hitting the ball really well, but I also know it could have been a heck of a lot better,” the 17-year-old said.

Being in the running for the title at an AJGA event that features players from 17 states and four countries is important to Lehigh.

“It would mean a lot” to be in contention, she said. “Being committed (to the University of New Mexico), just proving to them that they made the right choice there is important.”

The only other girls player to post a subpar round on Tuesday was Abby Glynn of Topeka, Kan., who carded a 71.

Hailey Schalk of Erie, who last year became the first Colorado resident to win a title in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, opened with a 73 after going birdie-bogey on her final two holes. She shares third place with Canadian Savannah Grewal.

“I think it would be awesome to (successfully) defend my title in this,” said Schalk, who’s won 3A state high school titles as a freshman and a sophomore. “I’m obviously trying to win and want to win, but I’m just trying to play good golf like I have been recently. Today, I had just one birdie (a 20-footer on 17), which wasn’t very good.”

Schalk, the JGAC Girls Player of the Year in 2017, is coming off a sixth-place finish last week in the AJGA Las Vegas Junior at Reflection Bay.

“I think it’s really awesome to be able to travel wherever — even here — and have a ton of competition from all over,” said the 16-year-old. “That’s really cool.”

For scores from the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, CLICK HERE.
 

Schalk will be back to defend her title this coming week as the event is held for the fourth time, with Walnut Creek Golf Preserve hosting for the second straight year.

And among those hoping for a Colorado breakthrough on the boys side will be Davis Bryant of Aurora, who earned the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year honors for 2017 as Schalk landed the Girls POY award.

But it certainly won’t be easy if Bryant is to become the first Colorado resident to win the Irwin tournament. You see, he’s in Portland, Ore., on Monday, playing 36 holes in a U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying tournament, then will have to hurry home for Tuesday’s first round at Walnut Creek.

Irwin tournament actitivities began Sunday with a qualifying tournament that finalized the field. Things will continue with a Junior-Am and practice rounds on Monday, then the 54-hole tournament will run Tuesday through Thursday for both boys and girls.

A total of 71 boys and 24 girls are scheduled to tee it up beginning on Tuesday.

Among the boys in the field, in addition to the Colorado State University-bound Bryant, are defending champion Artem Yalovenko from Russia and Windermere, Fla.; former boys Colorado state high school champions Bryant and Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs; University of Denver signee Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch; Oklahoma State commitment Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins; U.S. Junior Amateur qualifiers TJ Shehee of Mead and Bryant; and Walker Franklin of Broomfield.

For the girls, among those signed up are state high school champions Schalk, Emma Bryant of Aurora (Davis’ younger sister), Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora and Lauren Lehigh of Loveland; Sofia Choi of Littleton; who recently won an AJGA title in Massachusetts; and 2017 AJGA Hale Irwin Junior runner-up and U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village.

All told, four countries (the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Taiwan) will be represented, along with 17 states.

Irwin, a Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate, has lent his name to the tournament. He’s won 20 times on the PGA Tour — including three U.S. Opens — and a record 45 times on PGA Tour Champions. Irwin, who turned 73 on Sunday, claimed an NCAA individual title in 1967 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

For more information about the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.

Years ago, I wrote a column for the newspaper for which I worked at the time, the Daily Camera in Boulder, weighing in on where Hale Irwin ranked among golf’s GOAT list.

Which is to say, among the greatest players of all time?

I couldn’t readily locate the column amid my stacks of papers and clips, and since this was published in the days prior to just about everything in newspapers being archived on the internet, it’s not there either.

But to the best of my recollection, I think I put Irwin among the top 25 or so golfers of all time — at that time. Since a few greats have had the meat of their careers since then — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh among them — that would move the former University of Colorado golf and football standout down the list a few notches.

The reason this comes to mind now is that Irwin will be the 2018 honoree at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial tournament this coming week in Dublin, Ohio. Then the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior will be contested at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster June 5-7, and he’ll compete in the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs June 28-July 1. So it seems an opportune time to fully appreciate the career of the best golfer ever to grow up in Colorado.

When it was announced last year that Irwin would be honored at the upcoming Memorial, Nicklaus himself, who tops that GOAT list in many people’s minds, said, “Hale was truly one of the great golfers and athletes we ever had playing on the PGA Tour. He was a terrific golfer. He always had tremendous integrity. He’s been a terrific family man. Hale has always been one of the purest strikers of the golf ball. You knew when you got to a difficult golf course that Hale Irwin was going to be there somewhere. He was probably the best senior player we’ve ever had on the PGA Tour Champions.”

Despite his stellar record as a player, Irwin was pleasantly surprised to become a Memorial honoree, a group which includes many of the top players in history.

“I have a hard time putting myself in that category with the greats of the past, so I am absolutely delighted.” he said last year.

But Irwin’s golf resume reinforces what a talented player and fierce competitor he’s been. Here are the bullet-point highlights:

— Winner of 20 PGA Tour titles.

— Three U.S. Open victories, a total surpassed only by Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Willie Anderson, with four each.

— He remains the oldest winner of the U.S. Open (45 in 1990).

— Winner of a record 45 titles on PGA Tour Champions, with seven senior majors, including two U.S. Senior Opens.

— Competed on five U.S. Ryder Cup teams.

— Captained the first U.S. team in the President’s Cup, in 1994, and also competed on that team.

— Was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

— Capped his amateur career by winning the NCAA individual title in 1967 while at CU, where he was also an All-Big Eight defensive back in football.

When Irwin received the Nicholson Award in Colorado in 2012, he noted that also growing up playing football paid dividends in golf.

“I looked at every golf course as a football field,” he said then. “It was me or them. I say that somewhat jokingly because the thing I had more of than the other fellas was effort. I point back to the football background. Look at me — I was a little guy even then, and I wasn’t terribly fast. So I had to read keys and be in position and play technically better than the next guy. Then I had to play over my weight. I had to hit harder. All that effort is what you could take to the golf course. So when you got to Winged Foot or those hard courses — where others guys might let up because they thought it was too hard — that was right up my alley.”

Besides all his golf success on a national and international scale, Irwin put together quite an amateur record in the eight or so years he lived in Colorado as a young man. He won three consecutive CGA Amateurs (1963-65), one CGA Match Play (1966), one CGA Junior Match Play (1962) and one boys state high school title while at Boulder High (1963). (At left are Irwin’s three CGA Stroke Play trophies, currently housed in the CGA offices The CGA Stroke Play is now called the CGA Amateur.)

And now, even though Irwin will turn 73 next Sunday, fellow competitors still talk about him. Unsolicited at a U.S. Senior Open event earlier this month, two-time champion Kenny Perry said, “Hale Irwin, he’s a freak. It’s unreal how incredible that man is. He’s 70-something years old and still beats his age every time he goes and tees it up.”

That’s an exaggeration, but Irwin has shot his age — or better — more than 30 times while competing on PGA Tour Champions, a truly remarkable feat.

So now we get back to where Irwin ranks among the greatest golfers of all time. It’s a matter of opinion to a certain extent, of course, and comparing eras is difficult. But looking at the players who own the most PGA Tour wins and the most majors, the top international golfers and the best amateurs ever — and throwing in his incredbile senior record — I still believe Irwin is easily in the top 35 on golf’s GOAT list.

For what it’s worth, these are the players I would put ahead of him, roughly in order:

Jack Nicklaus
Tiger Woods
Bobby Jones
Sam Snead
Walter Hagen
Ben Hogan
Arnold Palmer
Gary Player
Tom Watson
Gene Sarazen
Byron Nelson
Phil Mickelson
Billy Casper
Lee Trevino
Seve Ballesteros
Cary Middlecoff
Harry Vardon
Vijay Singh
Jimmy Demaret
Horton Smith
Lloyd Mangrum
Greg Norman
Tommy Armour
Paul Runyan
Leo Diegel
Ray Floyd
Henry Picard
Johnny Miller
Nick Faldo
Ernie Els

Pretty heady company indeed.
 

The third season of the JGAC will tee off Saturday and Sunday — assuming the weather cooperates — with a Spring Series tournament at Valley Hi Golf Course in Colorado Springs. There will be separate divisions for age groups 14-18, 11-13 and 10 & under.

Then the first JGAC Tour event — for the top junior golfers in Colorado — is scheduled for April 14-15 when the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs hosts a Spring JGAC Tour tournament.

As always, the highlights of the season for the top competitors will be the four JGAC majors, the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, the Boys and Girls Junior Americas Cup, and the USGA qualifying tournaments and championships themselves.

The AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, which features a field including national and international players plus plenty of Coloradans, will return to Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster, with the championship rounds set for June 5-7.

For the first time in 18 years, Colorado will be home to the Girls Junior Americas Cup, where many of the top players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico will compete. Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen and the JGAC will host the event, with championship rounds scheduled for July 25-27. The boys JAC is set for July 24-26 in Anaconda, Mont.

And here’s the lineup for the four JGAC majors:

— June 11-13: Colorado Junior PGA Championship, Eisenhower GC Blue Course in Colorado Springs.

— July 9-11: Colorado Junior Amateur, Todd Creek GC in Thornton.

— July 30-Aug. 1: Colorado Junior Match Play, Plum Creek GC in Castle Rock.

— Oct. 6-7: JGAC Tour Championship, Denver Country Club.

As for USGA championship qualifying, both the qualifiers for the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior are scheduled for June 26, with the boys at Buffalo Run in Commerce City and the girls at Colorado National in Erie.

Both of the JGAC Players of the Year are set to return this summer, with Davis Bryant of Aurora and Hailey Schalk of Erie gearing up for another big year.

To access the full schedule for the 2018 JGAC tournament season, CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile, for JGAC introductory members, there will be six JGAC Experience events that will give kids a taste for different aspects of the game while providing professional instruction. There will also be 9-Hole Play Days from late May to late July. For the dates of those events, CLICK HERE.

There will also be Drive, Chip & Putt competitions, PGA Junior League, and many other events and activities. To go to the JGAC website, CLICK HERE.

For sheer oddities, it would be tough to top the inaugural AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior as last year a player shot a final-round 61 — a course record at CommonGround and tying an all-time AJGA record — and there were three holes-in-one on the first day of the tournament, including two from the same threesome of girls.

But the second annual Irwin Junior, now presented by Huntington Industrial Partners, had its moments. For instance, Clare Amelia Legaspi of Santa Clarita, Calif., pitched in for eagle from 30 yards on her final hole Thursday at Highlands Ranch Golf Club to edge out Lauren Beaudreau of Lemont, Ill., who narrowly missed eagling the hole herself.

And though it didn’t decide the tournament, future University of Denver golfer John Sand aced the 197-yard 17th hole Thursday at DU’s home course with an 8-iron. Sand went eagle, birdie on his final two holes to get into the top 10.

As for the boys title, for the second straight year a couple of Coloradans were in the hunt for the victory, only to finish a little short. Connor Howe of Ogden, Utah, prevailed by one stroke over AJ Ott (above) of Fort Collins, Trevor Olkowski (left) of Grand Junction and Sunday qualifier Tyler Parker of Knoxville, Tenn.

It was the second top-three showing in the tournament by the Colorado State University-bound Ott, who last year tied for third with Jackson Solem of Longmont.

“It feels good (but) I wanted first (place) pretty bad,” said Ott, the 2015 CJGA Tournament of Champions winner. “Two years in a row there’s definitely something in the water here for the Colorado kids. So I think someone (local) is going to win one one day; it just wasn’t this year.”

All told, five Coloradans placed in the top 10 of the boys division. Joining Ott and Olkowski (a University of Colorado commitment) were Colorado School of Mines signee Timothy Amundson of Littleton (eighth place at 212), incoming DU golfer Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs (who eagled the 18th hole to tie for ninth at 214) and David Leede of Greenwood Village (ninth at 214).

Howe (left), the 2015 Utah 5A state high school champion, held at least a share of the lead after all three rounds at Highlands Ranch GC. He followed up an opening 66 with consecutive 70s for a 10-under-par 206 total. Ott, Olkowski and Parker were one behind, with Olkowski (5-under-par 67) and Ott (a bogey-free 68) carding the best two rounds of the day in the boys division.

“I feel good about it,” said Olkowski, who eagled a par-4 and added five birdies on Thursday. “There were strokes I could have picked up out there, but I had three solid rounds. I’m happy with it overall.

“I knew I had to shoot 4 or 5 under (today to have a chance to win) and I did that. I gave myself the best chance I could. I came up one short.”

Howe led by three after making a 6-inch birdie on No. 16, but he needed to drain a 15-foot putt to post a bogey on No. 17, where he took a penalty stroke. Ott birdied from 8 feet there to cut the deficit to one going into 18. But Ott ended up in a greenside bunker in two and couldn’t get up and down, settling for a par on the par-5. And despite a three-putt for par on the 18th green, Howe prevailed by one.

“This is probably the best win I’ve had,” the 16-year-old Howe said of his first AJGA victory. “This and state (high school) are probably tied. I shot 62 at state so that’s hard to beat, but this was a big tournament for me. I’m happy I pulled through.

“It’s a really good confidence-builder for me. I know I’ve been able to win (an AJGA event), I just hadn’t been able to pull the trigger. To be able to win one, just for the future gives me lots of confidence in bigger tournaments.”

On the girls side, Thursday marked the third AJGA win for the UCLA-bound Legaspi (left), but her first since 2014. She played her final 10 holes in 6 under par, and needed every one of those strokes, including the pitch-in on 18. That’s because Beadreau played her final 16 holes in 5 under par, reeling off birdies on 15, 17 and 18. Beaudreau almost pitched in for eagle on 18 to match Legaspi and force a playoff, but she was forced to settle for a tap-in birdie.

The two players matched 68s on Thursday, with Legaspi posting a 7-under-par 209 total.

Legaspi and Beaudreau were tied going up 18 after the latter sank a long birdie putt on 17.

“I knew I had to make something — an eagle or anything,” said Legaspi. “Lauren was playing really well so I knew I had to do something magnificent on the last hole.

“I had to will (the pitch shot) in because I really knew I had to make something happen. I think every shot is makeable. I just always think positive that it’s going to go in, it’s going to go close. I always try to will it in.”

Two young golfers led the way for Coloradans among the girls, with Hailey Schalk of Erie and Caroline Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village tying for seventh place at 6-over-par 222. Jordaan closed with a 73 and Schalk with a 74.

“I achieved what I wanted to do,” said the 15-year-old Jordaan, who finished second last month in the 4A state high school tournament. “Coming in I had never finished top half (in an AJGA event) and that was my goal. To do even better than that was great.”

Schalk (left), 14, was 2 under par for the day through 12 holes, but four bogeys coming down the stretch didn’t help the cause.

“I feel really good about the week,” she said. “It was really fun and I played really solid golf. It was just those (back-nine) mistakes that make me a little bit annoyed. But overall I was proud to get into the top 10.”

Also posting a top-10 finish was DU signee Camille Enright of Plano, Texas, who placed fifth at 217.

As for the 17-year-old Legaspi, it wasn’t the first time she’s holed a wedge shot at a particularly opportune moment. Two years ago, in a playoff for a spot in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, she drained a 60-yard shot to advance after her opponent had put her approach within tap-in range.

“This is a breakthrough win since I haven’t been playing well for the past year,” said Legaspi, who won a gold medal while competing for the Philippines in the 2013 Asian Youth Games. “It means a lot to me. I’ve been through a lot the last year (an injury, equipment change and finishing high school) and I haven’t won for a long time. So this is really special for me.”

For both Legaspi and Howe, it was their first time competing in Colorado.

The AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, Past and Future: After the tournament, the AJGA presented CGA executive director Ed Mate with the AJGA Newcomer of the Year Award for the 2015 AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, which was held at the CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course.

Mate announced that after one year each at CommonGround and Highlands Ranch Golf Club, the 2017 Hale Irwin Colorado Junior is set for Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster. A junior-am is planned for June 5, 2017, with the championship rounds scheduled for June 6-8.

For boys scores from the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.
 

For girls results, CLICK HERE.

Within six strokes of Howe heading into Thursday’s final round are AJ Ott of Fort Collins (who trails by three), Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction (four back), Timothy Amundson of Littleton (five behind), and Philip Lee of Denver, Oliver Jack of Cherry Hills Village, first-round co-leader Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs, Jackson Solem of Longmont and Troy Dangler of Grand Junction (all six back).

In the girls competition, Clare Amelia Legaspi of Santa Clarita, Calif., holds a one-stroke lead, with a couple of Coloradans in the top 10 after two rounds.

Fourteen-year-old Hailey Schalk of Erie is in sixth place, seven behind Legaspi, and Caroline Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village is another shot back, sharing ninth place.

Legaspi, No. 74 among girls in the Polo rankings, has posted rounds of 70-71 for a 3-under-par 141 total, one stroke better than Lauren Beaudreau of Lemont, Ill. (71-71).

Schalk has gone 72-76, while Jordaan has carded rounds of 74-75.

In boys action, Howe has racked up 14 birdies in two rounds, posting scores of 66-70 for an 8-under-par 136 total. He’s one up on Tyler Parker (70-67) of Knoxville, Tenn., going into Thursday’s final 18.

Ott, who tied for third at last year’s AJGA Irwin Junior, sits in that same spot after two days. The Colorado State University signee has gone 69-70, chalking up 10 birdies in two rounds.

The boys leaders will tee off on Thursday at 12:10 p.m., while the top girls will start at 11:20 a.m.

For boys scores from the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, CLICK HERE.

For girls results, CLICK HERE.