If the USGA was looking to add first-time participants to its U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship field, the Colorado qualifying site wasn’t the place to go this year.

Three teams qualified on Tuesday at The Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield, and all three have participated in the best-ball national championship previously, even though it’s only been held since 2015.

Kyle Danford and David Johnson from Fort Collins, Alex Kephart and Kurtis Lucas from Colorado Springs, and Greg Carlin from Denver and University of Colorado golfer Wilson Belk all will advance to the U.S. Four Ball — and all have competed in the event at least once before. (Pictured from left are two of the qualifying teams from Tuesday: Danford and Johnson, and Kephart and Lucas.)

Danford and Johnson went in 2016, and Kephart and Lucas and Belk and Carlin both in 2017. In addition, Kephart also played in 2015 with a different partner.

But somehow it never gets old.

“It’s just special to play in USGA events,” said Danford, who will be going to his fourth overall. “If you think how many people try to qualify around the country or world, to get in there is an honor in itself. Hopefully we make (match play at the national championship) and then you never know what can happen. It’ll be a lot of fun.

“My wife is happy because the other three USGA events I’ve qualified for, she’s been pregnant. Now we’ve broken that little schneid so she doesn’t have to get pregnant any more for me to go to a USGA event.”

Danford/Johnson and Kephart/Lucas shared qualifying medalist honors Tuesday at The Broadlands with 10-under-par 62s, while Belk/Carlin posted a 64 despite never having seen the course before. The rewards are trips to the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, with the championship set for May 25-29.

The U.S. Four-Ball has been contested at some of the most prestigious courses in the country, with previous hosts including The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Winged Foot in New York and Pinehurst in North Carolina.

And 2019’s venue isn’t half bad either.

“Bandon Dunes, that’s pretty sweet,” Carlin said. “We saw that on the schedule and signed up.”

Johnson’s one previous USGA championship was the Four-Ball at Winged Foot, which is scheduled to host the 2020 U.S. Open.

“You’re just treated great (at the national championship),” he said. “Winged Foot was just absolutely brutal — in a great way. I think on 20 of the 36 holes I hit 5-iron or more into greens. I know I’m not long, but I’m not that short.”

And the Four-Ball is also about the camaraderie involved. For some teams, both the qualifying tournaments and, ideally, the national championship are about spending some time with good buddies.

“We’re best friends,” Kephart, a five-time USGA qualifier, said of himself and Lucas, with whom he attended high school and now plays about 50 rounds of golf a year. “We’ve played golf together since we were 8 years old. It’s the highlight of the year getting to play in this (qualifier) and it’s a bonus going to the tournament.”

Said Lucas, a Marine veteran: “You get to travel with your best friend. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

Noted Belk, regarding himself and Carlin: “I think it’s fun for us — his brother and my other brother in law caddied for us (previously in the U.S. Four-Ball) and Greg is my brother in law. It was just super fun to go. We couldn’t even try to qualify last year because I had a college tournament. It’ll be really fun to go back.”

On Tuesday, Lucas and Kephart highlighted their round with two eagles — one each — as did Belk and Carlin. Both teams played the four par-5s in 6 under par. Danford and Johnson, meanwhile, sprinkled 10 best-ball birdies through their round. Lucas shot a 66 with his own ball — including a 31 on the front nine — on Tuesday.

In all, 56 two-man teams were in the field on Tuesday.

Among the people on hand for the Four-Ball qualifier on Tuesday were two two-time Colorado Open champions. Brian Guetz competed with partner Alex Buecking, and Derek Tolan was caddying for the team of Jonathan Marsico and Tommy Hart, who have qualified for this event twice previously. Marsico and Hart shot a 65 on Tuesday, while Guetz and Buecking carded a 66. (Pictured above are Tolan, in red, and Hart.)
 

U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-72 The Broadlands GC in Broomfield
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Alex Kephart/Kurtis Lucas, Colorado Springs 30-32–62
Kyle Danford/David Johnson, Fort Collins 31-31–62
Wilson Belk, Greg Carlin, Denver 32-32–64
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Matt Call/Norton Rainey, Parker 32-33–65
Richard Bradsby/Brian Dorfman, Denver 31-34–65

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Last year’s CGA Four-Ball was conducted in October after a May snowstorm caused it to be postponed. And now the 2017 edition of the tournament is on tap Friday through Sunday (May 5-7) at CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

A full field of 60 two-man teams is set to compete, though 2016 champions Steve Irwin and Barry Erwin are not in the field. In fact, only one team of former champions is back intact for this week’s tournament — 2015 winners James Richardson and Sam Marley.

Other former champions — competing with different partners this year than when they won — playing this week include Keith Humerickhouse (2014), Jon Lindstrom (2002 and ’12), Alex Buecking (2009) and Owen Ellis (2003). Buecking and his then-partner Jason Enloe advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

This year’s CGA field in the scratch better-ball stroke-play event features impressive players from the high school, college and mid-amateur ranks.

In addition to the forementioned, they include Colorado State University golfers Jake Staiano and Blake Cannon; Alex Kephart and Kurtis Lucas, who will play in this year’s U.S. Four-Ball later this month; 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz and 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier Tom Krystyn; Lindstrom, a three-time CGA Mid-Am champ, and Richard Bradsby, winner of the 2016 Broadmoor Invitation with Irwin; NCAA Division I signees Jackson Solem and Daniel Pearson; two-time CGA Junior Amateur champ Ross Macdonald and Behrod Keshtavar; two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier Kyle Danford and Dave Johnson; 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball qualifiers Andrew Tapia and Jeff Chapman; and father and son Ray and Jimmy Makloski, the 2016 CGA Parent/Child champions.

For tee times for the CGA Four-Ball, CLICK HERE.
 

That attraction is likely primarily twofold — it’s a two-person team event, which has proven a popular format; and so far it’s been scheduled at some great venues. It’s already been held at the Olympic Club (2015) and Winged Foot (2016), and upcoming are Pinehurst (2017), Jupiter Hills (2018), Chambers Bay (2019) and Philadelphia Cricket Club (2020).

Given the spring dates for the national championship, qualifying is currently taking place for the 2017 tournament, which will be held May 27-31 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

In Colorado, qualifying for the event will occur Tuesday (Aug. 30) at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. There, 60 two-man teams will compete for three berths in the national championship.

Four intact teams that have already competed in the U.S. Four-Ball will be in the field at CommonGround: Jonathan Marsico and Tom Hart (2016), Zach Fowlds and Ben Sherlund (2016), Bill Fowler and Robert Polk (2015), and Jeff Chapman and Andrew Tapia (2015). In addition, Alex Kephart (2015) and Alex Buecking (2016) are qualifiers who are competing with different teammates this time around (Kephart with Kurtis Lucas, and Buecking with Jon Lindstrom). In fact, Buecking went to the quarterfinals of the national championship in May while pairing up with Jason Enloe of Dallas.

Also competing at CommonGround will be Chris Korte and Nick Nosewicz, who each won major CGA championships in 2015 at CommonGround — Korte the CGA Amateur and Nosewicz the CGA Match Play.

For Tuesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
 

Wednesday evening, a couple of teams figured they’d be celebrating a victory and everyone involved thought they’d be sharing golf stories and a few laughs after the 45th edition of the Colorado Cup Matches at CommonGround Golf Course.

Little did anyone expect that, instead, the participants would be sitting in an electricity-deprived clubhouse looking out at a sight that seemed to be straight out of the Caddyshack scene where the bishop was playing the round of his life amid a violent storm.

As caddie Bill Murray told the bishop, “I’d keep playing. I don’t think the heavy stuff is going to come down for quite a while.”

Well, the heavy stuff did come down Wednesday, and with a vengeance. The result was a first for the annual Colorado Cup Matches held between many of the best golf professionals and amateurs in the state.

With heavy rain, gale-force winds, lightning, hail, flash flooding and a tornado warning quickly turning a nice day into a batten-down-the-hatches situation, the Cup Matches were limited to a four-ball session, with the singles results being nixed in mid-session because of unplayable conditions at CommonGround Golf Course.

“We were down on No. 12 and I was getting a little nervous because it was starting to get dark,” said Steve Irwin, captain of the CGA’s open-division amateur team. “I looked up and saw the cloud spinning, and that really got all of our attention. So we were glad they called it when they did. We were ready to get out of there.”

Play was suspended due to lightning shortly after 4:30 p.m., with most players in the midst of their singles session and more than a half-dozen singles matches having been completed. But the weather deteriorated considerably from there, knocking out power in the clubhouse and buffeting a large tent nearby.

After more than an hour of suspended play, the singles session was canceled altogether, with the final result of the matches reverting to the scores that stood after the morning four-ball.

That means that the 2015 Colorado Cup Matches will go down as the CGA amateurs prevailing 4-2 in the open division.

“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to get the whole day done,” Irwin said. “However, a win’s a win. Two in a row now. But it would have been good to get those matches in. There were some great ones. I was right smack in the middle of a very tough one with Tray Shehee. I was 2 down through 12. I had him right where I wanted him, though,” Irwin added with a smile. (Shehee and Irwin are pictured at left.)

I the senior division, the teams tied 3-3, with the Colorado PGA pros retaining that Cup because they won it last year. The Section’s pros had already won five singles matches and lost one when played was called, but those results were negated. Six matches had yet to be completed.

The Colorado PGA still leads the overall series in the open division 30-13, with two ties, though the CGA has prevailed the last two years.

The all-time senior division series is tied 15-15, with three ties, but the pros have gone 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings.

While the senior pros would like to have had the chance to post an outright victory on Wednesday, they understood and supported the decision to cancel the singles matches.

“I think that’s the way you have to do it,” said Ken Krieger, a veteran of about 40 Colorado Cup matches, including a few as an amateur. “It’s too bad, but it happens.”

Krieger, a two-time Section Player of the Year, and Robert Polk a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year, were in the midst of a hard-fought match in which they were all square through 14 holes. (The two are pictured at left.)

“You want to see the thing completed,” said Polk, the CGA’s senior division captain. “You never know how matches can turn around. I know we had gotten beaten in some of them already. My match was even with Ken Krieger, who is such a gentleman and such a great guy. I don’t know how many times we’ve played each other, but quite a few. And it’s always fun. It’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to finish it.”

Another notable match apparently going down to the wire was between 2012 CGA Player of the Year Steven Kupcho and 2008 Colorado PGA Player of the Year Erik Billinger, the men’s golf coach at the University of Denver. Those two were all square through 13.

“The weather turned quick,” Billinger said. “It’s unfortunate. I think there were some good matches going on when they called it so I’m bummed out. We wish we were playing, but I think (under the circumstances) you’ve got to call it. It’s the right thing to do. But I know the pros sure wish we could beat these young guys.”

Billinger (left) is another Colorado PGA pro who has also competed in the Colorado Cup Matches as an amateur. In fact, three times from 1999-2001, he was an amateur teammate of Kevin Stadler, who won last year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour. Other longtime PGA Tour players who have competed in the Colorado Cup over the years include Steve Jones, Dow Finsterwald, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman and Fred Wampler.

“It’s fun to see the Cup Matches through the years, having been on both sides,” Billinger said. “Playing guys you looked up to … Now I’m playing the young guys and I want to see how their games are — scope it out a little bit. Kupcho is hitting it 100 (yards) by me every stinking time.”

Krieger feels similarly.

“This is a great event,” he said. “I’ve played since 1973. I love these. They’re great for golf. We get to hang out with the amateurs, we get to hang out with the pros.

“My very first Colorado Cup Match was against Clayton Cole when he was an assistant at Cherry Hills. It was 1973 at Lakewood Country Club. Clayton Cole was was a stud (of a player at the time). He was really good. I got beat 4 and 3 and I was pretty proud of that. I took him all the way to the 15th hole.”

This time around at the Cup Matches, some of the biggest highlights of the day came from amateur Alex Kephart, who along with Lamar Carlile were the only returnees from the 2014 amateur Colorado Cup team. In his 1-up four-ball victory with Chris Thayer over Geoff Keffer (the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year two of the last three seasons) and Blake Sharamitaro. Kephart won the fifth hole for his team by holing out a 9-iron from 160 yards, then pitched in from about 40 yards on No. 8, winning another hole. 

Unlike most years in the new millennium — and every year since 2008 — no women’s Colorado Cup competition was held in 2015 as the CPGA didn’t field a team. The amateurs representing the CWGA have won all 10 times women’s matches have been contested.
 

Colorado Cup Matches
At CommonGround GC in Aurora

OPEN DIVISION
FINAL SCORE: CGA Amateurs 4, Colorado PGA Professionals 2

Four-Ball: CGA 4, Colorado PGA 2
  Chris Thayer / Alex Kephart, CGA, def. Geoff Keffer / Blake Sharamitaro, 1 up. 
  Lamar Carlile / Jacob Allenback, CGA, def. Caine Fitzgerald / Peter Norwood, 3 and 2.
  Barry Milstead / Erik Billinger, CPGA, def. Jimmy Makloski / Cody Kent, 1 up.
  Steve Irwin / Steven Kupcho, CGA, def. Doug Wherry / Will Panella, 1 up. 
  Tray Shehee / Dan O’Shaughnessy, CPGA, def. Adam Griffith / Braden Baer, 2 and 1.
  Nick Nosewicz / Gus Lundquist, CGA, def. Vince Buelk / Jeff Carlson, 2 and 1. 
 

SENIOR DIVISION
FINAL SCORE: Colorado PGA Professionals 3, CGA Amateurs 3

Four-Ball: Colorado PGA 3, CGA 3
  Gregg Jones / Ken Krieger, CPGA, def. Kelly Crone / Larry Netherton, 7 and 6.      
  Frank Wilkinson / Bruce Hogg, CGA, def. Perry Holmes / Jeff Hanson, 5 and 4.
  Mike Northern / Paul Lobato, CPGA, def. Steve Bell / Pat Bowe, 6 and 5.
  Kent Moore / Robert Polk, CGA, def. Rick Ellefson / Zane Zwemke, 3 and 2. 
  Russell Aragon / Vance Pollock, CPGA, def. Harry Johnson / Robert West, 2 and 1.
  Art Cudworth / Bob Chandler, CGA, def. Rick Cole / Tom Carricato, 6 and 5.

It will be four-ball galore over the next two weeks, both locally and nationally.

Between now and May 13, four big four-ball championships will be contested in Colorado or by the USGA, with Colorado competitors involved. First up are the separate CGA Four-Ball and Senior Four-Ball tournaments, the first CGA championships of 2015, set for Friday through Sunday (May 1-3). Then the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will be held May 2-6 in San Francisco. Last but not least, the first U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball will be played May 9-13 in Bandon, Ore.

(It should be noted that though the CWGA won’t have a four-ball event in the next couple of weeks, it holds three four-ball tournaments annually: the Mashie, Brassie and Niblick.

The men’s and women’s U.S. Four-Balls are the first additions to the USGA championship schedule since 1987.

Here’s a brief rundown of the four-ball events — which are essentially two-person better-balls, either in stroke play or match play — that are set for the next two weeks:

— CGA Four-Ball at Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster and CGA Senior Four-Ball at Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton, each 54-hole event running Friday through Sunday (May 1-3).

A total of 92 players (46 teams) are registered for the Four-Ball at Legacy Ridge. While 2014 champions Keith Humerickhouse and Jared Bickling won’t return as a team — Humerickhouse is in the field for the U.S. Four-Ball — Bickling will play at Legacy Ridge with new partner Stephen Baxter.

Other former champions in the field are Jon Lindstrom (2002 and ’12), Steve Irwin (2004 and ’09), Alex Buecking (2009), Dave Johnson (2006), Jim Doidge (2005) and Pat Diaz (2004). Irwin will team with Diaz again this year. Doidge will partner with Michael Harrington, the 2014 CGA Player of the Year.

In the Senior Four-Ball at Todd Creek, 102 competitors (51 teams) 50 and older are signed up. Included are defending champions David Delich and Bruce Hogg, who prevailed by three strokes last year. Also back are 2013 winners Kelly Crone and Larry Netherton, who also claimed the title in 2009.

Other former champs in the field are Daniel Dymerski (2012), John Applegate (2011), Sean Forey (2003 and ’08) and Scott Radcliffe (2003). Forey and Radcliffe will team up again this year.

To access scoring over the weekend, click on the following: OPEN DIVISION, SENIOR DIVISION.

— U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at the Olympic Club in San Francisco May 2-6.

A total of 4,468 golfers (2,234 teams) submitted entries, and qualifying was held at 51 sites from last August through March.

The field at the Olympic Club will feature 128 teams, which will play 36 holes of stroke play, with the top 32 teams advancing to match play beginning on May 4.

Five teams in the championship include at least one Coloradan:

Robert Polk of Parker and Bill Fowler of Lakewood

Alex Kephart of Colorado Springs and former Colorado Springs resident Nick Tarasiewicz

Keith Humerickhouse of Eagle and Tom Abell of Oregon, Wis.

Jeff Chapman of Denver and Andrew Tapia of Raton, N.M.

Gus Lundquist of Parker and Trevor Sluman of Rochester, N.Y.

Polk and Fowler, both 50-somethings, shared medalist honors in qualifying at Colorado Golf Club with Kephart and Tarasiewicz last September. (The four are pictured together above.) Polk, 59, will be the oldest player in the field at the Olympic Club.

Lundquist and Sluman are University of Louisville teammates, playing for coach Mark Crabtree, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer. Sluman is a nephew of Champions Tour player Jeff Sluman. They were medalists in an Oct. 8 qualifier in Mason, Ohio.

Humerickhouse and Abell were medalists in an Oct. 1 qualifier in Hartford, Wis.

— U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Bandon Dunes in Oregon May 9-13.

Qualifying for the inaugural Women’s Four-Ball took place at 28 sites from August through March.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster and Gillian Vance of Lakewood (left) will take a break from the high school season to play in the national championship. They shared medalist honors last October in a qualifier at Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster.

Kupcho, the 2014 CWGA Player of the Year, will play college golf at Wake Forest in the fall, while Vance will be on the University of Colorado roster.

All told at Bandon, 64 teams will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 32 teams advancing to match play, which begins May 11.
 

But while they’ve been consistent and determined, they hadn’t experienced the joy of being in contention in the tournament.

At least not until Sunday.

After finishing anywhere from 13th to 47th in the Father/Son since 2007, the Dillons (pictured) not only broke into the top 10 but claimed the very top spot in a field that features some pretty impressive names.

“This is the first year we actually performed up to our ability,” said Chris, who like his father is a product of Notre Dame. “We always thought we could win, but this time, we played solid golf — up to our potential. We played well at the right time and had a good time.”

Added Steve: “The neat thing is Chris can carry me around. In the past we’ve had some decent rounds in alternate shot (in the final round of the tournament), but we’ve been sloppy the last few years in Chapman (the first-day format).”

The Denver-area residents, who maintain their handicaps at CommonGround Golf Course, went wire-to-wire this year in winning the Father/Son Championship on Sunday.

A year after finishing 23rd in this event, the Dillons earned their first CGA championship victory. Not even a bogey-par-double bogey finish on Sunday at the Norman Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott could derail them on their path to victory.

With a 4-over-par 76 in deteriorating weather conditions — cool and sometimes windy and rainy — during Sunday’s foursomes (alternate shot), the Dillons posted a two-day total of 2-over 144. That gave the duo a one-stroke win over Doug and Tristan Rohrbaugh of Ironbridge Golf Club, who closed with a 75. Doug Rohrbaugh won the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, and Tristan claimed the 3A state high school title last year.

Four-time champions Gary and Alex Kephart of Eisenhower Golf Club tied for third place at 147 with Bill and Will Fowler of the Club at Rolling Hills. Both teams posted a 78 on Sunday.

“Everyone struggled today,” said Steve Dillon, a Wasson High School graduate who played varsity golf for Notre Dame as a freshman. “It was wonderful being up here — and it was awesome playing two terrific courses this weekend — but it was challenging (weather) conditions today. The last three holes everyone was shivering.”

The Father/Son, which featured a 58-team field, was played at two different courses on the Western Slope. Beaver Creek Golf Club hosted the action on Saturday, when the format was a Chapman Scotch.

As you might imagine, winning a championship as a father/son team makes victory all the sweeter.

“It’s terrific,” said Steve Dillon, 54, who lives at the site of the old Green Gables Country Club. “We’ve played together since he was 3 or 4 (Chris is now 22). “I’ve won tournaments and he has too, but to win with him is special.”

Chris has won a CJGA tournament and he recorded a top-10 finish in the 2008 state high school meet while playing for Mullen, but teaming up with his dad for the victory on Sunday was an experience unlike any other.

“I’ve definitely always dreamed of winning this,” said Chris, who works at Sanctuary in Salida. “It’s something I’ll always remember, a dream come true.”

The Father/Son also featured a net division, which was won by Dallas and James Massey, who went 69-72 for a 141 total. (The Dillons had a 137 net total, but were limited to their gross division title.)

The Loel and Caleb Lierman Award, given to the team with a player 18 or younger which has the lowest gross score, went to Rohrbaughs.

CGA Father/Son Championship
Saturday Chapman Scotch at Par-70 Beaver Creek GC
Sunday Foursomes at Par-72 Norman Course at Red Sky GC in Wolcott

Steve Dillon / Chris Dillon 68-76–144      
Doug Rohrbaugh / Tristan Rohrbaugh 70-75–145      
Bill Fowler / Will Fowler 69-78–147         
Gary Kephart / Alex Kephart 69-78–147
Dallas Massey / James Massey 74-76–150
Grant Porter / Matt Porter 73-80–153
Mac McDonald / Dillon McDonald 73-80–153
Kent Moore / Steven Moore 71-83–154
Guy Mertz / Nicklaus Mertz 73-83–156
Ben Zimmerman / Paul Zimmerman 72-85–157
Jeff Hanson / Collin Hanson 72-86–158
Mark Adolfson / Jack Adolfson 72-88–160
Matt Robinson / Ben Robinson 76-84–160
Robert Ernst Clever / Rob Clever 76-84–160
Bradley Becker / Daniel Becker 77-84–161
Tad Griffin / Patrick Griffin 80-82–162
Bruce Hogg / Tyler Hogg 79-84–163
Randy Rouse / Reid Rouse 74-89–163
John Luoma / Bill Luoma 78-86–164
Mark Strubel / Chris Strubel 78-86–164
Rick Tarasiewicz / Nick Tarasiewicz 74-90–164
Tad Willenbrock / Nick Willenbrock 73-91–164
Chuck Delich / Philip Delich 70-95–165
Greg Michaels / Larry Michaels 76-89–165
Ken Harris / David Harris 77-88–165
Andy Titterton / Kevin Titterton 75-91–166
Steve Windom / David Windom 84-85–169
Ryan Hettich / Ben Hettich 86-85–171
Bill Berger / Henry Haddon Berger 82-90–172
Mark Fowler / Brandon Fowler 77-96–173
James Steigerwald / Tyler Steigerwald 86-88–174
Robert Polk / Jason Polk 76-98–174
Eric Kurzweil / Sean Kurzweil 85-90–175
Jess Whittlef / Scott Whittlef 80-95–175
Joe Morrill / Peter Morrill 77-99–176
Tom Schouten / Derek Schouten 80-96–176
Norm Nuwash / Geoff Nuwash 79-98–177
Gary Thiret / Tyler Thiret 79-99–178
Colby Smith / Doug Skelton 78-101–179
Gary Driber / Brandon Driber 81-98–179
Thomas Scott Walter / Cody Walter 82-97–179
Brian Cramer / Arlo Cramer 84-96–180
Mark W Young / Erik Young 90-92–182
Bill Berech / Brock Berech 87-96–183
Jim Hollingsworth / Brian Hollingsworth 82-101–183
Kelly McLendon / Kelly McLendon 85-98–183
Jocko Kaliszewski / Lukas Kaliszewski 85-99–184
Mark Boscoe / Sam Ethan Boscoe 83-103–186
John Marasco / Mackenzie Marasco 83-108–191
Frank Erisman / Jacob Erisman 97-98–195
Paul Grant / Alex Grant 87-111–198
Matthew Pinkerton / Wade T Pinkerton 96-104–200
Steve J Bockenstedt / Scott Bockenstedt 97-105–202
Andrew Weber / Michael Weber 94-114–208
Bill Ramsey / Billy Ramsey 76-WD
Dave Usechek / Mr. Sean Usechek 84-WD
Jason Coffin / Dan Coffin 75-WD
Rick Rosendahl / Mitch Rosendahl 75-WD

Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch, attempting to earn his first return trip to the U.S. Open 12 years after qualifying as a 16-year-old, took the first step on Wednesday by sharing medalist honors in U.S. Open Local Qualifying at the Broadmoor Golf Club’s West Course in Colorado Springs.

The two-time HealthOne Colorado Open champion shot an even-par 70 and was one of five players at the site to advance to a 36-hole Sectional Qualifier on June 2.

Tolan, a former University of Colorado golfer, tied for the top spot Wednesday with David Schroeder II and Alex Kephart from Colorado Springs and Brandon Bingaman from Montrose. Also earning a Sectional berth was former CU golfer Derek Fribbs, from Castle Rock, who posted a 71.

After withdrawals and no-shows, 61 players competed for five spots into Sectionals at the Broadmoor.

Tolan, who played in the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in New York at age 16, made three birdies and three bogeys on Wednesday. This marks the second consecutive year he’s advanced from a Local Qualifier at the Broadmoor’s West Course. Tolan (pictured above) has conditional status on the Web.com Tour this year.

Schroeder, playing at his home club, recorded five birdies on Wednesday. He was the runner-up in the 2011 CGA Stroke Play Championship. (Schroeder is pictured between Kephart, left, and Bingaman.) 

Bingaman, a former Colorado Mesa University golfer, chalked up four birdies — the same as Kephart, who qualified for last year’s U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur, and Fribbs, the 2013 CGA Player of the Year.

Wednesday marked the second of three U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournaments being held in Colorado this week. On Tuesday at Collindale in Fort Collins, amateurs Parker Edens of Greeley and Cameron Brown of Edwards, along with professionals Matt Rutledge of Fort Collins and Miles Philpy of Thornton earned spots in Sectionals.

Five more players will advance from Thursday’s tournament at Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster.

A total of more than 210 players are involved in this week’s 18-hole U.S. Open Local Qualifiers in Colorado. The numbers were even larger, but quite a few players withdrew when two of the qualifying tournaments — at Heritage at Westmoor and the Broadmoor — were rescheduled twice due to the weather early in the week.

The players who advance this week will play in one of a dozen 36-hole Sectional Qualifiers, with the 10 in the U.S. scheduled for June 2. The U.S. Open itself will be held June 12-15 at the Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 course in North Carolina.

U.S. Open Local Qualifying
At Par-70 West Course at Broadmoor GC in Colo. Springs

ADVANCE TO SECTIONALS
Alex Kephart, Colorado Springs, Colo., 36-34–70
David Schroeder II, Colorado Springs, Colo., 35-35–70
Brandon Bingaman, Montrose, Colo., 35-35–70
Derek Tolan, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 35-35–70
Derek Fribbs, Castle Rock, Colo., 35-36–71

ALTERNATES (In Order)
Devyn Solano, Aurora, Colo., 32-40–72
Steven Irwin, Arvada, Colo., 37-36–73 

FAILED TO QUALIFY
Isaac Petersilie, Colorado Springs, Colo., 35-38–73
Barry Milstead, Centennial, Colo., 37-36–73
Wilson Belk, Colorado Springs, Colo., 35-38–73
Jeff Chapman, Englewood, Colo., 34-39–73
Jake Staiano, Englewood, Colo., 37-37–74
Erik Billinger, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 35-40–75
Eric Hallberg, Parker, Colo., 40-36–76
Tommy Carpenter, Centennial, Colo., 38-39–77
Luke Hemelstrand, Tempe, Ariz., 38-39–77
Jeffrey Gravina, Littleton, Colo., 37-40–77
William Beau Schoolcraft, Denver, Colo., 37-40–77
Marshall Clark, Denver, Colo., 34-44–78
David Lysaught, Denver, Colo., 41-37–78
Kaleb Nichols, Peyton, Colo., 37-41–78
Connor Klein, Lone Tree, Colo., 39-40–79
David Jackson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 38-41–79
Mitchell Smith, Elizabeth, Colo., 41-38–79
Nicholas Vanetten, Colorado Springs, Colo., 39-40–79
Matt Hart, Aurora, Colo., 40-40–80
Brett Housman, Pueblo, Colo., 39-41–80
Charles Rider, Centennial, Colo., 39-41–80
Jon Roth, Colorado Springs, Colo., 38-42–80
Austin Burgess, Colorado Springs, Colo., 39-42–81
Will Logsdon, Colorado Springs, Colo., 41-40–81
Audie Dean, Centennial, Colo., 40-42–82
Neil Tillman, Arvada, Colo., 40-42–82
Timothy Amundson, Littleton, Colo., 40-42–82
Chace Nathe, Timnath, Colo., 41-41–82
Alan Berry, Littleton, Colo., 39-44–83
Corey Stanton, Breckenridge, Colo., 39-44–83
Caleb Blass, Colorado Springs, Colo., 42-41–83
Justin Palermo, Colorado Springs, Colo., 41-42–83
Pierce Aichinger, Englewood, Colo., 41-43–84
Daniel Preston, Colorado Springs, Colo., 39-45–84
Jason Kroese, Denver, Colo., 38-46–84
Michael Swan, Crested Butte, Colo., 39-45–84
Grant McLaughlin, Aurora, Colo., 39-46–85
Todd Kenyon, Colorado Springs, Colo., 42-43–85
John Ward, Denver, Colo., 40-45–85
John Fowlds, Lone Tree, Colo., 43-42–85
Gilbert Garcia, Lawton, Okla., 42-44–86
Kyle Nottoli, Colorado Springs, Colo., 41-45–86
Andrew Silverman, Lone Tree, Colo., 42-44–86
Chris Winter, Colorado Springs, Colo., 43-44–87
Sam Marley, Centennial, Colo., 40-47–87
Andrew Cooper, Cherry Hills Village, Colo., 47-42–89
Jay Livsey, Denver, Colo., 40-49–89
Derek Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo., 36-54–90
Jacob Kelley, Littleton, Colo., 49-43–92
Spencer Rogerson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 49-45–94
Jeff Elliott, Moore, Okla., 48-48–96
Jimmy Byars, Denver, Colo., 51-46–97
Brian Whitehouse, Garden City, Kan., 49-49–98
Richard Esper, Parker, Colo., 49-49–98
Gary Driber, Castle Pines, Colo., WD
Troy Berglund, Pittsburgh, Pa., NS
Samuel Toillion, Longmont, Colo., NS
Matt Call, Castle Rock, Colo., WD
Conrad Smith, Golden, Colo., NS
Shane Bertsch, Parker, Colo., NS
Mike Milewski, Parker, Colo., NS
Wes Strang, Bethesda, Md., WD