A squall kicked up immediately after the conclusion of the awards ceremony for the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open on Friday afternoon.

Before that, it was Lexi Harkins of Crystal Lake, Ill., who took Green Valley Ranch Golf Club by storm.

The rookie pro, who started the day four strokes out of the lead, shot her personal-best round — a women’s course-record 8-under-par 64 — to overtake 18- and 36-hole leader Katrina Prendergast of Colorado State University and win the CWO title and the $50,000 first prize that goes with it.

“It almost feels not real right now,” the 22-year-old (left) said of her career round. “I started (playing) so long ago it doesn’t even feel real honestly.”

Harkins’ two-stroke victory denied Prendergast (below) of becoming just the second amateur to capture the overall championship at the Colorado Women’s Open. Paige Mackenzie (2006) remains the only amateur to pull off the feat.

“I can’t be mad about that,” said Prendergast, who will celebrate her 21st birthday on Sept. 9. “I was happy with the way I played. Maybe make a few more putts, but I still shot 2 under on the last day, which is pretty good. I can’t complain.”

Especially when someone cards a 64 to beat you. That was two shots better than any other score posted this week.

“I thought the pins were actually pretty hard today — harder than they’ve been all week,” said Prendergast, the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion with CSU teammate Ellen Secor. “Good for (Harkins). That’s pretty hard to do, especially on the last day.

“Yeah, it would have been nice to have gotten first, but second is just as good really. Going into (CSU’s) season with this second place, I’m really happy.”

Actually, amateurs have been in contention to win three of the last five Colorado Women’s Opens as Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster finished second in both 2014 and 2017.

And, just to be clear, even if Prendergast had claimed the overall title and Harkins had finished second on Friday, Harkins would have still won the $50,000 as the top prize available for amateurs is $750 worth of merchandise. 

On Friday, Prendergast led by one with three holes left. But Harkins (left) drained a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 16 and a 33-footer on No. 18, while Prendergast missed the green at the par-3 17th and made bogey. On Harkins’ birdie on 18, playing partner Christine Meier had an almost identical putt, which gave Harkins a nice preview of what to expect.

“It was helpful seeing her line and seeing that it was a quick putt,” said Harkins, who went up by two when her ball dropped, with Prendergast still in the 18th fairway. “It happened to go in, which was crazy.”

For Harkins, the victory was a nice turnabout after she took a five-shot lead into the final round of the Michigan Women’s Open in late June and ended up finishing second after a final-round 77. On Friday, she had to come from behind and shot 13 shots better than on her final day in Michigan.

Harkins, a former University of Wisconsin golfer, finished with nine birdies and one bogey on Friday for her 64, which was one shot better than the previous women’s course record at GVR, set by Erin Houtsma in 2010. That gave Harkins, who was competing in the CWO for the first time, a 10-under-par 206 total, good for her first victory in more than four years.

“It kind of just clicked all at the same time” on Friday, she said of her stellar round. “I felt pretty confident because I’ve been playing well recently. And I had some learning experiences this summer — the Michigan Women’s Open, where I had the lead and lost it.

“I haven’t won in a long time. This is definitely my biggest win.”

And that $50,000 — the biggest first prize in a women’s state open — will certainly come in handy for a rookie pro who just advanced to Stage II of LPGA Q-school.

“This means so much to me just because playing professional golf is expensive,” she said. “I’m just starting and just went to Stage I for Q-school. All of it is very expensive. This will just go toward me playing golf and pursuing my dream.

“But I was trying not to worry about the money (during Friday’s round) honestly. I was trying to focus on my shot and not get ahead of myself because you never know what’s going to happen out there. But it feels so good to get it done.”

In finishing second, Prendergast (left) has been runner-up this month in both the Utah’s Women’s Open and the Colorado Women’s Open.

Prendergast, a Sparks, Nev., resident whose dad flew in to catch the final round, took a three-stroke lead into Friday and shot a 2-under-par 70, giving her an 8-under 208 total. That earned her low-amateur honors by six.

“That was the No. 1 goal (going into the week) and I achieved it. I’m happy,” Prendergast said.

Former University of Colorado golfer Esther Lee placed third at 211 after a bogey-free 67 in the final round. Brittany Fan, a former teammate of Lee’s at CU, tied for fourth at 213 with Sarah Hoffman of Saline, Mich., and Hannah Kim of Chula Vista, Calif.

Coming to play in the Colorado Women’s Open this week was no small matter to Lee (left) as she’s 35th on the season-long Symetra Tour money list, with the top 10 on that list at the end of the season earning LPGA Tour cards. There’s only six events remaining in the Symetra season, with one of the tournaments going on this weekend in South Dakota.

“I’ve always wanted to come play (the Colorado Women’s Open),” she said. “If I don’t make the decision to play now, I probably never will, so I decided to come.”

Lee certainly earned a nice payday on Friday — $11,300 for her individual showing and $1,550 as she and CGA executive director Ed Mate placed runner-up in the pro-am competition.

“It feels really nice,” she said of the performance. “I’ve always wanted to play this event when I was at CU, but it never lined up with my schedule. I finally got a chance to come out and play this year. To be up in the mix (in the individual and team competitions) feels really good.”

For the record, title sponor CoBank won the pro-am competition with a three-day total of 27-under-par 189, which was three better than Oakwood Homes No. 2 (Lee and Mate) and Massage Envy. The winning CoBank team was comprised of Lee’s former CU teammate Fan and amateur Tyler Etcheberry of Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Notable: Dan Scherer of OutFront Media on Friday was presented the Ralph Moore Golf Journalism Award. Scherer is the senior vice president of the Mountain Plains Region for OutFront Media. Moore covered golf — and other sports — for the Denver Post for nearly 30 years. He’s a member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. … Four players who have made match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball finished in the top 15 of the Colorado Women’s Open on Friday. Prendergast (second place this week) and Secor (13th), of course, won the national women’s four-ball title this year. And Lee (third) and Fan (fourth) were the stroke-play co-medalists and went to the round of 16 in 2017, the year Prendergast and Secor also lost in the Sweet 16. … As was mentioned above, Prendergast took low-amateur honors on Friday by six strokes. Placing second in that competition was Aneta Abrahamova of Slovakia (214), while Secor (217) was third.

For scores from the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, CLICK HERE.

Amateur Katrina Prendergast may be competing against a bunch of pros this week at the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open — and beating them all through Thursday’s second round — but in a couple of very notable ways, she’s in a different world.

First, should the Colorado State University senior win the overall title on Friday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, she’ll have to grin and bear it as the low pro is presented a $50,000 check, while she receives $750 worth of merchandise as the low amateur.

“That would be a little weird,” she said of the hypothetical. “But one more year of college is the perfect amount of time for me to keep my game going, then see what happens after.”

And second, it’s a good bet the competing pros aren’t squeezing in a couple of college classes before teeing off at GVR, or a long one after getting done, as Prendergast did on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. She attended 8 and 9 a.m. classes at CSU before round 1 and a 5-8 p.m. class after round 2.

“I’m going to miss so much class during the (school) year for golf that I might as well go (to classes) while I can,” Prendergast noted. “Today might be a little bit of a hard day because I have a three-hour class. The 8 and 9 a.m. classes weren’t too bad to come out and play golf (afterward). I love golf.”

Despite mixing school and a big tournament, Prendergast (pictured) will take a three-stroke lead into Friday’s final round of the Colorado Women’s Open. She’s attempting to become just the second amateur to win the overall title in this event, joining Paige Mackenzie, who managed the feat a dozen years ago.

On Thursday, Prendergast had a little bit of everything in her round of 2-under-par 70. She eagled the par-5 18th hole (her ninth) from 17 feet after hitting a 3 hybrid in from 225 yards. Three holes earlier, she made a double bogey after a three putt. She also tossed in four birdies and two bogeys, including one of the three-putt variety on her final hole.

Add it up and the Sparks, Nev., resident checked in at 6-under-par 138.

“I feel good. My game is good,” said the 20-year-old, who paired with CSU teammate Ellen Secor to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title in May. “I’ve just got to go out and play my game tomorrow and see what happens. I’ve just got to go out and do my thing and not worry who I’m playing against.”

Prendergast normally tees it up against amateur-only fields, but this is the second time this month she’s competed against a mix of mainly pros and some ams at a state open. A few weeks ago, she finished second at the Utah Women’s Open after firing a final-round 63.

“I like playing against professionals because it makes me want to step up my game and be like them. It’s fun,” she said.

Prendergast is one of eight players who will go into Friday’s final round under par.

Jessica Vasilic (left), a 6-foot-3 player from Sweden, was the one major threat to Prendergast’s lead on Thursday as she was 5 under for the tournament through 31 holes. But she played her last five in 5 over par, going from second to ninth place with a second-round 74 leaving her at even-par 144 overall.

Holding down second place at 141 through two days is Hannah Kim of Chula Vista, Calif., who posted the low round of the tournament, a 5-under 67 on Thursday. The rookie pro from Northwestern played her final 15 holes of round 2 in 6 under par and birdied four of her last five holes.

Last month, Kim made the Illinois Women’s Open her first professional victory.

The players — Lexi Harkins of Crystal Lake, Ill., amateur Aneta Abrahamova of Slovakia and Christine Meier of Rochester Hills, Mich. — are tied for third place at 142

Also in the under-par mix is rookie pro Brittany Fan, a former University of Colorado golfer who was the 2013 low amateur in this event. Fan, who won a Cactus Tour event in her pro debut last month, recently punched her ticket to Stage II of LPGA Tour Q-school. She shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday to post a 1-under 143 total, good for a share of sixth place. She made five birdies in round 2.

Notable: The field was cut to the low 40 players after 36 holes, and the golfers who finished two rounds at 6-over 150 and better advanced to Friday. … In the low-amateur competition, Prendergast remains four strokes ahead of second-place Abrahamova, who matched the CSU golfer’s second-round 70. … Massage Envy leads the pro-am team competition with one round remaining, sitting at 19-under-par 125, one shot better than title sponsor CoBank. … Former University of Texas golfer Sophia Schubert, winner of the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur, carded a 2-under-par 70 on Thursday to sit at 145, good for a share of 12th place. Schubert started the tournament with a triple bogey on Wednesday. … Sixteen-year-old pro Karah Sanford, a native of Montrose, withdrew after a first-round 83. … The leaders will tee off for Friday’s final round at 9:15 a.m.

For scores from the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, CLICK HERE.

For Friday’s final-round pairings, CLICK HERE.

The 21-year-old Westminster resident competed for the third time in an LPGA Tour event, and it’s no doubt obvious by now why this is the top women’s golf circuit in the world. Kupcho (left) played very good golf at the LPGA Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, and she now has an additional standard by which to measure herself.

The senior-to-be at Wake Forest (left, with dad and caddie Mike; photo courtesy of the Kupcho family) never shot a round over par for the four days, and made just two bogeys on the weekend, but with stellar competition, she lost some ground on Sunday. Nevertheless, her 16th-place finish was her best in an LPGA Tour event, surpassing the 21st-place showing at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open.

Kupcho, the Women’s NCAA Division I individual champion and now the top-ranked women’s amateur in the world, received a good bit of air time on the Golf Channel during Sunday’s final round. She started the last day in fifth place, three strokes out of the lead, and was hoping to become the first amateur to win an LPGA Tour event since Lydia Ko in 2013. But a 1-par 70 on Sunday dropped her out of the top 10.

Kupcho, who had her dad Mike caddying for her this week, made a nice pitch to within a foot for a birdie on her final hole to check in at 9-under-par 275, five strokes behind champion Thidapa Suwannapura. Kupcho finished the final round with three birdies and two bogeys. Before bogeying the 13th hole with a three-putt on Sunday, she had gone 30 straight holes on the weekend with no score worse than a par.

“It’s been a great week,” Kupcho said on Saturday. “It’s fun to be around all the pros and have all these fans out here watching us. It’s just a great experience.”

For all the scores from the Marathon Classic, CLICK HERE.

Stacy 28th in U.S. Senior Women’s Open: Part-time Colorado resident Hollis Stacy was remarkably consistent in the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club. The three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion posted scores of 77-76-77-76, leaving her with a 14-over-par 306 total.

A final-hole birdie on Sunday gave Stacy a 28th-place finish. Laura Davies, like Stacy a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, cruised to a 10-stroke victory over Juli Inkster in the event, ending up with a 276 total.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans who competed in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open:

28. Part-time Lakewood resident Hollis Stacy 77-76-77-76–306
Missed 36-Hole Cut
Part-time Gunnison resident Marilyn Hardy 82-77–159
Janet Moore, Centennial 80-81–161
Sherry Andonian-Smith, Centennial 80-81–161

For all the scores from the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, CLICK HERE.

The Westminster resident, who earlier this week ascended to the top spot in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings for the first time, is showing she can compete quite effectively against some of the top professionals in the world as well.

The 21-year-old senior-to-be at Wake Forest shot a bogey-free 5-under-par 66 on Saturday to move into a share of fifth place going into Sunday’s final round of the LPGA Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

The 66 vaulted Kupcho 21 spots up the scoreboard on Saturday and left her just three strokes out of the lead, currently held by Brooke Henderson.

Kupcho, who landed a spot in the field by virtue of winning the Women’s NCAA Division I individual title in May, stands at 8-under-par 205 through three days in the third LPGA Tour event of her career. The Coloradan missed the cut in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open and finished 21st in the same event last year.

Kupcho is one of many players who have a legitiate shot at the title on Sunday. Besides the four players ahead of her, there are 10 golfers tied with her at 205, along with five at 206.

Kupcho made five birdies and no bogeys on Saturday. She’s carded just four bogeys in 54 holes.

The Coloradan is the low amateur in the Marathon Classic by eight strokes through three rounds.

(Kupcho is pictured on Saturday in a photo courtesy of the Kupcho family. Father Mike is in the background.)

For all the scores from the Marathon Classic, CLICK HERE.