(Note: This is the first in an occasional series of U.S. Mid-Amateur articles that will appear on ColoradoGolf.org leading up to the national championship for players 25 and older being held at Colorado Golf Club and CommonGround Golf Course Sept. 14-19.)

It should go without saying that winning a USGA national championship is no easy task. And that’s even more the case for a resident of Colorado, where the population isn’t huge — relatively speaking — and trying to play golf year-around can be problematic.

All that said, when lifelong Coloradan Bill Loeffler was departing for the U.S. Mid-Amateur in the fall of 1986, his father-in-law, Ron Moore, made a bold prediction.

“It’s weird,” Loeffler said last week in reflection. “My father-in-law, Ron Moore, told my wife that he thought I was going to win the tournament when I was leaving for Mississippi, just because we had played a couple of times together.”

And, sure enough, Moore proved prescient regarding Loeffler, now a member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, like Moore. Loeffler, then 30, would go on to win the 1986 U.S. Mid-Am, which drew 2,511 entrants. The event was played at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., a Jack Nicklaus-designed course that hosted a PGA Tour event for 20 years until 2014. Loeffler defeated Georgian Charles Pinkard 4 and 3 in the scheduled 18-hole championship match on Oct. 9, 1986.

Loeffler (above in a USGA photo from the ’86 championship) remains the only Coloradan to have won the U.S. Mid-Am, which dates back to 1981.

As much as Loeffler has accomplished in the game — he’s also won three Colorado Opens (tied for second-most ever, behind Dave Hill), the 1992 national PGA Assistant Professional Championship, the 2007 Senior PGA Professional National Championship, a Colorado Senior Open, a CGA Amateur and three Colorado PGA Section Champioships — he points to the 1986 U.S. Mid-Am victory as the most meaningful in his long career.

“It’s probably the best accomplishment I can think of — only because of what the Mid-Am did for me,” said Loeffler, now 62. “Not only was it a USGA championship, but it got me on the Walker Cup team (in 1987) and then into the Masters (in 1988). It was a springboard. Anytime a golfer gets a chance to win a USGA event, it’s a pretty big deal. I can’t think of anything bigger” that he’s accomplished in golf.

Indeed, though the U.S. Mid-Am victory didn’t automatically earn him a spot on the Walker Cup team or into the Masters back then, that was the de facto result of his victory in Mississippi. Coloradan M.J. Mastalir, then a member of the USGA Executive Committee, pushed for Loeffler’s inclusion on the 10-man Walker Cup team, and Loeffler ended up going 2-1 individually as the U.S. routed Great Britain & Ireland in the matches in England.

And at the time, the Masters invited the entire U.S. Walker Cup team into its field, which is how Loeffler competed at Augusta National in 1988. In the department of fortuitous timing, that was the last time an entire American Walker Cup team was invited to the Masters. On the other hand, since 1988 every U.S. Mid-Am winner has been invited to the Masters, and since 2017, the Mid-Am champ has landed a spot in the following year’s U.S. Open.

At the ’86 Mid-Am, Loeffler rode a very hot Ping putter to the title. Besides defeating Pinkard in the final, Loeffler topped one of the world’s top amateurs at the time, Randy Sonnier, 3 and 2 in the semis. Sonnier was a finalist — losing to Jay Sigel — and a stroke-play co-medalist the only previous time the U.S. Mid-Am has been contested in Colorado, in 1983 at Cherry Hills Country Club.

“That week I was really on my game,” Loeffler said of the ’86 Mid Am. “I remember putting just out-of-the-planet good. It was a great golf course, good on my eye and I was just making everything. I got past (a couple of past Walker Cuppers in match play) and I was pretty thrilled with that because I knew they were the cream of the crop in amateur golf.”

Asked specifically about the final against Pinkard, Loeffler (left in a USGA photo) said he has few specific recollections.

“I just remember being in a fog the whole finals, like it didn’t matter what he did or where I hit it, I kind of knew I was going to win,” Loeffler said. “And it was WEIRD. I used to get pretty volatile, but that day it was just surreal, like I was floating through the match and it didn’t matter what he did. If he’d have thrown three birdies at me, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

Loeffler’s 4 and 3 victory ties for the second-most-lopsided margin in an 18-hole U.S. Mid-Am final. He only had to play the 18th hole once in the match-play portion of the event. And at 30, he was the event’s youngest champion at the time.

Loeffler knew something special might be in the works during the practice days — specifically when he got into a putting contest on the practice putting green with fellow former Arizona State University golfer Dennis Saunders.

“We spent a couple hours on the putting green,” Loeffler recalled. “Honest to God, I started making these putts — 50 feet, 30 feet, 20 feet. I was like, ‘What in the world is going on here?’ But they just started pouring in. We got done and Dennis said, ‘I have never, ever seen you putt like this before.’ I said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on but I’m going to try to keep this feeling for the whole week.’ And it worked.”

In fact, that Ping putter worked so well that week that the manufacturer — as has been the case since the 1970s for each major victory with a Ping putter — made a gold-plated putter with the exact specs of the one used to win the tournament and stored in a company vault at Ping headquarters in the Phoenix area.

While his putting was spot on that week, Loeffler had to manufacture a tee-to-green game to a certain extent.

“I remember getting down there and being unable to hit a draw, no matter what I was doing,” he said. “In the practice rounds playing with a couple of my ASU teammates, I finally just decided, ‘You know what? I’m not even going to fight it. I’m just going to aim down the left side and cut it — just let it work that way.’ And of course on a Nicklaus course if you cut it, sometimes it’s an advantage. I did that all week — hit this ugly kind of cut/slice thing, hit a bunch of greens and putted great. For the life of me, I couldn’t turn the ball over right to left.”

Even after winning the national title, Loeffler was frustrated with that situation to the point that he rectified it within a few days of returning to Colorado.

“When I got home from the championship, I went down to Castle Pines into their club room and decided I didn’t like the shafts in my irons so I reshafted all of them,” he said. “I was so mad I couldn’t turn the ball over. I figured it had to be the shafts; it couldn’t be me. It was just impetuous and stupid.

“I was in the club repair room and Keith Schneider (then the PGA head professional at Castle Pines) and Jack Vickers (the club founder) were having a meeting. Of course, when you change shafts you have to heat the shafts up a little bit. So I set off the smoke alarm in the clubhouse with Vickers and Keith in there in a meeting. Keith comes and just looks at me, shook his head and walked away.”

Loeffler’s golf career has been an unusual one given that he’s gone from amateur to pro to amateur to pro. After winning a state high school title at Cherry Creek, a CGA Junior Match Play and CGA Amateur in Colorado before becoming an All-American at ASU, Loeffler turned pro the first time and made it to the PGA Tour. He competed on golf’s top circuit in 1980, ’81 and early ’82, playing in 32 events. But he made only eight cuts and $5,356 during that time.

“I had a plan and got on Tour,” Loeffler said. “I set some goals and wasn’t achieving them. I wanted to kind of get on with my life, I wanted to get married to Sandy. She had her job and she wasn’t traveling with me. I stopped enjoying playing golf and I wasn’t getting better. I kind of decided, I love the game, but there’s something else to do. … It was time for a change.”

So even though he had some PGA Tour status remaining in 1982, he decided after playing poorly in U.S. Open qualifying that he’d start the process for regaining his amateur status. Three years later, he was an amateur again and played in the CGA Match Play — where he lost to eventual champion, and now longtime PGA Tour/PGA Tour Champions player, Brandt Jobe — and in the CGA Amateur.

In 1986, Loeffler won the U.S. Mid-Am, then captured the inaugural CGA Mid-Amateur title and a third Broadmoor Men’s Invitation victory the next year. But after playing on the ’87 Walker Cup team and in the ’88 Masters as an amateur — where he shot 77-79 and missed the 36-hole cut — Loeffler returned to the professional ranks in 1989, this time on the club professional side of things.

“I remember playing in the Pacific Coast Amateur in Seattle and I was pretty much broke,” he said. “It had cost say about $1,000 to play it. I finished second or third to Billy Mayfair. I was sitting at the podium and they gave me a medal about the size of a half-dollar. I looked at it and I’m like, ‘I’m starving to death, my wife thinks I’m a loser and I’ve got this half-dollar medal. I realize now my whole life is centered around golf, so it’s time for another change.’ I went back and said, ‘Sandy, I’ve got to turn pro.’ And she supported me, like she always has.”

During this second stint as a pro — which has lasted the last 30 years — Loeffler has been an owner of The Links Golf Course in Highlands Ranch and Moore, Loeffler, wife Sandy and their family built and operated the Hale Irwin-designed Highlands Ranch Golf Club from its opening in 1998 until 2011, when it was gifted to the University of Denver. And obviously Loeffler has accomplished plenty as a competitor.

But Loeffler (left in a CGA photo in 2018) has been hampered by a bad back for quite a while now, to the point that he believes his days of competing in multi-day tournaments may be behind him.

“It’s hard for me to be able to play two rounds in a row, so I think I’m pretty much done (from a competitive standpoint),” he said. “It’s my back. It gets real weak after about 12 holes. (After) two or three days, I’ve got to go on some pain meds, and I hate doing that. It’s just time. Fifty years of competing, that’s plenty. I think I’m done.”

But Loeffler still enjoys rounds of casual golf with wife Sandy, who has taken up the game, and friends.

“It’s all good,” he said. “If I play twice a week and separate the two days, I’m OK.”

And if his days competing in major events is indeed done, Loeffler has put together a stellar resume, including the 1986 U.S. Mid-Am title. And he’s happy to see the event returning to his home state this year.

“It’s tremendous. And to have it at Colorado Golf Club, one of the best clubs in the state, just a great golf course, it doesn’t get any better than that,” he said. “And it’s a great match play course with those finishes on those par-5s, 15 and 16. It’s going to be tremendous. I’m sure the field will be chock-full of ex-pros that are just great players. And in September, it’ll be perfect (weather-wise).”

That’s when the Arthur Schaupeter-designed Scottish links-style course will host its first big-time tournament. The 54-hole Colorado PGA Professional Championship is scheduled for Monday through Wednesday (Sept. 10-12). It’ll be a worthwhile preview for what’s planned for the course (left) starting next year — a stop on the Web.com Tour, which is just one step below the PGA Tour.

The Web.com Tour — then known as the Nike Tour — previously had a tournament in Colorado in 1996 and ’97, when Riverdale’s Dunes Course in Brighton hosted the Nike Colorado Classic. Stewart Cink, who has since won six times on the PGA Tour including the 2009 British Open, claimed the title in 1996.

(For more on TPC Colorado, CLICK HERE.)

The Colorado PGA Professional Championship will feature a formidable field of most of the top professionals from the Colorado Section. That includes Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, who won this event three straight years starting in 2013. Other winners of the event in the 21st century who are in the field next week include Caine Fitzgerald (2012), Rob Hunt (2009 and ’11), Chris Johnson (2010), Mike Northern (2006), Heikke Nielsen (2005), Bill Loeffler (2000, ’02 and ’04) and Micah Rudosky (2001). Loeffler and fellow participant Ron Vlosich are members of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

Others who are entered are 2017 runner-up Rick Cole, 2018 Colorado Senior PGA Professional Champion Mike Zaremba, Ari Papadopoulos, TPC Colorado host head pro Stephen Arendt and Eric Bradley. Among the female members competing are Alexandra Braga and Sherry Andonian-Smith. Braga won the first two Colorado PGA Women’s Championships and Andonian-Smith qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open this year.

But the last two winners from the Colorado PGA Professional Championship aren’t in the field this time around — John Ogden (2017) and Geoff Keffer (2016). Ogden is injured and Keffer, a five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year, didn’t enter.

The top finishers next week will advance to the 2019 PGA Professional Championship, set for April 28-May 1 in Bluffton, S.C.

For Monday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

John Elway drew the majority of the crowds Monday at U.S. Senior Open qualifying at The Broadmoor Golf Club — no surprise there — but it was Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Chris Johnson of Castle Rock who will be competing in front of the really big galleries at the Colorado Springs resort in four weeks.

While an estimated 500 fans came to The Broadmoor to see the Pro Football Hall of Famer — an extemely high number for a Colorado-based USGA qualifying tournament — Rohrbaugh and Johnson earned the two available U.S. Senior Open berths at stake on the historic East Course. (The two qualifiers are pictured, with Rohrbaugh at left.)

The Broadmoor, of course, will host this year’s Senior Open come June 28-July 1, which makes it an even bigger bonus for Colorado PGA professionals like Rohrbaugh and Johnson, both of whom competed in last week’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Michigan.

Rohrbaugh, who was paired with two of the best senior players in the world (Scott McCarron and Miguel Angel Jimenez) at the Senior PGA, fired a stellar 1-under-par 69 Monday at The Broadmoor to earn medalist honors. On a course that takes a toll on many a player’s scorecard, Rohrbaugh was rock solid. He made two birdies on the day — most notably from 3 feet on the 520-yard par-4 17th — and his only bogey came when he three-putted No. 15 by missing a 2-foot putt.

Johnson, the 2010 Colorado PGA Professional Champion, carded a 2-over 72 to land the second and final qualifying spot out of a field that originally numbered 84. He made two birdies and four bogeys on the day.

Meanwhile, Elway, the honorary chairman of the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, won’t to adding “competitor” to his title for this year’s championship. The Broncos general manager posted a 10-over-par 80 in a round that was interrupted for 75 minutes by a lightning delay. The 57-year-old was even-par for the first four holes, but ended up with eight bogeys and a double bogey. Still, an 80 was tied for the 18th-best score of the day. Oilman and philanthropist George Solich, who earned an Evans Scholarship as a caddie at The Broadmoor in the late 1970s, looped for Elway on Monday. (The two are pictured at left.)

“I played as well as I could play,” Elway said. “These are hard conditions. If you’re off the fairway by a yard, it’s hard to get it to the green. It’s a lot of work in that rough. But it was fun. I enjoyed playing in these conditions.”

Asked if he thought he had a chance to qualify had he played his best, Elway said, “No. I hadn’t been playing very well and not playing much either. But it was fun to be out here and compete.”

Next month’s championship will mark the fourth U.S. Senior Open for the 56-year-old Rohrbaugh — and the 11th PGA Tour Champions event of his career. Oddly, eight of those 11 will have been senior majors (four U.S. Senior Opens, three Senior PGAs and one Regions Tradition). In Rohrbaugh’s three previous trips to the U.S. Senior Open, he’s missed the 36-hole cut each time — by one stroke (2015), three (2012) and four (2013).

“Four times (in the Senior Open) is obviously amazing, but to play in your backyard …,” Rohrbaugh said. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since I saw it was on the schedule — thinking how cool it would be to have family and friends come down. It’s huge.”

In Colorado, Rohrbaugh has won the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships. As for his day jobs, he’s an instructor at Snowmass Club and a representative at Anderson Ord apparel.

Meanwhile, this will be the second senior major of Johnson’s career, following last week’s Senior PGA. Both the 51-year-old Johnson (77-76) and Rohrbaugh (76-76) missed the 36-hole cut last week.

“I’ll tell you what: It’s been a couple of crazy weeks,” said Johnson, a Life Member of the Colorado PGA. “To get to play in one major was incredibly fun. To get to play in a second one, these are the goals you set when you’re a kid. I’m just tickled.

“I don’t know that I could have played any better than I did today. That was a pretty solid round of golf for me. If you drove the ball in the rough here, you were done. You couldn’t get it to the green. You couldn’t get it close to the hole. On the fourth hole, I hit a 7-iron out of the rough as hard as I could and advanced it 120 yards. You had to hit it in the fairway.”

Rohrbaugh’s score on Monday was surprising to many observers, who didn’t think anyone would match par or better. And as it turned out, only three players broke 76. But a strong finish netted Rohrbaugh a 69. A 310-yard drive on 17 left him 216 in, and he hit a 4 hybrid to 3 feet and sunk the putt for birdie. Then on 18, with a difficult pin placement, Rohrbaugh’s birdie putt ended up 12 feet from the hole. But with the help of a good read from son Tristan, a former 3A state high school champion and 2015 CGA Western Chapter winner, Rohrbaugh rolled in the par putt (left) to shoot in the 60s.

“Going in, I thought par or even 1 over would” qualify, Rohrbaugh said. “I played so good today. I only missed three fairways. And the lies I had when I missed the fairway were decent. And my irons today were really good. I only missed three greens and made just one bogey. That was huge. I had it under par early and just kept going par-par-par and playing smart. I managed my game pretty fricking good, I have to say.”

Besides both being Colorado PGA professionals and both having played in last week’s Senior PGA, Rohrbaugh and Johnson had one other thing in common at The Broadmoor: They both had their sons caddying for them, Tristan for Doug Rohrbaugh, and Cooper for Chris Johnson.

“Tristan was awesome,” Rohrbaugh said. “He read the greens. We all know how tricky these are, but he read them so good.”

All in all, Johnson said it shouldn’t surprise anyone that two guys who competed in the Senior PGA last week should gain the two spots at stake Monday in the U.S. Senior Open.

“It’s no coincidence,” he said. “You go out there for 36 holes grinding your butt off (in Michigan) to shoot your best possible score and you know that you’re striking it good and that you’ve worked really hard to play in that event. Then you come here and there’s this thinking, ‘I can do this.’ So I don’t think it’s coincidental that Doug and I both shot solid rounds today.”

As for Rohbaugh, watching McCarron and Jimenez operate up close for two days paid dividends. After all, the two have combined for 11 PGA Tour Champions wins, including two senior majors.

“With the pairing I had, it could have been very nerve-wracking,” Rohrbaugh said of the Senior PGA. “But I was as comfortable as I’ve ever been playing. It was the advantage of playing in those circumstances so many times. I’ve played with (Bernhard) Langer before and played well.

“And the two guys (McCarron and Jimenez) were absolute gentlemen. They were so great. It made up for the way I played. What a treat to get to play with them and witness some incredible ball-striking.”

Landing alternate spots on Monday at The Broadmoor were Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock (round of 74) and low amateur Steve Ivan of Colorado Springs (76). 

(At left was the gallery as Elway walked off the first tee on Monday.)

U.S. Senior Open Qualifying
At Par-70 East Course at The Broadmoor GC in Colorado Springs
ADVANCE TO U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Doug Rohrbaugh, Carbondale 35-34–69
Chris Johnson, Castle Rock 36-36–72
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Bill Loeffler, Castle Rock 39-35–74
Steve Ivan, Colorado Springs 38-38–76

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

John Elway figures to receive much of the attention from fans and the media on Monday at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, whether the Pro Football Hall of Famer qualifies for the U.S. Senior Open or not. More than 2,000 fans are expected to watch him try to qualify Monday at The Broadmoor.

Attention comes with the territory for Elway, who has an official role to play for this particular U.S. Senior Open even if he fails to earn a spot in the 156-man field. The Broncos general manager is the honorary chairman for this year’s Senior Open, which the East Course at The Broadmoor will host June 28-July 1.

On the golf course, Elway does have some game. He’s made the cut in the CoBank Colorado Open once, and has posted two top-30 finishes in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open. And he’ll be helped out on Monday by oilman and philanthropist George Solich, an Elway friend who grew up caddying at The Broadmoor. George Solich and brother Duffy have lent their names and support to the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy. Elway is scheduled to tee off at 10:10 a.m. from No. 1 on the East Course.

But the bar will be set high on Monday for Elway and the other 83 competitors in the 18-hole qualifying tournament at the East Course as just two players from the site will advance to the U.S. Senior Open itself.

The field is full of formidable players. Ron Vlosich of Lakewood has qualified for five U.S. Senior Opens and Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale for three, and Rohrbaugh has also won a Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships in recent years. Dale Smigeksy of Fort Collins and Charlie Post of Castle Rock played in the 2017 Senior Open.

On top of that, there’s several Colorado Golf Hall of Famers, in addition to Vlosich — Bill Loeffler (the 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion), Kent Moore and John Olive, who’s competing at his home course. There’s 2017 Colorado PGA Professional Champion John Ogden of Cherry Hills Village; Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, winner of both a Colorado Open and a Colorado Senior Open; Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, who finished fourth in the 2016 national Senior PGA Professional Championship; amateurs David Delich, a two-time U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and Robert Polk, who went to the 2007 Senior Open; 2016 U.S. Senior Open qualifier John Hornbeck of Wyoming; and Chris Johnson, who along with Rohrbaugh is competing in this week’s Senior PGA Championship.

Besides Colorado, states represented in Monday’s field including Arizona (6), Utah (5), Wyoming (3), Oklahoma (2), California (1), Florida (1), Montana (1), Ohio (1), Tennessee (1) and Texas (1).

Monday marks just the fourth time a U.S. Senior Open host course has also held a qualifying tournament leading up to the event. All told, 34 sites will host U.S. Senior Open qualifying events this spring.

Spectators are welcome for Monday’s qualifying tournament at The Broadmoor, and admission is free.
 

The 2018 PGA of America All-Pro teams are made up of head professionals, directors of golf and general managers.

Included among Global Golf Post’s fourth annual PGA All-Pro teams were Eaton Country Club head professional Rick Cole; Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler, general manager at The Links Golf Course; Ironbridge Golf Club director of golf Doug Rohrbaugh; and Collindale Golf Club director of golf Dale Smigelsky. All four Coloradans were among the 55 honorable-mention selections.

Cole was the Colorado PGA’s Senior Player of the Year after finishing second in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship as a 64-year-old and placing sixth in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open. Rohrbaugh, Cole and Loeffler made the 54-hole cut in the national Senior PGA Professional Championship, finishing 43rd, 49th and 69th respectively. Rohrbaugh advanced to the final stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-school. Smigelsky qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, finished 27th in the national PGA Professional Championship and placed seventh in the Colorado Senior Open.

Eleven pros nationally were selected for Global Golf Post’s first team, and 11 more for the second.

Selection of the teams was based on 2017 tournament finishes in the PGA Championship, Senior PGA, PGA Professional Championship, Senior PGA Professional Championship, U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open, along with Section events. Section players of the year and senior players of the year who were head pros, directors of golf or GMs received at least honorable-mention status.
 

With the top 35 finishers out of the 264-person field at the national Senior PGA Professional Championship earning berths into next May’s Senior PGA, Chris Johnson of Castle Rock finished one stroke out of a playoff for the 35th spot, Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale two, and Rick Cole of Eaton three.

Johnson, the 2010 Colorado PGA Professional Champion, finished 38th on Sunday in Scottsdale after his only bogey of his final 13 holes came on the 16th hole at Desert Mountain. He posted a 4-over-par 292 total after carding rounds of 69-74-74-75.

Rohrbaugh, a former PGA Tour Champions competitor who has won three Colorado PGA Pro Championships, checked in at 293 — two out of a playoff — after making birdie on his final hole for a 74 on Sunday. A triple bogey on his eighth hole on Sunday was a big blow as he finished 43rd.

And Cole, who like Johnson was inside the top 35 going into the final round, shot a final-round 76 to tie for 49th at 294. For the second consecutive day, he double bogeyed his final hole. Cole made two double bogeys on Sunday to go with three birdies and three bogeys.

The fourth Coloradan to make the 54-hole cut, 2007 national champion Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock, placed 69th at 299 after a final-round 78.

Frank Esposito of Old Bridge, N.J. captured the title on Sunday by five with a 12-under 276 total.

Last year, Mike Northern of Colorado Springs finished fourth in the national Senior PGA Professional Championship and easily qualified for the Senior PGA.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans who competed in Scottsdale:

38. Chris Johnson of Castle Rock, Life Member 69-74-74-75–292
43. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, Ironbridge GC 72-73-74-74–293
49. Rick Cole of Eaton, Eaton CC 73-70-75-76–294
69. Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock, The Links GC 75-73-73–221
MISSED 54-HOLE CUT
100. Barry Milstead of Castle Rock, Valley CC 73-74-86–233
MISSED 36-HOLE CUT
Bill Hancock of Highlands Ranch, Littleton GC 75-76–151
Ron Vlosich of Lakewood, Life Member 74-78–152
Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, Desert Hawk at Pueblo West 80-74–154
Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, Life Member 77-79–156
Don Hurter of Sedalia, Castle Pines GC DQ

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Chris Johnson of Castle Rock, the 2010 Colorado PGA Professional Champion, will go into Sunday’s final round in 27th place. He shot a roller-coaster 2-over-par 74 Saturday at Desert Mountain, posting a 5-over-par 41 on the front nine, and 3-under 33 on the back. That leaves him at 1-over-par 217 after three days.

The top 35 finishers on Sunday will earn spots in the 2018 Senior PGA Championship, set for May 24-27 in Benton Harbor, Mich.

Rick Cole of Eaton, the runner-up in this month’s Colorado PGA Professional Championship, also remained inside the top 35 despite making a double-bogey 7 on his final hole and shooting 75 on Saturday. The 64-year-old is in 34th place, with a 2-over 218 total.

The two other Coloradans who made the 54-hole cut are also well within reach of the top 35. Three-time Colorado PGA Pro Champion Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale is at 219 following a third-round 74. And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler, winner of the national Senior PGA Pro Championship in 2007, stands at 221 following a 73 on Saturday.

Overall, Frank Esposito of Old Bridge, N.J., holds the lead at 8-under 208.

 Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing:

27. Chris Johnson of Castle Rock, Life Member 69-74-74–217
34. Rick Cole of Eaton, Eaton CC 73-70-75–218
44. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, Ironbridge GC 72-73-74–219
60. Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock, The Links GC 75-73-73–221
MISSED 54-HOLE CUT
100. Barry Milstead of Castle Rock, Valley CC 73-74-86–233
MISSED 36-HOLE CUT
Bill Hancock of Highlands Ranch, Littleton GC 75-76–151
Ron Vlosich of Lakewood, Life Member 74-78–152
Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, Desert Hawk at Pueblo West 80-74–154
Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, Life Member 77-79–156
Don Hurter of Sedalia, Castle Pines GC DQ

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

Cole (pictured), who lost in a playoff and finished second earlier this month at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, shot a 2-under-par 70 on Friday, giving him a 1-under 143 total at the tournament’s halfway point. He made three birdies and a bogey in round 2 and played his final 15 holes in 3 under par.

Tied with Cole in 17th place is Chris Johnson of Castle Rock, who carded a 74 on Friday. Johnson made three birdies on the day, offset by three bogeys and a double bogey.

Also among those making the 36-hole cut to the low 90 players and ties was former PGA Tour Champions player Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, a three-time Colorado PGA Professional Champion who shot 73 on Friday and stands at 145, good for a tie for 34th place.

Likewise advancing to Saturday’s play were Barry Milstead of Castle Rock (147, 55th place) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock, a past winner of this national championship (148, 69th place).

Defending champion Steve Schneiter of Utah leads the way at the halfway point with a 9-under 135 total.

The tournament will continue through Sunday. The field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties after 54 holes.

The top 35 finishers will earn spots in the 2018 Senior PGA Championship, set for May 24-27 in Benton Harbor, Mich.

 Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing:

17. Rick Cole of Eaton, Eaton CC 73-70–143
17. Chris Johnson of Castle Rock, Life Member 69-74–143
34. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, Ironbridge GC 72-73–145
55. Barry Milstead of Castle Rock, Valley CC 73-74–147
69. Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock, The Links GC 75-73–148
MISSED 36-HOLE CUT
Bill Hancock of Highlands Ranch, Littleton GC 75-76–151
Ron Vlosich of Lakewood, Life Member 74-78–152
Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, Desert Hawk at Pueblo West 80-74–154
Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, Life Member 77-79–156
Don Hurter of Sedalia, Castle Pines GC DQ
 

For the fourth time since late May, the Colorado golf community lost one of its most notable members as Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Bisdorf passed away last Monday (Sept. 19) in Denver at the age of 87.

Ironically, the man who was born exactly four months before Arnold Palmer in 1929 died just six days before The King did on Sunday.

In winning three of the first four Colorado Opens at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, Bisdorf is one of just three players who have captured that title at least three times, along with Dave Hill (four wins) and Bill Loeffler (three).

Bisdorf (pictured) was runner-up to Bob Pratt in the 1966 Colorado Open, meaning his first four finishes in the tournament were first, first, second, first. He was also second in 1975 (placing just in front of Peter Jacobsen), third in 1971 and fifth in ’72.

Add it up and that’s seven top-five finishes in the first dozen Colorado Opens. He also won the the 1959 and ’66 Colorado Section PGA Championships, the 1960 Wyoming Open and the 1965 Mile High Open.

Ronn Spargur, a former longtime executive director of the Colorado Open, noted that Rocky Mountain News golf writer Dave Nelson — who’s also in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame — had a nickname for Bisdorf back in his prime.

“He called him ‘the blacksmith’ because (Bisdorf) could hit the ball two or three miles,” Spargur said. “He was really strong.”

Indeed, it’s said that Bisdorf out-drove Jack Nicklaus during practice leading up to the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine Country Club.

Not surprisingly, Bisdorf was named the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year following his first two Colorado Open victories (1964 and ’65). He also claimed the championship in 1967. Interestingly, Bisdorf didn’t receive any official prize money for winning the first Colorado Open as there was no purse that year. And it’s notable that the runner-up that first year, amateur Jim English, also passed away in the summer of 2016. In ’65 and ’67, Bisdorf won $1,000 and $1,200, respectively, for his Colorado Open victories.

Bisdorf competed in 46 events on the PGA Tour from 1956 to ’71, including a career-high 14 in 1957. He posted two top-10 finishes, including a third place in 1956.

Bisdorf played 16 major championships over the years — 10 PGA Championships and six U.S. Opens. He finished tied for 20th — along with Raymond Floyd — in the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine.

And after the creation of the Senior Tour — now known as PGA Tour Champions — Bisdorf competed in nine events on that circuit from 1980 to ’86, recording three top-25 finishes.

A member of the PGA of America since 1955, Bisdorf served as the head professional at Green Gables Country Club from 1959 through ’67. He later owned Denver Capitol Golf, where golfers could receive year-round lessons, then was head professional at Twilight Golf Course from 1979 to ’89.

Bisdorf was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. Since May, fellow Hall of Famers Will Nicholson Jr., English and Ed Nosewicz have also passed away.

Norma Bisdorf, Bill’s wife, said there will be no services, but half of his ashes will be placed at Fort Logan Cemetary. Bill Bisdorf served in the Navy and played on Naval Championship teams along with Billy Casper and Gene Littler during the early 1950s. 

Bisdorf is survived by Norma, five children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
 

John Ross will be eligible for Medicare next April, but age is all a state of mind, right?

That certainly seemed to be the case this week for Ross at the CoBank Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

By winning the tournament Friday, Ross not only earned the first-place check of $8,500, but the $1,000 payday for the top super-senior player (60 and older). In fact, the 64-year-old became the oldest champion in the 17-year history of the Colorado Senior Open.

And he did it while out-battling two-time PGA Tour winner Keith Clearwater head-to-head in Friday’s final round.

“I feel very good about this,” said the Bramwell, W.Va., resident. “Especially at 64 years of age, it’s not getting any easier. I think playing out here at this altitude where the ball goes further, it makes an old man feel a little bit better.”

A year after finishing second in his first Colorado Senior Open, Ross (left and above) landed the top prize Friday, when he was never overtaken. Ross, who has almost 100 starts between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions to his credit, closed with a 2-under-par 70 to post a 10-under 206 total, good for a two-stroke victory.

Fifty-nine-year-old Chris Starkjohann of Oceanside, Calif., placed second and earned $5,000 after carding a final-round 68. Clearwater, a veteran of 408 PGA Tour events, finished third at 209, making $3,040 after shooting 72 on Friday.

Four Coloradans placed in the top 10: Doug Wherry of Lakewood (sixth, 213), Patrick Reidy of Lone Tree (eighth, 214), Jeff Hanson of Edwards (eighth, 214) and 2013 champion Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale (10th, 215).

Clearwater, who was paired with Ross, was the only player who caught the West Virginian on Friday. When Ross made his first bogey of the week on the sixth hole Friday, that put both players at 7 under par.

But holes 8 and 9 proved pivotal as Ross birdied 8 from 12 feet, then pulled off arguably the shot of the tournament on the par-5 ninth. There, he hit his second shot from 295 yards with a 3-wood to 3 feet, and sank the eagle putt. “Don’t ask me to do that again,” he later said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Clearwater (left) attempted to drive it over the hazard that traverses the ninth fairway, but failed to carry it and posted a bogey. That was a three-shot swing, and even though Clearwater made two strokes back on the next hole, Ross never relinquished sole possession of the lead on the back nine.

“I’m disappointed obviously, but I was grateful I was able to compete all week,” said Clearwater, who played the event without a practice round. “I’ve just got to solve the putting (problems). I played beautifully, but for three days I didn’t make a putt. I had six three-putts and 15 makeable birdie putts that I didn’t make. It would have been pretty fun — a pretty easy week — (because) I hit the ball really, really well — well enough to do about anything.”

But Ross, who estimates he’s won 30 tournaments in his professional career, didn’t show many chinks in the armor, making just two bogeys in 54 holes.

“I feel very fortunate,” said Ross, who also won the West Virginia Senior Open last month. “The golf course just suits my eye, although this was a test today. I have the utmost respect for Keith Clearwater and his track record. The battle I had all day was just making sure I was playing the golf course and didn’t get wrapped up in a match-play situation with Keith. Sometime the biggest battle is yourself rather than the golf course.

“After finishing second here last year, it feels good to break through to win.”

As for the matter of prevailing at age 64, this certainly isn’t the first time Ross hasn’t acted his age. When he first qualified for the PGA Tour in 1991, he was the oldest rookie to make it through Q-school, at age 39.

“If my health is decent, I feel like I can still compete with a 50-year-old,” he said. “But the older we get, that age difference seems to be more of an issue than when I was 39 playing against 25 year olds. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep doing this.”

Final-Hole Birdie Gives Krystyn Low-Am Honors: While the overall championship Friday didn’t have much final-hole drama, that certainly wasn’t the case for low-amateur honors. Tom Krystyn of Denver, competing in his first Colorado Senior Open, was struggling in Friday’s final round, but provided a highlight on the par-5 18th hole. There, after being in the green-front bunker in two, he hit a stellar sand shot from 35 yards, over a ridge, to within a foot of the hole. The subsequent birdie gave him a one-stroke victory in the amateur competition over Broncos general manager John Elway and 2006 and ’14 low am Kent Moore.

Krystyn finished with a 4-over-par 220 total despite a final-round 77. He tied for 25th overall.

Krystyn’s not-so-secret weapon for the week was having Bill Loeffler — winner of three Colorado Opens and one Colorado Senior Open — as his caddie. Loeffler had to skip playing this week as he underwent back surgery earlier this year. (The two are pictured at left.)

“He’s a great friend (and) he knows the course probably better than anybody who’s playing in the field, and that was a huge help,” said Krystyn, a FootJoy representive in Colorado and nearby states. “When I read a putt and he sees the same (line), it gives you confidence you read it correctly, so it helps a lot. It was just fun to have him out there.”

And it was at Loeffler’s urging that Krystyn entered the Senior Open for the first time.

“I had been playing well. I won the Ute Creek Invitational in the senior division and the Twin Peaks Invitational,” noted Krystyn. “He said, ‘You’re playing good, why don’t you play in the Colorado Senior Open?’ I said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to sign up.’ He said, ‘If you sign up I’ll caddie for you.’ He was the one who pushed me to sign up.”

The 52-year-old Krystyn has had a strong amateur career, having qualified for four USGA championships — a U.S. Amateur, two U.S. Mid-Ams and a U.S. Amateur Public Links. And he won two college tournaments while at Florida State. But the one thing he failed at, golf-wise, was in a very brief stint as a professional golfer, in 1987.

“I turned pro for a couple of months,” he said. “I made $600 in six tournaments (cashing twice) and I said, ‘This isn’t for me.'”

Elway 2nd Among Ams Despite First-Hole Woes: There probably wasn’t a player in the field at the Colorado Senior Open who can’t point to a hole or two they wish they had the chance to player over. In John Elway’s case, he can point to at least four instances — a triple bogey and three doubles that made the difference between a 29th-place finish and perhaps something in the top 10.

Especially troublesome for the Pro Football Hall of Famer was the par-4 first hole, where he went double bogey, par, triple bogey. On both Wednesday and Friday, he hit low liners that didn’t clear the 230 yards necessary to avoid the hazard in front of the tee.

Bottom line: Elway (above) finished 5 over par for the week, and was 5 over par on the first hole.

“If it was 16 holes each day, I’d have been right in the hunt, but I had a couple of bad holes each day, which made it a little tougher,” he said. “I struggled with the driver getting it in the air all week.

“I played a lot of good holes; I played 16 holes a day, then had two bad holes each day. That’s the difference. You have to be able to eliminate the bad holes, and I wasn’t able to do that. But I was really happy with the way I putted. Coming back off the way I started each day, I was happy to be able to do that.”

Despite the occasional big numbers, Elway finished runner-up in the amateur competition for the second straight time (2014 and ’16).

Rules Official Langston Receives Kirchner Award: Rich Langston, a highly respected volunteer rules official who worked his craft for 23 years while based in Colorado before moving to Oklahoma in November, on Friday was surprised to receive a prestigious honor following the conclusion of the Colorado Senior Open.

Langston (left) earned the Robert M. Kirchner Award for contributing greatly to amateur golf, professional golf, and/or tournament golf in the state of Colorado. It is named for the founder of the Colorado Open.

Appropriately, Langston was serving as the chief rules official for the Colorado Senior Open.

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve had 25 seasons of a lot of fun,” he told the assembled crowd.

Later, Langston added, “(The award) was a total surprise. The Colorado Open Golf Foundation, the (Colorado PGA) Section, the state assocation (CGA), they’ve been great to me. They have really treated me so well. I just thank all of them.”

For more about Langston and all he has contributed, CLICK HERE.
 

For all the Colorado Senior Open scores, CLICK HERE.