It may be a coincidence that University of Colorado students Peter and Allie Evans and their family share their surname with Charles “Chick” Evans, but it seems altogether appropriate.

After all, founding the Evans Scholarship cemented the legacy of Chick Evans, who won a U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs, then created a scholarship that fully pays for college tuition and housing for high-achieving caddies with excellent grades, strong character and significant financial need. Over the last 87 years, more than 10,400 caddies have graduated through the program, including about 450 from CU.

And few, if any, families have seen the benefits of the Evans Scholarship more than that of Peter and Allie Evans (pictured above at the CU E.S. house).

You see, there are 13 siblings in the Evans family, and to date, seven (including Peter and Allie) have received the Evans Scholarship. Officials from the Evans Scholars Foundation/Western Golf Association, which administers the scholarship nationwide, say no records are kept regarding which family has produced the most Evans Scholars. But it’s safe to say that the Evanses are at — or near — the top of the list. And the family’s youngest sibling, a high school junior who has caddied at the WGA Caddie Academy in the Chicago area, will likely apply for the scholarship in the fall.

“One of my earliest memories is visiting my sister (Colleen) at the Marquette Evans house when I was probably 4 or 5 years old,” Peter said in a recent interview — along with younger sister Allie — at the CU Evans Scholar house. “It was a family tour day or family weekend or something. I definitely didn’t fully understand what the Evans Scholarship was, but I remember it being really cool visiting my sister Colleen. It was a fun, family thing.”

The annual Colorado-based Selection Meeting for the Evans Scholarship will be held this week at Cherry Hills Country Club, and within a couple of weeks thereafter the next new class of CU Evans Scholars will be announced.

If anyone can relate to what is at stake at such meetings — the latest information from the Evans Scholars Foundation reports that, nationally speaking, the average value of an Evans Scholarship if renewed for four years is $100,000 — it is the Evanses.

Their father caddied as a youngster and Allie said their mother indicated she had some distant relatives who attended Northwestern University on an Evans Scholarship. All but one of the Evans siblings caddied during their formative years, and roughly 10 of the 13 applied — or will apply — for the scholarship. Five have graduated from various universities thanks to the Evans Scholarship:

Colleen (2003 Marquette grad), a nurse practitioner.

Paul (2010 Illinois grad), a health consultant.

Joe (2014 Northwestern grad), who works in finance.

Kevin (2015 Northwestern grad), a health consultant and analyst.

Tim (2016 Marquette grad), a CPA-to be working with an acconting firm.

And now Peter and Allie are studying at a fourth E.S. university — CU — with Peter being a junior and Allie a freshman in Boulder. Two of the older Evans siblings — Paul and Dave — live in the Denver area.

“I don’t think any of us felt entitled to it,” Allie said of she and her siblings receiving the scholarship over the course of the last 20 years. “For me personally, I felt pressured to get it. It was very nerve-racking. But knowing about the scholarship your whole life and actually having it are completely different. I knew it was going to be good, but it’s definitely better than I ever thought it would be. … It’s a ridiculously incredible thing I’ve been given.

“It’s pretty crazy how many people (the ESF/WGA) have helped and how it continues to grow. It’s pretty impressive and it’s making a huge difference. I know there are people a lot less fortunate than I am (financially who have received the scholarship). It’s a huge deal for me, so I can’t even imagine how it is for people who literally have nothing to get college for free.”

Added Peter: “I don’t think (the good fortune of being awarded an Evans Scholarship) wears off for anyone. I feel very, very blessed and lucky to be here.”

After a $6 million renovation and expansion project that wrapped up a year ago, the CU Evans Scholar house is home to nearly 60 Scholars. Most of the Scholars at CU caddied at Colorado courses, but some come from out of state, primarily from the Chicago area. The Evans family originally lived in Illinois, but moved to Little Rock, Ark., in 2008. Five of the siblings received the scholarship after caddying at The Alotian Club in Roland, Ark., including Peter and Allie. (The older Evanses caddied at Inverness Golf Club in Palatine, Ill.)

The Illinois-based WGA has long partnered with the CGA and CWGA in supporting the scholarship at CU. Through CGA and CWGA bag-tag sales and Par Club contributions, Colorado donors fully fund the year-to-year scholarship costs at the CU Evans Scholars house.

Many siblings have received the Evans Scholarship over the years — both at CU and the other 19 universities that feature Evans Scholar programs. At CU, for instance, Jack Haake in the late 1970s and early 1980s was one of five siblings to have earned an Evans Scholarship, with his brothers going to Northwestern (2), Marquette (1) and Illinois (1).

But the Evanses have taken it to the next level.

“I know at my (selection) interview, there was a mention of, ‘Wow, it’s got to be a record,’ but I’ve never really looked into it,” Peter Evans noted. “It’s always been a cool thing where (almost) everyone in our family has caddied. You’re always happy for your siblings to see that their hard work has paid off.”

Peter and Allie Evans not only ended up as CU Evans Scholars together, but they’re additionally linked because Peter is the current vice president of new scholars at the house, while Allie is one of those new scholars. In other words, Peter has been responsible for seeing that Allie and the other E.S. newcomers start off on the right foot as Evans Scholars.

“If they’re not doing something well, I can always use the ‘I’m telling mom’ excuse,” Peter said with a chuckle.

Seriously, though, Peter, Allie and the other new Evans Scholars must have done something right as the newcomers posted an average GPA of 3.47 in their first semester in the program, which is one of the best academic averages in house history for an incoming class.

In some ways, things have come full circle for the Evanses. As youngsters, they grew up in a house with 13 kids and two parents.

“It was definitely crazy at times,” Peter said. “Growing up in Illinois especially, we got to know all of our family pretty well. We definitely had a lot of bunk beds and everything.”

And it wasn’t unusual for four or five kids at a time to to be caddying during the summer.

Nowadays, Peter and Allie are living in a house with roughly 60 people — again, with bunk beds and all.

And, of course, there are caddies everywhere.

“In high school I had the chance to visit my older brothers at Northwestern or at Marquette for a weekend or something,” Peter said. “I kind of got to see the friendships they had formed. It was a very tight-knit group and it seemed liked everyone got along really well, so I really bought in to the whole family aspect of the scholarship well before I even applied. I was definitely motivated all through high school to caddie a lot and study hard to get it.”

Not only did Peter receive the scholarship, but at Cherry Hills during the 2014 BMW Championship — a tournament that has all its proceeds go to the Evans Scholars — he was given the Chip Beck Evans Scholars Award, presented based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities and caddie record. TV golf analyst Gary McCord introduced Evans as the Beck award winner during a dinner at Cherry Hills.

“One thing that was really cool for me was caddying for the (Monday) donor day at the BMW Championship my freshman year,” Peter said. “No one in my family had done that before — been to a pro event — so that was really cool to see that. Everyone there was passionate about giving back to the scholarship. The fact that that whole tournament is for the benefit of the scholarship is really cool. It showed for me that everyone is very impressed and enamored by what the scholarship has to offer, including big-name golfers. Regular spectators at the tournament, if they heard I was an Evans Scholar, they would talk to me for like 15 minutes and were very excited.”

And that excitement translates into ongoing opportunities for Evans Scholars — whether they’re named Evans or not.
 

The Colorado Golf Association (CGA) is proud to announce BMW as the organization’s exclusive automotive partner. Starting this year, BMW of North America and the Colorado BMW Centers become the newest presenting partner for the CGA and the exclusive partner for the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course.

The BMW Championship made a major impact on the Colorado golf scene two years ago at Cherry Hills Country Club. The penultimate event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs was named the PGA TOUR’s 2014 Tournament of the Year while raising a record $3.5 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation.

BMW will support many of the CGA’s initiatives, including the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, Community Outreach and Wellness Programs, and the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy — all based at CommonGround, a course owned and operated by the golf association. The CGA’s mission is to represent, promote and serve the best interest of golf in Colorado.

“We’re obviously very excited,” said Ed Mate, Executive Director of the CGA. “The alignment of the BMW brand and golf is well known. This really came out of the 2014 BMW Championship, their desire to continue to be active in the Colorado golf community and our desire to line that up with our brand.”

The BMW Championship, formerly The Western Open, has raised more than $21 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation since the tournament’s inception in 2007. The foundation provides full tuition and housing college scholarships to high-achieving caddies with significant financial need.

“Building off of a successful 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, we are thrilled to expand our relationship with the Colorado golf community through this partnership with the Colorado Golf Association and the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy,” said Tim Rittenhouse, Experiential Marketing Manager at BMW of North America. “Colorado has a rich history in golf and we are excited to work alongside the CGA in such a prominent and passionate golf community.”

The partnership allows BMW and the CGA to create unique programming and experiences for CGA members while enabling BMW to expand its involvement and support of caddie programs across the country.

“Not only has BMW demonstrated a strong commitment to the Evans Scholars Foundation, it’s clear they are committed to helping raise the awareness of the important role caddies play in the game of golf,” Mate noted. “It’s great to have a partner that recognizes the opportunity caddie programs can give to hard-working kids and we’re excited to be a part of BMW’s growing commitment to the game of golf.”

George and Geoff “Duffy” Solich, for whom the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy is named, are Evans Scholars alumni from the University of Colorado, as is Mate. George Solich served as General Chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills. (He’s pictured at left applauding tournament winner Billy Horschel.) And Duffy Solich is the State Chairman for the Western Golf Association, the host organization of the BMW Championship that administers the Evans Scholars Foundation.

For more information about BMW, visit www.bmwusa.com or contact BMW Corporate Communications Manager Phil DiIanni at Phil.DiIanni@bmwna.com or at 201-571-5660.

For information on partnership and other sponsorship opportunities with the CGA, contact Director of Development Ryan Smith at rsmith@coloradogolf.org or at 303-974-2108.
 

Editor’s Note: With the CGA celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1915, this is the 10th monthly installment of a series of stories looking back on the last century of golf in Colorado. All the articles are being published on coloradogolf.org. This chapter focuses on the period from 2005-present. For the previous installments, CLICK HERE

When it comes to big-time golf tournaments being held in Colorado, the last decade has certainly had its ups and downs.

And many of the “ups” may have largely been the result of the biggest “down”.

The dominoes began to fall early in 2007. That was when Jack Vickers, founder of The International and of Castle Pines Golf Club, and PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced at a Denver-based press conference that The International’s run in Colorado was ending after 21 consecutive years on the PGA Tour.

Though there were many contributing reasons, the lack of a title sponsor in the final years of the event played a major role. The tournament hadn’t had a title or presenting sponsor after 2002. Tiger Woods seldom playing in the event — he competed in 1998 and ’99 only — was another factor, as were problems with the tournament’s dates.

But whatever the case, there was a sense of mourning on the Colorado sports scene. The International had produced champions such as Phil Mickelson (twice), Davis Love III (twice), Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. Among the many other giants of the game to have played at Castle Pines were Jack Nicklaus (designer of Castle Pines GC), Woods and Arnold Palmer.

And the event produced some incredible golf, including in 2002, when one of the most amazing finishes in Colorado golf history occurred. Ten points out of the lead with five holes left, Steve Lowery went birdie-eagle-bogey-double eagle in a four-hole stretch, twice holing out from the fairway during that run. Only an eagle at the 17th hole by Rich Beem and Lowery’s missed birdie putt on 18 kept Lowery from carting off the trophy.

With the International’s exit, for the first calendar year since 1971, Colorado was left without a PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour event in 2007.

But as it turned out, the void was largely filled, and the last decade has been full of top-level spectator events.

— Before 2005, the U.S. Women’s Open had been held in Colorado just once — at 1995 at The Broadmoor, with Annika Sorenstam winning. But twice in the seven-year period from 2005 through 2001, the Centennial State would host the top tournament in women’s golf.

Birdie Kim won the 2005 championship in spectatcular fashion at Cherry Hills Country Club, holing out for — what else, given her name — birdie from a deep greenside bunker on the 72nd hole.

Six years later, at The Broadmoor’s East Course, another South Korean, So Yeon Ryu (left, in orange), prevailed, winning in the first three-hole aggregate playoff in the tournament’s history. Like Sorenstam at The Broadmoor and Kim at Cherry Hills, Ryu made the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA Tour victory.

Both the 2005 and ’11 Women’s Opens in Colorado drew more than 130,000 spectators for the week.

–The Broadmoor attracted a similar number for the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, won by Eduardo Romero of Argentina. That tournament is remembered for the black bear that ran across a fairway in which Bernhard Langer was playing. And then there was the presence of then-celebrity couple Greg Norman and Chris Evert …

— Colorado would go on to host two Champions Tour majors in three years as the 2010 Senior PGA Championship came to Colorado Golf Club, with Tom Lehman claiming the title.

— In 2012, the U.S. Amateur came to Cherry Hills for the second time — Phil Mickelson’s win in 1990 being the first — with CommonGround Golf Course serving as the second stroke-play venue. Steven Fox won the championship this time in one of Jordan Spieth’s final amateur events.

— In 2013, the Solheim Cup — the female version of the Ryder Cup — came to the western U.S. for the first time, with Colorado Golf Club being the host. The Europeans (left) won the Cup on U.S. soil for the first time. The 18-10 score marked the largest final margin in the history of the event.

— And then in 2014, the PGA Tour returned to Colorado for the first time since 2006, with Cherry Hills hosting the BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Billy Horschel won the tournament en route to claiming the 2014 FedEx Cup title.

The 2014 BMW Championship (pictured at top, with Rory McIlroy competing at Cherry Hills) was later named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year for the third straight season. With University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum George Solich serving as general chairman, the event raised a record $3.5 million for the Evans Scholars.

— And, looking ahead, another major spectator event is on tap for the state as the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will be contested at The Broadmoor the same year as the resort turns 100 years old.

Here are some of the other Colorado golf highlights of the period from 2005 to present:

— Two distinguished Colorado PGA golf professionals, Warren Smith and Charles “Vic” Kline, were both inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005.

— In 2005, the CGA and CWGA officially purchased the former Lowry golf course, the site of the present-day CommonGround Golf Course.

— Rick DeWitt became the oldest (at age 50) winner of the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Award, in 2006.

— In 2006, the Walking Stick course in Pueblo hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, with Tiffany Joh defeating Kimberly Kim in the final.

— In 2007, former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin won his record 45th Champions Tour event — 16 more than the No. 2 player on the list, Lee Trevino.

— In 2008, Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora was the site of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, with Jack Newman earning the title. Among the other competitors were Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.

— The Tom Doak-designed CommonGround Golf Course, originally owned and operated by both the CGA and CWGA, opened in 2009, marking the last new 18-hole course to come on the scene in Colorado. A nine-hole Kids Course also opened, thanks in significant part to a $175,000 grant from the USGA. The Kids Course is largely used for junior golf development and community outreach. 

— In 2009 Steve Ziegler became the first player since Brandt Jobe in 1985 to sweep the CGA Match Play and Stroke Play titles in the same year.

— Coloradans John Elway and Tom Hart won the 2009 Trans-Miss Four-Ball title at Cherry Hills Country Club.

— Denver Country Club hosted the 2010 Trans-Miss Championship, won by Scott Pinckney, and the senior Trans Miss, won by Chip Lutz.

— After decades as a U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying site, Columbine Country Club lost that status after 2010.

— Wyndham Clark won the 2010 CGA Stroke Play at age 16, becoming the youngest winner of the event since Bob Byman in 1971. In the final round of the championship, Jim Knous shot a course-record 10-under-par 60 at Boulder Country Club to force a playoff, but Clark prevailed for the title.

— From 2010-13, Keith Humerickhouse claimed four consecutive CGA Mid-Amateur titles, becoming just the third person to win four straight CGA championships.

— In 2011, the Allied Golf Associations of Colorado became partners in the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools initiative, designed to introduce kids to golf through P.E. classes at school. The program has now reached more than 40,000 students.

— Green Gables Country Club, a storied course that dated back to the 1920s, closed in 2011. The course hosted six LPGA Tour events and one from the Senior PGA Tour.

— The CGA hosted the Junior America’s Cup at Hiwan Golf Club in 2011, when the Colorado team finished third, its best showing ever at the event (since matched in 2015).

— The CGA launched the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course in 2012. The Academy, named for University of Colorado Evans Scholar alums George and Geoff Solich, provides incentives to take caddies as it pays the base fee for the caddies, with the players having the option to tip. The caddies attend weekly leadership classes and do volunteer community-service work each summer. In Colorado, the Academy concept has spread to Fort Collins Country Club and Meridian Golf Club.

— Part-time Lakewood resident Hollis Stacy, winner of three U.S. Women’s Opens and six USGA championships in all, was inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.

— The philanthropic Colorado Golf Foundation was launched in 2012, with CU Evans Scholar alum George Solich providing a $2 million lead gift. The foundation provides funding for Colorado-based organizations and programs that use golf to build important life skills and character, with an emphasis on instilling hard work and self-reliance in young people.

— In 2012, Coloradan Christie Austin, while serving on the USGA Executive Committee, became the first woman to chair the USGA Rules of Golf Committee.

— Coloradan Derek Tolan, who competed in the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old in 2002, won the HealthOne Colorado Open twice in a four-year period starting in 2009.

— In September 2013, about 14 inches of rain in less than a week caused devastating flooding (left), leading to major damage at many Colorado golf courses, including CommonGround GC and Coal Creek GC.

— Colorado resident Mark Wiebe won the Senior British Open in 2013, marking the first major championship of his career.

— Melissa Martin of Grand Junction became the seventh player to win the CWGA Stroke Play at least three times, doing so in the course of five years (2009-13).

— In 2014, the Colorado Open was played for the 50th time.

— Also in 2014, Kent Moore completed a sweep of major CGA championships — and has won at least one in five different decades. His resume includes victories in the Junior Match Play (1973), Stroke Play (1986), Match Play (1989), Mid-Amateur (1995), Senior Match (2006) and Senior Stroke (2014).

— In December 2014, the Evans Scholarship for caddies surpassed the 10,000 mark in graduates, including 434 from CU.

— Paige Spiranac won the 100th CWGA Match Play Championship in 2015 in a stellar final in which she was 9 under par for 35 holes against University of Colorado golfer Brittany Fan. And Jennifer Kupcho put on an exhibition at the CWGA Stroke Play, winning by an amazing 21 shots in posting a 16-under-par total.

— For the eighth time in a nine-year period (2007-15), members of the Colorado PGA, or the Section itself, won a national PGA of America Award. The honorees during that stretch were Danny Harvanek and Ann Finke (Junior Golf Leaders); George Kahrhoff, Dale Smigelsky and Jim Hajek (Merchandisers of the Year); Clayton Cole (Bill Strausbaugh Award), Kyle Heyen (President’s Plaque Award), and the Colorado PGA Section as a whole (Herb Graffis Award).

— Doug Rohrbaugh won three straight Colorado PGA Professional Championships from 2013-15, tying a record previously established, then matched, by Ron Vlosich and Ken Krieger, respectively. Rohrbaugh also captured the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open title.

— The CGA and Colorado PGA announced they’re joining forces to bolster junior golf in the state. A Junior Tour, which will include four junior major championships, is scheduled to debut in 2016. 

— The CGA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2015, culminating with a Century of Golf Gala in mid-November at The Broadmoor. Jack Nicklaus, who won his first and last USGA championships in Colorado (the 1959 U.S. Amateur and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open), is a guest of honor. Also among those who will be recognized are six People of the Century: Judy Bell (Woman of the Century), Hale Irwin (Male Player of the Century), Charles “Vic” Kline (Golf Professional of the Century), Dennis Lyon (Superintendent of the Century, Barbara McIntire (Female Player of the Century) and Will Nicholson Jr. (Man of the Century).

Following up from last week, when we started our two-part retrospective on the top Colorado golf stories of 2014 (CLICK HERE for the first installment), we continue our countdown with the “back nine” — the top nine stories of the year — in reverse order. And at the end, we’ll include a list of honorable-mention selections.

9. The Jennifer Kupcho Express: Jennifer Kupcho won, she won consistently and she won big in Colorado in 2014. It was indeed a remarkable run for the golfer from Westminster who will be playing collegiately at Wake Forest beginning next year. While her most remarkable performance of the year may have come in the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, where she finished second as a 17-year-old amateur competing against a field that included plenty of tour pros, that’s just a small part of the story. Kupcho (left) won the 4A state high school meet by 14 shots; the CWGA Junior Stroke Play by nine, the CJGA Tournament of Champions by 12; the CJGA Junior Series Championship by eight; the CWGA Match Play by 6 and 5 in the final, and she took low-amateur honors in the Colorado Women’s Open by 12. All told, she captured three CWGA titles, two major CJGA victories and a state high school crown. She also qualified for two USGA national championships. Kupcho was the youngest CWGA Player of the Year since 1999 and earned her third consecutive CWGA Junior POY honor. Out of state, she tied for eighth place in the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and placed eighth in the Girls Junior America’s Cup. Full story: CLICK HERE.

8. Locals Headed for Top Tours: The last several months have produced a big crop of players with strong Colorado connections who have qualified for golf’s top tours — many for the first time. Here’s a quick rundown:

— Denver native Mark Hubbard earned PGA Tour status by finishing in the top 25 on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, also landed exempt status on the PGA Tour for the first time thanks to his 2014 performance on the Web.com Tour. Full story: CLICK HERE.

— Former University of Denver golfer Espen Kofstad regained a spot on the European Tour by finishing 10th in Q-school. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— Not long after winning his second consecutive Colorado PGA Professional Championship — and becoming what is believed to be the oldest champion in the event’s history (age 52) — Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale earned conditional status on the 2015 Champions Tour by finishing 12th, thanks to a playoff, at the Q-school finals. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— Tonje Daffinrud, who turned pro this year after placing 10th in the NCAA Women’s Finals for DU, qualified for the Ladies European Tour by finishing fifth on the Access Series 2014 Order of Merit. Full story: CLICK HERE.

— Former Fort Collins resident Drew Stoltz earned conditional status on the Web.com Tour by making it to the final stage of Q-school. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

7. Stadler’s Breakthrough: Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler broke through in February for his first victory on the PGA Tour, out-dueling Bubba Watson down the stretch to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Stadler, who has claimed titles at the Colorado Open and the CGA Match Play (twice), went on to be in the same field as his dad, Evergreen resident Craig Stadler, in the Masters, where Craig won in 1982. Kevin Stadler, a Kent Denver High School graduate, placed eighth at Augusta National, marking his best finish ever in a major championship. He won more than $2.3 million on the PGA Tour in 2014, not counting what he made for placing second in the French Open. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

6. Clark Shines at College Level as Redshirt Freshman: Wyndham Clark (left) of Lone Tree made a splash on the national scene a couple of times during the year. The 2010 CGA Stroke Play champion earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors during his redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma State. Full story: CLICK HERE. This despite the passing of his mother, Lise, at age 55 in 2013 after a battle with breast cancer. Clark also played in the match-play finals of the NCAA Championships, where OSU fell to Alabama and finished second in the nation as a team. Despite the loss, Clark won all his individual matches (3-0) in the match-play portion of the NCAA tournament. Full story: CLICK HERE. In addition, Clark, a two-time Colorado state high school champion, also represented the U.S. in the Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-like competition between the top college players from America and Europe. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

5. 50 Years and Counting for Colorado Open: The HealthOne Colorado Open celebrated its 50th year in 2014, and what a 50-year run it has been. Since debuting in 1964 (the tournament wasn’t held one year, 2003), a long list of golf luminaries have participated in the event, including Sam Snead, Phil Mickelson, Billy Casper, Hale Irwin, Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara, Dave Stockton, Dave Hill, Don January, Steve Jones, Dow Finsterwald, George Archer, Al Geiberger, Corey Pavin, Steve Elkington and Peter Jacobsen. All told, participants in the Colorado Open have accounted for more than 35 major championship victories. And there are 10 Colorado Open champions who have now won at least one PGA Tour event. Former athletes John Elway, John Brodie and Rick Rhoden have also competed. Full story: CLICK HERE. The Colorado Open wasn’t the only Colorado Open Championship to celebrate a notable anniversary in 2014 as the Women’s Open was held for the 20th time.

4. Vickers Given His Due: It’s difficult to overstate the impact Jack Vickers has had on the Colorado golf scene, given that without him the PGA Tour’s International at Castle Pines wouldn’t have existed. As it is, the Vickers-founded tournament (and Castle Pines Golf Club) produced 21 Tour events from 1986 through 2006 — many of them very memorable. Champions of the tournament include Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Davis Love and Vijay Singh. Therefore, it was no small matter when in September, Vickers was the 11th recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award. Seeing who had previously won the honor speaks to its stature: Gene Sarazen (1996), Byron Nelson (1997), Arnold Palmer (1998), Sam Snead (1998), Jack Burke (2003), Pete Dye (2005), Deane Beman (2007), Jack Nicklaus (2008), President George H.W. Bush (2009), and Gary Player (2012). Full story: CLICK HERE. 

3. Year of the Oddity: To say that there were some odds-defying feats in Colorado golf in 2014 would be a vast understatement. Here are some of the oddities that happened this year:

— In April at Gypsum Creek Golf Course east of Glenwood Springs, Fred Kessler from Gypsum and Dan Eby from Avon, playing in the same group, both aced the 151-yard 17th hole — with consecutive shots. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— In July during a practice round for the HealthOne Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Micah Rudosky and his son Jakob each made a hole-in-one during the same round while playing in the same group. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— Also at the Colorado Open, amateur Cole Nygren of Longmont pulled off one of golf’s rarest feats. He holed a 3-wood from 296 yards for an albatross — a double eagle — on the par-5 ninth hole. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— In September at the Ram Masters Invitational college tournament at Fort Collins Country Club, there were three holes-in-one in less than an hour on the same hole, the ninth. Drew McCullough of Wyoming, Shane Fontenot of McNeese State and Pierre Tillement of George Washington pulled off the feat. McCullough went on to win the individual title at the tournament. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— In October, Denver resident Connie Gallagher made what is believed to be the first hole-in-one on a par-4 by a female in the history of Pebble Beach Golf Links. Gallagher aced the fourth hole from 253 yards. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

— Later in October, University of Colorado men’s head coach Roy Edwards and assistant coach Brandon White not only made holes-in-one on the same day and at the same course (Boulder Country Club’s Fowler Course), but they did it within a minute of one another on adjacent holes. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

2. Flood Recovery: For some Colorado golf courses, it was a matter of days or weeks to get back to normal following the devastating floods of September, 2013, when close to 15 inches of rain fell in six days in some areas of Colorado. But for many other facilities, recovery continued into 2014. A partial list of courses significantly affected includes Coal Creek in Louisville, CommonGround in Aurora, Mariana Butte in Loveland, Pelican Lakes in Windsor, Estes Park Golf Course, the Lake Estes Executive 9-Hole Course, Evergreen Golf Course, Twin Peaks in Longmont and Flatirons in Boulder. Perhaps the two courses that withstood the most damage were Coal Creek and CommonGround (above), which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA. CommonGround returned to 18-hole status for its championship course on May 29. Full story: CLICK HERE. And officials hope to finally reopen Coal Creek, with an estimated reconstruction cost of $5.6 million, sometime late in the spring of 2015. Full story: CLICK HERE. 

1. BMW Championship the Best of the Best: The BMW Championship, hosted by Cherry Hills Country Club in the first week of September, earned the No. 1 spot on our list for two main reasons: First, it marked the first time Colorado had hosted a PGA Tour event since 2006 — and it was a FedExCup Playoff event at that; Second, all its net proceeds benefit the Evans Scholarship for caddies, including those attending school at the University of Colorado. In both regards, the tournament was a major success. All of the top 10 players in the World Golf Ranking competed, and seven of the top 15 in those rankings finished in the top 10 at Cherry Hills. Billy Horschel won the tournament and went on to claim the FedExCup title the following week. Full story: CLICK HERE. The penultimate playoff event drew close to 126,000 fans over six days. With former CU Evans Scholar George Solich serving as general chairman, the BMW Championship was not only named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year (CLICK HERE), but it raised a record $3.5 million for the Evans Scholars, which is a flagship program for both the CGA and CWGA (CLICK HERE). (The BMW Championship awards ceremony is pictured, at top, with Horschel in the red pants and Solich standing second from the right.)

Honorable-Mention Selections

— University of Colorado-bound Ross Macdonald became the first player since the 1980s to win consecutive CGA Junior Stroke Play Championships.

— Golf World magazine included four “locals” among its list of the “100 Best Modern Players” (since 1980) on the PGA Tour: David Duval (No. 8), Hale Irwin (35), Craig Stadler (42) and Steve Jones (83).

— Coloradan Mark Wiebe played in the 500th PGA Tour event of his career, competing in the British Open.

— Eric Hoos exited after a 15-year run as University of Denver men’s golf coach, and was replaced by Erik Billinger.

— Sammie Chergo, who coached the DU women’s team to two top-10 finishes in the NCAA finals, became head coach at Oregon State.

— Three Colorado-based golfers earned spots in out-of-state halls of fame: 11-time LPGA Tour winner Shirley Englehorn (LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Hall of Fame), Mark Wiebe (San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame) and Lynn Zmistowski (Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame).

— Denver’s Nick Mason qualified for the U.S. Open.

— The CGA announced that CommonGround Golf Course will host a new AJGA event, the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, in June 2015.

— In just the second CGA Match Play final since 1981 to go extra holes, Cody Kent defeated Jacob Allenback in 37 holes.

— CSU-Pueblo’s Leina Kim leads the NCAA Division II women’s ranks in scoring average after fall competition (71.2).

— Colorado caddie Melyzjah Smith earned an Evans Scholarship at CU thanks to a hole-in-one Hunter Mahan made at the 2013 BMW Championship near Chicago.

— Seventeen caddies, believed to be a record-sized class, received Evans Scholarships at CU, including 15 teenagers from Colorado.

— For the last time, qualifying for the men’s and women’s U.S. Amateur Public Links were held in Colorado, while the first qualifiers for the men’s and women’s U.S. Four-Balls were contested as the USGA made changes to its championship schedule.

— Josh Seiple of Castle Rock was named to the AJGA All-American second team.

— Former CU golfer Emily Talley finished second in the inaugural Big Break Invitational on the Golf Channel.

— Becca Huffer of Denver won the Michigan PGA Women’s Open.

— Former DU golfer Sue Kim made her third cut in three tries at the U.S. Women’s Open. Greeley’s Carleigh Silvers also qualified for the event.

— A victory on the Symetra Tour narrowly eluded Littleton’s Ashley Tait, who lost in a playoff to Madison Pressel in the Decatur-Forsyth Classic.

— The University of Northern Colorado men won the America Sky Conference title, with Coloradan Ben Krueger capturing the individual title.

— Golf magazine readers named the Broadmoor North America’s top resort.

— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bob Byman was on the 1974-75 Wake Forest squad that PGATour.com named the top college golf team of all time.
 

This week, the focus is more on turkey than two-putts, more on pumpkin pies than pars, and more on family and fellowship than fairways and flagsticks.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons to reflect on the game of golf, and reasons to be thankful for it, especially here in Colorado.

Therefore, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, here are nine things for which to be grateful, Colorado golf-wise:

— Stellar Golf Venues: Think of the golf courses and locales that are options in the state, and it’s enough to make anyone who loves to play the game salivate as if they were sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner. And not only are venues like Arrowhead (pictured above), the Broadmoor, Ballyneal, Sanctuary, Eisenhower, Perry Park and Red Sky jaw-droppingly beautiful, but the topography of the state makes for a great variety of courses.

— Diversity of Major Events: When The International PGA Tour stop took its final bow in 2006 after a 21-year run, there’s no doubt it created a big void. But looking back on the diversity of tournaments that helped fill that void is truly remarkable. Over the last seven years, Colorado has hosted the best men’s and women’s professionals in the world, the best seniors, as well as the best amateurs. There’s been the 2008 U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur Public Links, the 2009 Palmer Cup, the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2012 U.S. Amateur, the 2013 Solheim Cup and the 2014 BMW Championship. Suffice it to say it’s been a pretty nice lineup for Colorado golf fans.

— Relatively Inexpensive Golf: While there are plenty of golf courses in Colorado that cost a pretty penny to play, there’s also an abundance of quality, well-maintained venues that charge $40 or less for a round. And there are even some nice courses where you can walk up to the counter on a summer weekend, pay your 18-hole green fee, and get change from the $30 you hand the golf shop attendant. For those who have played much in other states, you can get some pretty good bang for your buck in Colorado.

— Outstanding Golf Associations: While your average golfer in Colorado may or may not know it, there is tireless work being done behind the scenes by local golf associations — the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents and others — to assure that the game thrives not just now, but well into the future.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore summed it up well on Sunday at the Colorado Golf Awards Brunch. While he was speaking specifically about the CGA, it’s safe to say the general notion applies as well to the other major golf associations in the state: “I’ve seen this come from a cigar box and two guys on the first tee to an incredible organization that runs championships as professional as any you’ll ever see, and now making an incredible impact in the community. It’s just fabulous.”

— Volunteerism: While there are many paid staffers that make Colorado golf special with their day-to-day work, the amount of time and energy and wholehearted effort devoted by volunteers in the game is impressive. More than 2,500 people — 90 percent coming from Colorado — volunteered in the first week of September at Cherry Hills to help make the BMW Championship the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year. Other volunteers devote countless hours year-in and year-out to the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA and a myriad of other organizations to make the game what it is. In yet another example, just this week it was announced that Colorado Golf Club head professional Graham Cliff will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Denver men’s golf team. Without all these volunteers — and those who donate financially to the game — golf would be a shell of what it is.

— A Game of Honor: While this one certainly isn’t limited to Colorado, it’s noteworthy that golf is a leader in the world of sports regarding sportsmanship, integrity and honesty. Seldom does more than a couple of months go by without stories coming out about how a golfer reported a costly rules violation on himself or herself that no one else was aware of. Even at this year’s BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, Keegan Bradley withdrew after having lingering doubts about an embedded-ball ruling he received early in the tournament (CLICK HERE). 

— Great Programs for Juniors: Knowing that kids are the future lifeblood of the game, there is particular emphasis in recent times in drawing youngsters to golf and exposing them to all the virtues of the game, including through caddying.

Among the many worthwhile local programs that focus on youth are the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy (left) at CommonGround Golf Course, the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program, the Evans Scholarship house for caddies at the University of Colorado, and the local First Tee chapters.

— Local Tour Players: Every golf fan has his/her favorite tour players, but many Coloradans take a special interest in those who cut their teeth in the state as junior golfers and college players, then make it to the big time. Certainly that’s true in Colorado, with players like Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe, Kevin Stadler, Martin Laird and Jill McGill. And now there’s a younger group of local players who are getting their chance on golf’s big stages, golfers like Mark Hubbard, Espen Kofstad, Emily Talley and Becca Huffer, along with transplanted Coloradans like Sam Saunders. It’s always fun to see the local kid make good on a national/international level.

— The Sheer Camaraderie Achieved Through Golf: As the world gets ever faster-paced, and more and more time is devoted to gadgetry of one type or another, spending a few hours on the golf course with friends, family or random acquaintances can be remarkably refreshing.

Kind of like Thanksgiving.
 

Achieving “three-peats” in professional sports is no simple task.

After earning a title once, much less twice, others are quick to emulate and try to surpass the top dog.

Despite that, after the BMW Championship had already been named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year in both 2012 and ’13, the event pulled off an unprecedented trifecta by also earning the honor in 2014, when Cherry Hills Country Club hosted the third stop in the FedExCup Playoffs.

The announcement was made on Thursday at the PGA Tour’s Tournament Meetings in La Quinta, Calif.

All of the net proceeds from the BMW Championship, which is conducted by the Western Golf Association, benefit the WGA’s Evans Scholarship for caddies.

“We were obviously thrilled to” receive the honor, 2014 BMW Championship general chairman George Solich said by phone on Monday. “The third in a row, we didn’t know if that was achievable. But it was hard for the Tour to ignore the job the team did. It was a great team effort with the WGA, BMW, the PGA Tour and Cherry Hills. Tournament setup, hospitality, community engagement … it’s a great honor for all those who spent time, energy and money on the event.”

This marks not only the third year in a row the BMW Championship has been named the Tour’s Tournament of the Year, but the fourth time since 2008. And this time around, the BMW also earned two other honors — for best on-site staging and best advertising campaign/promotional idea.

This year’s BMW Championship attracted about 126,000 spectators for the week in early September, according to Solich, despite the course being closed to the public on Labor Day, when the Deutsche Bank Championship wrapped up in Norton, Mass. And that figure probably could have been higher, but tournament officials limited ticket sales for any given day so as to not dilute the spectators’ experience.

Billy Horschel (pictured above with Solich) won at Cherry Hills, and followed that up with a win the next week in the Tour Championship, giving him the overall FedExCup title. The previous two BMW Championships were held at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind. (2012) and Conway Farms in Lake Forest, Ill. (2013).

The PGA Tour cited a variety of factors in naming the BMW Championship its Tournament of the Year — things such as revenue growth, charity integration, event advertising, host club and community support, title sponsor integration, and player and caddie hospitality. (Sergio Garcia is pictured at left signing autographs at Cherry Hills.)

“The tournament staff should be extremely proud of its hard work and for being recognized as the PGA Tour Tournament of the Year for the third consecutive season,” said Andy Pazder, the Tour’s executive vice-president and chief of operations.”

Solich, a former Evans Scholar at the University of Colorado and a current Cherry Hills member and director at the WGA, made no secret of his goal to make the 2014 BMW Championship the most successful in the 115-year history of the event, which formerly was known as the Western Open.

Though net proceeds that will go to the Evans Scholars Foundation from this year’s BMW Championship haven’t yet been announced, Solich said he expects to be “at or over the record” for the tournament. From 2007 through ’13, the BMW Championship raised more than $16 million for the ESF.

In the wake of the BMW’s success, Solich has been named the Golf Person of the Year by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

As Golf Channel anchor and reporter Steve Sands said shortly after the tournament ended, “You have no idea the tireless work done by George and his staff.”

This year’s BMW Championship marked the first PGA Tour event held in Colorado since the International’s 21-year run ended in 2006.

“There were thousands and thousands of people out here this weekend,” Horschel noted after winning at Cherry Hills. “I hope the PGA Tour realizes what kind of fan base and what support they have in Colorado.”

The CGA and CWGA partner with the Illinois-based WGA in supporting the Evans Scholarship, particularly at CU, and both associations’ staff and volunteers played major roles at the BMW Championship. The Evans Scholarship, which fully pays for college tuition and housing for worthy caddies who qualify, is a flagship program for both the CGA and CWGA.

Current CU Evans Scholars and a variety of Evans Scholar alums caddied during the BMW Championship pro-ams on Monday and Wednesday of tournament week, donating their fees and tips to the Evans Scholars Foundation.

Currently, about 870 caddies are on Evans Scholarships around the country, and the program has produced roughly 10,000 alumni since its inception in 1930.

The 2015 BMW Championship is scheduled for Sept. 14-20 at Conway Farms.
 

A group of about 220 gathered on Sunday at Pinehurst Country Club to celebrate a rather remarkable year in Colorado golf.

Among those in attendance at the Colorado Golf Awards Brunch were seven Colorado Golf Hall of Famers — along with another person who will be inducted next year — and an eclectic group of award winners ranging from young kids to retirees.

Among the honorees were:

— Jennifer Kupcho of CommonGround Golf Course, who was named the CWGA Player of the Year two years after her brother, Steven, received the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year award. At 17, Kupcho is the youngest CWGA POY since 1999. And for good measure, she earned the CWGA Junior Player of the Year honor for the third straight year. That matches a record and thus Kupcho becomes the first winner of the CWGA Player of the Year and Junior POY in the same season.

— Michael Harrington of Kissing Camels at Garden of the Gods Club became, at age 42, the second-oldest CGA Player of the Year since the award was first given out in 1978, with only Rick DeWitt (age 50 in 2006) being older. Like Kupcho, Harrington also won another major award on Sunday as the CGA’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year.

“I take a look at the people who are on this Player of the Year award — the Steve Joneses (twice), the Derek Tolans and the Kevin Stadlers — and I’m honored that my name is going to be etched on the same trophy,” Harrington said.

— Christie Austin of Cherry Hills Country Club received the CWGA Senior Player of the Year honor roughly six months before she’ll be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame along with PGA life member Ron Vlosich.

“I hope you appreciate the great game that we all play,” Austin said on Sunday. “I didn’t start golf until I was 26. It has brought me incredible joy, dear friendships and life-changing experiences that I never could have even imagined.”

— Organizers of the BMW Championship, held in September at Cherry Hills, earned special recognition after the record-setting and award-winning PGA Tour playoff event they put on.

— The CWGA’s Most Improved Junior Player of the Year, Anna Kennedy of Denver Country Club, lowered her USGA Handicap Index from 7.4 to 0.7 in less than six months, thus earning a spot on the roster for the Brigham Young University women’s golf team next year. Kennedy was among a half-dozen players honored on Sunday who will play NCAA Division I golf starting next year. That includes Kupcho (Wake Forest) and CGA Junior Player of the Year Ross Macdonald (University of Colorado).


Here’s a rundown of the various awards that were given out on Sunday:

CWGA Player of the Year — Jennifer Kupcho (left) of CommonGround Golf Course. Kupcho, a senior at Jefferson Academy who recently signed to play college golf at Wake Forest, had a year to remember, particularly considering she accomplished what she did as a 17-year-old.

 A member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player program at CommonGround, Kupcho won three CWGA championships, a couple of major CJGA titles and a state high school crown. She also qualified for two USGA national championships and finished second in the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open.



Here are some of the specifics:



Kupcho not only won numerous tournaments, but she posted huge margins of victory. She prevailed in the 4A state high school meet by 14; the CWGA Junior Stroke Play by nine, the CJGA Tournament of Champions by 12; the CJGA Junior Series Championship by eight; the 99th CWGA Match Play by 6 and 5 in the final, and she took low-amateur honors in the Colorado Women’s Open by 12.


“Winning three CWGA championships this year (was memorable), especially the 99th Match Play,” Kupcho said on Sunday. “To have my name on that trophy with women’s names all the way back to 1916 is pretty awesome.”


Kupcho also posted a victory in the CWGA Chapman (with Jaclyn Murray) and qualified for the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (with Gillian Vance). At the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Kupcho finished eighth in the stroke-play portion of the event before falling in the round of 64 of match play.



Kupcho’s runner-up showing in the Colorado Women’s Open marked the best finish by an amateur in that event since 2008. She also placed eighth in the Girls Junior America’s Cup and 29th in the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships, marking the best finish ever by a Coloradan in the girls 15-17 girls age division.

CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year — Michael Harrington (left) of Kissing Camels at Garden of the Gods Club. Harrington’s most eye-catching feat of this year was advancing to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur. It was his best showing in nine USGA championship appearances. Harrington lost in the quarterfinals to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, Mich., who won the 2013 Michigan Open title as an amateur and subsequently was elected into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. By making it to the final eight, Harrington will be exempt into next year’s national Mid-Am.



Harrington also qualified for his third U.S. Amateur since 2009. And at age 42, he was the top Colorado finisher in the championship, at 134th place.



The Colorado Springs resident also won another CGA championship, capturing the title in the Mid-Amateur Match Play Invitational. He placed fifth in the CGA Mid-Amateur and represented Colorado at the Pacific Coast Amateur.

CWGA Senior Player of the Year — Christie Austin (left) of Cherry Hills Country Club. Austin also captured this honor in 2007, when she was a senior “rookie”. This time ended a five-year run of winning this award by Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who “retired” from CWGA championships at the end of the 2013 season. Austin will join Eaton in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on May 31 after recently being voted in.



The former USGA Executive Committee member won two CWGA championships and qualified for two USGA national tournaments.



Austin won the CWGA Senior Stroke Play for the second time, this one in a playoff with Lynn Larson. And she placed second in the senior division of the CWGA Match Play, losing 1 down to champion Deb Hughes. In a team event, Austin and Tori Glenn earned the trophy in the CWGA Brassie.



In qualifiers, Austin landed spots in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, advancing to match play in the latter.

CGA Senior Player of the Year — Kent Moore (left) of Cherry Hills Country Club. It’s been eight years since Moore last won this award, as a senior “rookie”, but an impressive season as a 58-year-old made him a two-time honoree in this category (he also was named the CGA’s Les Fowler Player of the Year in 1989).



The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer won the CGA Senior Stroke Play by six shots, matching the largest margin in the event since 2007. With that victory, he’s accomplished the remarkable feat of winning CGA championships in five consecutive decades. He captured the Junior Match Play in 1973, the Stroke Play in ’86, the Match Play in ’89, the Mid-Amateur in ’95, the Senior Match Play in ’06 and the Senior Stroke Play in ’14.



Moore earned low-amateur honors in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open for the second time (he first managed the feat in 2006). This time, Moore placed sixth overall in the Senior Open.

CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year — Michael Harrington of Kissing Camels at Garden of the Gods Club. Harrington captured this award for the second time in the last six seasons. See the CGA Player of the Year entry for Harrington above.

CGA Junior Player of the Year — Ross Macdonald (left) of the Country Club at Castle Pines. Macdonald, a member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, won the CGA Junior Stroke Play for the second straight year, becoming the first competitor since Scott Petersen in the 1980s to capture consecutive Junior Stroke titles.
 


The Valor Christian senior, who has signed to play college golf at the University of Colorado, also won the CJGA Junior Series Championship this year. And he placed third in the 2014 4A state high school tournament.

CWGA Junior Player of the Year — Jennifer Kupcho of CommonGround Golf Course. Kupcho becomes just the second player to win this award for three consecutive years, joining Becca Huffer (2005-07). See the CWGA Player of the Year entry for Kupcho above.
 

CGA Jim Topliff On-Course Official of the Year — Cope and Judy Bradford (left) of Colorado National Golf Club. This marks the first time a joint award in this category has been given out.

Program Partner of the Year — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado.

CWGA Volunteer Award — Karla Harding (left) of Collindale Golf Course.

CJGA Junior All-Stars (pictured at bottom) — Christian Agelopoulos, Pierce Aichinger, Traejan Andrews, Katie Berrian, Chunya Bead Boonta, Jack Castiglia, Jake Chesler, Alex Chitkoksoong, Amy Chitkoksoong, Sofia Choi, Andrew Jang, Jordan Jennings, Anna Jordaan, Caroline Jordaan, Marie Jordaan, Christopher Kennedy, Cade Kilkenny, Elijah Knudsen, Jennifer Kupcho, Maxwell Lange, Katelyn Lehigh, Lauren Lehigh, Ross Macdonald, Gage Messingham, Sarah Murphy, Jaclyn Murray, Brittlynn O’Dell, Canon Olkowski, AJ Ott, Morgan Sahm, Amisha Singh, Jackson Solem, Gillian Vance, Mary Weinstein, Coby Welch, Jake Welch, Ashleigh Wilson, Liam Wood.

CJGA Academic All-Stars (honorees must carry at least 3.0 grade-point average) — Christian Agelopoulos, Drew Anderson, Dietrich Berning, Katie Berrian, Aili Bundy, Cole Bundy, Caden Campbell, Jack Castiglia, Cole Chalmers, Sofia Choi, Mariah Ehrman, Delaney Elliott, Ty Findlow, Carly Gallant, Daniel Gallant, Sydney Gillespie, Freddie Gluck III, Kacey Godwin, TJ Hicks, Mark Hillary, Nicholas Hughes, Jordan Jennings, Clara Jeon, Jake Johnson, Max Johnson, Trey Jones, Caroline Jordaan, Marie Jordaan, Anna Jordaan, Cade Kilkenny, Brett Krants, Cole Krantz, Jennifer Kupcho, David Leede, Lauren Lehigh, Katelyn Lehigh, Nick Leibold, Charles Markel, Madison McCambridge, Trevor McCord, Peyton Mogavero, Hannah More, Tyler Mulligan, Lauren Murphy, Roger Nakagawa, Brittlynn O’Dell, Trevor Olkowski, Andrew Reppe, McKenna Reppe, Ashlee Sample, Ryan Sangchompuphen, Erin Sargent, Hailey Schalk, Tim Scherman, Gary Schlatter Jr., TJ Shehee, Parker Skiles, Jackson Solem, Jake Staiano, Amisha Singh, Emilee Strausburg, Sam Taylor, Brady Wilson, Ryan Zetwick, Ben Zimmerman.

It certainly didn’t have the final-day drama of Arnold Palmer’s U.S. Open win in 1960 — then again, very few tournaments do — or Jack Nicklaus’ U.S. Senior Open triumph in 1993. But with the BMW Championship being a FedExCup Playoff event, with all the big names and side ramifications, its last round managed to entertain despite the lead never changing hands.

Floridian Billy Horschel never trailed on Sunday at Cherry Hills Country Club in posting his second PGA Tour victory, but it was who he left in his wake that was impressive. Seven of the top 15 players in the world rankings finished in the top 10 in the BMW: Bubba Watson (second Sunday); Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Jim Furyk (tied for fourth); and Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth (tied for eighth).

It was a welcome performance for Horschel after having a chance to win on Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston, then hitting his approach shot on the final hole into a hazard and making bogey.

“It means a lot to win, especially an event in the FedExCup Playoffs, because it’s amplified 10 times really,” he said. “… Hopefully this win will give me some more confidence and shoot me up there into an upper-echelon player where I want to be. I want to be where the Rory McIlroys are, the Tigers are, the Phil Mickelsons, the Bubba Watsons, the guys winning majors. I want to compete with them on a Sunday at a major championship, go head to head with them and have a chance to win majors.”

After taking a three-stroke advantage into Sunday, the 27-year-old Horschel led or shared the lead throughout the final round. Ryan Palmer tied him at No. 6 and No. 11. But a bogey at No. 12 and a double bogey following a shanked shot into the water from the left rough on 13 ended his challenge.

Horschel shot a 1-under-par 69 in the final round to post a winning total of 14-under 266. The victory was worth $1.44 million and it vaulted him to second in the FedExCup point standings (behind Chris Kirk) going into next week’s season finale at the Tour Championship, where the FedExCup champ will earn a $10 million annuity. (Sept. 14 update: Horschel went on to also win the Tour Championship and the overall FedExCup title.)

Watson (left) placed second on Sunday — his best Tour showing since winning the Masters in April — at 268 by carding three consecutive rounds of 66. A day after setting the competitive course record at Cherry Hills with a 62, Morgan Hoffmann almost matched it on Sunday, settling for a 63. He shot a 6-under 30 on the back nine for the second straight day, making a 16-foot eagle on No. 17 and then missing a 9-foot birdie attempt on No. 18. He finished at 269.

Though he didn’t win, Hoffmann did something almost as impressive. After starting the week No. 68 in the FedExCup standings, his 15-under-par weekend vaulted him into the top 30 and into an improbable berth in the Tour Championship in Atlanta. He started the playoffs in the No. 124 position and now is 21st.

“It means the world to me,” said Hoffmann, a former Oklahoma State teammate of Rickie Fowler’s. “Since the beginning of the season I’ve had a goal to get to Atlanta. Coming into the weekend, I knew I had to go pretty low. My caddie and I had a really good mindset and everything was positive this week.”

As far back as Hoffmann started, he didn’t challenge Horschel’s lead on Sunday. But Palmer did, catching him for the second time with a birdie at No. 11. But going bogey-double bogey the next two holes led to him dropping five strokes in the final seven holes and finishing fourth.

Palmer called his swing on the par-3 12th “probably the worst of the day or maybe for the week.” As for his shank into the water from the rough at No. 13, “When you’re going down in rough like that on a downhill lie, it’s going to come out squirrely. And it came out straight right, obviously, with a hook from the hosel. … You know, it’s a fickle game.”

Garcia still had a chance at two behind going into the par-5 17th. But he took a snowman (an 8) on that hole after taking 6 to get down from 83 yards away in the fairway. He put his third shot over the green, then pitched into the water.

“If I was mentally sharp, the way I was at the beginning and the middle of the year, I would have talked myself into going for the green (with his second shot),” Garcia said. “But for some reason, I was trying to, but I couldn’t. Then just mistake after mistake.”

Watson crept within two with a two-putt birdie on No. 17, but he ran out of holes with Horschel parring his final 11 holes Sunday.

“I started out slow in the tournament (70), but finished strong,” Watson said. “I had a chance on the last hole to scare him a little bit, but obviously I didn’t make that (24-foot birdie) putt and he played solid.”

As for Horschel (left), the victory gave him a solid answer to people who criticized him after he fell short Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

“The people on Twitter and social media … say that I choked and ‘you’re no good,'” he noted. “That doesn’t affect me, but I just like to stick it to them and it was nice to get that victory and stick it to some of those people that had some negative comments for me. That just adds fuel to my fire, and I’m going to stick it to you every time.”

For BMW Championship scores, CLICK HERE.

The BMW Championship earned the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year honor in both 2012 and ’13, and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if Cherry Hills Country Club made it a trifecta this year.

Total attendance figures for the week weren’t finalized as of Sunday afternoon, but tournament general chairman George Solich expects numbers to be in the 125,000 neighborhood for the six days the site was open to fans.

“I know (Saturday) we had 30,000 people here and today was more,” he said. “My sense is we’ll be close to 125,000 for the week. It was a great, great attendance. All around the golf course, there was a sea of people wherever you went — which is why this is an incredibly great golf course to host this. There are so many great places to watch golf on the course.”

If the attendance exceeds 125,000, the BMW Championship will be at least the fourth big golf tournament Colorado has hosted in the last decade to draw more than that figure for a week. The 2005 U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills lured more than 131,000 people, the 2011 Women’s Open at the Broadmoor more than 130,000, and the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor had attendance of almost 129,000. And though the total at the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club was announced at 110,000, club officials say that because ticket scanners were down for an extended period, the actual number of people on hand was far greater.

In the first PGA Tour event held in Colorado since 2006 — and at Cherry Hills since 1985 — the players were impressed by the turnout all week.

“It’s been a pleasure to play in front of so many people,” said Rory McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked golfer.

“There were thousands and thousands of people out here this weekend,” added champion Billy Horschel (left, with Solich). “I hope the PGA Tour realizes what kind of fan base and what support they have in Colorado.”

Among those in attendance on Sunday was Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“I know he was absolutely thrilled,” Solich said.

Ever since Cherry Hills was awarded the 2014 BMW Championship, Solich has had a goal of making the most of the opportunity. Besides organizing a tournament that the fans and players appreciate, he wanted to raise as much money as possible for the Evans Scholars Foundation, the sole beneficiary of the BMW Championship. Since 1930, full tuition and housing Evans Scholarships have been awarded to qualified caddies who demonstrate significant financial need.

As Solich himself was an Evans Scholar at the University of Colorado (class of 1983), he appreciates what a difference the money raised at the BMW Championship can make. From 2007 through ’13, the tournament has raised more than $16 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation.

The figure for this year’s tournament isn’t yet finalized, but Solich hopes it will be the best ever for the BMW Championship.

“We haven’t added up all the marbles, but we broke every record in hospitality sales, and we broke every record for revenue from ticket sales,” he said. “We have every chance to be — knock on wood — the No. 1 BMW Championship in history in terms of revenue generated to the Evans Scholars Foundation — which was one of our goals.”

After taking part in the trophy ceremony on the 18th green Sunday, Solich reflected on the tournament to which he’s devoted so much of his time over the last three years.

“Throughout the entire week, all we heard was how good the golf course was, how great the service was, how well organized we were, and how great it was to be back in Colorado,” Solich said. “Whether it was fans or players or caddies or media, we really heard all the same echoes. Clearly, all the hard work paid off and there were lots and lots of people who came together to pull this great team effort together.

“It’s terrific to see it come to fruition after three years of work. It’s a little surreal. It goes by very fast once you’re in it. Obviously I think we proved this is a great venue for golf. That’s why we’ve been out here for so many years with so many great championships.”

Golf Channel analyst Steve Sands noted Sunday the behind-the-scenes efforts of Solich and the organizational team in making the championship come off relatively seamlessly.

“You have no idea the tireless work done by George and his staff,” Sands told fans and officials assembled for the post-championship ceremony.

The weather for the week was largely cooperative, with just a brief lightning-related delay Thursday evening that kept nine players from completing round 1 that day.

The rain did lead to some major on-the-fly changes of parking lots, but the backup plans seemed to work well, given the circumstances.

Some players nitpicked about specific holes on the course — the 526-yard par-4 fifth, which through three rounds was playing as the toughest hole on the PGA Tour this season, was mentioned more than once — but that happens at every venue.

A new competitive course record was established — an 8-under-par 62 by Morgan Hoffmann on Saturday — but Cherry Hills held up well to the best players in the world.

Meanwhile, NBC essayist Jimmy Roberts did a nice feature that ran nationally on the weekend. The story gave viewers a local angle on the Evans Scholarship. Included were segments on Solich, on current CU Evans Scholar Melyzjah Smith, and on the caddie program in which Smith worked, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course. CommonGround is owned and operated the CGA and CWGA. The Academy is named for Solich and his older brother, Geoff, who’s also a CU Evans Scholar alum.

Looking to the future, Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway, a member at Cherry Hills, noted earlier this summer that the club would be interested in hosting the BMW Championship again down the road.

“It’s in (Cherry Hills’) charter; we’re always trying to bring tremendous tournaments here,” Elway said in July. “We’d love to get into the rotation — I’ll throw that out here — for the BMW at some point. That’s part of the heritage and tradition of this club — to be able to bring top-notch (events) — whether they be majors or the BMW/FedExCup-type tournaments.”

Solich reiterated that thought late Sunday afternoon.

“We really want to be in the conversation (to host such tournaments), and I think it’s absolutely clear we’re now in the conversation,” he said. “That’s all you can hope for. We don’t have a contract. There’s no guarantee to come back, but certainly we’re in the conversation.”

Ogden Right on the Mark: From the department of “give credit where credit is due”, it’s worth noting that Cherry Hills head professional John Ogden predicted in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship that the winning score would be 264 to 268.

Billy Horschel won with a 266 total.

Stadler’s Season Comes to End: Kevin Stadler wore a big Denver Broncos logo on his shirt Sunday, but that mojo wasn’t enough to extend his best PGA Tour season. The part-time Denver resident failed to conclude the BMW Championship in the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, meaning he won’t advance to next week’s Tour Championship.

Stadler finished 50th at Cherry Hills Country Club, shooting 74-69-70-71 for a 4-over-par 284 total. That left him 38th in FedExCup points.

“It was obviously a goal (to advance),” said Stadler, winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. “It was a frustrating week overall. I felt like I played really well and my scoring was just horrendous. I feel like I struck the ball well enough to contend and to win and I finished almost dead last. It was frustrating around the greens and my scoring was really non-existent this week.”

For the record, Gary Woodland earned the last spot in the Tour Championship (29th since No. 30 Dustin Johnson is taking a leave of absence from the Tour.)

Dreaded 12th Strikes Again for McIlroy: Suffice it to say the green at the par-3 12th hole won’t go down as one of Rory McIlroy’s favorites.

He’s four-putted a total of seven times in his PGA Tour career, and two of them have come at No. 12 at Cherry Hills. After four-putting from 4 feet for a triple bogey there Saturday, he inexplicably four-jiggled again Sunday, this time from 19 feet for double bogey.

On the weekend, he played the 204-yard hole in 5 over par, needing eight putts in two days.

“Two four-putts on the same green? It’s not my worst,” McIlroy noted. “I have five-putted before. But it’s one of those things that at least I can laugh about it and move on.”

McIlroy admits he thought about what happened at 12 on Saturday while over his second putt Sunday.

“I said to myself, ‘Let’s not give any more shots away to this hole,'” he said. “So I maybe put a little bit too much pressure on myself to hole that second putt. On the third putt, I’m thinking, ‘OK, you don’t want to four-putt again’, and I actually held a decent length putt for a four-putt.

“It sort of shows everyone out there that we do the same things as they do every weekend.”

Lucky No. 7 for Sergio: Sergio Garcia took quite a liking to the dogleg-left 395-yard seventh hole at Cherry Hills this week. On Sunday, for the second time this week, the Spaniard holed out for eagle, this time from 35 yards. On Friday, his eagle on that hole came from 126 yards. In case you’re wondering, Garcia played the hole in birdie and bogey on the other two days, making him 4 under on No. 7 for the week.

Rory McIlroy also made a deuce on the par-4 seventh Sunday, holing out from 56 yards.

Garcia shot a 5-under-par 29 and McIlroy a 30 on the front nine.

Notable: Henrik Stenson won’t be around to defend his FedExCup Playoffs title next week at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Stenson finished 23rd at the BMW Championship and ended up 52nd in the FedExCup standings (CLICK HERE). … Billy Horschel, 27, became the 16th different player under 30 to win on the PGA Tour in the 2013-14 wraparound season. Those 16 players have accounted for 21 victories. … Horschel’s wife, Brittany, is scheduled to give birth to their first child on Sept. 27. … In case you were wondering: Horschel sprinted up the 18th fairway after hitting his second shot Sunday because nature called.

John Ogden couldn’t resist.

Cherry Hills Country Club’s head professional, the starter on the first tee for Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship, saw Morgan Hoffmann come to No. 1 having already played the back nine in 6-under-par 30.

And with low scores possible on the front nine with its two driveable par-4s, Ogden knew Hoffmann (left) had a chance at something really low.

So the head pro decided to follow Hoffmann, and he caught up to him at the par-3 sixth hole. Sure enough, after Hoffmann had been 8 under par through 12 holes, the former Oklahoma State golfer made his first bogey of the day after pulling his tee shot into the bunker.

“I jinx him and he makes bogey on 6,” Ogden said. “So I went back up the hill, then he birdied 7.”

And with that and two pars to finish up, Hoffmann shot the lowest competitive round in the 92-year history of Cherry Hills, an 8-under-par 62.

About 18 years ago, PGA Tour player Mike Reid fired a 60 from the back tees in a casual round at Cherry Hills. And Gunner Wiebe posted a 61 a few years ago. But Hoffmann’s score, having come in competition, will go down as the official course record.

“It was a great round,” Ogden said. “After the rain on Thursday (evening), I thought we would see that (kind of score). Today, it’s perfect and I thought we’d see something. The greens are so soft right now. The players are not having to think as much as they were (on Thursday).”

Hoffmann, who played in the Palmer Cup college matches between the U.S. and Europe that Cherry Hills hosted in 2009, finished Saturday with nine birdies and the lone bogey on No. 6. The 62 pushed him past 43 players on the scoreboard, up into 10th place with a 4-under 206 total.

But setting the course record is a more lasting accomplishment.

“It’s really cool,” the 25-year-old said. “It’s such an honor, especially with all the history here and the great championships that have been played here.”

When he was 8 under through 12, Hoffmann admits he was entertaining thoughts of PGA Tour grandeur — a 59. But though it was a possibility — he needed to go 3 under his final six holes — he never seriously threatened the mark and the bogey on 6 realistically ended the hopes.

“My goal is to go as low as possible; I don’t think you should be out here if you’re scared to go low,” said Hoffmann, who matched his low competitive round ever, a 10-under 62 he shot in college at Southern Highlands in Las Vegas. “After I was 8 under through 12 or 13, that 59 number was a big goal for me. … Hopefully I can pull it off tomorrow.”

Hoffmann said he still distinctly remembers competing in the 2009 Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills. Coincidentally, in one of his matches, he was paired with Cameron Tringale, who is also in the BMW Championship field this week (he’s in 34th place at 1-over-par 211).

“Cameron Tringale and I played alternate shot (at the Palmer Cup), and ever since then my dad calls him ‘even man’ because he played the even holes,” Hoffmann said. “We got to play aggressive golf then, so it kind of set us up for this week.”

Hoffman’s 62 on Saturday came on the heels of consecutive 72s at Cherry Hills.

“I was just going out there kind of carefree,” he said. “I don’t have anything to lose, so I was just trying to have some fun.”

Hoffmann’s threesome on Saturday put on quite a show, with Hoffmann’s 62, and the 66s by both Jerry Kelly and Freddie Jacobson. “We were feeding off each other a bunch,” Hoffmann said.

Mickelson, Bradley Pull Out After Two Rounds: Two fan favorites who have won major championships withdrew before Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills.

Phil Mickelson (left), who won his U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in 1990, ended his 2013-14 PGA Tour season when he pulled out of the BMW following a second-round 76.

“My primary goal is to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup” later this month in Scotland, Mickelson said in a statement. “Without a chance to contend at the Tour Championship, the most important thing for me now is to prepare for the Ryder Cup.”

The upshot is that two streaks come to an end for Mickelson. After 10 consecutive PGA Tour seasons with at least one victory — which was the longest active streak on Tour — he went winless in the 2013-14 wraparound season. And for the first time since the FedExCup Playoffs were launched in 2007, he failed to qualify for the Tour Championship.

After his 76 on Friday at Cherry Hills, Mickelson stood in 63rd place at the BMW Championship at 6-over 146. He needed a very high finish — fourth or better — at Cherry Hills to have a chance to advance to the season finale.

Hunter Mahan is now the only player to have qualified for the Tour Championship in each year of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Also withdrawing from the BMW Championship Saturday morning was Keegan Bradley, winner of the 2011 PGA Championship. Bradley, who had never before withdrawn from a PGA Tour event, stood at 3-over-par 143, 11 out of the lead, after Friday’s round.

 Bradley pulled out after having lingering doubts about an embedded-ball ruling he received on the 18th hole of his opening round on Thursday.

“I just feel withdrawing is the right thing to do to protect the field in the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship next week,” Bradley said in a press release. “It’s eating me alive. I didn’t call my fellow competitors for help in the first place and that bothers me. I know the official approved the drop but I just can’t be absolutely sure it was the right spot.”

On the ruling in question, Bradley’s third shot on No. 18 embedded in the grass face just above the left greenside bunker. He took relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch mark, then chipped on and two-putted for a double bogey.

After the round, a fan told Bradley he had seen the ball bounce before coming to rest. As he was unsettled about his handling of the situation, Bradley conferred with PGA Tour vice president of rules and competitions Slugger White, who absolved Bradley of any potential violation after the two talked and examined the pitch mark at No. 18. Nevertheless, Bradley opted to withdraw on Saturday.

Bradley’s withdrawal could cost him a spot in next week’s Tour Championship as only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings qualifying, and going into Sunday he’s 33rd.

 On Friday, another top player, Jason Day, pulled out of the BMW Championship in the middle of his second round with back problems.

Parking Back for Normal for Sunday: After two days of many BMW Championship fans parking at Sports Authority Field at Mile High because Thursday evening rains caused problems at various grass parking lots, the parking plan will revert to original locations for Sunday.

For more information, check the web site at BMWChampionshipUSA.com (CLICK HERE) or follow updates on Twitter: @bmwchamps.

Notable: Kent Denver High School graduate Kevin Stadler has some work to do if he is to qualify for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. The 2002 Colorado Open champion is in 47th place at Cherry Hills, which projects to him being 36th in the FedExCup point standings. Only the top 30 finishers advance to the Tour Championship. … Chesson Hadley made five straight birdies in Saturday’s round (holes 9-13).

For BMW Championship scores, CLICK HERE.
 

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

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BMW Championship: The Essentials

What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.

Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.

Schedule
Sept. 7: Sunday tee times from 9:35-11:15 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.

Gates Open — 8 a.m. 

TV Coverage — Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).

Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.

Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.

Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concluded on Sept. 1. There was no cut during the BMW Championship.

Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.

Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-inch-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.

Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.

Autographs and Cameras — Not permitted during championship rounds Thursday through Sunday.

Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).

For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.)