I’ve been fortunate enough to have covered golf in Colorado for 35 years, and you get to the point that not much that happens on the golf course surprises you a great deal. But what I saw earlier this month at the CGA Amateur was eye-opening, to the point that I recounted it several times — to CGA executive director Ed Mate, CGA co-president Joe McCleary and Pinehurst Country Club head golf professional Kevin Vena, among others.

Let me explain …

During my college years, I had the chance to caddie for Jack Nicklaus in an exhibition he played with Tom Watson and Dow Finsterwald on Aug. 24, 1981 at Pinehurst.

And on Aug. 4, I covered the third round of the 2018 CGA Amateur, played at the same course.

Everyone old enough knows that golf has changed an incredible amount in those 37 years — and that certainly includes someone like me who has covered a ton of tournaments over that time. But a comparison of what happened on those two days was a little jarring.

This centers around the16th hole at Pinehurst, a par-5 in which there’s a gradual hill that crests a little more than halfway between the back tee and the green. I still have a Pinehurst scorecard from 1981 — only because it was autographed by Nicklaus and Watson — and the 16th hole measured 553 yards from the back tees. For this month’s CGA Amateur, it was a 563-yard hole.

I remember — thanks in parts to reviewing columns I wrote not long after — how the hole played out for Nicklaus (pictured). Then a 41-year old, the Golden Bear was still among the longest hitters on the PGA Tour in the early 1980s, typically ranking in the top 25 in driving distance. On 16 at Pinehurst, he used his persimmon MacGregor Eye-O-Matic 945W driver and hit a good tee tee shot down the left side of the fairway, but still had more than 250 yards left to the flag. In fact, his ball didn’t make it to the top of the hill because he asked me where he should aim his second shot as the green wasn’t yet in view. I pointed out Loretto Heights College in the distance and he hit a perfect 250-yard 3-wood where directed.

“I hope you’re right,” he said as he handed the club back to me.

“I hope so too,” I replied.

Unfortunately, as we approached the green, it became apparent the ball ended up in a greenside bunker front right of the putting surface. But Nicklaus still got up and down for birdie.

That came to mind again this month when I was following the lead group in round 3 of the CGA Amateur. On the same 16th hole, playing from a tee 10 yards further back, Kyler Dunkle (left), who would go on to win the title the next day, ripped a drive that made Nicklaus’ 37 years earlier look laughably short.

Dunkle’s ball ended up on the left edge of the fairway — and even with the 150-yard marker. I went out to check a sprinkler head in the fairway, making sure it wasn’t really a 200-yard marker. But sure enough, his ball was right at 150 to the middle of the green.

It didn’t take much figuring to see that Dunkle had just hit his tee shot 413 yards — and without the ball landing on a cart path, a sprinkler head or anything of the sort. Just as notably, his ball had traveled roughly 115 yards further than Nicklaus’ had on the same hole in 1981. That’s 115 yards past arguably the greatest golfer of all time and one of the best drivers of the ball ever.

Now I realize that Dunkle’s ball no doubt had more roll than did Nicklaus’ because it was on a downslope. But I was in the landing area for Dunkle’s shot and the amount of roll wasn’t at all unusual.

Dunkle is certainly a long hitter by the standards of top Colorado players. He was leaving drives greenside or within 40 or 50 yards of the flag on plenty of par-4s at Pinehurst that week. But Coby Welch, who was paired with Dunkle that Saturday, wasn’t that far behind his fellow player that day on No. 16. As for Nicklaus, this was no mis-hit on his part. He’d smacked a drive almost 300 yards, which may be pedestrian by today’s PGA Tour standards, but was pretty darn good back then with persimmon-headed clubs, even with some altitude adjustment.

So what is there to draw from this non-planned comparison?

Well, after realizing that I wasn’t just seeing things … it’s a mixture of awe and concern. Awe because the evolution of equipment, the golf ball and to some extent better strength and conditioning regimens, has allowed a player to hit a 400-yard-plus drive that doesn’t involve any fluke-ishness or luck. And concern because it renders a lot of great golf courses near-obsolete for many elite/tour-level players, barring making fairways 15 yards wide, growing 6-inch-deep rough, making greens extra firm and having pin placements resemble those in miniature golf. And it’s even more of an issue at the altitude we are here in Colorado.

That certainly is no revelation. Observers have been debating the issue of “distance-creep” in golf for decades. And if I had a buck for every time I’ve heard Nicklaus say the golf ball has to be rolled back, I’d be one rich golf writer. But he’s right that that would be the most manageable solution to many classic and shorter courses becoming de-facto obsolete for PGA Tour-level players — and building ever-longer golf courses, with the increased maintenance and water they require. The problem regarding Nicklaus’ solution is, there’s plenty of pushback to rolling back the ball or to variable-distance balls — from ball manufacturers, many players with lucrative ball contracts and many others in the business.

While it’s an awesome sight to watch great golfers hit the ball jaw-dropping distances, at some point you have to wonder if the transformation in equipment and the ball renders it essentially a different game now for the world’s best than it was for comparable players decades ago. And equally as important, what does that progression bode for some great classic courses that once were a major challenge for the best golfers but are no longer — again, barring tricked-up setups?

For the record, in 1980 Dan Pohl led the PGA Tour in average driving distance at 274.3 yards. This year, Rory McIlroy leads at the way at 320.5 yards. If that trend continues, you’re talking a 400-yard average leading the PGA Tour by the year 2085 — if there’s still a PGA Tour then, that is.

Why does this matter to your average golf fan, particularly one in Colorado?

If you’re that golf fan, have you ever wondered why Colorado hosted six men’s major championships — meaning the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship because they’re the two held in the U.S. that change sites each year — in the 47 years from 1938 to 1985, but hasn’t held a single one in the 33 years since? (And you can tack on at least another seven years to that total as the next vacancy for a PGA Championship site is 2025 and for a U.S. Open site is 2028.)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to surmise that the main reason a U.S. Open or PGA hasn’t returned to Colorado is significant changes in the ball and equipment technology over the last several decades, and the exacerbated effect that brings at altitude. Things like going to solid-core golf balls and from small wood-headed drivers with steel shafts to large titanium ones with graphite shafts have affected golf everywhere, but even more so at a mile-high altitude, where the ball flies 10 or 15 percent further than at sea level. That means if the longest hitters on the PGA Tour catch one particularly solid these days in the Denver area, a 400-yard drive is not only very possible, but not that big of deal — which is how Dunkle treated his 16th-hole tee shot at the CGA Amateur.

If you don’t believe that speculation, McIlroy hit a 370-yard 3-wood at Cherry Hills the week of the 2014 BMW Championship — and he’s upped his average driving distance by 10 yards since then. He said at Cherry Hills that week that with his high ball flight, a typical shot was “going a good 15 percent further than it usually does (at sea level).” Based on his 320-yard norm this season on Tour, that means that an average drive for McIlRoy in the Denver metro area would currently travel about 368 yards. And, like every PGA Tour player, he can certainly take it up a gear or two.

Also at that BMW Championship, Bubba Watson hit the green on the 555-yard 17th hole with driver-9 iron.

With driving distance having increased since then, it wouldn’t be at all surprising for players like McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka or Watson to hit driver-wedge on a similar-length par-5 in Denver now. My guess is that the USGA and the PGA of America, who run the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, respectively, would prefer not to see two of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world come to that on anything approaching a regular basis.

Even back at the 1985 PGA Championship at Cherry Hills, some observers were aghast when several contestants were hitting driver-wedge at the 491-yard 18th hole. With what’s happened since then with distance increases, returning to Colorado for another U.S. Open or PGA Championship may simply be a bridge too far for the powers that be — particularly with plenty of sea-level alternatives.

If that’s the case, it’s a sad situation for a state with such a rich history of major golf championships.

But Dunkle, who has long called Parker and The Club at Pradera home, certainly went out on a high note.

In the same week the family home was sold, the 21-year-old claimed the CGA Amateur title on Sunday at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver. And within the last five weeks, despite battling back problems, he’s also qualified in Fort Collins for the U.S. Amateur and finished ninth and earned low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open in Denver.

That’s what you call a run of good play.

“This feels great,” Dunkle said of winning the CGA Amateur. “It means a lot. It’s one of the bigger tournaments in Colorado that I had yet to make a run in. It’s fun. To have my name on the trophy with a lot of other really good players (including Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman and Wyndham Clark), that will be a cool thing.

“Growing up in Colorado, this is the tournament that a lot of people want to win. This is where all the best players in the state play. So this definitely ranks up there near the top (of my golf accomplishments). I got to play with a bunch of really good players this week and it was really fun.”

Dunkle, who will soon be going into his final year on the University of Utah golf team, played nearly mistake-free golf on Sunday at the CGA Amateur, making just one bogey in shooting a 3-under-par 67. His 14-under 266 total for the week was good for a two-stroke victory.

“Really there wasn’t anything special about the (final) round,” Dunkle said. “It was just kind of keep plugging along and a couple of putts fell here and there. I wasn’t trying to force anything. I just stuck to my game plan. My dad(/caddie) and I talked about it every tee shot and hit driver as much as we could. We just went and found it and hit it from there.

“I had the same strategy the whole week. I was hitting driver as much as I could, trying to get as close to the green as I could (on par-4s and 5s). The thing that feels best (in my game) right now is my driver. The driver has always been a weapon because I hit the ball pretty far. Lately, I’ve been hitting it pretty straight and haven’t been getting into too much trouble. On a course like this that helped a lot because I was able to get pretty close to a lot of greens.”

It’s the third CGA championship for Dunkle, who has also won a CGA Western Chapter title and a CGA Parent/Child with dad Jason, who caddied for Kyler all this week at Pinehurst. Dunkle was also the CGA’s Les Fowler Player of the Year in 2016. (Kyler is pictured at top, and with Jason while walking off the 18th green on Sunday.)

University of Northern Colorado golfer Coby Welch, from The Links Golf Course, led by two after three rounds, and pulled even on Sunday with Dunkle with a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 15, where he very nearly holed out his approach shot.

But the par-5 16th proved pivotal. Welch’s tee shot ended up just in the right fairway bunker, but he had to stand outside of the sand, making for a somewhat-awkward approach from about 210 yards. He pulled the shot left of the green, then left his pitch short of the putting surface. His subsequent chip ran 15 feet by the hole, and when he missed that putt, he carded a bogey.

The long-hitting Dunkle, meanwhile, hit his second shot on the green, 40 feet past the flag, and two putted for birdie, accounting for a two-shot swing.

“I just got a little unlucky break (on 16),” said Welch (left). “The ball was 6 inches in the bunker right in front of the lip. I hit a decent shot out of there, then I got around the green and my short game got to me again. That’s been the case lately.

“I knew I could get that up and down (for birdie on 16). I’ve gotten (shots like that) up and down a thousand times. I didn’t have a great lie, but I hit two really bad chips. This tournament, I scored well, but my short game wasn’t very good.”

On 17, Dunkle’s tee shot finished well left of the green on the par-3, but he nestled his pitch down a slope to within two feet for par. He called that “one of the bigger moments for me.” And he made a routine par on 18 for the victory.

Welch, a former CGA Boys Junior Player of the Year, had made just one bogey combined on Friday and Saturday. But he had four on Sunday to go with three birdies, one of which was an improbable, big-breaking 60-footer on No. 10. He ended up shooting a 1-over-par 71 and finishing runner-up at 268.

“I didn’t play well. I didn’t clutch up when I needed to,” said Welch, who like Dunkle will play in the U.S. Amateur this month. “It’s unfortunate, but I just didn’t have my best today. I felt fine. To be honest I wasn’t even nervous. But I didn’t perform.

“You always want to finish first, but I’m glad Kyler won. He’s a good kid. If it wasn’t me, I’m glad it was him.”

Griffin Barela (left) of Bear Creek Golf Club made a run to get in contention, one stroke out of the lead with three holes left. But the University of Wisconsin golfer bogeyed the last three to shoot 69 and share third place at 271.

“Going into the day my goal was to try to get to 14 (under) to try to have a chance,” said Barela, who won a college tournament in April and finished 15th last Sunday at the CoBank Colorado Open. “I knew I was one back (after 15). Obviously I didn’t want to finish that way, but I’m happy with how I played this week. I wanted to give myself a chance to win, and I did that. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but it happens.”

At that 271 figure with Barela were Tyler Zhang of Lone Tree Golf Club (bogey-free final-round 66) and former Colorado State University golfer Dominic Kieffer (67 despite bogeying the last two).

Former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte of Littleton, competing in his final amateur event, encountered considerable tree trouble on Sunday, leading to a triple bogey and two doubles in his final 10 holes. Despite five birdies, he shot 74 and shared sixth place at 273 with Michael Tait of Raccoon Creek Golf Course (final-round 70).

Sunday’s win adds to Dunkle’s list of notable victories in Colorado, which also includes earning the title at the 2017 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational college tournament and the 2012 5A state high school meet. Dunkle started his college career at CSU before transferring to Utah.
He’ll live in Salt Lake City for the time being, but plans to continue to play tournaments in Colorado in the future, ideally if plans pan out to turn pro late next spring.

But for now, he’s concentrating on making a run at the U.S. Am, which begins on Aug. 13. And why not, considering the way he’s been performing on the golf course lately?

“I’m definitely in a groove. I’ve been playing really good since the beginning of June,” Dunkle said.
For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

Coby Welch came ever so close to winning the Colorado Junior Amateur several years ago, but couldn’t quite close the deal.

The 20-year-old from Highlands Ranch (left) hopes to get over the hump in the CGA Amateur, the open-age version of the same tournament.

Meanwhile, former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte will attempt to go out on a high note in his amateur finale by winning the CGA Amateur for the second time.

And 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle will try to make his outstanding summer of golf that much better by capturing the CGA Am title.

Those are the main three players in the spotlight after Saturday’s third round at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver, though given the number of rounds of 65 or lower this week, there are others potentially within reach going into Sunday’s final 18.

Welch, the 2015 CGA Boys Junior Player of the Year from The Links Golf Course, grabbed the lead at Pinehurst on Saturday with his second straight round of 5-under-par 65, which leaves him at 13-under 197 overall.

“I’m just going to tee it up (Sunday) and play it like every other round I have,” said the University of Northern Colorado golfer. “We’ll see what happens at the end. If I play well, hopefully I’ll win. But it is golf.

“It would be very cool to be able to win this. I was close many times in the Junior Stroke and never capped it off. That would be cool to be able to do it now.”

Korte (left), who won this event in 2015 and the CGA Match Play in 2017, trails by two after a round of 68. He shot a 4-under 31 on the front nine, but went 2 over on the back despite making a 12-foot par save after being in the trees on No. 18 Saturday.

“I started out really hot and the game felt awesome,” the 21-year-old said. “The swing got a little loose on the back nine. I got out of trouble really well from behind some trees here and there, like 18 after punching out. But it was a pretty disappointing back nine. It was a grind for sure. The front nine felt super easy. Hopefully I’ll get more of that tomorrow.”

Also at 199 was 36-hole leader Dunkle, from The Club at Pradera, who three-putted twice in the final six holes to shoot 70. The University of Utah golfer went eagle-birdie-bogey on his final three holes. His 12-foot eagle on 16 came after a drive of more than 410 yards.

“I feel horrible,” said Dunkle, who made 19 birdies the first two days combined but just three on Saturday to go with the eagle. “I missed a lot of shots in really bad places. Out here, especially with some pins they had today, you had to be on the correct side the green if you weren’t going to be close. I put myself in some really tight spots and had hard chances at up and down, and my short game wasn’t where I wanted it to be.”

Both Dunkle (left) and Welch have qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, while Dunkle was low-amateur at the CoBank Colorado Open last weekend. Korte, meanwhile, will be turning pro before the Web.com Tour Q-school starts late this month.

In other words it should make for an interesting final day at Pinehurst.

Korte is trying to become the first repeat winner of the CGA Amateur since Kane Webber (2002 and ’03).

“This is my final amateur event. I’m turning pro at the end of the month for Web.com Q-school,” Korte said. “It would be amazing to go out with a bang like that.”

To this point, only three players in the field have shot in the 60s every round this week — Korte (65-66-68), former Colorado State University golfer Dominic Kieffer (67-69-68) and Welch (67-65-65).

“I hit it really well today,” said Welch, whose only bogey in the last two rounds combined was due to a three-putt from 15 feet off the fringe on No. 12 Saturday. “I scored well. I didn’t really feel like I putted great. But I scored very well for the way I putted today. I hit the ball very well, so it kind of help even it out.”

Two other players maintained some hope at the title with 6-under-par 64s at Pinehurst on Saturday. Griffin Barela (left) of Bear Creek Golf Club stands at 202, while Michael Tait of Raccoon Creek Golf Course went bogey-free and checked in at 203.

So what should we expect from Sunday’s final round?

“This course can yield a lot of really low scores,” Dunkle said. “If the three of us (in the final group — Welch, Korte and Dunkle) don’t play the way we want to and someone else throws up a number … You can be within seven shots here and have a chance. I think it’s really anyone’s game. But it will be nice to play with the same guys I did today and knowing that we’re all close. I think it’s going to be really fun, really back and forth because all three of us have been playing pretty good this week. There’s lots of birdies being made.”

Added Korte: “Coby and Kyler are great players. Kyler bombs it and he hit it next to the greens on a lot of these par-4s and reaches all the par-5s, so he’s going to make a lot of birdies regardless. And Coby is a great player, so I’ve just got to go out not make mistakes and make a few putts and I think I’ll do just fine.” 

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

The 2016 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year made nine birdies on Friday at the CGA Amateur, giving him a remarkable 19 for two rounds at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver. To put that into perspective, the next-highest total to this point is a dozen.

And 3s are clearly wild for the University of Utah golfer, who has carded 20 of them in 36 holes.

Most importantly, Dunkle’s 6-under-par 64 on Friday gave the 21-year-old a two-stroke lead at the midway point of the CGA Amateur, one of the oldest and most prestigious golf championships in Colorado.

Dunkle, who finished ninth and claimed low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open on Sunday, sits at 11-under-par 129. On Friday, the 2018 U.S. Amateur qualifier had a bogey and a double bogey in addition to his nine birdies.

Chris Korte of Littleton, winner of the 2015 CGA Amateur and the 2017 CGA Match Play, backed up his first-round 65 with a 66 on Friday and trails Dunkle by two. The former University of Denver golfer, who placed 22th against a formidable field last week at the Pacific Coast Amateur in San Francisco, carded an eagle, three birdies and one bogey on Friday. That one bogey — which came on No. 7 Friday — is Korte’s only one in 36 holes.

University of Northern Colorado golfer Coby Welch, from The Links Golf Course, stands at 132. Welch, who like Dunkle has qualified for the U.S. Amateur, fired a bogey-free 65 on Friday that included five birdies.

Tyler Zhang of Lone Tree Golf Club is in fourth place at 135 after a 67. Sharing fifth at 136 are first-round leader and 2016 champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club (73 Friday) and Dominic Kieffer of Collindale Golf Course (69).

The field was cut from 84 to the low 40 players and ties after Friday’s second round, with the 42 players at 148 or better advancing to the weekend.

The 72-hole championship will continue through Sunday.

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

For Saturday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

And guess who’s atop the leaderboard after Thursday’s opening round?

Colin Prater (left) of The Broadmoor Golf Club, winner of the Amateur two years ago, leads the way at 7-under-par 63 despite a bogey on the 18th hole. That’s the new tournament course record at the club, according to Pinehurst head professional Kevin Vena. And 2015 champion Chris Korte of Littleton shares second place at 65 with Kyler Dunkle of The Club at Pradera.

Prater, who finished 12th in the NCAA Division II Championships in May in his final college event at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, eagled the par-5 16th and added seven birdies and two bogeys for his 63.

Korte, the former University of Denver golfer who’s won the 2017 CGA Match Play in addition to the 2015 CGA Amateur, went bogey-free in his round of 65, making five birdies. Korte is coming off a 22nd-place finish competing against a very strong field at the Pacific Coast Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Dunkle, meanwhile, followed up his low-amateur showing at the CoBank Colorado Open on Sunday with an up-and-down round that included 10 birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. The University of Utah golfer and 2016 CGA Player of the Year, who will play in the U.S. Amateur this month, had 11 3s on his card en route to 65.

Four players share fourth place at 67 after round 1 — University of Northern Colorado teammates Sam Marley of South Suburban Golf Course and Coby Welch of The Links Golf Course, plus Griffin Barela of Bear Creek Golf Club and Dominic Kieffer of Collindale Golf Course.

Welch, who has qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur, made eagle on the 370-yard par-4 first hole on Thursday.

In all, 14 players broke par in round 1, including 2018 CGA Match Play champion AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club, who posted a 69.

The field will be cut from 84 to the low 40 players and ties after Friday’s second round. The 72-hole championship will continue through Sunday.

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

— There’s Kyler Dunkle of The Club at Pradera, the 2016 CGA Player of the Year who finished ninth overall and was low-amateur in last week’s CoBank Colorado Open. The University of Utah golfer has also qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur.

— There’s Colorado State University golfer AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club, who won the 2018 CGA Match Play, has qualified for the U.S. Amateur and finished 19th in the Colorado Open. Ott is ranked No. 156 among the world’s amateur golfers.

— There’s former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte of Littleton, who’s won both the CGA Match Play (2017) and the CGA Amateur (2015) and just finished 22nd against a packed field at the Pacific Coast Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

And those are just a few of the most notable players scheduled to compete at Pinehurst. Eighty-four golfers will be in the field, which will be cut to the low 40 and ties after two rounds. A champion will be decided on Sunday at Pinehurst, which has most recently hosted the CGA Amateur in 2013 and 2008.

Also set to compete at Pinehurst are U.S. Amateur qualifier Coby Welch, a University of Northern Colorado golfer; Pac-12 Conference runner-up and CGA Western Chapter champion Ross Macdonald, a University of Colorado golfer; 2016 CGA Amateur winner Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club; Griffin Barela of Bear Creek Golf Club, a University of Wisconsin golfer who placed 15th in the Colorado Open; University of Mississippi golfer Josh Seiple from Castle Pines Golf Club; Jon Lindstrom of Lakewood Country Club and Chris Thayer of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, winner of five CGA Mid-Amateurs between them; and 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course.

For Thursday’s pairings at Pinehurst, CLICK HERE.

With a strong finish on Sunday afternoon, Glenn Workman made a little history.

The golfer from Desert Hawk at Pueblo West, who soon will start his senior season at the University of Wyoming, played his final three holes in 2 under par to capture the CGA Amateur Championship at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards.

That made Workman the winner of both the Wyoming State Amateur and the CGA Amateur in 2017, marking the first time the same player has won both titles in a single year.

In addition, Workman joins a stellar group of champions at Sonnenalp. Brandt Jobe won the CGA Amateur the last time it was played at the course, in 1985, when the layout was known as Singletree Golf Club. And Kevin Stadler captured the Colorado Open title at the course in 2002. Each of those players went on to earn more than $9 million on the PGA Tour.

“What a rich history this course has,” Workman noted. “Hosting Colorado Opens, hosting this tournament before. It’s a golf course that you have to hit it well. It’s not something where you can just overpower it. That was my advantage today because I don’t hit it long off the tee. This course, you’ve got to hit it well off the tee and putt it good.”

Only time will tell if Workman further follows in the footsteps of Jobe or Stadler and becomes a PGA Tour player and is successful at that level. For now, he’s proven himself to be one of the better amateurs in the region by winning the two aforementioned state amateur titles this summer, in addition to being low-amateur in the Wyoming State Open and finishing runner-up in the Wyoming State Match Play.

“This is incredible,” Workman (pictured left and above) said of Sunday’s victory. “It’s a huge win for me. It is my biggest. This is the highlight of my summer for sure. There’s so many good players in this, so to win this means so much.

“I felt the heat from all the good players all day.”

At Sonnenalp, the 21-year-old led after each of the last three rounds. On Sunday, he closed with a 2-under-par 69 to finish at 6-under 278, which was good for a two-stroke victory.

After being just a shot in front of Colorado State University golfer Jake Staiano and University of Denver player Isaac Petersilie, Workman gave himself some cushion. On No. 16, he sank a 4 1/2-foot birdie putt. He pushed his tee shot into a bunker on the par-3 17th, leaving himself a 36-yard sand shot. But he nestled the ball up inside of a foot for a tap-in par.

“That was the shot of the tournament,” Workman said. “Sometimes coming down the stretch you’ve got to hit shots like that. I honestly didn’t think much about it — just got up there and hit it. It worked out. It was really close. I was happy.”

Then on the par-5 18th, Workman got home in two and two-putted for birdie, earning him the N.C. “Tub” Morris Trophy. He had told himself he needed a birdie down the stretch, and he made two.

“Approaching the home stretch like that is so hard because there’s so much pressure,” Workman said. “Hitting good golf shots is difficult sometimes. I told myself, ‘Be patient, there’s a lot of golf to play.’ I had to make a lot of good shots and I’m really happy with the way I played.”

All in all, he didn’t falter. If one of his challengers were to overtake him on Sunday, it was going to take a stellar round. The way it turned out, even a 4-under-par 67 by Staiano (left) left him two shots short of a playoff.

“You don’t wish anybody to play bad. I’m glad he played well,” said Petersilie, a past Junior Amateur and state high school champion. “I’ve just got to play better (to win).”

The victory was Workman’s first in a CGA championship, though he won a Junior Tournament of Champions title in 2012.

Staiano, who finished eighth in the CoBank Colorado Open last month, made a 15-foot birdie on the final hole to shoot his 67 and finish second alone at 4-under 280. Next up for the golfer from Glenmoor Country Club is his second trip to the U.S. Amateur, where fellow Coloradan Sam Marley will caddie for him. The two were paired for Sunday’s final round, with Marley tying for sixth place.

“Honestly it’s a great builder for next week,” Staiano said of his performance at Sonnenalp. “That’s what I took it as. I sort of came in struggling and I was able to work through it the last four or five days and get my swing to something I could take to California for sure. I played better today. I finally hit the ball better. I finally putted a little better. I wish I could have done that earlier, then I would have definitely been in contention a little more. But I’m excited for next week. It’s something to build off of for sure.”

Petersilie (left), who plays out of Colorado Springs Country Club, posted a top-three finish for the second straight year at the CGA Amateur. After being runner-up in 2016, he placed third on Sunday after shooting 68-68 on the weekend for a 281 total. Petersilie one-putted six of his first seven greens on the back nine Sunday.

“It was fun,” said Petersilie, who made 11 birdies combined on Saturday and Sunday. “The course is in great shape. It was real easy to putt on those greens. It was fun to kind of feed off of Glenn because he hit some good shots.”

Tying for fourth place at 283 were CSU golfer AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club and Cole Nygren of Colorado National Golf Club, who was competing in his final CGA amateur tournament before turning pro later this month. Nygren, who finished fifth in this event last year, closed with a 71, while Ott carded a bogey-free 69.

DU golfer Chris Korte, looking for a sweep of the CGA Match Play and Amateur titles in the same year, was among those who shared sixth place at 284.

For the final results from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

Glenn Workman has already put together a stellar summer, golf-wise, but when it comes to success, the more the merrier.

The University of Wyoming golfer, who plays out of Desert Hawk at Pueblo West, has put himself in position to add the CGA Amateur Championship title to his list of accomplishments this year as he will take a three-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards.

On a day in which just one player — Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs Country Club — shot in the 60s — Workman finished Saturday’s round where he started it, up by three. The 21-year-old two-putted for birdie on the final hole to shoot a 1-over-par 72, which left him with a 4-under-par 209 total.

So far this summer, Workman (left) has won the Wyoming State Amateur, finished low amateur in the Wyoming State Open and runner-up in the Wyoming State Match Play, won the Springer tournament in Colorado Springs and placed second in the Pueblo city championship.

“My game, I feel like, has always been there, but I’ve approached the game differently this summer,” Workman said. “I’ve stuck to a mental process I have, focused on working hard, putting golf first and being competitive every time I play — every time I practice, even. It’s made a big difference in my game. I’ve stayed more focused than I ever have on golf. My game is good because I’ve been working harder at it.

“I’ve been treating golf like a job this summer.”

And the approach seems to be paying off again this week. Through 54 holes, Workman has made two eagles and 11 birdies.

“It’s been good to see how I’ve been playing this summer. I’ve been solid,” he said. “I’ve just got to keep up the streak — just keep playing like I know how to play.

“Three shots is nothing in golf; it’s really not. So much can happen tomorrow. I’m going to play hard and focus on what I’ve been doing, like the last few days.”

Only one player besides Workman is under par through 54 holes at Sonnenalp. Cole Nygren (left) of Colorado National Golf Club, who finished fifth in the CGA Amateur last year, overcame a lost-ball double bogey on the 11th hole to shoot an even-par 71 on Saturday. The recent Cal Poly graduate, who is playing in one of his final amateur tournaments, stands at 1-under 212 after a day which included four birdies, two bogeys and a double.

“I’m playing pretty conservatively,” the 23-year-old said. “I can be a little more aggressive. I hit a lot of drivers during the practice round and it’s a very scoreable golf course if you can hit driver accurately. You have a lot of short shots in. But I haven’t hit a single driver so far in the tournament. I’ve hit 2-iron, 3-iron or 4-iron off pretty much every tee. If I need to push a little (on Sunday), especially on the par-5s, I’m going to pull the driver out. We’ll just have to see how everyone is playing.”

As far as catching Workman on Sunday, “Obviously it depends on how Glenn plays,” Nygren said. “If he goes out with a three-shot lead and shoots at least a few under, it’s going to take something pretty special to catch up to him. But each one of my rounds could have easily been 3 or 4 under par.”

Three local college players checked in at even-par 213 through three rounds: Colorado State University’s Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, the University of Denver’s Petersilie, and the University of Northern Colorado’s Sam Marley, who plays out of South Suburban Golf Course.

Petersilie carded six birdies and three bogeys in his 3-under-par 68, while Staiano had a 71 and Marley a 72.

The Sonnenalp course has proven relatively difficult all week, but Saturday moreso than the previous days. The greens were so fast on a couple of holes that more than one player putted his ball off a green.

“If you don’t put it in the right spot on this course, these greens are going to kick your butt,” Staino said. “If you’re above the hole at all, good luck.”

A couple of weeks ago, Staiano (left) finished eighth overall at the CoBank Colorado Open, earning low-amateur honors by seven strokes. But he said his game hasn’t been quite as sharp this week.

“I’ve been sort of battling all week,” the two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier said. “I just don’t have my best stuff out there. … Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but it could have been super low (on Saturday). My putting and chipping let me down. I know 71 doesn’t look bad, but it could have been better for sure.

“To see that I can have my ‘C’ game and still be able to shoot (71) on a course where everybody seems to be struggling a little bit, there’s definitely positives to take from it. Obviously I’m not anywhere out of the tournament, for sure.”

In all, eight players will go into the final round within five strokes of Workman.

The lead group of Workman, Nygren and Petersilie will tee off for Sunday’s final round at 9:10 a.m., while Staiano, Marley and Trevor Glen of Legacy Ridge Golf Course will tee it up at 9 a.m.

For scores from the Sonnenalp Club, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.

Workman, set to begin his senior season as a University of Wyoming golfer, is the only player in the 82-man field to have posted two rounds in the 60s. His 3-under-par 68 on Friday left him at 5-under 137 overall, which is good for a three-stroke advantage.

The winner of the Wyoming State Amateur and the low amateur in the Wyoming State Open this summer, Workman (pictured) eagled the 553-yard sixth hole at Sonnenalp and added three birdies and two bogeys in round 2. Through 36 holes, he’s racked up two eagles and nine birdies.

University of Colorado golfer John Souza of Colorado National Golf Club finished in second place for the second straight day as he shares that position with Tristin Goodwin of Wellshire Golf Course.

Souza started round 2 with a double-bogey 7, but backed that up with a birdie 2 and carded a 1-over 72 after playing his last three holes in 2 under par on Friday.

Goodwin made a major charge on the front nine Friday, posting a 6-under-par 30 after concluding that side with four straight birdies. But a double bogey and two bogeys on the back nine resulted in 69.

Cole Nygren of Colorado National, who finished fifth at this event last year, and University of Northern Colorado golfer Sam Marley of South Suburban Golf Course are the only other players under par, sharing fourth place at 1-under 141.

Five players are five back of Workman, including 2015 champion and 2017 CGA Match Play winner Chris Korte of Lone Tree Golf Club and the University of Denver. Also at even-par 142 is two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, the Colorado State University golfer who finished eighth at last month’s CoBank Colorado Open and shot 69 on Friday despite a triple bogey. Likewise at 142 are first-round leader Kyle Pearson of Meridian Golf Club (75 on Friday), David Leede of Cherry Hills Country Club (72) and Brittain Walton of Collindale Golf Club (72).

The field was cut after 36 holes to the low 40 players and ties. Defending champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club made the cut on the number by shooting a 72 on Friday for a 150 total.

Play will continue through Sunday.

For scores from the Sonnenalp Club, CLICK HERE.
 

The 18-year-old from Highlands Ranch (pictured) made an eagle and six birdies on Thursday en route to a 4-under-par 67 at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards. That gave the incoming Colorado Mesa University golfer a one-stroke lead with three rounds left in the championship.

The 2016 5A state high school champion and 2017 CGA Match Play runner-up, Pearson eagled the 553-yard sixth hole and sprinkled six birdies and four bogeys over his card. Not bad for a guy who played five rounds in three days Monday through Wednesday at the Colorado Junior Match Play.

John Souza of Colorado National Golf Club, a University of Colorado golfer, stands in second place after a round of 68 which featured five birdies.

University of Denver golfer Chris Korte from Lone Tree Golf Club, who’s attempting to become the first person since 2009 to sweep the CGA Match Play and Amateur titles in the same year, opened with a 69, leaving him tied for third place with Glenn Workman of Desert Hawk Golf Course in Pueblo West. Workman, a University of Wyoming golfer, played his final six holes in 4 under par. Korte won the CGA Amateur two years ago.

In all, 10 players broke par in round 1, which was delayed twice by lightning, for a total of 2 1/2 hours.

Defending champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club struggled to a 7-over-par 78 in round 1, leaving him in 58th place.

The field will be cut from 83 to the top 40 players and ties after Friday’s second round, then the championship will continue through Sunday.

This year marks the first time since 2003 that the CGA Amateur has been contested in western Colorado.

For scores from the Sonnenalp Club, CLICK HERE.