At 68 years old, Harry Johnson has long been eligible to compete in the CGA Super-Senior Match Play. But for many years he took a pass, opting to play in the senior division instead.

And who could argue when, as a 63-year-old, he swept the CGA Senior Match Play and Senior Amateur titles in 2013, becoming just the fifth player to win both events in a calendar year?

“I specifically didn’t (enter) because I didn’t think I was ready for super-senior golf — that type of thing,” the player from Eagle Ranch Golf Course said on Thursday. “I’m not saying these guys couldn’t clean my clock or beat me, but I just didn’t think I was ready for it when I was (first) eligible. Now, there are some guys I want to see. I love to see John Olive out here, I love to see Sean Forey. It gets back to those relationship things. You’re on the driving range and somebody comes and slaps you on the back and says, ‘How have you been?’ and that type of thing. I enjoy that tremendously.”

So Johnson finally relented this week, playing in his first CGA Super-Senior Match Play.

And given that he’s won two CGA Senior Player of the Year awards since turning 60, it should come as no surprise that Johnson came out on top Thursday at Black Bear Golf Club in Parker. But it took overtime to earn the title.

Johnson lost a 3-up lead with five holes remaining in regulation in the final match, but posted the victory when he two-putted for par from 40 feet on the 19th hole to defeat Dave Brown of Highlands Ranch Golf Club.

“I’m old enough now that this is just a treat, a joy to play in these things,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to lose, but I really don’t feel that drive that I used to have in tournaments about winning and losing. At this age, it’s more like just holding it together.”

Johnson (above and left) never trailed in Thursday’s match as he made a 70-plus-foot birdie from in front of the green on the first hole. “You look at that putt, and it was probably the difference in the match,” he said. And he built a 3-up advantage through the 12th and 13 holes. But Brown, a four-time CGA champion competing in just his third major competition since 2010, played steady after bogeying holes 8, 10 and 12. Three down with five left in regulation, the 63-year-old played those final five holes in 1 under par. And Johnson bogeyed three times — 14 and 15 after being in greenside bunkers and 17 by three-putting — to leave the match all square going into 18.

There, after Johnson narrowly missed his 20-foot birdie attempt, Brown just missed a 12-foot birdie that would have won him the match.

So the final went to extra holes, becoming just the third match of the week to do so, with Brown having played in two of the three. Brown, twice a semifinalist in the CGA Match Play, left his approach short of the green in the rough, then pitched up to 4 feet from the cup. After Johnson stroked his 40-foot birdie try to within 3 feet, Brown’s par attempt slid below the cup (pictured below), and Johnson made his par to clinch the title.

“I had missed them all high all week, and I remembered that when I got over that putt,” Brown said of the decisive stroke. “I said, ‘Don’t miss it high because they keep lipping out.’ So I hit it firm, and I may have pulled it a titch. But that thing just broke off the planet.

“My putting was less than sterling this week. It’s disappointing, but that’s golf. You’ve got to deal with the good and the bad. You just come back and try it again. That’s all you can do.”

After decades of playing in state championships, Brown said he needed a break after 2010, so aside from one CGA tourament each of the last two years, he’s been away from serious competition. Therefore, despite Thursday’s outcome, he was happy to have won four matches and finished runner-up in the Super-Senior Match Play.    

“I didn’t compete for quite a few years, so this was better than I expected,” he said. “I didn’t expect to get to the final match. I made some swing changes during those years, and I’m still working through that. I’m on the right track. I feel good about the week.

“But there’s a competitive edge that all competitors have, and not playing that long, you lose it. You’ve got to go find it, and the only way to find it is to play events.”

As for Johnson, though he’s now won about 10 CGA championships — most coming in the Western Chapter senior ranks — this is his first since his 2013 senior sweep.

In going 5-0 in his matches this week, Johnson defeated both 2017 finalists on Wednesday — runner-up Jim Reynolds and defending champion Kent Moore. Johnson prevailed in all three matches he played that went to the 18th hole.

“The game has changed for me,” he said. “It’s not so much about winning and losing. I don’t quite feel that pressure anymore. At this age it’s a different perspective for me. These tournaments are more about renewing relationships and a little rejuvenation of another year of golf. I get as much joy out of that — even more joy out of that — than winning at this stage. The relationships are what keep me coming back.”

The CGA Super-Senior Match Play is limited to competitors at least 62 years old.

CGA Super-Senior Match Play
May 21-24, 2018 at Black Bear GC in Parker
WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
   Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. John Sostman, Raccoon Creek GC, 2 and 1
   Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC, def. Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek GC, 3 and 2
   Dave Brown, Highlands Ranch GC, def. John Olive, The Broadmoor GC, 2 and 1
   Sean Forey, The Club at Rolling Hills, def. Keith Gockenbach, Indian Peaks GC, concession
WEDNESDAY’S SEMIFINALS
   Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC, def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, 2 up
   Dave Brown, Highlands Ranch GC def. Sean Forey, The Club at Rolling Hills, 20 holes
THURSDAY’S FINAL
   Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC def. Dave Brown, Highlands Ranch GC, 19 holes

For all the results from the Super-Senior Match Play, CLICK HERE.

Two-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course defeated defending champion and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club, 2 up to advance to the title match.

On the other side of the bracket, Dave Brown of Highlands Ranch Golf Club, seeded 23rd to start the week, outlasted third-seeded Sean Forey of The Club at Rolling Hills on the 20th hole of their match.

Johnson (pictured) and Brown will square off for the championship in a scheduled 18-hole match that will begin at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Both finalists won two matches on Wednesday. Earlier, Johnson beat 2018 runner-up Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club, 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals. Brown ousted Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and 2015 champion John Olive of The Broadmoor Golf Club, 2 and 1.

Five years ago, Johnson swept the major CGA senior championship titles, winning both the Senior Amateur and Senior Match Play. He also qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur in both 2013 and ’14.

The Super-Senior Match Play is limited to competitors at least 62 years old.

CGA Super-Senior Match Play
May 21-24, 2018 at Black Bear GC in Parker
QUARTERFINALS
   Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. John Sostman, Raccoon Creek GC, 2 and 1
   Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC, def. Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek GC, 3 and 2
   Dave Brown, Highlands Ranch GC, def. John Olive, The Broadmoor GC, 2 and 1
   Sean Forey, The Club at Rolling Hills, def. Keith Gockenbach, Indian Peaks GC, concession
SEMIFINALS
   Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC, def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, 2 up
   Dave Brown, Highlands Ranch GC def. Sean Forey, The Club at Rolling Hills, 20 holes
THURSDAY’S 18-HOLE FINAL
  Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC vs. Dave Brown, Highlands Ranch GC, 7:30 a.m.

For all the results from the Super-Senior Match Play, CLICK HERE.

Olive (pictured), who’s earned a record seven CGA Senior Player of the Year awards himself, won the Super-Senior Match Play in 2015.

On a day that saw five of the eight round-of-16 matches go to the 18th hole, defending champion and top seed Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club scored a 2-up victory over Gary Kephart of Patty Jewett Golf Course. And two-time Senior Player of the Year Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course, the fourth seed, slipped by Rick George of Castle Pines Golf Club, 1 up.

Also among those advancing to the quarterfinals were third-seeded Sean Forey of The Club at Rolling Hills (2 and 1) and fifth-seeded Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club, the 2017 runner-up in this event (2 up).

Wednesday will feature both the quarterfinals and the semifinals, while the finals are set for Thursday morning.

The Super-Senior Match Play is limited to competitors at least 62 years old.

For results from the Super-Senior Match Play, CLICK HERE.

Moore (pictured), a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and the No. 1 seed this week, scored a 7-and-5 victory over Carl Peters of Twin Peaks Golf Course in the round of 32 in this event for competitors 62 and older.

Second-seeded Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club, a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year, was even more dominant on Monday, posting an 8-and-6 win over Richard Pober of the Club at Pradera.

Other top seeds who won on Monday were No. 3 Sean Forey of the Club at Rolling Hills (5 and 4), No. 4 Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course (6 and 5) and 2017 runner-up Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club, the fifth seed (2 and 1).

The only top-10 seeds to lose on Monday were No. 6 Steve Bell of CommonGround Golf Course (falling 1 up to Patrick Mooney of Colorado Golf Club) and No. 10 Frank Wilkinson of Lincoln Park Golf Course (5 and 3 to Dave Brown of Highlands Ranch Golf Club).

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer John Olive, the 2015 champion, defeated Mark Barkley of Clubcorp Colorado, 4 and 3, and will face Polk in Tuesday’s round of 16.

Play at the Super-Senior Match Play will continue through Thursday, with Wednesday featuring quarterfinal and semifinal matches.

For results from the Super-Senior Match Play, CLICK HERE.

With play beginning on Monday, Moore will defend his title in the event for players 62 and older after defeating Jim Reynolds 1 up in last year’s title match at Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville. Moore will be the No. 1 seed as the defending champ. Reynolds also is scheduled to be in the field.

Olive, meanwhile, won the Super-Senior Match Play title in 2015 and is seeded 18th this time.

Also set to compete at Black Bear are three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk, who recently paired with Bill Fowler to win the CGA Senior Four-Ball; and Harry Johnson, winner of both the CGA Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play in 2013.

Play at the Super-Senior Match Play will continue through Thursday, with Wednesday featuring quarterfinal and semifinal matches.

For Monday’s round-of-32 pairings, CLICK HERE.
 

If there’s an individual CGA championship for which Kent Moore has been eligible and competed, he’s won it at one time or another.

And that’s no exaggeration.

On Thursday, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer added yet another different CGA championship to his variety-filled golf resume.

In defeating Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club 1 up to claim the CGA Super-Senior Match Play title at Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville, Moore became a winner of his eighth different CGA individual championship. Over the last 44 years, he’s won the 1973 Junior Match Play, the 1986 Amateur, the 1989 Match Play, the 1995 Mid-Amateur, the 2006 Senior Match Play, the 2014 Senior Stroke Play, the 2016 Super-Senior Stroke Play and the 2017 Super-Senior Match Play.

Strangely, though, Moore hasn’t won any of those events more than once. He just seems to spread out his success.

“I figure I’ve won every (CGA) championship that I’m eligible for now,” said Moore, who notes the CGA Junior Amateur didn’t exist when he was a teenager. “It’s just fun to compete.”

Overall, including team championships like the Parent/Child, and the now-defunct Two-Man Team and CGA/CWGA Mixed Team, Moore has won roughly 16 CGA championships. Oh, and by the way, he also serves as a vice-president on the CGA’s volunteer Board of Governors.

On Thursday, the 61-year-old from Cherry Hills Country Club (pictured above and at left) finished strong to edge Reynolds in the 18-hole final at Coal Creek. Moore won the first two holes with pars, but from the fourth through the 18th holes, neither player was more than 1 up.

Reynolds — a 63-year-old whose caddie, Gus Lundquist, is a former 5A state high school champion and a two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier who recently turned pro — won the 13th and 14th holes to take his only lead on Thursday.

“I actually thought I was going to lose,” Moore said. “He was hitting the ball so solid and he kept getting better.”

But trailing for the first time seemed to spark Moore, who hadn’t made a birdie in the first 14 holes. Hitting an approach onto the top ledge of a three-tier green on No. 15, Moore left his ball a mere 6 inches from the cup and made birdie to even the match.

“That birdie was just huge,” he said. “Sometimes you go from playing defense to ‘I need to win.’ And you’re only going to win by making a really good swing, committing to it and getting it there. I had the perfect distance. I was 80 yards, uphill, into the wind, which is a perfect 58 (degree wedge) for me.”

After Moore received a fortunate bounce on his tee shot to avoid trouble on No. 16, Reynolds (left) had an opportunity to regain the lead, but missed a 10-foot birdie putt.

“If I had made the putt on 16, who knows what would have happened then?” Reynolds said. “I just misread the putt. Gus read it right and I didn’t see it going left so that was kind of unfortunate.”

Then the decisive shots came on the par-3 17th, where Moore hit a 9-iron from 148 yards to 6 feet and drained the putt to regain a 1-up advantage.

“It was one of those when I needed to hit it good and I did. It was perfect,” he said.

Needing a birdie on the 18th hole, Reynolds cut a tee shot on the dogleg right onto the right hazard line and he couldn’t pull off the near-miracle he needed. When Moore putted from the front collar of the green to gimme range, the final hole was halved with pars and Moore had the victory.

“(Moore) played to win, and he really came through in the end,” Reynolds said after his best performance in a CGA championship. “What I feel is, I made him earn it. He’s been in these kind of positions many times before, and that’s really the first time I’ve ever been in the hunt (for a state title). So I feel proud I took him to the last hole. I played my heart out.

“I feel like I won, to tell you the truth. He’s such a good, strong, competitive player.”

Said Moore: “It was a good match, a really good match.”

The win gives Moore (left) victories in each of his first two individual CGA Super-Senior Championships as he prevailed in the Super-Senior Stroke Play last August. The tournament at Coal Creek marked his first Super-Senior Match Play. At 61, Moore is part of an ongoing rookie class in CGA Super-Senior events as, starting in 2017, the association is raising the minimum age for super-senior tournaments by one year each year. So next year, for instance, the minimum age will be 62. From 2021 and beyond, competitors must be at least 65.

“I just happen to hit that just right,” the Centennial resident said. “I turned 60 exactly the right time.”
 

CGA Super-Senior Match Play
At Coal Creek GC in Louisville
QUARTERFINALS
Mark Runyan, Clubcorp Colorado, def. Jeff English, CommonGround GC, 3 and 2
Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek GC, def. Dan Grigsby, Todd Creek GC, 1 up
Steve Scheffel, Ptarmigan CC, def. Don Alley, Antler Creek GC, 4 and 3
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. Bruce Hayes, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 2 up

SEMIFINALS
Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek GC, def. Mark Runyan, Clubcorp Colorado, 4 and 3
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. Steve Scheffel, Ptarmigan CC, 2 and 1

FINAL
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek GC, 1 up

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Moore, a two-time CGA Senior Player of the Year and the winner of the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play in 2016, defeated Bruce Hayes of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve 2 up in the quarterfinals, and 2016 runner-up Steve Scheffel of Ptarmigan Country Club 2 and 1 in the semis. That semifinal was all-square through nine before Moore (pictured) went 1 under par for the final eight holes.

Moore’s CGA championships include the Junior Match Play, Amateur, Match Play, Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur, Senior Match Play and the Super-Senior Stroke Play.

Reynolds, the No. 4 seed in the 32-man bracket, beat Dan Grigsby of Todd Creek Golf Club 1 up in the quarterfinals, and Mark Runyan of Clubcorp Colorado 4 and 3 in the semis. Earlier, Runyan ended defending champion Jeff English’s seven-match win streak in this event, prevailing 3 and 2.

Thursday’s 18-hole final match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m.

This year’s Super-Senior Match Play is limited to competitors 61 and older.

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

English won his seventh consecutive match in the event, dating back to last year, by defeating 16th-seeded Larry Netherton of Highlands Ranch Golf Club, 4 and 3.

But second-seeded Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club, a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year, fell 1 up on Tuesday to Steve Scheffel (pictured) of Ptarmigan Country Club, the runner-up in last year’s Super-Senior Match Play. After Polk battled back wih three straight birdies on holes 14-16, a bogey on No. 17 proved the difference.

In addition, 21st-seeded Dan Grigsby of Todd Creek Golf Club beat No. 5 seed Sean Forey of Bear Creek Golf Club, 4 and 3, and 22nd seed Bruce Hayes of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve edged 2014 CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play champion Kary Kaltenbacher of Glenmoor Country Club, the sixth seed, 1 up.

Joining English among the top five seeds to make it to the quarterfinals were Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club (3 and 2 over Lonnie Miller of Meridian Golf Club), and fourth-seeded Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek (20 holes over two-time champion Roger Gunderson of Aurora Hills Golf Course).

Both the quarterfinals and the semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday and the final for Thursday.

This year’s Super-Senior Match Play is limited to competitors 61 and older.

For complete round-of-16 results, CLICK HERE.
 

English (pictured), who won last year’s title on the first extra hole with a 35-foot birdie, scored a 9 and 8 victory in the round of 32 over Joe Streater of Collindale Golf Club on Monday.

In a championship limited to players 61 and older, also advancing Monday was three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club, the No. 2 seed who defeated Carl Peters of Twin Peaks Golf Course, 5 and 4. Winning by that same margin was Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club, a two-time CGA Senior Player of the Year who beat Michael Giarratano of Lone Tree Golf Club.

In all, the top nine seeds moved on to the round of 16. But 23rd-seeded Frank Wilkinson of Lincoln Park Golf Course upended 10th-seeded Scott Crone 1 up.

Round-of-16 matches will be held Tuesday, with the quarterfinals and the semifinals on Wednesday and the final on Thursday.

For complete first-round results, CLICK HERE.
 

Thirty-two players — all at least 61 years old — will compete in the event. (Starting in 2017, the age requirement for each CGA super-senior championship will go up by one year each year through 2021, when no one younger than 65 will be allowed to play.)

One round of matches will be held each day, with the exception of Wednesday, when both the quarterfinals and semifinals are on top.

Jeff English of CommonGround Golf Course, who sank a 35-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole of last year’s final against Steve Scheffel, will defend his Super-Senior Match Play title. Scheffel is also in the field.

Likewise scheduled to compete are Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore, Robert Polk and Kary Kaltenbacher, winners of the last three CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play titles. Moore and Polk have won both the CGA Senior Amateur and Senior Match Play — as has fellow Super-Senior Match Play contestant Roger Gunderson, who has triumphed in this event twice.

This will mark the second year that the CGA Super-Senior Match Play and the Senior Match Play have been held at different sites.

For Monday’s round-of-32 pairings at Coal Creek, CLICK HERE.