The Broadmoor Golf Club overcame a finish in near darkness, some “crazy” pin placements and a major challenge from Rifle Creek Golf Course to win the CGA Team Interclub title for the second time in five years on Saturday.

The Broadmoor, competing in the finals of the season-long Team Interclub for a record fourth time, defeated Rifle Creek at the CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora 13-11 in Saturday’s championship match.

Coincidentally, The Broadmoor beat Rifle Creek in the finals the other time it won the Interclub title, in 2014.

The only other club that has captured the CGA Team Interclub championship twice is Lone Tree Golf Club, which prevailed in 2011 and ’12.

The eight Broadmoor players all wore black on Saturday in honor of prominent club member Char Berglund, who unexpectedly passed away on Oct. 10. Berglund was the wife of Art Berglund, a longtime hockey executive and former general manager of the U.S. hockey team who is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.

“We won today for Char,” said team captain Mike Allred. “(Her death) was a shock to the golf club at The Broadmoor. We all wore black because the funeral was today.”

Four players won both their singles and concurrent four-ball matches on Saturday, two from each side: Allred — who scored crucial 1-up singles and four-ball victories by sinking a tough 5-foot par putt on No. 18 — and Tom Haggard from The Broadmoor, and Tod Smith and Mark Sours from Rifle Creek.

Joining Allred and Haggard on the championship-winning team from The Broadmoor were Curtis Olson, Ron Crowder, Luke Travins, Joe Diver, Roger Perry and Scott Meagher. Allred, Crowder, Perry and Meagher have been on both Broadmoor teams that have won Team Interclub titles. (This year’s champions are pictured above.)

In fact, in every year The Broadmoor has competed in the CGA Team Interclub since 2013, it’s made the finals. The club didn’t entered the competition last year.

“It feels pretty good, right boys?” Allred said, speaking to his teammates. “Every year we’ve played (in the last five) we’ve made it to the finals. We’ve won two and lost two. Not bad.” (Allred, left, and four-ball partner Curtis Olson are pictured.) 

As noted, Rifle Creek has been on the losing end both years The Broadmoor has prevailed, and it also fell to Lone Tree in the 2012 title match.

“The Broadmoor is a good team and they came out on top,” acting Rifle Creek captain Jeb Savage said. “But we’ll be back next year. We love playing in this. It’s a fun format. It’s good to play other teams — guys you don’t know. It’s good to play other competition and at other courses. We enjoy it a lot and like traveling. It was an all-around good season.”

A frost delay at CommonGround caused tee times to be pushed back for the Interclub finals on Saturday afternoon, and for the second straight year many of the matches finished in near darkness. This time around, the final group concluded its round at 6:45 p.m., a half-hour past sunset.

In addition, a “Heaven and Hell” tournament held earlier in the day led to some wicked pin placements for the Interclub finals at CommonGround. 

“It was a funky golf course today,” said Savage (pictured in green with four-ball partner Manuppella). “We all played the (same pin placements) but it was tough.”

In one case, on No. 10, the cup was located on such a slope that offline putts in the 5-7-foot range were making 180s and ending up in nearly the same place where they were initially stroked. 

“On hole 10, I honestly felt in the spirit of competition, we’d just say ‘Good, good, good, good’ (conceding all four players’ putts) and get out of there. Just pick ’em up,” Allred said.

But despite the darkness and hole locations and some solid play from Rifle Creek, The Broadmoor kept its perfect record for 2018 intact, finishing the season 7-0. Rifle Creek, which was making its third finals appearance, ended up 5-1-1.

“We’re all super competitive,” Allred said of the players from The Broadmoor. “The weird thing is we all play against each other all year. I hate losing to all these guys. But they’re all really fun, good golfers.”

The CGA Team Interclub stands apart among CGA championships. Every other championship on the schedule is contested over the course of one to four days. The Team Interclub, on the other hand, typically lasts five months or more, with a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams going from May through July, then a 16-team single-elimination playoff from August to October.ӬӬ

Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of eight golfers each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with net singles and net four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie. Rosters can vary throughout the season.

This year’s original CGA Team Interclub field featured 32 teams, six more than last year. Rifle Creek and The Broadmoor came from the two round-robin groups that were the furthest from Denver.”¨”¨

As part of the Team Interclub, the CGA will donate $500 to each of the junior golf programs at the clubs which qualified for the finals.ӬӬ

The ninth annual Team Interclub finals concludes the 2018 CGA championship season.

CGA Team Interclub Finals
FINAL SCORE: THE BROADMOOR GC 13, RIFLE CREEK GC 11

Singles (The Broadmoor 9, Rifle Creek 7)
Mike Allred (B) def. Cole Manuppella (RC), 1 up
Jeb Savage (RC) def. Curtis Olson (B), 3 and 2
Tod Smith (RC) def. Ron Crowder (B), 6 and 5
Luke Travins (B) def. Eric Copen (RC), 3 and 2
Joe Diver (B) def. Michael Higginbotham (RC), 2 up
Mark Sours (RC) def. Roger Perry (B), 1 up
Tom Haggard (B) def. Tim Roe (RC), 3 and 2
Scott Meagher (B) halved with Pat Hayes (RC)

Four-Ball (The Broadmoor 4, Rifle Creek 4)
Allred/Olson (B) def. Manuppella/Savage (RC), 1 up
Smith/Copen (RC) def. Crowder/Travins (B), 2 up
Higginbotham/Sours (RC) def. Diver/Perry (B), 2 up
Haggard/Meagher (B) def. Roe/Hayes (RC), 3 and 2″¨ 

Road to the 2018 CGA Team Interclub Title
THE BROADMOORӬ
Regular Season (3-0 with 57 points)
“¨– Defeated The Club at Flying Horse 18-6″¨
— Defeated Garden of the Gods Club 15-9
ҬРDefeated Colorado Springs Country Club 24-0
PlayoffsӬ
— Round of 16: Defeated Lone Tree 14-10″¨
— Quarterfinals: Defeated Elmwood 14-10″¨
— Semifinals: Defeated The Meadows 16-8
— Finals: Defeated Rifle Creek 13-11

The players from Battlement Mesa Golf Club had to travel a long, tough road — literally and figuratively — but that didn’t keep them from emerging with the title in the season-long CGA Team Interclub Championship that concluded Sunday at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

After a trip of more than 200 miles to participate in the finals of the net match play championship, Battlement Mesa handed The Broadmoor Golf Club its first loss of the season, scoring a decisive 26-10 victory in the title match. Battlement Mesa claimed the trophy despite being the 16th seed in the 16-team playoffs.

It marked the first CGA Team Interclub title for Battlement Mesa (pictured above), which made it to the finals in 2011 but lost to Lone Tree Golf Club, which remains the only two-time winner of the event.

“Anytime you can play for a state title, definitely it’s a big deal for the club,” said Doug Choate, the head superintendent at Battlement Mesa, who won both his singles and four-ball matches on Sunday. In fact, in singles, Choate defeated The Broadmoor’s David Schroeder Jr., the runner-up in the 2011 CGA Amateur that was played at CommonGround. (Choate is pictured at left, in white, with four-ball partner Mark Barlau.)

All in all, the result was quite a feat for the golfers from the Western Slope.

“It’s such a great accomplishment for such a small community,” noted Jack Elsea, Battlement Mesa’s longtime team captain who wrapped up his run with the club as he recently moved to Montrose. “But it’s a quality course and that probably sharpens everybody up.

“For us to come over here and have the opportunity to play The Broadmoor was a great experience. We played them last year and they took us out in the quarterfinals so we kind of owed them one. This is redemption, so to speak.”

Battlement Mesa finished the year 6-1, having avenged its one loss of 2016 — to Lincoln Park Golf Course in the regular season — by beating LPGC in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. The Broadmoor, which has made the finals an unprecedented three times — each of the last three years — lost for just the third time in 21 matches since the beginning of 2014, the year the club won the title.

“When you get to this point, everybody is good,” noted Mike Allred, one of three Broadmoor players to win in Sunday’s dozen singles matches. “You’ve got to play your best golf or you’re not going to win. We’ve played these (Battlement Mesa) guys two years in a row and they’re good.” (Allred is pictured in purple at left, with four-ball partner Schroeder.)

Both Battlement Mesa and The Broadmoor advanced to the finals from an original field of 42 clubs after roughly five months of competition. First, there’s a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams lasting from May through mid-summer. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with five runners-up, including Battlement Mesa. Playoff matches ran from August through October.

“It starts out pretty relaxed,” Choate said of the Team Interclub season. “But the farther you go the more competitive it gets.”

Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.

Seven players won both their singles and four-ball matches on Sunday — six from Battlement Mesa and one from The Broadmoor.

From Battlement Mesa, the 2-0 players were Charles Perrin, Dan Rzonca, Choate, Charles Hall, Fred Inman and Jeff Bradley. (Perrin and Rzonca are pictured below.) The Broadmoor’s Jim Hafemeister, one of six Broadmoor players to have competed on the club’s 2014 title-winning team, also was 2-0.

Five Battlement Mesa players were back after playing in the 2011 finals loss to Lone Tree: Choate, Perrin, Hall, Elsea and Ken Seidel. The seven others on the 2016 championship team are Bruce Knuth, Luke Cody, Rzonca, Barlau, Inman, Eddie Rubin and Bradley. 

As the 16th and last team to make it into the playoffs, Battlement Mesa routed top-seeded Riverdale 29-7 in the round of 16, then defeated No. 8 Lincoln Park 19-17, No. 12 The Meadows 20-16 and No. 3 The Broadmoor 26-10. For three of those playoff matches — versus Riverdale, The Meadows and The Broadmoor — Battlement Mesa made the six-hour roundtrip drive to the Denver metro area.

The seventh year of the CGA Team Interclub concludes the CGA’s 2016 championship season.

As part of the Team Interclub, the CGA will donate $500 each to the junior golf programs at Battlement Mesa and The Broadmoor.
 

CGA Team Interclub

At Par-71 CommonGround GC in Aurora

OVERALL TOTAL: BATTLEMENT MESA 26, THE BROADMOOR 10

Four-Ball Total: Battlement Mesa 9, The Broadmoor 3

Duke Mitchell-Jerry Petersen (B) halved with Bruce Knuth-Luke Cody (BM)
Charles Perrin-Dan Rzonca (BM) def. Marcus Meyer-Tom Foyer (B), 3 and 2
Doug Choate-Mark Barlau (BM) def. David Schroeder Jr.-Mike Allred (B), 2 and 1
Charles Hall-Fred Inman (BM) def. Bill Carder-Scott Meagher (B), 5 and 4
Roger Perry-Jim Hafemeister (B) def. Eddie Rubin-Ken Seidel (BM), 2 and 1
Jack Elsea-Jeff Bradley (BM) def. Jeff Freyschlag-Ed Hayden (B), 3 and 1

Singles Total: Battlement Mesa 17, The Broadmoor 7

Duke Mitchell (B) def. Bruce Knuth (BM), 2 up
Luke Cody (BM) def. Jerry Petersen (B), 1 up
Charles Perrin (BM) def. Marcus Meyer (B), 3 and 2
Dan Rzonca (BM) def. Tom Foyer (B), 3 and 2
Doug Choate (BM) def. David Schroeder Jr. (B), 3 and 2
Mike Allred (B) def. Mark Barlau (BM), 1 up
Charles Hall (BM) def. Bill Carder (B), 5 and 4
Fred Inman (BM) def. Scott Meagher (B), 1 up
Eddie Rubin (BM) def. Roger Perry (B), 3 and 2
Jim Hafemeister (B) def. Ken Seidel (BM), 6 and 4
Jeff Freyschlag (B) halved with Jack Elsea (BM)
Jeff Bradley (BM) def. Ed Hayden (B), 4 and 2
 

This marks the third year the Colorado Springs club has earned a spot in the Interclub finals — a record for the season-long net match play championship. Moreover, all three of those finals appearances have come in the last three years.

On Sunday at 10 a.m. at the CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, the 12-man team from The Broadmoor will take on one from Battlement Mesa Golf Club, which returns to the finals after an appearance in 2011, when it finished runner-up to Lone Tree Golf Club. Over that three-year period, The Broadmoor has racked up an 18-2 record in head-to-head matchups.

If The Broadmoor prevails on Sunday, it will join Lone Tree (champions in 2011 and ’12) as a two-time winner of the CGA Team Interclub. The Broadmoor beat Rifle Creek Golf Course in the 2014 finals and lost to Todd Creek Golf Club in last year’s finale. Joining The Broadmoor, Battlement Mesa and Lone Tree as two-time Interclub finalists are Todd Creek (1-1) and Rifle Creek (0-2).

The Broadmoor is unbeaten (6-0) heading into this year’s finals, with Battlement Mesa being 5-1, having avenged a regular-season loss to Lincoln Park with a 19-17 win in the playoff quarterfinals. To earn berths in the finals, The Broadmoor beat Meadow Hills 21-15, and Battlement Mesa defeated The Meadows 20-16 .

Over the entire season, The Broadmoor has outscored its opponents
131-85, while it’s been 106-74 for Battlement Mesa.

Both Battlement Mesa and The Broadmoor advanced to the finals from an original field of 42 clubs after roughly five months of competition. First, there’s a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams lasting from May through mid-summer. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with five runners-up, including Battlement Mesa, which was the 16th and final team to make the postseason. Playoff matches run from August through October.

Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.

Here are the team rosters for Sunday’s finals:

THE BROADMOOR
David Schroeder Jr. 
Mike Allred                 
Duke Mitchell                 
Jeff Freyschlag           
Ed Hayden                   
Marcus Meyer           
Tom Foyer                   
Roger Perry                 
Jim Hafemeister        
Bill Carder                     
Scott Meagher           
Jerry Petersen 
 
BATTLEMENT MESA
Doug Choate
Jeff Bradley
Mark Barlau
Jack Elsea
Charles Perrin
Dan Rzonca
Eddie Rubin
Ken Seidel
Fred Inman
Charles Hall
Bruce Knuth
Luke Cody
 

In the title match, The Broadmoor Golf Club will face Todd Creek Golf Club, with The Broadmoor seeking to join Lone Tree Golf Club (2011 and ’12) as a two-time Team Interclub champion. Like Lone Tree, The Broadmoor will be trying to go back-to-back as it beat Rifle Creek Golf Course for last year’s title.

Todd Creek will likewise return to the finals in short order, having been runner-up to the Golf Club at Bear Dance in 2013.

The Broadmoor and Todd Creek become the third and fourth clubs to qualify for two Team Interclub finals, joining Lone Tree and Rifle Creek.

This year marks the sixth season of the CGA Team Interclub. The competition started in May with 51 teams, though a handful forfeited during the regular season.

The Team Interclub is a season-long net match play competition that involves golf clubs from throughout the state. This year’s championship included teams from as far west as Adobe Creek National Golf Course in Fruita, as far east as Bunker Hill Country Club in Brush, as far south as Elmwood Golf Course in Pueblo, and as far north as a combination team from Mariana Butte and the Olde Course in Loveland.

The regular season lasted from May through mid-summer, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with three runners-up, including The Broadmoor — with the postseason matches running from August through October. This year, the finals will mark the 77th match of the year, not counting walkovers.



Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.

Todd Creek has been the most impressive team so far this season, having won all six of its matches and outscoring its opponents by a combined 157-59. Todd Creek was the only team to score more than 75 points in the regular season, accumulating 86 and earning the top seed in the playoffs.

The Broadmoor, which went 7-0 last year in winning the title, is 5-1 this season, with the lone loss coming to the Country Club of Colorado during the regular season. But The Broadmoor avenged that loss in the first round of the playoffs and has outscored its opponents 126-90 overall.

To get to the finals, The Broadmoor defeated Meadow Hills Golf Course 22-14 in the semis, while Todd Creek beat Twin Peaks Golf Course 25-11. Previously in the playoffs, The Broadmoor overcame the Country Club of Colorado, then Battlement Mesa. In earlier playoff rounds, Todd Creek defeated Sunset, then Lone Tree.

Here are Sunday’s tentative rosters for each of the finalists:

TODD CREEK
Jeff Stewart
Kyle Strain
Dustin Snell
Delfido Rodriguez
Ed Strain
John Lundien
Tom Rowell
Roger Utley
Joe Rizzi
Mike Adams
Kevin Nicks
Homer Strain

THE BROADMOOR
Mike Allred
Brad Grogg
Don Sall
Bill Kemp
Ed Hayden
Greg Flaks
John McPherson
Doug Wasson
Scott Meagher
Roger Perry
Bill Carder
Duke Mitchell

The Broadmoor will have five players back from its 2014 championship team, while Todd Creek will have seven returning from its 2013 runner-up squad.