The players from Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy, who had never competed together as a two-person team, rallied from a four-stroke deficit going into Sunday’s final round to win the 12th annual CGA Women’s Dunham Chapman Championship at the River Course at Keystone.

“It’s amazing,” Young said. “I’ve won a few smaller things, but not a state event. … I’m ready to pass out.”

Added Lyle: “It’s surprising really, but it feels great. I think we were both very surprised to win.

“I haven’t played in tournaments with Sandra before, but we’re on the same golf team for our club. This was the first one that I said, ‘Hey, do you want to play?’ We weren’t even sure we could play together. It worked out pretty well.”

In fact, Lyle and Young had overtaken first-round leaders Denise Cohen of Kissing Camels and Ron Irons of Eisenhower after just nine holes on Sunday, though the title hung in the balance until the end.

Lyle and Young finished with a 4-over-par 75 in round 2 in the Chapman stroke play format in which each golfer hits a tee shot, then plays her partner’s ball for the second shot. After that, a scoring ball is chosen, and that ball is played alternately into the hole. (The champions are pictured, with Young at left and Lyle at right, flanking Marty Hall, partner of tournament namesake Jo Ann Dunham.)

They finished with a two-day total of 11-over-par 153, one stroke better than Cohen and Irons, whose downfall was a triple bogey on the 16th hole en route to an 80 on Sunday.

Ending up third was Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and two-time Dunham Chapman champion Christie Austin of Cherry Hills and partner Kathy West of Castle Pines, who checked in at 157.

Cohen and Irons had regained the lead on the back nine Sunday, but a 40-foot birdie by Lyle on the par-3 15th evened things up. “That made a big difference. It was pivotal,” Young said of Lyle’s long birdie. And the two went up for good on No. 16 when they made bogey and Cohen and Irons their triple.

“I had never played this event before, but we thought we might be a good fit,” said Young, 58. “(Lyle) hits a very long ball and the short game is my area. It’s great when your partner can put you 100 yards out so maybe I can score. It was a good combination.”

Lyle, a 52-year-old who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 20 years in the Air Force, credits Young for draining not-so-simple par putts throughout the round that kept their rally going.

“I’ve played in a few (CGA/CWGA championships), but normally I don’t do very well,” Lyle said. “I play much better with a partner who can keep my head in the game. Sandy did a great job of doing that because I’m a little bit crazy.

“This is my first state-level (title) in my life. This was basically my last golfing of the season and so it’s a pretty good way to go out.”

Lyle has been competing seriously in golf for just the last few years, and Young didn’t take up the game at all until she was 38.

“I had thought golf was a stupid sport,” Young said. “One of my husband’s friends wanted his wife to take lessons, so just to get her to quit bugging me, I said, ‘OK, I’ll take lessons with you.’ I fell in love immediately.”

She’s gone on to win a worldwide tournament for military spouses and dependents in 2010, and she’s qualified for at least four USGA championships — a Women’s Publinks, Mid-Am and a couple of Senior Ams.

The championship flight was one of eight flights of competition at the Dunham Chapman. Among the other winners on Sunday was CGA co-president Juliet Miner of Bear Dance, who teamed with Peggy Puckett of Wellshire to prevail in the second flight.

The Dunham Chapman was renamed prior to the 2017 championship as a tribute to Jo Ann Dunham, a longtime CWGA volunteer whose brainchild was the Chapman, which was first contested in 2007. Dunham passed away on Sept. 28, 2016, just shy of her 77th birthday.

For the gross and net scores for all eight flights competing in the 64-team Dunham Chapman Championship, CLICK HERE.

Here are the gross and net champions in the various flights:

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Gross: Louise Lyle/Sandra Young, Eisenhower GC 78-75–153
Net: Denise Cohen, Kissing Camels/Ron Irons, Eisenhower GC 66-72–138

FIRST FLIGHT
Gross: Debi Kline/Margaret Breakey, Kissing Camels 77-76–153
Net: Betty Bullington, CC of Colorado/Valerie Hunter, Eisenhower GC 73-70–143

SECOND FLIGHT
Gross: Juliet Miner, Bear Dance/Peggy Puckett, Wellshire 82-83–165
Net: Juliet Miner, Bear Dance/Peggy Puckett, Wellshire 67-68–135

THIRD FLIGHT
Gross: Karen Leuschel, Riverdale/Connie Brodt, Fox Hill 80-86–166
Net: Karen Leuschel, Riverdale/Connie Brodt, Fox Hill 63-69–132

FOURTH FLIGHT
Gross: Val Talus, Colorado Springs CC/Mary Watt, Club at Flying Horse 78-88–166
Net: Val Talus, Colorado Springs CC/Mary Watt, Club at Flying Horse 60-70–130

FIFTH FLIGHT
Gross: Barbara Ingledue/Connie Garcia, Fox Hill 84-88–172
Net: Barbara Ingledue/Connie Garcia, Fox Hill 64-68–132

SIXTH FLIGHT
Gross: (tie) Jill Nickerson/Lynn Larson 91-87–178; Tammy Tinsley/Sandra Miller, Blackstone/Black Bear 93-85–178
Net: Linda Masters/Bonnie Brewer, Blackstone/Black Bear 68-65–133

SEVENTH FLIGHT
Gross: Laura Fischer, Willis Case/Cher Tufly 99-89–188
Net: Margie Doss, Aurora Hills/Rose Rismanchi, Meadow Hills 69-66–135
 

Sixty-four two-person teams are entered in the 12th annual event, with competition in eight different flights.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin of Cherry Hills Country Club and Laurie Steenrod of Saddle Rock Golf Course won the title in this event twice together (2013 and ’15), and while they’re both entered this weekend, it’s with different partners.

Austin will compete with Kathy West of Castle Pines Golf Club, and Steenrod with Bev Hoffenberg of Columbine Country Club. Also in the seven-team championship flight are Mary Doyen of Foothills Golf Course — winner of the 2011 CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play and the 2012 senior division of the CGA Women’s Match Play — and partner Jill Kirkpatrick of Broken Tee Englewood.

The Chapman Stroke Play format calls for two-person teams, with each golfer hitting tee shots, then playing her partner’s ball for the second shot. After that, a scoring ball is chosen, and that ball is played alternately into the hole.

The Dunham Chapman was renamed prior to the 2017 championship as a tribute to Jo Ann Dunham, a longtime CWGA volunteer whose brainchild was the Chapman, which was first contested in 2007. Dunham passed away on Sept. 28, 2016, just shy of her 77th birthday.

The Lakewood resident served on the CWGA’s volunteer board of directors from 2004 through ’09, chairing the tournament committee during that period and serving on that same committee for years before joining the board. Besides the Chapman, she was instrumental in the creation of the CWGA Niblick Tournament, another team event.

For Saturday’s tee times from the Dunham Chapman Championship, CLICK HERE.

Moore and Austin, who have teamed up to win the Mashie title six times (Moore has captured two additional championships with different partners), scored a 3 and 2 victory over Delaney Benson of CommonGround Golf Course and Hannah More of Pinehurst Country Club in the four-ball match play event. (Moore and Austin are pictured, with Moore at left.)

Also advancing to the championship flight semifinals — which will be contested on Tuesday at Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville — will be top-seeded Delaney Elliott and Kelly Hooper, two Montana State University teammates; Tiffany Maurycy and Holly Schaefer; and second-seeded Megan and Kaylee Knadler. Moore and Austin will face the Knadlers in the semis, while Elliott and Hooper will take on Maurycy and Schaefer.

Elliott and Hooper defeated Kathy Malpass and Katherine Moore-Lilly 6 and 5. Maurycy and Schaefer beat Deb Hughes and Kelly Rahn 3 and 2. And the Knadlers prevailed over Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Lynn Zmistowski and daughter Kim Sorkness, 4 and 3.

The winners of Tuesday’s semifinals will square off for the title Wednesday back at Legacy Ridge.

In all, 206 players in 13 flights are competing in the Mashie, alternating courses Monday and Tuesday and wrapping up on Wednesday at Legacy Ridge should they advance.

For all the results from Mashie, CLICK HERE.
 

This year’s Mashie, for example, features a field of 206 players, making up 103 two-person teams. It’s enough that the championship has long been contested on two courses.

In this case, Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster and Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville will do the honors, with teams switching off courses Monday and Tuesday (June 4-5) and playing their final matches on Wednesday at Legacy Ridge should they advance.

The four-ball match play — the better ball of each team counts each hole — will be broken up into 13 flights (championship through 12th).

In the championship flight, the Mashie’s most dominant team historically will return. Janet Moore and Christie Austin, both Colorado Golf Hall of Famers, have won the Mashie title six times together. And Moore has two additional Mashie victories with other partners, including last year with Susie Roh, who couldn’t play this spring, and Moore’s daughter Sarah in 2009.

Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Lynn Zmistowski, is also in the mix, as she’s teaming up with her daughter Kim Sorkness. And Deb Hughes, winner of both the CGA Women’s Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play is paired up with Kelly Rahn. The team with the best combined Handicap Index coming into the tournament is Delaney Elliott and Kelly Hooper, two Montana State University teammates.

For Monday’s pairings for all the flights, CLICK HERE.

The USGA announced in the spring that this year’s Women’s State Team will be the final one held. The last USGA Men’s State Team Championship was conducted in 2016.

The team representing the CWGA completed its final round on Thursday morning. With the top two individual scores each day counting toward the team total, Colorado shot rounds of 163-160 for a 35-over-par 323 total.

Emily Gilbreth of Denver, the 2017 CWGA Match Play champion, led the way for the Coloradans, shooting 80-77 for a 13-over-par 157 score. Janet Moore of Centennial went 83-83-166 and fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin 85-88–173.

The field was cut from 48 teams to the low 21 and ties after two rounds, and Colorado failed to advance to the final round.

But Eaton, who now lives in Arizona, did play the third round, with the Arizonans finishing nine strokes behind champion Tennessee. Individually, Eaton posted scores of 77-78-81 for a 20-over-par 236 total.

The top finishes by Colorado in the 12 USGA Women’s State Team Championships were sixth place in 2009 and 2013.

USGA Women’s State Team Championship
At The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M.
32. Colorado 163-160–323
Emily Gilbreth of Denver 80-77–157
Janet Moore of Centennial 83-83–166
Christie Austin of Denver 85-88–173

Also
51. (of players who completed 54 holes) Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, competing for Arizona 77-78-81–236

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

The team representing the CWGA will miss the 36-hole cut in the final USGA Women’s State Team tournament that will be held. The top 21 teams and ties — out of an original field of 48 — will advance to Thursday’s final round after round 2 wraps up. Play was suspended for the day at 6:22 p.m. Wednesday, with two of the three Colorado players still having to complete one or two holes of their second round.

After Wednesday, the Coloradans stand in 33rd place, at 35 over par for just shy of two rounds. The top two individual scores each day count toward the team total.

The CWGA team is 36 strokes behind leader New York and 17 shots back of the teams tied for 21st place.

Individually, 2017 CWGA Match Play champion Emily Gilbreth of Denver is leading the way for the Colorado contingent, finishing at 13-over-par 157 (80-77), which leaves her in 57th place. Janet Moore of Centennial is at 22 over par through 35 holes and fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin of Denver is 25 over through 34 holes. (The Coloradans are pictured, from left: Gilbreth, Moore and Austin.)

Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Kim Eaton, will be sticking around for the final round as her Arizona team is in sixth place at 291, leaving the Arizonans four strokes out of the lead. Individually, Eaton has carded rounds of 77-78 and sits in 51st place.

The top finishes by Colorado in the biennial USGA Women’s State Team were sixth place in 2009 and 2013.

USGA Women’s State Team Championship
At The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M.
33. Colorado 163-+16–+35
57. Emily Gilbreth of Denver 80-77–157
100. Janet Moore of Centennial 83-+11–+22 (through 35 holes)
107. Christie Austin of Denver 85-+12–+25 (through 34 holes)

Also
51. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, competing for Arizona 77-78–155

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Only the top 21 teams and ties out of the original field of 48 will survive the 36-hole cut, and after Tuesday’s first round, the Colorado squad sits in 32nd place.

With the top two individual scores each day counting toward the team total, Colorado shot a 19-over-par 163 on Tuesday at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M. That leaves the Centennial State 21 strokes behind team leader New York, and eight shots back of the squads currently tied for 21st place. Arizona, which includes Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton on its roster, is in second place at 145.

Emily Gilbreth of Denver, the 2017 CWGA Match Play champion, led the way for the Coloradans with an 8-over-par 80 that included two birdies. Janet Moore of Centennial also made two birdies and carded an 83, while her fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin of Denver posted an 85. (The Coloradans are pictured, from left: Gilbreth, Austin and Moore.)

Individually, Riley Rennell of Tennessee had the low round of the day, a 4-under-par 68.

The USGA announced earlier this year that the 2017 Women’s State Team Champioship — the 12th one held — will be the final one contested.

USGA Women’s State Team Championship
At The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M.
32. Colorado 163
61. Emily Gilbreth of Denver 80
84. Janet Moore of Centennial 83
102. Christie Austin of Denver 85

Also
39. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, competing for Arizona 77

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Originally, the men’s and women’s tournaments were supposed to be one-time events to help celebrate the USGA’s centennial in 1995. But things went so well that the USGA made them into biennial championships.

However, the association announced in the spring that, after a relatively short lifespan by USGA championship standards, the State Team is being discontinued. By the time that announcement came last March, the last men’s championship had been played six months earlier in Birmingham, Ala.

So all that’s left is next week’s USGA Women’s State Team, which will be played Tuesday through Thursday (Sept. 26-28) at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M.

“In our reviews and discussions, it became quite clear that the conditions of competition had evolved, and there were significant differences in the respective team selection processes,” John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships and governance, said when the association announced the discontinuation of the USGA State Teams. “After considering the matter for more than a year, the review supported increased focus toward other areas of USGA competition, both present and future, including the continued enhancement of the local and sectional qualifying experience for players across all USGA championships.”

While the USGA State Teams are going away, the USGA will hold the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2018.

Representing Colorado — and the CWGA — in the final Women’s State Team will be Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Janet Moore and Christie Austin, along with reigning CWGA Match Play champion Emily Gilbreth. (For more on that, CLICK HERE.) 

Each state, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are eligible to enter three-person teams as long as the golfers are permanent residents of the area they represent. The players are nominated by a designated state or regional golf association; in Colorado, that has been the CGA and CWGA, respectively, for the Men’s and Women’s State Team Championships. Active college golfers are not allowed to compete.

During the championship, a state’s top two scores each day count toward the team total. 

Players who have represented Colorado over the years in the USGA State Team Championships have mixed feelings about their run ending.

“I’m very sad to see it go away,” said Moore, who will be competing in the USGA Women’s State Team for the third time over a period of 18 years. “It was always on my radar to try to make those teams — to be asked to be on the teams. And I was thrilled when they asked me to. It was always a goal.

“I wish it would keep going because it’s a fun event, it’s a team event, and there’s still a lot of great players there, so it’s a fantastic experience. It’s still a great USGA national championship.”

Jon Lindstrom, a three-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion, has been a regular Colorado representative at the USGA Men’s State Team for more than a dozen years, and he’s been the top Colorado individual finisher at the last four Men’s State Teams.

“I was kind of bummed” when hearing that the championship was being discontinued, Lindstrom said earlier this year. “This is one of the few states that lets a true mid-am or senior (compete). It’s like the Ryder Cup. You play well over two years and you get invited to go. It’s always (held at) a great facility, and compared to most USGA events, it’s a little more relaxed. It’s a nice way to kick off the winter because it’s usually in September or October.”

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton will be representing Arizona at the USGA Women’s State Team next week as she now lives full-time in that state. She’s represented Colorado four times and Arizona three in the event. Eaton said she doesn’t feel any sentimentalism about the championship being discontinued.

“No, because I think it’s becoming a kid tournament,” said the four-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist. “More and more states are bringing two and three juniors. I wouldn’t have gone, but I have a medical exemption there for a cart because it’s a walking event. I think they started to eliminate a lot of seniors when they took the carts away. When the USGA State Team started, everybody was allowed to take carts and now they’re not.

“I really liked it when the men and the women were at the same facilities — or close by — and at the same time.”

Indeed, in odd-numbered years from 1995 through 2007, the men’s and women’s championships were held on the same dates in the same general area. The women’s event continued to be conducted in odd-numbered years, and beginning in 2010 the men’s championship was held in even-numbered years.

But now there’s just one last one to be contested — on the women’s side — and many competitors are looking forward to saying they were able to play in the final USGA State Team Championship.

“I was very honored and thrilled and very thankful (to be picked for the Colorado team) because I knew it was the last one,” Moore said. “I think it’s special to be playing in the last one.”

Forty-eight teams will compete in the final USGA Women’s State Team as Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Puerto Rico are not sending representatives. Delaware, Mississippi and Tennessee will field teams comprised solely of teenagers — as Colorado did in 2015. In all, there are 27 teenagers competing this year in the 144-player field.

Colorado’s best finish in the Women’s State Team has been sixth (twice), while the Centennial State’s men placed as high as seventh, in 1997.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

This month’s USGA Women’s State Team Championship will be the final one ever held, as the USGA announced earlier this year that it was retiring its State Team Championships for both men and women.

The men held their final one last fall, and the women take a final bow Sept. 26-28 at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M.

Ironically, the 12th and last USGA Women’s State Team Championship will be the first one for Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin.

“I’ve been an alternate in previous years but this will be my first and only, since it’s the last one ever,” the former USGA Executive Committee member said in a recent email.

Austin will captain the three-person squad that will represent Colorado and the CWGA in New Mexico. The CWGA recently named its final team, which features some of the top female amateurs in the state, not including active college golfers as they aren’t allowed by the NCAA.

Joining Austin on the Colorado squad are another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Janet Moore, as well as the reigning CWGA Match Play champion Emily Gilbreth, who moved to Colorado from Houston in April. Gilbreth, like Austin, will be making her USGA Women’s State Team debut, while Moore is headed for her third appearance in the event.

At the State Team Championship, each day the best two scores for each state count toward the team total. All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are eligible to field teams. All competitors much reside in the state or territory for which they play, which is why current Mesa, Ariz., resident Kim Eaton, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, will represent Arizona.

The field will be cut to the low 21 teams and ties after 36 holes, plus any individual who is within five strokes of the lead.

Here’s a brief look at each of Colorado’s representatives for this year’s championship:

— Christie Austin of Denver: Austin, who didn’t take up golf until age 26, recently won her 18th CWGA title, this one with Kathy West in the CWGA Brassie. Moore has been Austin’s teammate for many of those championships. … She’s won two CWGA Senior Stroke Plays, one Senior Match Play, six Brassies, six Mashies, two Chapmans and one Mixed. … This summer, Austin qualified again for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and she’s a first alternate for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. … She’s a two-time CWGA Senior Player of the Year. … She won the 2010 Women’s Trans National Golf Association Senior Four-Ball with Eaton.

— Emily Gilbreth of Denver: The recent college graduate won this summer’s Match Play in her CWGA championship debut, defeating Maddie Kern 6 and 4 in the scheduled 36-hole final. … She played college golf at the University of Houston, where she was part of the school’s first women’s golf team. Three years after Houston added a women’s golf program, it won a conference championship. Individually, she won a college title in March 2016. … Recently, she competed in stage I of LPGA Tour Q-school, finishing 144th out of a field of 361ß, though she didn’t advance to stage II.

— Janet Moore of Centennial: After advancing to the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and USGA Women’s State Team this year, Moore has qualified for — or be named to — a total of 25 USGA championships. That includes three U.S. Women’s Amateurs. … The Mashie title she won with Susie Roh in June was believed to be Moore’s 21st CWGA championship. The former University of Arizona golfer captured the CWGA Stroke Play title five times in the 1990s, including four in a row.

In 2015, the last time the USGA Women’s State Team was conducted, Colorado finished 32nd with its then-all-teenager team of Jaclyn Murray, Mary Weinstein and Delaney Elliott.

Colorado finished sixth in the 2013 USGA Women’s State Team, matching the state’s best showing ever, first accomplished in 2009. The 2013 team included Jennifer Kupcho, Hannah Wood and Melissa Martin.

The USGA Women’s State Team trophy awarded to the champions is named after Judy Bell of Colorado Springs, the first female president in the history of the USGA.
 

From that site, eight players out of a field of 26 will advance to the national championship, set for Oct. 7-12 at Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Fla.

Susie Roh of Denver, the medalist in Colorado-based U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Qualifying last year, will be seeking a second consecutive trip to the national championship on Monday.

Others who qualified in Colorado along with Roh last year and are in Monday’s field are Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, Tiffany Maurycy and Meghan Christensen. Maurycy advanced to the round of 64 at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Am.

Three players who recently qualified in the Centennial State for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur also are scheduled to compete at Vail Golf Club: Moore, fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin and Marilyn Hardy, who made it to the round of 16 at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Am.

Also in the field is Kathy West, who recently placed second in the CWGA Senior Stroke Play.

The U.S. Women’s Mid-Am is restricted to golfers 25 and older.

For Monday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.