For a day that ended on such a high note, Friday certainly didn’t start very well for University of Denver golfer Chris Korte.
   
The 20-year-old from Lone Tree Golf Club has been experiencing upper-stomach-area pain periodically in recent years, to the point that it caused him to withdraw from two college tournaments in 2017. And on Friday, when Korte played Kyle Pearson of Meridian Golf Club in the scheduled 36-hole final of the 117th CGA Match Play, the pain re-emerged.
   
The situation wasn’t helped by starting out the match in rain, wind and in temperatures in the 40s at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton.
   
But if all’s well that ends well, that’s why Korte was smiling as he walked off the golf course. Despite his abdominal pain, Korte built a 6-up lead through 14 holes and kept the advantage to emerge with a 5-and-3 victory, earning him the Richard C. Campbell Trophy.
   
Having won the CGA Amateur Championship in 2015, Korte became just the fourth player since 1990 to claim titles in both the Match Play and the Amateur, joining David Oraee, Steve Ziegler (who won both events in 2009), and Pat Grady. Others among the 21 people who have captured both championships are longtime PGA Tour players Hale Irwin, Steve Jones and Brandt Jobe — all members of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
 
“It’s huge” to join them, said Korte (left and above), who had reason to jump for joy on Friday. “To add myself to that list is such a blessing. I’ve had a decent amount of OK play in college golf, but to be able to bring my ‘A’ game pretty much the whole week this week, I just feel really lucky to be here.”
   
Despite a big lead on Friday, it all could have gone awry if Korte’s stomach issues had become more acute during the match.
   
“I just try to focus on not thinking about the pain, just trying to get through it,” he said. “I was praying about it and it actually started feeling a little better — not to the point of being unbearable, which it has been in the past.
   
“It’s just a really sharp pain in the upper stomach area. Some doctors told me I should get my gall bladder out pretty soon, but we’re still getting some opinions and scans and things. It’s about 10 hours of just excruciating pain. I’m really happy it didn’t get to that point today.
   
“Late in the first round and early in the second round is where it got pretty bad. I was just trying to breathe through it. I ended up doing it pretty well and Kyle made a couple mistakes here and there and I was able to capitalize on them or halve him on a couple of holes I didn’t play too great.”

Korte never trailed against Pearson (left), the 2016 5A state high school champion who was playing in the Match Play for the first time. Korte, accompanied by his instructor for the last 5 1/2 years — Doug Wherry, the founder of Jake’s Academy — as his caddie, was 1 up through eight holes. But he won five of the next six holes — three with pars and two with birdies — to build a commanding 6-up advantage.

“The conditions at the beginning were not very good,” said Pearson, a recent Highlands Ranch High School graduate who had beaten three NCAA Division I college players to get to the finals. “I noticed a few (shots) where my hand slipped because the grip was a little wet. But obviously Chris figured out how to play through that, so that’s something I have to work on. You have to play in the rain in golf; they don’t cancel play because it’s raining outside. It’s just a learning curve, I guess.”

Pearson played much better in the second round when there was no rain and the wind subsided, going 1 over par for the 15 holes. The future Colorado Mesa University golfer was 7 down overall through 26 holes, but won three of the next six holes, all with pars, to cut the deficit to 4 down with four to play. But Pearson missed a 4-foot par putt on No. 15 to end the match.

Where his putter had rescued him in other matches, Pearson could manage just three birdies in 33 holes on Friday. In the last five holes, for instance, he missed four putts inside of 10 feet.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t win, but I learned a lot about my golf game this week,” Pearson said. “We counted this week — I played 136 holes in five days. I’ve never done that before. You’re not playing that many holes if your golf game is not good. I’m disappointed — I would have liked to win — but I’m still proud of how I played this week.

“The putter just kind of let me down today. It was a tough start, but I had a chance to come back on the back nine of the last 18. I had a few good birdie looks. I just couldn’t get them to fall. Chris is a good competitor. You’ve got to make birdies to catch up to him. I just couldn’t get any birdies in.”

Meanwhile, the title capped an impressive week at Ravenna for Korte (left). He shot a 6-under-par 65 in the stroke-play qualifying to earn the No. 2 seed, then won his matches 2 and 1, 4 and 3, 6 and 5, 3 and 2, 3 and 1, and 5 and 3. With the weather being what it was, he wasn’t quite as sharp on Friday as he was earlier in the week, but he did what it took to win.

“It was definitely a grind pretty much all day for me,” he said. “Playing in the rain hasn’t always been my forte — and there was also a lot of wind this morning. But college golf in general has prepared me really for these type of conditions. You don’t get perfect conditions in college golf. That’s been a blessing too — playing a lot of golf in these type of conditions, having your hands kind of numb.

“I just needed to stay patient because you’re not going to go out there and make a ton of birdies with the conditions the way they were. I made a lot of great pars and Kyle missed a couple of par putts that allowed me to win a few holes.

“The other thing that was huge for me was having my parents and my coach, Doug Wherry, who caddied for me today, by my side, providing me with dry towels, food, really anything I needed. And Doug knows me like almost no one else, so that helped a lot.”

CGA Match Play
At The Club at Ravenna in Littleton

THURSDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, def. Jake Kelley, Columbine CC, 3 and 2
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, def. Brittain Walton, Collindale GC, 1 up
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Jack Cummings, Omni Interlocken Resort, 3 and 2
Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, def. Roy Carlsen, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 2 and 1

THURSDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, def. Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, 21 holes
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, 3 and 1

FRIDAY’S 36-HOLE FINAL
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, 5 and 3

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Kyle Pearson is fresh out of high school, but you’d never know it by the way he’s toppling NCAA Division I golfers from Colorado this week at the 117th CGA Match Play Championship.

The 18-year-old from Meridian Golf Club, competing in the Match Play for the first time, has prevailed over Ross Macdonald (University of Colorado) in the round of 16, stroke-play medalist Jake Kelley (University of Denver) in Thursday’s quarterfinals, and 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle (University of Utah) in the semifinals.

That puts the 2016 5A state high school champion in line for one more matchup against a DI opponent — DU senior-to-be Chris Korte in Friday’s 36-hole title match at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton.

“Yesterday, I beat Ross Macdonald, who’s a good player as well,” Pearson (pictured) noted on Thursday evening. “So I knew going up against college players, I can hang with them. I’m doing good if I can beat them. It just helps to add to my confidence that I’m just as good as these guys.

“It’s amazing. It’s my first year playing in this. Going in, I didn’t have too high of expectations. I was hoping to maybe win a match or two, but to get this far is amazing. And hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.”

Korte (left), of course, has other ideas. On Friday, he’ll be attempting to complete a career sweep of the CGA’s top championships, having won the CGA Amateur in 2015.

“It would mean so much for me to win this,” Korte noted.

On Thursday, both players won twice for the second consecutive day to land a spot in the final match.

Pearson, who just graduated from Highlands Ranch High School and will play college golf at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, took down Kelley — a DU teammate of Korte — 3 and 2 in Thursday morning’s quarterfinals, three days after Kelley set a Ravenna course record for the gold/black tees by shooting an 8-under-par 63. Then in the semifinals, Pearson never led until a par on the 21st hole of the longest match of the championship landed him the win. Dunkle, himself a former 5A state high school champion, missed the green on the par-3. Following a very delicate pitch, he couldn’t sink a 10-foot par putt that would have extended the match further. Pearson, meanwhile, two-putted from 40 feet, advancing thanks to a 4-foot par putt.

Dunkle, who made it to the round of 16 at last year’s U.S. Amateur, had made a birdie on 16 and took a 1-up lead into the par-5 18th. He seemed to have a big advantage in the middle of the fairway in two, with Pearson on the side of a steep hill in native grass (pictured at top). But Dunkle’s approach bounced right into a greenside bunker, and Pearson hit a stellar shot to 6 feet from the cup and he sank the birdie putt to push the match to extra holes.

“You can’t really beat a hole-in-one (which Pearson had en route to his 5A victory), but to keep a match going, I’d say that’s one of the best shots I’ve hit,” he said.

Pearson has now twice this week won matches that went at least 20 holes.

As for Korte, he has yet to have to play the 18th hole in any of his five matches. After beating Jack Cummings of the Omni Interlocken Resort 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals on Thursday, he faced a formidable test with Colorado State University golfer Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, who made match play at the U.S. Amateur two years ago. An eagle on the second hole by Staiano put him 1 up, but Korte was ahead most of the match. A 10-foot downhill birdie on the 14th hole and a par on the 15th put him 3 up with three to play. Staiano extended things with a big-breaking 12-foot birdie on 16, but Korte closed out the match, 3 and 1, on No. 17 with a conceded 4-foot birdie.

Also along the way to the final, Korte defeated 2015 Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz 6 and 5 in the round of 16 on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ve been a groove,” said Korte, 20. “Obviously the 65 in the stroke-play round gave me a lot of confidence. I’ve made a couple of equipment changes and I’ve been feeling great with the swing and working with my coach pretty diligently. So I just had a ton of confidence coming into the week. I’m hoping to get it done tomorrow.”

So far this week, Korte has certainly been getting it done at Ravenna. By his best estimate, including the stroke-play qualifying round on Monday, he’s 17 under par for the week.

“Lately I’ve been trying to fight back and have the expectation that I need to make birdies and I need to play right out of the block,” he said. “I’ve been a lot under par this week, so that’s been really nice.

“My game has never felt better, so I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Speaking of Friday, Korte could be cutting it a little close, schedule-wise, as he has a 6:30 p.m. flight out of DIA headed for the North & South Amateur Championship that will begin on Monday in Pinehurst, N.C.

Friday’s 36-hole final will begin at 7 a.m.
 

CGA Match Play
At The Club at Ravenna in Littleton
QUARTERFINALS
Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, def. Jake Kelley, Columbine CC, 3 and 2
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, def. Brittain Walton, Collindale GC, 1 up
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Jack Cummings, Omni Interlocken Resort, 3 and 2
Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, def. Roy Carlsen, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 2 and 1
SEMIFINALS
Kyle Pearson, Meridian GC, def. Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, 21 holes
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, def. Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, 3 and 1
FRIDAY’S 36-HOLE FINAL
Pearson vs. Korte, 7 a.m.

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Jake Kelley (pictured) of Columbine Country Club earned medalist honors and established a course record for the gold/black tees by shooting an 8-under-par 63 at Ravenna. The DU senior-to-be made two eagles — including one on the 346-yard par-4 seventh hole — to go along with five birdies and one bogey.

Chris Korte of Lone Tree Golf Club, a high school (Regis Jesuit) and college (DU) teammate of Kelley, landed the No. 2 seed in match play by firing a 65. Korte, the 2015 CGA Amateur champion, made seven birdies and one bogey on the day.

And Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs Country Club, also a DU golfer, managed a 67 Monday to share third place with Tristan Rohrbaugh of Ironbridge Golf Club, a Boise State golfer. Petersilie carded an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys on Monday. Rohrbaugh, like Petersilie a former Colorado state high school champion, posted an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys.

Colorado State University teammates Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club and AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club recorded 68s on Monday to tie for fifth place.

All told on Monday, 10 players carded sub-par rounds at Ravenna, which is hosting the CGA’s oldest championship for the first time.

The top 64 players out of the original field of 84 — those who shot 79 or better on Monday — will advance to match play, which begins on Tuesday and continues through Friday’s 36-hole final. Among those 64 are 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle of the Club at Pradera (71), 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club (72) and 2015 Match Play winner Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course (76).

For Monday’s scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Now that’s what you call a hat trick.

And how appropriate for a former hockey standout at Colorado College.

David Delich of the Broadmoor Golf Club ended defending champion Tom Musselman’s 11-match win streak in the CGA Senior Match Play, and in the process captured his third title in the event and put himself into very elite company.

With his victories in 2007, ’11 and ’15, Delich became the sixth player to win at least three Senior Match titles, joining Colorado Golf Hall of Famers John Olive (four), Larry Eaton (four), Ed Nosewicz Sr. (four) and Les Fowler (three), along with Bert Welz (four).

“I don’t know if I deserve to be in that company,” Delich said. “I’m just a hockey player that masquerades as a part-time golfer. I know most of the names on that list, and most are Colorado Golf Hall of Famers and have done a lot for the (CGA) over the years. Les Fowler and Eaton really contributed a lot to Colorado golf.

“To be part of any group like that is kind of humbling because hockey is kind of where I got my lists made, so it’s a special thing to have happen. I’ve been on the short end of this thing too (in the finals), so it feels special when you can get it done. They’re so hard to win.”

On Saturday, Delich (above and left) scratched his every-four-year itch in the event by defeating Musselman, from Telluride Ski & Golf Club, 2 and 1 in the championship match at the Club at Ravenna.

Delich battled back from being 2 down for several holes on the front nine. In fact, Musselman missed a 3 1/2-foot birdie putt on No. 4 that would have put him 3 up.

Delich didn’t take his first lead until No. 13, where Musselman missed a 5-foot par putt. Musselman likewise bogeyed the next hole after hitting it into the water, with Delich’s conceded birdie putting him 2 up.

Musselman, who was playing in the Senior Match Play finals for the third consecutive year, cut the deficit to 1 down as he sank an 8-foot par putt on No. 16 while Delich three-putted for bogey.

But the 58-year-old Delich closed things out on No. 17 when he drained an 18-foot downhill birdie putt and Musselman left his 5-footer for birdie short of the cup.

“I wasn’t going to take the chance that he was going to miss,” Delich said, “My putt was 5 feet by the hole if it doesn’t hit the hole. I was not going to leave it short. I had the line and it held the line because of the speed and it went into the center. I was due.”

Musselman (left), meanwhile, felt like the putter let him down as he missed five putts inside of 10 feet in the title match.

“This one I didn’t deserve,” he said. “I putted very poorly all week. If you can’t putt well, if you can’t read the greens, then you shouldn’t win.

“In this match, I was totally in control of my game, then I let the putting woes get the best of me. Mentally, it was almost like it didn’t matter how well I hit the ball. I wasn’t going to get it in the hole so … It just irritated me all day.”

Musselman was 3 under par through seven holes, with 6-inch birdies on Nos. 6 and 7. But a poorly struck approach shot on 8 seemed to get him out of rhythm. That shot left him with a long bunker shot, which he thinned over the green and immediately conceded the hole. Musselman would manage just one other birdie the rest of the match.

“I had it dialed in the first six or seven holes. I mean, I felt it,” said Musselman, who will turn 55 next week. “Then I hit that errant shot — that was odd — then the putting woes.

“I hit two good chip shots and 10 and 13. When I missed those little putts I knew that it wasn’t going to happen.”

Meanwhile, Delich finished the final 4 under par through 17 holes.

For Delich (left), it was his fifth individual CGA championship as he’s claimed a Mid-Amateur and a Senior Stroke Play to go along with his three Senior Match Plays. He’s been a finalist in the Senior Match Play four times in his nine years competing in the event.

“It’s emotional,” said Delich, who also has captured two Southern California senior titles. “You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get. You just don’t know when the last one is; you really don’t.”

So far, it’s been a good golf season for Delich, the 2012 runner-up in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open. Besides Saturday’s victory, he and partner Ben Hargis won the senior title at the Charlie Coe Invitational, and Delich is an alternate for the U.S. Senior Open later this month.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, Delich was pushed to the 18th hole in the semifinals by Robin Bradbury of Heritage at Westmoor. Delich hit a stellar flop shot for a gimme birdie with little green to work with for a halve on 18 to post a 1-up win. Musselman beat Brian Woody of the Ridge at Castle Pines North in the other semi, 3 and 2.

Delich’s victory gave the Broadmoor a sweep of the titles at Ravenna. On Thursday, John Olive of the Broadmoor captured the CGA Super-Senior Match Play championship when he defeated Roger Gunderson of CommonGround Golf Course in the final, 1 up. For that story, CLICK HERE.

“I was very happy for John,” said Delich, who defeated Olive in the Senior Match Play final in 2007, denying Olive a record fifth title. “For him to get another notch and keep playing at a high level for as many decades as he has done (is special). Yeah, he and I will celebrate. I’m really happy we can share this. We’ll have a good laugh when we get down to the Springs.”
 
 

CGA Senior Match Play
At Par-71 Club at Ravenna in Littleton

SENIOR DIVISION
Round of 64
  Tom Musselman, Telluride Ski & Golf Club (1) def. David Draper, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club (64), 2 and 1
  Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor Country Club (32) def. Todd Vaughn, Willis Case Golf Course (33), 1 up
  Rob McLelland, Clubcorp Colorado (16) def. Jim LeMar, Meadows Golf Club (49), 19 holes
  Paul Karsen, Meridian Golf Club (17) def. Louie Jardon, Springs Ranch Golf Club (48), 4 and 2
  Thomas Roos, Spring Valley Golf Club (8) def. Pat Bucci, West Woods Golf Club (57), 1 up
  Kelly Crone, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (40) def. Terry Lorenz, Pinehurst Country Club (25), 4 and 3
  Bob Chandler, Heritage at Westmoor (9) def. James Pullin, Olde Course at Loveland (56), 1 up
  Mark Brown, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (24) def. Randall Dolan, Commonground Golf Course (41), 4 and 2
  Gary Driber, Golfweek Amateur Tour Denver (4) def. Doug Jones, Tiara Rado Golf Course (61), 6 and 5
  Dave Brown, Rmgcsa Golf League (29) def. Brian Kittleson, Eagle Ranch Golf Course (36), 3 and 1
  Rod Walters, Heritage at Westmoor (13) def. Jim Dawson, Hyland Hills (52), 5 and 3
  Dan Reedy, Boulder Country Club (45) def. Steve Bell, Denver Country Club (20), 2 and 1
  Dan Falagrady, Heritage at Westmoor (5) def. Mark Bedinger, Rolling Hills, the Club at (60), 4 and 3
  Brian Woody, Ridge at Castle Pines North (28) def. Stan Woodworth, Cherokee Ridge GC (37), 19 holes
  Cliff Damato, Meridian Golf Club (53) def. Rick George, Castle Pines Golf Club (12), 1 up
  Greg Thiesen, Columbine Country Club (21) def. Chuck Delich, Eisenhower Golf Club (44), 5 and 4
  Robert Polk, Colorado Golf Club (2) def. Jeff Wyatt, Meadow Hills Golf Course (63), 6 and 5
  Kent Moore, Cherry Hills Country Club (31) def. Art Cudworth, Raccoon Creek Men’s Club (34), 1 up
  Steve Sullivan, Bear Dance Golf Club (50) def. Pat Bowe, Commonground Golf Course (15), 5 and 4
  Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch Golf Course (18) def. Frank Wilson, Lakewood Country Club (47), 6 and 4
  Bradley Becker, Plum Creek Golf Club (7) def. Andy Schroeder, Raccoon Creek Men’s Club (58), 2 up
  Sean Forey, Bear Creek Golf Club (39) def. Bob Kubiak, South Suburban Golf Course (26), 6 and 5
  Robert West, Cherry Creek Country Club (10) def. Peter O’Connell, Commonground Golf Course (55), 3 and 1
  Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor (42) def. Brian O’Hara, Lakewood Country Club (23), 4 and 3
  Owen Ellis, Flatirons Golf Course (3) def. Bart Barnett, The Club at Cordillera (62), 4 and 3
  Bruce Hogg, Patty Jewett Golf Course (30) def. Richard Griggs, Desert Hawk Golf Course Men’s (35), 1 up
  Paul Edwards, Meridian Golf Club (14) def. Charlie Post, Colorado Golf Club (51), 3 and 2
  Jerry Beren, Lone Tree Golf Club (46) def. Dennis Fields, Heritage at Westmoor (19), 2 and 1
  Lance Balthaser, Englewood Men’s Golf Club (6) def. Carl Merkel, Riverdale Golf Club (59), 4 and 3
  Gary Fox, Country Club at Castle Pines (27) def. Randy Kippes, Saddle Rock Golf Course (38), 3 and 1
  Richard Kelly, Foothills Golf Course (54) def. Bob Filer, Club at Flying Horse (11), 3 and 2
  David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club (43) def. John Sostman, Meadows Golf Club (22), 8 and 6

Round of 32
  Tom Musselman, Telluride Ski & Golf Club (1) def. Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor Country Club (32), 1 up
  Paul Karsen, Meridian Golf Club (17) def. Rob McLelland, Clubcorp Colorado (16), 1 up
  Kelly Crone, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (40) def. Thomas Roos, Spring Valley Golf Club (8), 4 and 3
  Mark Brown, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (24) def. Bob Chandler, Heritage at Westmoor (9), 2 and 1
  Gary Driber, Golfweek Amateur Tour Denver (4) def. Dave Brown, Rmgcsa Golf League (29), 20 holes
  Rod Walters, Heritage at Westmoor (13) def. Dan Reedy, Boulder Country Club (45), 5 and 4
  Brian Woody, Ridge at Castle Pines North (28) def. Dan Falagrady, Heritage at Westmoor (5), 1 up
  Cliff Damato, Meridian Golf Club (53) def. Greg Thiesen, Columbine Country Club (21), 2 and 1
  Robert Polk, Colorado Golf Club (2) def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills Country Club (31), 3 and 2
  Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch Golf Course (18) def. Steve Sullivan, Bear Dance Golf Club (50), 6 and 4
  Sean Forey, Bear Creek Golf Club (39) def. Bradley Becker, Plum Creek Golf Club (7), 2 and 1
  Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor (42) def. Robert West, Cherry Creek Country Club (10), 3 and 1
  Owen Ellis, Flatirons Golf Course (3) def. Bruce Hogg, Patty Jewett Golf Course (30), 2 and 1
  Paul Edwards, Meridian Golf Club (14) def. Jerry Beren, Lone Tree Golf Club (46), 4 and 3
  Gary Fox, Country Club at Castle Pines (27) def. Lance Balthaser, Englewood Men’s Golf Club (6), 1 up
  David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club (43) def. Richard Kelly, Foothills Golf Course (54), 2 and 1

Round of 16
  Tom Musselman, Telluride Ski & Golf Club (1) def. Paul Karsen, Meridian Golf Club (17), 3 and 2
  Mark Brown, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (24) def. Kelly Crone, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (40), 1 up
  Gary Driber, Golfweek Amateur Tour Denver (4) def. Rod Walters, Heritage at Westmoor (13), 1 up
  Brian Woody, Ridge at Castle Pines North (28) def. Cliff Damato, Meridian Golf Club (53), 6 and 4
  Robert Polk, Colorado Golf Club (2) def. Mr. Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch Golf Course (18), 5 and 4
  Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor (42) def. Sean Forey, Bear Creek Golf Club (39), 3 and 2
  Paul Edwards, Meridian Golf Club (14) def. Owen Ellis, Flatirons Golf Course (3), 3 and 2
  David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club (43) def. Gary Fox, Country Club at Castle Pines (27), Withdrew

Quarterfinals
  Tom Musselman, Telluride Ski & Golf Club (1) def. Mark Brown, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (24), 6 and 5
  Brian Woody, Ridge at Castle Pines North (28) def. Gary Driber, Golfweek Amateur Tour Denver (4), 2 and 1
  Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor (42) def. Robert Polk, Colorado Golf Club (2), 2 up
  David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club (43) def. Paul Edwards, Meridian Golf Club (14), 4 and 3

Semifinals
  Tom Musselman, Telluride Ski & Golf Club (1) def. Brian Woody, Ridge at Castle Pines North (28), 3 and 2
  David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club (43) def. Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor (42), 1 up

Final
  David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club (43) def. Tom Musselman, Telluride Ski & Golf Club (1), 2 and 1.

Stroke Play Qualifying

Owen Ellis, Flatirons Golf Course 32-37–69
Robert Polk, Colorado Golf Club 34-35–69

Gary Driber, Golfweek Amateur Tour Denver 34-36–70
Dan Falagrady, Heritage at Westmoor 37-35–72
Bradley Becker, Plum Creek Golf Club 33-40–73
Lance Balthaser, Englewood Men’s Golf Club 35-38–73
Bob Chandler, Heritage at Westmoor 36-38–74
Bob Filer, Club at Flying Horse 38-36–74
Robert West, Cherry Creek Country Club 37-37–74
Thomas Roos, Spring Valley Golf Club 36-38–74
Rick George, Castle Pines Golf Club 34-41–75
Pat Bowe, Commonground Golf Course 36-40–76
Paul Edwards, Meridian Golf Club 38-38–76
Paul Karsen, Meridian Golf Club 36-40–76
Rob McLelland, Clubcorp Colorado 36-40–76
Rod Walters, Heritage at Westmoor 40-36–76
Brian O’Hara, Lakewood Country Club 35-42–77
Dennis Fields, Heritage at Westmoor 37-40–77
Greg Thiesen, Columbine Country Club 38-39–77
John Sostman, Meadows Golf Club 34-43–77
Mark Brown, Highlands Ranch Golf Club 39-38–77
Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch Golf Course 36-41–77
Steve Bell, Denver Country Club 35-42–77
Bob Kubiak, South Suburban Golf Course 35-43–78
Brian Woody, Ridge at Castle Pines North 38-40–78
Gary Fox, Country Club at Castle Pines 37-41–78
Terry Lorenz, Pinehurst Country Club 41-37–78
Art Cudworth, Raccoon Creek Men’s Club 38-41–79
Brian Kittleson, Eagle Ranch Golf Course 38-41–79
Bruce Hogg, Patty Jewett Golf Course 41-38–79
Dave Brown, Rmgcsa Golf League 39-40–79
Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor Country Club 38-41–79
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills Country Club 38-41–79
Richard Griggs, Desert Hawk Golf Course Men’s 38-41–79
Stan Woodworth, Cherokee Ridge GC 39-40–79
Todd Vaughn, Willis Case Golf Course 37-42–79
Kelly Crone, Highlands Ranch Golf Club 41-39–80
Randy Kippes, Saddle Rock Golf Course 37-43–80
Sean Forey, Bear Creek Golf Club 35-45–80
Chuck Delich, Eisenhower Golf Club 40-41–81
Dan Reedy, Boulder Country Club 37-44–81
David Delich, Broadmoor Golf Club 38-43–81
Randall Dolan, Commonground Golf Course 42-39–81
Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor 39-42–81
Frank Wilson, Lakewood Country Club 40-42–82
Jerry Beren, Lone Tree Golf Club 37-45–82
Jim LeMar, Meadows Golf Club 41-41–82
Louie Jardon, Springs Ranch Golf Club 39-43–82
Charlie Post, Colorado Golf Club 40-43–83
Jim Dawson, Hyland Hills 39-44–83
Steve Sullivan, Bear Dance Golf Club 42-41–83
Andy Schroeder, Raccoon Creek Men’s Club 40-44–84
Carl Merkel, Riverdale Golf Club 45-39–84
Cliff Damato, Meridian Golf Club 41-43–84
James Pullin, Olde Course at Loveland 41-43–84
Pat Bucci, West Woods Golf Club 40-44–84
Peter O’Connell, Commonground Golf Course 43-41–84
Richard Kelly, Foothills Golf Course 41-43–84
Doug Jones, Tiara Rado Golf Course 42-43–85
Mark Bedinger, Rolling Hills, the Club at 40-45–85
Bart Barnett, The Club at Cordillera 43-43–86
Jeff Wyatt, Meadow Hills Golf Course 38-48–86
David Draper, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club 45-42–87
 

The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer proved that again on Thursday.

Just a couple of months shy of his 70th birthday, Olive defeated Roger Gunderson of CommonGround Golf Course, another winner of multiple CGA titles, 1 up in Thursday’s final of the CGA Super-Senior Match Play at the Club at Ravenna in Littleton.

Asked what another state title means to him, Olive said, “It means that it might be the last one. I don’t know how many more I’ll have to play in. Roger and I are very fortunate that we’re not only still upright but that we still do pretty well (golf-wise).”

Indeed, this Super-Senior Match Play reflected well on the older competitors. Even though anyone age 60 and up who meets the playing standard can compete, the final featured one guy 69 (Olive) and another 71 (Gunderson).

Olive two-putted for par from long range at No. 18, then watched as Gunderson missed a 10-foot birdie putt that would have forced extra holes. 

“I breathed a sigh of relief,” Olive said. “We both played some very nice golf at times.”

In a match that was all square after 10, Olive had a 2-up advantage through 16 — after the players halved No. 15 with birdies. But Olive three-putted No. 17 for par — as Gunderson birdied — to force the match to the 18th hole.

The end result was a reverse of last year’s Super-Senior semifinals, when Gunderson defeated Olive. Gunderson has finished second in the last two Super-Senior Match Plays.

For Olive, it was his 11th individual CGA championship, but his first in the Super-Senior Match Play. He’s also won five Senior Stroke Plays, four Senior Match Plays and the 1977 Stroke Play. Olive also has the distinction of being the only amateur to prevail in the Colorado Senior Open (in 1999), and he’s won state senior amateur titles in California and Arizona.

Though Thursday’s final — which was played a day earlier than scheduled because of the threat of bad weather on Friday — went down to the wire, that was the exception for Olive this week. He won his previous matches by large margins: 5 and 4, 7 and 6, 4 and 3, and 7 and 6. The Air Force Academy graduate was 4 under par in his 7-and-6 semifinal victory Thursday morning over top-seeded Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club.

“I had to focus,” said Olive, a seven-time CGA Senior Player of the Year. “I slipped back into tournament mode and was very pleased with how played. It was very nice.

“It feels very good to win again.”

Meanwhile, in the CGA Senior Match Play for competitors 50 and older, two former champions won two matches on Thursday to advance to Friday’s semifinals.

That includes 2014 winner Tom Musselman of Telluride Ski & Golf Club, who posted 3 and 2, and 6 and 5 victories on Thursday. And David Delich of the Broadmoor, who’s captured Senior Match Play titles in 2007 and ’11, prevailed 4 and 3 in the quarterfinals after his round-of-16 opponent withdrew.

In Friday morning’s semifinals, Musselman will face Brian Woody of the Ridge at Castle Pines North, and Delich will take on Robin Bradbury of Heritage at Westmoor, who defeated former champion Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club 2 up in the quarterfinals. Bradbury won the last three holes of that match, going par-birdie-birdie.

The winners of the semifinals will square off for the Senior Match Play title beginning late in the morning on Friday.

For the Senior bracket, CLICK HERE. For the Super-Senior bracket, CLICK HERE.

At Club at Ravenna in Littleton

SUPER-SENIOR DIVISION

Round of 32
  Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek Golf Club (1) def. John Leamon, Littleton Golf & Tennis Club (32), 5 and 4
  Joe Morrill, Eagle Ranch Golf Course (17) def. Dan Birnley, Conquistador Golf Course (16), 3 and 1
  Patrick Mooney, Colorado GC (8) def. Gary Guilford, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (25), 3 and 2
  Jim F Pierce, Heritage Eagle Bend Golf & CC (9) def. Ken Tai, Perry Park Country Club (24), 2 and 1
  John Olive, Broadmoor Golf Club (4) def. Marc Sims, Eisenhower Golf Club (29), 5 and 4
  Terry Hymans, Clubcorp Colorado (20) def. Roger Lawson, Wellshire Golf Course (13), 1 up
  Gary Kephart, Eisenhower Golf Club (5) def. Ron Crowder, Broadmoor Golf Club (28), 6 and 5
  John Callahan, South Suburban Family Sports (12) def. Frank Wilkinson, Lincoln Park Golf Course (21), 4 and 3
  Steve Ivy, Ptarmigan Country Club (2) def. Danny Wyrick, West Woods Golf Club (31), 1 up
  Bruce Hayes, Heritage at Westmoor (15) def. Steven Humphrey, Legacy Ridge Golf Course (18), By Default
  Roger Gunderson, Commonground Golf Course (7) def. Vance Adler, Country Club at Castle Pines (26), 3 and 2
  Larry Netherton, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (10) def. Terry Pettit, Ptarmigan Country Club (23), 3 and 2
  Bob Cloud, Commonground Golf Course (3) def. John Warkentin, Inverness Golf Club (30), 3 and 2
  Fredrick Steffers, Eisenhower Golf Club (14) def. Randy Miller, Boulder Country Club (19), 19 holes
  Mark Runyan, Canongate Colorado (6) def. Lawrence Covell, Country Club at Castle Pines (27), 1 up
  Craig Stephenson, Saddle Rock Golf Course (22) def. Mark Barkley, Canongate Colorado (11), 6 and 5

Round of 16
  Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek Golf Club (1) def. Joe Morrill, Eagle Ranch Golf Course (17), 3 and 2
  Jim F Pierce, Heritage Eagle Bend Golf & CC (9) def. Patrick Mooney, Colorado GC (8), 2 and 1
  John Olive, Broadmoor Golf Club (4) def. Terry Hymans, Clubcorp Colorado (20), 7 and 6
  Gary Kephart, Eisenhower Golf Club (5) def. John Callahan, South Suburban Family Sports (12), 5 and 3
  Steve Ivy, Ptarmigan Country Club (2) def. Bruce Hayes, Heritage at Westmoor (15), 3 and 2
  Roger Gunderson, Commonground Golf Course (7) def. Larry Netherton, Highlands Ranch Golf Club (10), 19 holes
  Fredrick Steffers, Eisenhower Golf Club (14) def. Bob Cloud, Commonground Golf Course (3), 1 up
  Mark Runyan, Canongate Colorado (6) def. Craig Stephenson, Saddle Rock Golf Course (22), 3 and 1

Quarterfinals
  Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek Golf Club (1) def. Jim F Pierce, Heritage Eagle Bend Golf & CC (9), 2 and 1
 John Olive, Broadmoor Golf Club (4) def. Gary Kephart, Eisenhower Golf Club (5), 4 and 3
  Roger Gunderson, Commonground Golf Course (7) def. Steve Ivy, Ptarmigan Country Club (2), 3 and 2
  Mark Runyan, Canongate Colorado (6) def. Fredrick Steffers, Eisenhower Golf Club (14), 2 and 1

Semifinals
  John Olive, Broadmoor Golf Club (4) def. Jim Reynolds, Bear Creek Golf Club (1), 7 and 6
  Roger Gunderson, Commonground Golf Course (7) def. Mark Runyan, Canongate Colorado (6), 4 and 3

Finals
  John Olive, Broadmoor Golf Club (4) def. Roger Gunderson, Commonground Golf Course (7), 1 up