Even from afar, World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III had an impact on Sunday’s proceedings down the stretch at the CoBank Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

With his son, Dru Love, in a playoff for the title, but having hit some poor shots in the last three holes of regulation, the younger Love quickly gave the old man a call.

“He gave me some advice,” Dru relayed later. “He’s been in a lot of playoffs. He’s won a lot of them and lost a lot of them so he knows what he’s doing. He gave me some good advice. I went to the range and did what he told me. And under that much pressure I didn’t hit a single bad shot in the playoff.

“I told him the last three holes (of regulation) I didn’t hit it good. Someone told me, ‘You’re tied for the lead’ after I chipped in for birdie (from 30 feet on No. 15). When they told me that, I got really excited, a little nervous, and I didn’t play very good golf the last few holes. To get in with three pars the last three was actually really good from where I was a few times.

“(Davis) told me to go to the range, slow everything down and take big, long, slow swings and get clean contact. Hit 9-irons 100 yards with big, smooth swings, so you can get your feel back. I had kind of lost it there the last hole, skulling a 9-iron from the rough (with his third shot before hitting his fourth to 6 inches from a bunker 135 yards out and saving par). So he just told me to get back my contact, get some confidence back and go beat ’em. Take ’em down.”

And Dru did just that.

The 24-year-old from Sea Island, Ga., prevailed on the second hole of a playoff in spectacular fashion. Playing the par-5 18th hole — a dogleg right with trouble all along the right side — for the third time in an hour, Love hit a 2-iron from 280 yards that ran up 30 feet short of the hole. And he rolled the putt right into the middle of the cup to defeat Sam Saunders of Albuquerque, who had shot a 12-under-par 60 to force the playoff.

“It feels great to get this done,” said Love (pictured left and above). “I know my dad is really happy for me and we’ll have a big party when I get home.”

Love notched the biggest win of his career and earned $100,000 in the process. Saunders settled for a far smaller check — $20,000 — for finishing second.

Love closed with an 8-under-par 64 despite bogeying his first hole on Sunday. Counting the playoff, he made an eagle and nine birdies in his final 19 holes. He finished with a 19-under-par 197 total in the weather-shortened event.

Dru Love is far from the first member of his family to win significant golf tournaments in Colorado. His dad captured the PGA Tour’s International twice at Castle Pines (1990 and 2003). And his grandfather, Davis Love II, won the CGA Junior Match Play in both 1953 and ’54.

As for Saunders (below) on Sunday, he carded an eagle, 10 birdies and one bogey in regulation. Needing to make a 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 59, he left the putt a foot short and “settled” for a 60, which was two strokes better than the previous course record at GVR.

Coloradans Shane Bertsch and Riley Arp, who were 1-2 going into the final round, each birdied the final hole to share third place at 198, good for $9,500 apiece.

Other Coloradans to place in the top 10 were two-time Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan (seventh place, 203) and amateur Kyler Dunkle of Parker (ninth, 204). Tolan made six straight birdies on the front nine en route to a 65 on Sunday.

While Love’s championship-winning eagle was plenty impressive, he needed a disjointed par on his 54th hole to even force the first Colorado Open playoff since 2008. His drive there went left, narrowly avoiding the hazard. His next shot went about a foot into the primary rough, where he drew a good lie, but skulled his next about 50 yards into a bunker near the right hazard line. Love admitted the shot “rattled me pretty good.”

But from there, he almost holed out a stellar sand shot from 135 yards, leaving himself with just a tap-in par.

“It was the worst shot I’ve ever hit in pro golf, without a doubt, followed up with maybe one of the best,” he said.

Between the final full swing in regulation and the eagle on the second playoff hole, “There’s nothing like being in the moment and pulling shots off. It’s why we play,” Love noted.

“This is my best win ever. I’ve played some better golf, more complete golf, but I’ve never beaten a field this good. It’s rewarding.”

And what did dad say after Dru called him after he won?

“He answered the phone yelling, ‘Way to go!’,” Dru said of Davis. “I’m sure my girlfriend (who was at GVR) was texting him and my family and letting them know what was going in. As soon as that putt went in, I walked in here, grabbed my phone and called him. He just right away (said), ‘Way to go.’ He was real happy. Everybody was real happy. We’re just going to have to celebrate.”

Love’s recovery on the final hole of regulation and his playoff eagle after he had missed a 6-foot birdie attempt on the first extra hole left Saunders with a roller-coaster of emotions.

“It sucks (not to win), but he played great and he made a great putt there. That’s all you can do,” said Saunders, who isn’t to be confused with the golfer with the same name who used to live in Fort Collins and is Arnold Palmer’s grandson. “I would have taken (second) coming into the week, so it was a good week.”

Saunders’ course-record 60 in the final round was a sight to behold as he forced overtime despite starting the day in 17th place and eight out of the lead.

Saunders had been struggling so badly with his game that within the last couple of months he’d contemplated giving up professional golf until he turned things around and recently won the San Juan Open. And on Sunday he tied the Colorado Open scoring record — set by Nick Mason at Saddleback Golf Course in 2007 — and was very close to shooting the elusive 59.

Saunders was 12 under through 16 holes, but missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on 17 and was in the front bunker in two on the par-5 18th. But he hit his sand shot a little fat, then didn’t get his 20-foot birdie attempt to the hole.

“I just wanted to shoot 59,” the former Univeristy of New Mexico golfer said. “You don’t have very many opportunities. But 60 is great. It’s my best competitive round ever (by two). I played great. I just couldn’t miss. so I can’t complain. … It was a great day, so much fun.”

Before Love drained his winning eagle putt, Saunders had hit an outstanding long bunker shot on the second playoff hole and had 8 feet left for birdie.

As for the top Coloradans, Arp (left) essentially hit every green in regulation on Sunday until he slightly pulled his drive on 15 and his ball went into the water, leading to a bogey. His only other bogey was of the three-putt variety, on No. 8.

“I don’t necessarily see it like I lost (the tournament),” the former Colorado State University golfer said. “They came back and beat some guys, including me. It’s not the end of the world. I’m just going to take this and learn from it.”

Bertsch, a veteran of the PGA and Web.com Tour, had two hiccups on his front nine, going into the sand on 5 and pulling his tee shot into the native on 6. Those were the only bogeys of the day for the 36-hole leader.

“All in all I obviously played good golf this week,” the 48-year-old said. “But it only takes one shot just to get you thinking a little bit. And you know these guys are going to come at you. … I feel good about what I’ve found in my game in the last month, but I sure would have liked to win it today.”

Low-Am Honors Another Feather in Dunkle’s Cap: It’s been a good last few weeks for Kyler Dunkle of Parker.

The 2016 CGA Player of the Year qualified earlier this month for the U.S. Amateur, and on Sunday he tied for ninth in the Colorado Open and earned low-amateur honors.

The senior-to-be at the University of Utah shot rounds of 66-70-68 for a 12-under-par 204 total. That was one better in the amateur competition than Griffin Barela of Lakewood, who closed with a 67, and two better than CGA Match Play champion AJ Ott of Fort Collins (69 Sunday).

“This is my fourth time playing this tournament and I’ve missed the cut the last three years by one,” Dunkle (left) noted. “To be able to play well enough this year to where I can take home low-amateur honors, that’s really cool. I played some good golf. I’m really happy. It’s hard to be disappointed when you shoot three rounds under par.

“It was a lot of fun. My dad was caddying for me and I’m sure he was a little more stressed out this week than I was, but it was a lot of fun for us to be out here.”

On Sunday, Dunkle had an eagle from 1 1/2 feet, a birdie where he hit to 3 inches and another birdie to 1 foot. But he also three-putted from 4 feet once.

For the week, he capitalized big-time on the par-5s, playing them in 11 under par.

“It’s been fun to see how much my game has progressed,” the 21-year-old said. “It feel like I’m playing some good golf right now and I’m excited to go to the state am next week and to the U.S. Am in a couple of weeks.”

Award for the CGA, CWGA: After the conclusion of the tournament, the CGA and CWGA were presented with the Robert M. Kirchner Award, which is given to an individual or organization for contributing greatly to amateur, professional and/or tournament golf in Colorado. The CGA and CWGA, each more than a century old, became one organization on Jan. 1 after a two-year integration process, joining forces to serve golfers in the state.

“For over a hundred years, two great organizations have represented amateur golf here in the state of Colorado — from championships to course ratings to the handicap system,” said Chris Nordling, chairman of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. “And now these two organizations have come together to be one, for hopefully the next 100 years.”

The CGA’s co-presidents in 2018, Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary, accepted the award. (Pictured are, from left: Pat Hamill, founder of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, Miner, McCleary and Nordling.)

“We get to represent over 60,000 golfers in the state of Colorado and we also get to work with young people,” Miner said. “We try to help all the young people so that someday they can play in this tournament and make their parents proud.”

For scores and the payout from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

In the last several years, more players from out of state have won the CoBank Colorado Open than in-staters have.

And don’t think that’s gone unnoticed.

In 2014, Ian Davis of Edmond, Okla., prevailed. In 2015, it was Scotland’s Jimmy Gunn. Two years ago, it was Neil Johnson of Phoenix/River Falls, Wis. In 2017, part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye scored one for the home team with his victory at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

And now, Coloradans have a good chance to make it two in a row.

Not only do local residents hold down the top two places after Saturday’s second round, but they have some cushion over the player in third place heading into Sunday’s final 18.

Shane Bertsch of Parker, winner of the 1998 Colorado Open and a veteran of 193 PGA Tour starts, leads going into the final round. And Riley Arp of Fort Collins, a former Colorado State University golfer who has had plenty of success on mini tours over the years, stands in second place, just a stroke behind Bertsch. (Bertsch is pictured chatting with a young fan after Saturday’s round.)

Arp finds himself where he is thanks to a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 on Saturday that matched the course record at GVR. It was the sixth time that score has been shot at the course in the Colorado Open.

Arp, for one, likes to see Coloradans excel at the Colorado Open.

“It’s our state open,” the 30-year-old (left) said. “It’s nice to come in and kind of protect your state. It’s like, ‘Everybody can show up but this is the Colorado Open.’

“The guys who play here a lot, we do have a pretty good advantage because the ball flies a long way. And if you’re not used to really knowing your distances … you can catch a flyer” that will go an unexpectedly long distance.

Through two days, Bertsch is atop the leaderboard with a 15-under-par 129 total, while Arp is at 130. The next best on the leaderboard are Chris Petefish of Cumming, Ga., a rookie pro who recently graduated from Georgia Tech (64-68–132); Dru Love, son of World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III (68-65); and Patrick Stolpe of Scottsdale, Ariz. (64-69).

Bertsch had only one blemish in his second-round 64 on Saturday, a bogey on his final hole, the par-5 ninth. Ironically, he had a wedge from the middle of the fairway into the green, but pushed it a bit, hit a poor chip and missed an 8-foot par putt.

But through two rounds, the 48-year-old has made an eagle and 15 birdies at GVR.

“I’m playing good,” he said. “I’m in that aggressive mindset. I was in good position for birdie (on Saturday’s final hole) and all of a sudden I walked off with a bogey. That’s how golf is. But there were a lot of good things today.

“It’s been a long year and a half. I had (left) shoulder surgery in April of ’16 and I’ve been back playing on the two tours (PGA and Web.com) without much success. But about a month ago, I started to figure out some stuff. I had lost my iron game basically — the consistency of it. But I found some stuff that’s making a big difference and has gotten me back on track.”

Indeed, Bertsch has missed the cut in his one PGA Tour appearance this season and has made just two cuts in nine events on the Web.com Tour in 2018. But he’s certainly in the groove this week at the Colorado Open.

His wedge game has been particularly sharp at GVR, where he’s competing for the first time in three years.

“I’ve hit a lot of wedges close this week — some really good ones for kick-ins,” said Bertsch, who owns three Web.com Tour victories and five PGA Tour top-10s in his career. “I hadn’t been doing that. That was the part of the game I had to excel at because I’m not the longest (hitter) so I need to take advantage of those situations. I’m starting to again.”

It’s been a while since Bertsch’s last significant victory — he won the on the Web.com Tour in 2015 — but he’s looking forward to a crack at another title.

“It’s going to be pedal to the medal” on Sunday, he said. “There’s going to be scores to be had assuming we have a typical Colorado morning with not much wind. You’re going to have to be going for it when you can and playing away from certain pins. But you’re not going to be able to just protect. I’ll be trying to go as low as I can.

“I can’t wait. It’s going to be fun.”

Arp, who Monday qualified for last week’s Web.com Tour event in Omaha, matched his career tournament low score relative to par on Saturday. He shot a 62 last year in a Monday qualifier to earn a spot in the field for the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open.

On Saturday, the 2010 CGA Public Links champion did the trick with 10 birdies and no bogeys.

“It has nothing to do with my golf game at all. It all has to do with me controlling myself,” Arp said of his impressive play this week. “My golf game has been fine the last month, but I haven’t been able to score and I couldn’t figure out why. I realized I was a head case and need to figure that out. I’ve been focused on that the last two weeks and trying to come up with solutions. I found one and it’s working so far and we’ll see if it keeps working.

“A buddy of my turned me onto a book — it’s called, ‘On Combat’. I just read it and was kind of thinking about (how) it has to do with heart rate and how you can calm yourself down when you start to get a little edgy or whatever It’s been working. And it helps to make a few putts here or there.”

As good as Arp’s round was, he said it easily could have been better. But he missed three putts inside 10 feet.

“I feel like I’m in a pretty good place and hopefully I’ll keep myself there tomorrow,” he said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good chance. I’m hitting it pretty good and rolling it well.”

Arp made his professional debut at the Colorado Open in 2010 and is looking for his first top-10 finish in the event.

“The Colorado Open has always meant quite a lot to me,” said Arp, who is now a full-time resident of Fort Collins again. “And now I feel like I have my head in the right place, so it’s time to play some golf.”

Two Days and Out: Two of the biggest names in the 2018 CoBank Colorado Open field, including the defending champion, bowed out after Saturday, having missed the cut.

Part-time Colorado residents and PGA Tour winners Jonathan Kaye and Kevin Stadler finished at identical 3-over-par 147 totals, which left them six strokes shy of advancing to Sunday’s final round.

“It’s kind of expected,” said Kaye (left), who finished with a 23-under-par total for four rounds at GVR in winning last year. “I’ve just been playing (poorly). It wasn’t really out of the realm for me to play (poorly).”

Though it may have been just in the heat of the moment following rounds of 76-71, Kaye said this in response to a question if he was going to play any more tournaments this year: “Nope. Done. I might not ever play again in a tournament. I just don’t like golf. I don’t enjoy the pace of play and waiting around so much. Everybody is just dinking around. No one is playing. …. I don’t get it. I can’t play like that. I don’t have the patience for it anymore.”

As for Stadler, the 2002 Colorado Open champion and winner of the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open is continuing the road back to the PGA Tour after first feeling the effects of a left hand injury while playing in China in November of 2014. After not receiving the correct diagnosis for more than 18 months, he underwent surgery on what was a broken hamate bone last August, and is now pain-free. But while he has made two starts on the Web.com Tour this year, he hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since 2015. He plans to change that this fall.

In the meantime, he’s trying to shake some poor habits in his game, and he shot 78-69 at GVR this week.

“It was a lot of rust and a lot of lack of ability these days,” he said with a chuckle. “Yesterday (the 78) was kind of a perfect storm getting caught in the wind and I didn’t have control of my ball, (and I) three-putted a couple of times early. Basically I made every error I could possibly make. It was pretty pathetic shooting what I shot. I played bad but I didn’t feel I played that bad. It was just a combination of everything.

“I played all right today. It’s just a lot of rusty, silly mistakes.

“The scores don’t really mean a whole lot for me right now. As poor as it was, it’s actually getting better. I’ve shot better scores in events I’ve played the last 6-8 weeks, but I can tell the motion is better and I’m starting to play a little better. Yesterday was just a disaster. All in all I was pretty happy with the way I hit it today. It’s nowhere near where it needs to be and where it used to be, but it’s going in the right direction.”

Remarkable Recovery for GVR: After a day of playing lift, clean and place on Friday after severe storms and flooding on Wednesday evening led to a cancelation of Thursday’s scheduled opening round, it was back to playing the ball down on Saturday at the Colorado Open.

Suffice it to say it was quite a task to get GVR back in playable shape after the storm on Wednesday evening, which brough heavy rain, hail and winds estimated at 60 mph.

That weather event dumped at least 1.1 inches of rain on the course, leading to the Colorado Open being reduced to 54 holes for the first time since 1981.

There were standing “lakes” on the course were there was previously fairway, and newly created pools of water where fish and frogs were stranded and sometimes died (see photos at left and below, courtesy of Kevin Laura).

On Thursday, superintendent Barry Kendall had a crew of 10 working 11 straight hours pumping the water off the course and from the bunkers. Kendall has worked at GVR since 2007 — since 2009 as head superintendent — having prepared the course for 35 Colorado Opens/Colorado Women’s Opens/Colorado Senior Opens during that 11-plus-year period.

But the bottom line was, the course was ready to play on Friday, although it was certainly still wet in spots.

Noted two-time Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan about the course on Saturday: “It’s in phenomal shape, unbelievable.”

Notable: Kyler Dunkle of Parker, the 2016 CGA Player of the Year, remains in the lead for low-amateur honors after 36 holes. Dunkle, a University of Utah golfer after transferring from Colorado State, has posted rounds of 66-70 for an 8-under-par 136 total. He played his final 10 holes in 4 under par on Saturday. Dunkle is one stroke ahead of AJ Ott of Fort Collins, the 2018 CGA Match Play champion who carded a 69 on Friday. Both Dunkle and Ott have qualified for next month’s U.S. Amateur. Sam Marley of Centennial and Griffin Barela of Lakewood share third place among amateurs at 138. … The 62 players who were at 3-under 141 or better made the 36-hole cut on Saturday. Among those who didn’t advance to Sunday — besides Kaye and Stadler — were former champions Zahkai Brown (142), Scott Petersen (142) and Ben Portie (145), 2017 runner-up Jacob Lestishen (147) and five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year Geoff Keffer (150). … Chris DiMarco, a three-time PGA Tour winner, caddied for his son Cristian on Friday and Saturday, but the younger DiMarco missed the cut (75-74). The DiMarcos recently moved to Colorado. … Notah Begay, winner of four events on the PGA Tour, shares 44th place after rounds of 69-72. He birdied his final hole Friday to make the cut. … The leading threesome after 36 holes — Bertsch, Arp and Petefish — will tee off at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday for the final round.

For scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

This year, a severe Wedneday night storm led to flooding and a one-day postponement of the start of the championship — and to the event joining ’80 and ’81 as a 54-hole affair.

Which means this week’s Open will be a little more like a middle-distance run than the usual marathon.

With just three rounds, players can ill-afford a bad day and still hope to be in the hunt for the $100,000 first prize at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

With that in mind, plenty of players got off to quick starts on Friday, while a couple of the most prominent names in the field went backward.

While Christopher Petefish of Cumming, Ga., and Patrick Stolpe of Scottsdale, Ariz., took the lead with 8-under-par 64s under lift, clean and place rules on Friday, two past champions in the field who have won PGA Tour events struggled on day 1.

Two-time Tour winner Jonathan Kaye, a former University of Colorado golfer and a part-time Boulder resident who won his second Colorado Open last year, opened with a 4-over-par 76.

And 2002 Colorado Open champion Kevin Stadler, winner of the 2014 Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, posted a 78. Stadler, a part-time Denver resident, shot a 6-over 42 on his first nine, the back at GVR.

Meanwhile, one PGA Tour veteran who is in contention is Shane Bertsch of Parker, the 1998 Colorado Open champion. The 48-year-old shot a 65 on Friday and shares third place with Timothy O’Neal of Savannah, Ga.

Other Coloradans in the top six include two amateurs — 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle of Parker and Griffin Barela of Lakewood. Dunkle played his last 10 holes in 6 under par and shot 66. Barela carded a 67.

Four-time PGA Tour winner Notah Begay opened with a 69.

Play will continue through Sunday, with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after Saturday’s second round.

For scores from the CoBank Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

Due to severe and unprecedented weather this evening after the Pro-Am, we are postponing round 1 of the CoBank Colorado Open until Friday. A storm hit Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and has flooded parts of many holes, making it impossible to play round 1 tomorrow (Thursday). The decision has been made to shorten the championship to 54 holes.

A few important notes:
·         Friday, July 27th will serve as round 1 and Saturday, July 28th will serve as round 2. Tee times and pairings for these first two rounds will not change.
·         The 36-hole cut will be made upon the completion of round 2, with the final round being held Sunday, July 29 (weather permitting).
·         Green Valley Ranch Golf Club will be completely closed for repair and restoration tomorrow – Thursday, July 26th. Please do not come to the golf course for any reason.
 
We sincerely apologize that weather has created this circumstance. We will do everything we can to make the 54th annual championship the best possible, and appreciate your consideration and understanding.

Colorado Open Golf Foundation
 

And the trend will continue this week when the 54th Open is held at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. The $250,000 championship runs Thursday through Sunday.

Between players with plenty of experience on the PGA Tour — and some with famous surnames — the Colorado Open won’t be lacking for names recognizable to golf fans.

Here’s a rundown of some of the entrants that fall into that category:

— Jonathan Kaye (left), a part-time resident of Boulder, former University of Colorado golfer, and a two-time Colorado Open champion, having won last year and in 1996. Owns two PGA Tour victories. Has competed in 320 PGA Tour events in his career, including last week’s Barbasol Championship, where he missed the cut.

— Kevin Stadler, a part-time resident of Denver, Kent Denver High School graduate and the winner of the 2002 Colorado Open and two CGA Match Plays. Won the 2014 Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, one of 264 PGA Tour events in which he’s competed in his career. (He’s also won four Web.com Tour tournaments.) He hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since 2015 due to a stress fracture in his left hand, but has competed in two Web events this year. He has 26 events left on a major medical extension, needing to earn $717,890 in those events to keep his exempt status on the PGA Tour. Stadler last played in the Colorado Open in 2016, when he finished 41st.

— Notah Begay. Winner of four PGA Tour events in 217 starts. Previously played in the Colorado Open in 2015, missing the 36-hole cut by one stroke. Begay called the British Open for NBC/Golf Channel last week.

— Shane Bertsch of Parker. Won the Colorado Open in 1998 and finished 10th in 2015. Has played in 193 PGA Tour events in his career, with five top-10 finishes. He has one PGA Tour event left on his medical extension, needing to earn $597,069 to keep his card.

— Jeff Gallagher, the 2017 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion. Has played in 134 PGA Tour events in his career, recording six top-10 finishes.

— John Riegger, the 2018 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion. Has played in 224 PGA Tour events in his career, earning three top-10 finishes. Also has won once on the PGA Tour Champions, in 2013.

And, for the record, four sons of former prominent PGA Tour players are in the Colorado Open field — Dru Love (son of Davis), Sean Jacklin (son of Tony), Cristian DiMarco (son of Chris) and Stadler (son of Craig).

Beyond the PGA Tour flavor, the Colorado Open will have plenty of big-name local competitors. That includes — besides Kaye, Stadler and Bertsch — Colorado-based former champions Derek Tolan (a two-time winner), Zahkai Brown, Ben Portie and Scott Petersen, along with former Pueblo resident Dustin White.

Also among the entrants are five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year Geoff Keffer,;U.S. Amateur qualifiers AJ Ott, Coby Welch and Kyler Dunkle; 2018 U.S. Senior Open competitor Doug Rohrbaugh; Michael Schoolcraft and James Love, Coloradans who just finished in the top 20 at a PGA Tour Canada event; Coloradan Nick Mason, who qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open; and several players with strong local ties who finished top 10 at the 2017 Colorado Open (besides Kaye): Jacob Lestishen (second), former Colorado State player Blake Cannon (seventh) and Steven Kupcho (eighth).

The field at GVR will be cut to the low 60 players and ties after Friday’s second round.

Tournament organizers are having some fun with the pairings for the first two rounds. For example, paired together are Dru Love, James Love and Samuel Love. Then there’s one for three of the competitors with PGA Tour event-winning dads: Kevin Stadler, Sean Jacklin and Cristian DiMarco.

Meanwhile, 15 more players qualified for the Colorado Open Monday at Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster. That includes four Coloradans: amateurs David Leede of Greenwood Village (4-under-par 67 on Monday), Tyler Zhang of Lone Tree (70) and Tyler Severin of Johnstown (70), and pro Neil Tillman of Arvada (70).

Stuart Thomas of Knoxville, Tenn., shot a 7-under-par 64 to earn medalist honors at Legacy Ridge. For all the scores from Monday’s qualifier, CLICK HERE.

For Thursday’s first-round pairings at the CoBank Colorado Open itself, CLICK HERE.
 

Cameron Brown of Edwards shot a 4-under-par 68 and shared second place at Eagle Ranch Golf Course in Eagle.

And Jimmy Makloski (left) of Pueblo, the 2016 Colorado Open low amateur and the recent winner of the Laramie Open, posted a 69 for seventh place.

Kyle Souza of Sonoma, Calif., the 2011 NCAA Division II national champion from Chico State, earned medalist honors on Tuesday by making seven birdies en route to a a 5-under 67.

Tuesday marked the second of four qualifying events for the Colorado Open, which will be held July 26-29 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. The remaining qualifying tournaments will be Thursday and Monday at Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster.

Here are all 15 qualifiers from Eagle Ranch:

1. Kyle Souza, Sonoma, Calif. 67
T2. Dusty Fielding, Richfield, Utah 68
T2. Ryan Porch, Kalispell, Mont. 68
T2. Ryan Hogue, Mesa, Ariz. 68
T2. Justin Keiley, Haiku, Hawaii 68
T2. Cameron Brown, Edwards 68
7. Jimmy Makloski, Pueblo 69
T8. Jim Mee, Libby, Mont. 70
T8. Shad Tuten, Augusta, Ga. 70
T8. Tony Mike Jr., Kirtland, N.M. 70
T8. Andrew Garner, Jackson Hole, Wyo. 70
T8. Josh Weems, Lake Quivira, Kan. 70
T8. Dalton Stanger, Orem, Utah 70
15. Kyle Beardslee, Canton, Ga. 71
 

Parker Klitzke of Sioux Falls, S.D., who recently wrapped up his golf career at Augustana University, shot a 9-under-par 62, despite bogeying his final hole, to earn medalist honors out of the field of 87. He made eight consecutive birdies, starting on No. 9, and 10 for the day, to post a course-record-tying score for the combined tees which competitors played on Thursday.

The Colorado Open, set for July 26-29 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, will feature a purse of $250,000, with $100,000 going to the winner.

The Coloradans who advanced to the Open include Ross McLean of Boulder (67), Derek Fribbs of Thornton (68), amateur Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch (68), Josh Gardella of Lone Tree (68), amateur Josh McLaughlin of Loveland (68) and amateur Griffin Barela of Lakewood (69). Barela and Joe Parkinson of Alpine, Utah, birdied the 10th hole to prevail in a nine-for-two playoff.

Fribbs, a former University of Colorado golfer and the 2013 CGA Player of the Year, competed in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying last month.

Also earning spots in the Colorado Open were former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne (68) and former Colorado State University player Colton Yates (68).

The remaining qualifying tournaments for the Colorado Open are scheduled for July 17 at Eagle Ranch in Eagle, and July 19 and 23 at Legacy Ridge in Westminster.

Here are the Colorado Open qualifiers from Highlands Ranch GC:

1. Parker Klitzke, Sioux Falls, SD 62
2. Samuel Love, Trussville, Ala. 64
T3. Ross McLean, Boulder 67
T3. Michael Whitehead, Houston 67
T5. Josh Gardella, Lone Tree 68
T5. Derek Fribbs of Thornton 68
T5. Cal McCoy (amateur), Highlands Ranch 68
T5. Josh McLaughlin (amateur), Loveland 68
T5. Colton Yates, Scottsdale, Ariz. 68
T5. Josh Creel, Cheyenne, Wyo. 68
T5. Hans Reimers, Scottsdale, Ariz. 68
T5. Ben Shur, Venura, Calif. 68
T5. Kelby Scharmann, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. 68
T14. Griffin Barela (amateur), Lakewood 69
T14. Joe Parkinson, Alpine, Utah 69

For complete scores from Thursday, CLICK HERE.
 

Stadler, winner of the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, is in the field for the Web.com Tour’s Digital Ally Open, which runs Thursday through Sunday (July 27-30) in Overland Park, Kan.

Stadler (pictured) last played in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in July 2015, at the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour. His one tournament since then was the 2016 CoBank Colorado Open, where he finished 41st.

In November 2014 while competing in China, Stadler started having major issues with his left hand.

“It literally felt like I had a firecracker going off in my palm every time I’d practice,” he recounted to coloradogolf.org at last year’s Colorado Open. “It was a nightmare.”

It turns out, he had two fractured bones in his hand. Since then, he’s played in a grand total of three events on the PGA Tour — the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the Masters and the John Deere Classic, all in 2015.

(July 29 Update: Stadler withdrew after shooting a 1-over-par 72 in the first round in Overland Park. “It’s been a lot better the last couple of months, so I thought I’d come and give it a try (but) it was really ugly today, so it’s kind of a setback I wasn’t looking for,” Stadler said on Web.com Tour video. “… It’s incredibly frustrating.”)

Whenever Stadler returns to the PGA Tour, he’ll do so with a major medical extension that gives him 26 tournaments to earn $717,890 in order to remain exempt.

Stadler was one of the best players in Colorado during the late 1990s and early 2002. He won the CGA Match Play twice and the 2002 Colorado Open in his professional debut.

Stadler, now 37, last competed on the Web.com Tour — where he won four times total between 2004 and ’06 — in September 2011.

Stadler will be joined in the Digital Ally Open by Michael Schoolcraft of Denver and former University of Colorado golfer Josh Creel, both of whom Monday qualified to get into the tournament. Likewise competing are Colorado-based Web.com Tour regulars Jim Knous and Tom Whitney and former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda.

Meanwhile, in the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open this week, Coloradan Wyndham Clark, the 2017 Pac-12 champion, will make his fourth PGA Tour start on a sponsor exemption. He’s made one cut in his previous three PGA Tour events (placing 51st in Quicken Loans National), and tied Knous for 23rd in last week’s Web.com Tour tournament after Monday qualifying. Also in the Canadian Open field are Shane Bertch of Parker, Denver native Mark Hubbard and former Coloradan Sam Saunders.
 

Jonathan and Jennifer Kaye’s kids, Ryelie and Breeze, weren’t even born when Jonathan last won a golf tournament, the 2004 FBR Open on the PGA Tour. So when Jonathan struck pay dirt on Sunday in the CoBank Colorado Open, it was certainly a family affair worth celebrating.

And celebrate they did (pictured) when the former University of Colorado golfer drained a 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club to notch his second Colorado Open victory.

“I’ve got all my friends and family here,” said Kaye, who lives in Boulder during the summer and Phoenix during the school year. “My kids finally got to see me win a golf tournament for the first time. That was pretty special. They thought I was retired. They didn’t even know what I did.”

A year after finishing second in the Colorado Open to Neil Johnson — with whom he was paired on Sunday — Kaye claimed the $100,000 first prize this time. His eight-birdie 6-under-par 66 in the final round led to a 23-under total, which tied Johnson’s tournament scoring record — relative to par — set last year.

And Kaye needed all 23 of those to get a victory without a playoff. Fellow Coloradan Jacob Lestishen, of Lone Tree, made it a horse race down the stretch after it looked like Kaye might run away with the title. Lestishen played holes 11-15 in an amazing 6 under par, going birdie, birdie, birdie, 20-yard chip-in eagle, birdie to tie the two-time PGA Tour winner.

“I’ve probably done that a couple of times (had a similar run to that), but not on the back nine with this on the line. That was a lot of fun,” said Lestishen (left).

But the 29-year-old couldn’t add to his torrid stretch despite having legitimate birdie opportunities on 16, 17 and 18. And, after going into the 18th hole tied with Lestishen, Kaye hit a stellar third shot to the par-5 18th, ending up 9 feet above the hole. And he rolled in the winning birdie putt, punctuated with a fist pump, leaving Lestishen with the $20,000 second prize after his closing 65.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” Lestishen said. “When you play that well you want to win. At the end of the day, I had that great run on the back nine to give myself a chance. (Kaye) made the putt at the end, so you’ve got to move on. It was a good week still. Runner-up in a tournament like this, you’ve got to be pretty happy with that.”

Kaye, who last played tournament golf in an April Web.com Tour event, became the seventh player to claim at least two Colorado Open championships, joining Dave Hill (4), Bill Loeffler (3), Bill Bisdorf (3), Derek Tolan (2), Brian Guetz (2) and Jim Blair (2). Kaye was also the first Coloradan to win the Colorado Open since Zahkai Brown in 2013. With the $100K payday, Kaye becomes the all-time leading money winner in tournament history with $159,768, roughly $47,000 more than Blair, who now sits in second place.

“It seems like just yesterday I won it for the first time, but apparently it was 21 years ago,” said Kaye, who will turn 47 on Aug. 2. “It really makes me feel old. To be a two-time champ of this tournament, I’m really proud of it. It’s one of the best state opens in the country.””¨

“¨For the record, the 21 years between Colorado Open victories by Kaye (left) is a record, bettering the 14 years between Guetz’s wins (1994 and 2008).

Johnson and Oscar Fraustro of Mexico tied for third place on Sunday at 269.

Joining Kaye and Lestishen as Coloradans in the top 10 on Sunday were Steven Kupcho of Westminster and amateur Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village and Colorado State University, who tied for eighth place at 273. Kupcho shot a final-round 69 despite a triple-bogey 7 on the 15th hole, and Staiano carded a 72. Blake Cannon, a CSU teammate of Staiano last season before recently turning pro, placed seventh on Sunday at 272 after closing with a 67.

Lestishen’s back-nine run caught Kaye by surprise.

“Honestly, I thought I had a three-stroke lead (in the middle of the back nine), then my wife came and told me, ‘You’re tied. Some guy (Lestishen) just made a 2 on this (par-4 14th) hole.’ I’m like, ‘What?'”

But after sharing the lead with Lestishen after the latter made his eagle on 14, then again his birdie on 15 (after Kaye had birdied 14 behind him), it came down to the 18th hole for Kaye, as it had last year. In 2016, the former Buff made a bogey on the 72nd hole after badly mis-hitting his 5-wood second shot and having it go into the hazard.

This time, Kaye’s tee shot on No. 18 went into the rough and he drew “the worst lie I’ve had all week,” he said. “I really hit a terrible (second) shot and got a good break to end up where I was, then I hit probably one of the better shots I’ve hit all week on my third shot and I made the putt. It was a 4. There’s no pictures on the card so I’ll take it. It was a pretty dramatic finish really.”

Staiano, who was paired with Kaye and Johnson in the last group on Sunday, was duly impressed by how Kaye made things happen when he needed to.

“On 18, he’s got 217 in, (and) you know he’s going to make birdie,” Staiano said. “He gets the job done when he needs to. He just made the putts when he needed to and I didn’t make the putts when I needed to. I learned a lot.”

Kaye went to high school in Phoenix, but played almost all of his junior golf in Colorado, then went to CU. One of the highlights of his college career was beating Phil Mickelson in a playoff. He still maintains close ties to both his home states, regularly returning to Boulder when his kids are out of school.

Asked Sunday what he’s going to spend the $100,000 winner’s check on, he noted he’s having a new house built in Phoenix. “So it’s already spent,” he said.

Staiano Runs Away With Low Am-Honors: Staiano (left), who shared the overall lead after three holes on Sunday after starting birdie-birdie, was not only the low amateur on Sunday — by seven strokes — but he posted the top overall finish by an amateur since Cameron Harrell was fifth in 2014.

A year after a final-round 77 at GVR cost him low-amateur honors at the Colorado Open, the two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier left no doubt this time around. The next-best amateurs this year at Green Valley Ranch were CU golfer John Souza (seven back at 280), then Chris Thayer of Golden and Cole Nygren of Longmont (both nine back at 282).

“I got over the first hump, which is obviously low-am,” Staiano said. “If I have that experience of playing in the final group on Sunday as an amateur, in two or three years (it’ll help) when it actually counts (when Staiano is a professional).

“My swing has sort of been in a little rut, and with a little pressure it got to me and my swing got a little off (on Sunday). It’s something I can learn from and take to the next level.”

So what does Staiano draw from finishing 15 under par for the week and being low-amateur?

“It means a lot,” the 20-year-old said. “It shows the growth of my game over the last year and how I was able to stick to it. It felt good to finish. And it gives me some good momentum. I’ve got two tournaments left (before the college season begins) — the (CGA Amateur) and the U.S. Am. This gives me a nice boost going into those two tournaments.”
 

Notable: After Sunday’s final round, Jon Rizzi, editor of Colorado AvidGolfer magazine, was awarded the Ralph Moore Golf Journalism Award for the second time. Moore was a longtime sports writer for the Denver Post who covered golf, locally to nationally, for decades. … Two-time major champion Mark O’Meara will be conducting a junior exhibition, sponsored by CoBank, for The First Tee of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs on Aug. 25. The venue has yet to be determined. It will be the third Colorado-based First Tee exhibition put on by a major championship winner this year. David Duval did one last month at Green Valley Ranch. Lexi Thompson has one planned on Aug. 12 at GVR. 

For all the scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
 

The cup runneth over in the way of story angles for the 53rd CoBank Colorado Open.

After all:

— A two-time PGA Tour winner (Jonathan Kaye) — who happens to be a part-time Boulder resident — leads by two through Saturday’s third round at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

— A Coloradan hasn’t won the state open since 2013, but three of the top five players going into the final round — Kaye, Jacob Lestishen of Lone Tree and Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village — are residents of the Centennial State.

— An amateur hasn’t won the overall Colorado Open title since Brian Guetz pulled off the feat in 1994. In the first 52 Opens, only Gary Longfellow (1974) and Guetz are champions as amateurs. But Staino, a Colorado State University golfer, is contending for the honor after a third-round 8-under-par 64 left him two strokes behind Kaye.

— And a year after Neil Johnson was the first player to earn $100,000 for winning the Colorado Open, he gave himself a chance for another huge payday on Sunday. The Phoenix resident shot a 9-under-par 63 on Saturday — the low round of the tournament — to vault into second place with Staiano, Lestishen and Oscar Fraustro of Mexico.

Kaye, the former University of Colorado golfer who last played a tournament three months ago, is seeking his first tourney victory since his second PGA Tour win, the 2004 FBR Open.

“I might have won a skin somewhere,” Kaye (pictured above) said with a hint of a smile. “Other than that, I don’t think so. I got a couple of skins actually.”

Kaye, who will turn 47 on Aug. 2, shot a bogey-free round for the second time in three days, pitching to inside of a foot on No. 18 for his seventh birdie of the day. That left the 2016 Colorado Open runner-up at 17-under-par 199. With scores of 67-67-65, Kaye has posted seven consecutive sub-par rounds at GVR.

If Kaye — or Johnson — would win on Sunday, he would become the seventh player to claim at least two Colorado Open titles, joining Dave Hill (4), Bill Loeffler (3), Bill Bisdorf (3), Derek Tolan (2), Guetz (2) and Jim Blair (2).

And this time around, for the second time, there’s the $100,000 first prize to go with it — except for an amateur like Staiano.

“Everybody wants a hundred grand, right?” Kaye said. “Nobody wants the 10 or 20 (thousand that goes to the third- or second-place finishers). There’s not many times in your life where you can have a shot that can sway that much. I’m sure everyone is in that mindset that they want that rather than the other checks.”

And, mind you, this coming from a guy who has won more than $10 million in his PGA Tour career.

“There’s still another day, so I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing — try to birdie every hole,” Kaye said. “I’m pleased with everything so far and hopefully I can just do it another day. (But) anybody here can shoot 10 under and come out of nowhere. You’ve got to be on guard.”

Kaye’s closest pursuers through 54 holes are all two back, at 201, with Johnson shooting a 63 on Saturday, Staiano a 64, Fraustro a 67, and Lestishen a 68.

For Staiano (left), the 8-under 64 was the lowest tournament-round score he’s ever shot, relative to par. The two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier made an eagle on the ninth hole Saturday after lipping out what would have been a double eagle from 290 yards with a 3-wood. The 20-year-old added seven birdies and one bogey in round 3.

“I like this course,” he said. “It really sets up well for me. It sets up well for the longer hitters. I feel like I can attack almost all the holes. Knowing there’s a lot of birdies out there and I can score makes me feel really comfortable.”

Last year, Staiano likewise started with three straight rounds in the 60s, and he was on pace for low-amateur honors. But a final-round 77 opened the door for then-CSU teammate Jimmy Makloski to earn the low-am trophy.

“What happened last year when I had a 3-4 shot lead on Jimmy going into the last round and blew that — that was still in the back of my mind” going into this week, Staiano said.

But the mindset changes now that Staiano is just two shots out of the overall lead. (He’s ahead of second-place Chris Thayer of Golden by seven in the low-amateur race.)

“These amateurs in the field are still awesome and they could do what I did today (on Sunday),” Staiano said. “But obviously I’m trying to win the tournament, see if I can do something special. If I can get that done, great. If I can get low am, that’s awesome too.

“Too bad I can’t take the 100 grand (with a potential win on Sunday) but it still would be fun to put my hands on the trophy. I know I can compete with these guys. I’m going to be doing it for a living in 1 1/2 or two years.”

For the record, Staiano will go into Sunday having played his previous 22 holes in 11 under par. He finished round 2 on Friday with a hole-out eagle from a greenside bunker on No. 18.

For his part, Lestishen (left) followed up his Friday 64 with a 68 Saturday that included five birdies and a bogey.

As for Johnson, as good as he was last year in winning the Colorado Open (64-69-68-64), Saturday marked his best round at GVR. He racked up nine birdies in a bogey-free day and ended up just one off the course record.

“I thought, ‘Hey, it’s moving day’ when I was warming up,” the 35-year-old said. “It’s not going to be very windy and with rain overnight, the greens are going to be soft. Maybe I felt like I could be a little more aggressive. And I felt like birdies would be out there. Like year was like this all four days; the wind didn’t blow. Let’s see if I can get that going, and I did today.”

Should Johnson win today, he’d become the first back-to-back winner of the Colorado Open since Hill in 1976-77. Bisdorf won the first two Opens, in 1964-65.

“At least I’ve fought my way back into the mix (with Saturday’s 63),” Johnson said. “Let’s see if I can do another miracle-type thing as I did last year.”

Johnson won an event last week on the Dakotas Tour, earning $10,500. But mainly this year, thanks to his $100,000 Colorado Open payday in 2016, he’s been trying to Monday qualify for PGA Tour events. So far, he’s made it into the Puerto Rico Open and the Travelers Championship, though he didn’t make the cut at either site.

“Simply put, (winning $100,000 last year at GVR) literally overnight changed my career,” Johnson said. “‘Let’s go for the big time. Let’s go for PGA and Web qualifiers.’ It’s been a lot of fun and rewarding — you win the lottery essentially. You’re freed up for a year.”

Notable: Tee times for Sunday’s final round will begin at 7:30 a.m., with the leaders (Kaye, Staiano and Johnson) teeing off at 9:36 a.m. … Overall, on the line Sunday will be $250,000, with the aforementioned $100,000 going to the low professional/winner. … Kaye and Johnson are two of seven former Colorado Open champions who made the 36-hole cut, joining Derek Tolan (currently at 207), Scott Petersen (211), Ian Davis (211), Ben Portie (214) and Zahkai Brown (217).

For all the scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.