And guess who’s atop the leaderboard after Thursday’s opening round?

Colin Prater (left) of The Broadmoor Golf Club, winner of the Amateur two years ago, leads the way at 7-under-par 63 despite a bogey on the 18th hole. That’s the new tournament course record at the club, according to Pinehurst head professional Kevin Vena. And 2015 champion Chris Korte of Littleton shares second place at 65 with Kyler Dunkle of The Club at Pradera.

Prater, who finished 12th in the NCAA Division II Championships in May in his final college event at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, eagled the par-5 16th and added seven birdies and two bogeys for his 63.

Korte, the former University of Denver golfer who’s won the 2017 CGA Match Play in addition to the 2015 CGA Amateur, went bogey-free in his round of 65, making five birdies. Korte is coming off a 22nd-place finish competing against a very strong field at the Pacific Coast Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Dunkle, meanwhile, followed up his low-amateur showing at the CoBank Colorado Open on Sunday with an up-and-down round that included 10 birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. The University of Utah golfer and 2016 CGA Player of the Year, who will play in the U.S. Amateur this month, had 11 3s on his card en route to 65.

Four players share fourth place at 67 after round 1 — University of Northern Colorado teammates Sam Marley of South Suburban Golf Course and Coby Welch of The Links Golf Course, plus Griffin Barela of Bear Creek Golf Club and Dominic Kieffer of Collindale Golf Course.

Welch, who has qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur, made eagle on the 370-yard par-4 first hole on Thursday.

In all, 14 players broke par in round 1, including 2018 CGA Match Play champion AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club, who posted a 69.

The field will be cut from 84 to the low 40 players and ties after Friday’s second round. The 72-hole championship will continue through Sunday.

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

That is, preschool, kindergarten or elementary school.

All good things must come to an end, and so it was Tuesday with the Pioneers’ remarkable run of consecutive league titles. Despite a valiant rally in the final round of the Summit League tournament in Nebraska City, DU fell four strokes shy of the title, finishing second out of eight teams.

That means Denver’s streak of conference team championships ended at 14. The last time the DU women finished anywhere but first in a league tournament was in 2003. Since then, the Pioneers have won nine Sun Belt championships, one in the WAC and four in the Summit League.

North Dakota State, which led by 13 strokes after two rounds, saw that advantage slip to two on the back nine, but steadied the ship to end DU’s run. NDSU finished with a 24-over-par 888 total, four ahead of the Pioneers.

The league victory brings with it an automatic NCAA Regional berth, but DU is still expected to make the field after notching two team victories in the fall.

While Denver came up short in the team race, there was a silver lining on Tuesday as DU junior Sophie Newlove (pictured in DU photo) won the individual title out of a field of 40. She went 71-75-71 for a 1-over-par 217 total, then got up and down from 30 feet for par to win a three-way playoff. Also at 217 were Natalie Roth of North Dakota State and Teresa Toscano of South Dakota State, who both bogeyed in the playoff.

In all, three DU players finished in the top six individually. Joining Newlove were Mary Weinstein (fourth place, 223) and Lauren Whyte (sixth place, 224).

— In the Men’s RMAC Championship, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs senior Colin Prater from Colorado Springs won his second consecutive individual league title on Tuesday in Chandler, Ariz.

Prater, winner of the CGA Amateur Championship in 2016, posted rounds of 63-69-67 for a 14-under-par 199 total and prevailed by four strokes for the second straight year, this time over George Markham of Colorado School of Mines.

Colorado School of Mines claimed the team title by 1 shot over Regis, the leader or co-leader after each of the first two rounds.

— In the Women’s RMAC tournament, Julia Baroth of Denver, a freshman for the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, cruised to a five-stroke individual victory in Chandler, Ariz.

Baroth carded scores of 72-71-74 for a 1-over-par 217 total.

UCCS also easily won the team title as its 29-over-par 893 total was good for a 24-shot victory.

— In the Women’s Pac-12 meet in Seattle, the University of Colorado finished sixth out of 11 teams. The Buffs’ 17-over-par 881 total ended up 21 strokes behind champion UCLA. Next up for CU will be an NCAA Regional tournament.

Senior Brittany Fan led CU individually on Tuesday, finishing in seventh place at 1-under-par 215 (70-71-74), seven strokes out of the lead.

— In the Men’s Pac-12 tournament, CU is in position to post its best finish in the league meet since entering the Pac-12 in 2011.

Through Tuesday’s third round of the 72-hole event, the Buffs sit in third place out of a dozen teams. Should CU remain there — or move up — it will have its best Pac-12 tournament showing. The Buffs placed fourth in the Pac-12 meet in 2014.

Colorado stands at 19-under-par 1046, leaving the Buffs eight strokes behind tourament-leading Southern California and three back of second-place Arizona State. Individually, Coloradan Ross Macdonald and German Yannik Paul are leading the way for CU as they share fourth place at 8-under-par 205. Justin Suh of USC leads at 197.

Men’s Pac-12 Championship
April 23-25, 2018 in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.
3. (out of 12 teams) Colorado 348-351-347–1046
4. Yannik Paul 68-69-68–205
4. Ross Macdonald 69-69-67–205
12. John Souza 70-70-68–208
48. Daniel O’Loughlin 68-77-72–217
52. Spencer Painton 74-72-72–218
55. Trevor Olkowski 73-71-75–219
Also
48. Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 76-67-74–217 

Women’s Summit League Championship
April 22-24, 2018 (final) in Nebraska City
2. (out of 8 teams) Denver 301-292-299–892
1. Sophie Newlove 71-75-71–217
4. Mary Weinstein 79-71-73–223
6. Lauren Whyte 75-72-77–224
15. Jessica Dreesbeimdieke 77-74-80–231
21. Camille Enright 78-80-78–236

Women’s Pac-12 Championship
April 22-24, 2018 (final) in Seattle
6. (out of 11 teams) Colorado 291-291-299–881
7. Brittany Fan 70-71-74–215
11. Robyn Choi 71-72-74–217
11. Kirsty Hodgkins 75-73-69–217
47. Alisha Lau 75-75-82–232
54. Gillian Vance 82-80-83–245

Men’s RMAC Championship
April 22-24, 2018 (final) in Chandler, Ariz.

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Colorado School of Mines 276-285-278–839
2. Regis 272-288-280–840
3. Colorado State-Pueblo 276-284-286–846
4. Colorado-Colorado Springs 281-286-282–849
5. Colorado Christian 292-287-281–860
6. Fort Lewis 294-287-285–866
7. Colorado Mesa 293-296-280–869
8. South Dakota School of Mines 320-323-335–978
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Colin Prater, UCCS 63-69-67–199
2. George Markham, CO School of Mines 67-68-68–203
T3. Tyler Zhang, Regis 68-70-70–208
T3. Jack Duguid, UCCS 68-71-69–208
T5. Neil Tillman, CSU-Pueblo 67-77-65–209
T5. Tim Amundson, CO School of Mines 71-70-68–209

Women’s RMAC Championship
April 22-24, 2018 (final) in Chandler, Ariz.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Colorado-Colorado Springs 293-302-297–892
T2. Colorado State-Pueblo 305-307-305–917
T2. Colorado Mesa 307-311-299–917
4. Regis 315-311-319–945
5. Metro State 323-311-314–948
6. Fort Lewis 327-326-330–983
7. Colorado Christian 339-338-342–1019
8. Black Hills State 351-366-345–1062
9. South Dakota School of Mines 364-341-365–1070
10. Adams State 353-378-366–1097
11. Chadron State 394-366-358–1118
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Julia Baroth, Colorado-Colorado Springs 72-71-74–217
2. Alex Darwin, Colorado-Colorado Springs 73-73-76–222
T3. Kelsey Thompson, Regis 74-73-77–224
T3. Karen Valcarce, Westminter Coll. (Utah) 71-80-73–224
T5. Courtney Ewing, CSU-Pueblo 73-74-78–225
T5. McKenna Vanko, Colorado-Colorado Springs 75-78-72–225
 

For the first time since 2003 — when Kane Webber won the second of his two consecutive CGA Amateurs, this one at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale — the championship will be contested west of the Continental Divide.

Specifically, the Sonnenalp Club (pictured) in Edwards, west of Vail, will host the 72-hole event Thursday through Sunday (Aug. 3-6). The course is where Kevin Stadler won the CoBank Colorado Open in his pro debut in 2002.

A field of 84 players is expected for arguably the most prestigious amateur golf championship held annually in Colorado. The top 40 players and ties after two rounds will advance to the final 36 holes.

The champions from the last two years will return, with Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club defending his title, and Chris Korte of Lone Tree Golf Club back after winning in 2015. Korte will be trying to become the first player since Steve Ziegler in 2009 to win both the CGA Amateur and the CGA Match Play in the same year as he prevailed in the Match Play at The Club at Ravenna earlier this season.

Also scheduled to compete at Sonnenalp are Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, a two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier who finished eighth at the recent Colorado Open, taking low-amateur honors by seven strokes; Kyler Dunkle of The Club at Pradera, the CGA Player of the Year in 2016; Jon Lindstrom of Lakewood Country Club, winner of the last two CGA Mid-Amateurs; and Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs Country Club, a runner-up to Prater last year.

Likewise in the field are 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course; U.S. Amateur qualifiers (along with Staiano) AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club and Li Chen of Legacy Ridge Golf Course; 2017 CGA Match Play runner-up Kyle Pearson of Meridian Golf Club; and CGA Match Play medalist Jake Kelley of Columbine Country Club.

For Thursday’s tee times at Sonnenalp, CLICK HERE.

For a feature story on 2001 CGA Amateur champion Marty Jertson, who’s now the director of product development at Ping, CLICK HERE.
 

Seiple (pictured), who made it to the round of 32 at the British Amateur last month, put a bookend on the Pac Coast tournament by matching the even-par 71 he opened with on Tuesday. In between, he posted rounds of 80-73 for an 11-over-par 295 total, the best by any Coloradan in the field in University Place, Wash.

The University of Mississippi golfer made six birdies, six pars and six bogeys in Friday’s final round. He finished 20 strokes behind champion Doug Ghim, who plays for the University of Texas.

As for the other Coloradans who competed in the Pac Coast, Glenn Workman of Pueblo West placed 55th at 300, while Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield was 60th at 301, and Colin Prater of Colorado Springs and Greg Condon of Monte Vista were 65th at 303. Colorado State University golfer Colton Yates shared 39th place with Seiple at 295.

On Wednesday, the three-man squad representing the CGA finished 10th in the Morse Cup team portion of the Pacific Coast Amateur. For details on that, CLICK HERE.

10. Colorado 143-150–293
39. Josh Seiple, Castle Pines 71-80-73-71–295
60. Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield 78-73-76-74–301
65. Colin Prater, Colorado Springs 72-77-78-76–303

Also
39. CSU golfer Colton Yates 75-68-76-76–295
55. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 75-76-73-76–300
65. Greg Condon, Monte Vista 79-71-77-76–303

For all the scores from the Pac Coast, CLICK HERE.
 

Seiple (pictured), a University of Mississippi golfer who advanced to the round of 32 at the British Amateur last month, shot a 2-over-par 73 on Thursday and stands at 11-over 224, good for a share of 54th place going into Friday’s final round. Seiple made two birdies and four bogeys on Thursday in University Place, Wash.

Also at 224 — likewise after shooting a 73 on Thursday — was Workman, a University of Wyoming golfer. He carded four birdies, four bogeys and a double in round 3.

As for the other Coloradans competing, Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield, Colin Prater of Colorado Springs and Greg Condon of Monte Vista are all tied for 66th place at 227. Lindstrom posted a 76 on Thursday, Condon a 77 and Prater a 78.

Colorado State University golfer Colton Yates is tied for 31st place at 219 after a 76 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the three-man squad representing the CGA finished 10th in the Morse Cup team portion of the Pacific Coast Amateur. For details on that, CLICK HERE.
http://colo.golf/index.php?mod=news_read&ArticleID=2324

10. Colorado 143-150–293
54. Josh Seiple, Castle Pines 71-80-73–224
66. Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield 78-73-76–227
66. Colin Prater, Colorado Springs 72-77-78–227

Also
31. CSU golfer Colton Yates 75-68-76–219
54. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 75-76-73–224
66. Greg Condon, Monte Vista 79-71-77–227

For all the scores from the Pac Coast, CLICK HERE.
 

The Morse Cup team competition at the 51st Pacific Coast Am concluded on Wednesday at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., and the CGA squad finished 10th — for the fourth consecutive year.

The CGA was in fifth place after day 1 of the event at the site of the 2015 U.S. Open. But while three-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield played much better on day 2 (73 after a 78), the two college players who had performed so well on Tuesday struggled on Wednesday. Colin Prater (pictured) of Colorado Springs and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs followed up a 72 with a 77. And Josh Seiple of Castle Pines and the University of Mississippi had an 80 after a first-round 71.

With the best two scores each day counting toward the team total, the CGA went 143-150 for a 9-over-par 293 total. That left the Coloradans 14 strokes back of the Morse Cup champions from the Southern California Golf Association. In all, 15 teams from the western U.S. and Canada vie for the Morse Cup.

Play at the Pacific Coast Amateur will continue through Friday on strictly an individual basis.

Through two rounds of the 72-hole event, Prater (149), the 2016 CGA Amateur champion, stands in 56th place in the 84-person field. Lindstrom and Seiple (both at 151) are 66th.

Texas A&M golfer Cameron Champ leads the Pac Coast individual competition after 36 holes with an 8-under-par 134 total (69-65).

Colorado State University golfer Colton Yates made a hole-in-one on the 162-yard 15th hole on Wednesday. With his round also including three birdies and two bogeys, Yates shot a 3-under-par 68, leaving him at 1-over 143 and in a tie for 23rd place.

10. Colorado 143-150–293
56. Colin Prater, Colorado Springs 72-77–149
66. Josh Seiple, Castle Pines 71-80–151
66. Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield 78-73–151

Also
23. CSU golfer Colton Yates 75-68–143
60. Greg Condon, Monte Vista 79-71–150
66. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 75-76–151

For all the scores from the Pac Coast, CLICK HERE.
 

Josh Seiple (pictured) of Castle Pines shot an even-par 71 at the 2015 U.S. Open site to share 18th place individually — out of 84 players — in the 72-hole event. Seiple, who last month advanced to the round of 32 at the British Amateur, made four birdies, two bogeys and a double on Tuesday. The University of Mississippi golfer trails individual leader Denzel Ieremia, who plays for Iowa State, by five strokes.

And Colin Prater of Colorado Springs, the 2016 CGA Amateur champion, opened with a 1-over-par 72, good for a share of 29th place. Prater, who plays his college golf at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, carded three birdies and four bogeys on Tuesday.

The third Coloradan representing the CGA at the Pac Coast, three-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield, fired a 7-over-par 78 in round 1.

With the best two scores of the three counting toward the team total, the CGA is in the hunt for the Morse Cup trophy with one round left in that team competition. At 1-over-par 143, the CGA squad trails Morse Cup leader Southern Nevada by five strokes. In all, 15 teams from the western U.S. and Canada vie for the Morse Cup.

The team from the CGA has never won the Morse Cup. The Coloradans have finished 10th in that competition each of the last three years.

5. Colorado 143
18. Josh Seiple, Castle Pines 71
29. Colin Prater, Colorado Springs 72
70. Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield 78

Also
48. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 75
48. CSU golfer Colton Yates 75
79. Greg Condon, Monte Vista 79

For all the scores from the Pac Coast, CLICK HERE.
 

The 72-hole tournament will run Tuesday through Friday (July 18-21), with 84 players competing.

Representing Colorado this week will be Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield, Colin Prater of Colorado Springs and Josh Seiple of Castle Pines.

Lindstrom, winner of the last two CGA Mid-Amateur Championships — and three overall — will compete for the second consecutive year at the Pac Coast. Prater, a college player at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, won the 2016 CGA Amateur and qualified for last year’s U.S. Amateur. Seiple, who plays his college golf at the University of Mississippi, advanced to the round of 32 at the British Amateur and to U.S. Open Sectionals this year. He was the runner-up in the 2016 CGA Match Play and is a two-time qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Besides competing in the 72-hole individual tournament, those three will play as a team in the 36-hole Morse Cup, which is conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, with the best two scores out of the three each day counting toward the team total. Fifteen teams from the western U.S. and Canada vie for the Morse Cup.

The Colorado team has finished 10th each of the last three years in the Morse Cup and has never captured the title.

Two other Colorado residents also will be competing at Chambers Bay, but for other teams. Glenn Workman of Pueblo West, a University of Wyoming golfer, will represent the Wyoming State Golf Association. And Greg Condon of Monte Vista will play for the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association.

In addition, Colorado State University golfer Colton Yates will represent the Arizona Golf Association.

Overall, heading the field for this year’s Pac Coast will be Braden Thornberry, a teammate of Seiple at Ole Miss who won the NCAA individual title this year.
 
For more information about the Pacific Coast Amateur, CLICK HERE.

And two other Coloradans — Jake Staiano (2015) and Wyndham Clark (2016) — have likewise earned spots in the 64-man match play field in the 312-player event.

All those golfers began their U.S. Amateur journey with a 36-hole qualifying tournament in Colorado. Two of those qualifying events are on tap in the next two weeks as Columbine Country Club will host one on Monday (July 3) and Fort Collins Country Club one on July 13.

In each case, the top three finishers out of a field of 80-plus players will earn berths to the U.S. Am, scheduled for Aug. 14-20 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The qualifying field for Monday at Columbine features 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater, who earned a U.S. Am berth at Columbine last year. Also set to compete are 2017 CGA Match Play winner Chris Korte; former U.S. Am qualifiers Staiano, Chris Thayer, Spencer Painton and Jeff Chapman; Josh Seiple, the 2016 CGA Match Play runner-up who recently advanced to the round of 32 at the British Amateur; and 2015 CGA Match Play champ Nick Nosewicz.

At Fort Collins CC on July 13, 2016 U.S. Am qualifiers Tristan Rohrbaugh and Colton Yates are in the field. Also scheduled to play are Steve Irwin, who’s twice competed in the U.S. Amateur and once in the U.S. Open; 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifiers Jackson Solem and Davis Bryant; and former 5A state high school champion Hunter Paugh.

For pairings, click on the following: COLUMBINE CC, FORT COLLINS CC.

The 117th CGA Match Play, a fixture on the state golf calendar every year since 1901, will be held at The Club at Ravenna, a highly regarded Jay Morrish design in Littleton.

Stroke-play qualifying is set for Monday (June 19), with the top 64 players advancing to match play, which starts on Tuesday and runs through the 36-hole final on June 23.

Just one former CGA Match Play champion is in the field, 2015 winner Nick Nosewicz, but the last two CGA Amateur champs are entered, Colin Prater of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (2016) and Chris Korte of the University of Denver (2015). And all three 2016 CGA players of the year — Kyler Dunkle (open), Chris Thayer (mid-amateur) and Robin Bradbury (senior) are likewise playing.

Also in the 84-man field are several players who earned spots in U.S. Open Sectionals, the second and final qualifying stage for the Open: Jake Staiano, Ross Macdonald, Jackson Solem, Daniel Pearson, Hunter Paugh and Thayer, who qualified for Sectionals but withdrew. Likewise entered are former 5A state high school champion and 2016 CGA Amateur runner-up Spencer Painton; 2016 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational winner Coby Welch; 2016 5A state champion Kyle Pearson; and the last three winners of the Colorado Junior Amateur: Braden Bentley (2016), Isaac Petersilie (2015) and Macdonald (2013 and ’14).

For Monday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.