Two-time CoBank Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch opened with a 1-under-par 70 that left him in 24th place in the 72-hole event. And Chris Korte of Littleton posted a 71 that put him in 33rd place in the 74-man field.

The top 21 finishers and ties after four rounds will advance to the Second Stage of Q-school.

Tolan, a former University of Colorado golfer, made three birdies and two bogeys on Tuesday, while Korte, a former University of Denver player, carded four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.

Last week, four players with strong Colorado connections advanced from a First Stage Q-school tournament to Second Stage — Zahkai Brown of Golden, fellow former Colorado State University golfer Blake Cannon, and former CU players Yannik and Jeremy Paul.

Seven other First Stage tournaments are scheduled for next week. Then there will be five Second Stage tourneys from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. The Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz., where 2018 Web.com Tour cards will be distributed.

Here are this week’s First-Stage scores for all the players with strong Colorado ties:

Oct. 2-5, 2018 in Nebraska City
(Top 21 finishers and ties after 72 holes advance to Second Stage)
24. Derek Tolan, Highlands Ranch 70
33. Chris Korte, Littleton 71

Of the four Colorado residents who started the event, one — Chris Thayer of Golden — has a chance to advance. The two-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion finished tied for 53rd in the stroke-play portion of the championship. But considering that 16 players share that spot, and that only 64 golfers will make match play, a 16-for-12 playoff will determine who will make the bracket.

Thayer shot a 3-over-par 74 Sunday at Charlotte Country Club to post a 36-hole total of 5-over 147. Thayer made four birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs (150 total), Matt Evelyn of Denver (154) and Brian Dorfman of Denver (160) saw their national championship end after two rounds of stroke play.

Stephen Behr of Florence, S.C., earned stroke-play medalist honors in the 264-man event, at 5-under 137.

After Monday’s playoff, the first round of match play will be conducted.

The Mid-Amateur is limited to players 25 and older.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the Coloradans competing at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur:

53. Chris Thayer, Golden 73
Failed to Advance to Match Play
MC. Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs 74-76–150
MC. Matt Evelyn, Denver 75-79–154
MC. Brian Dorfman, Denver 84-76–160

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

But for the 2018 national championship for male golfers 25 and older, four golfers from the Centennial State are figuratively holding the Colorado flag.

After Saturday’s opening round of the U.S. Mid-Am at Charlotte Country Club and Carolina Golf Club in North Carolina, two Coloradans are in position to make match play, while one other player is in the mix.

The top 64 golfers — out of 264 — after 36 holes of stroke play will earn spots in match play, which begins on Monday.

Chris Thayer (left) of Golden, a two-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion, led the way for the Colorado contingent by shooting a 2-over-par 73 at Carolina Golf Club, which left him in a share of 46th place. Thayer — who made four birdies, a bogey, a double bogey and a triple bogey — trails stroke-play co-leaders Stewart Hagestad of Newport Beach, Calif., and Bradford Tilley of Easton, Conn., by six.

Also in the top 64 after day 1 is 2014 CGA Player of the Year Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs, who posted a 74 and shares 63rd place. Harrington carded an eagle, two birdies, four bogeys and a triple bogey at Carolina Golf Club on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Matt Evelyn of Denver opened with a 75 and Brian Dorfman of Denver with an 84, both also at Carolina Golf Club.

Stroke play concludes on Sunday.

U.S. MID-AMATEUR
At Charlotte CC and Carolina Golf Club
46. Chris Thayer, Golden 73
63. Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs 74
91. Matt Evelyn, Denver 75
253. Brian Dorfman, Denver 84

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Current Colorado resident Becca Huffer, winner of the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open in 2013, was runner-up in the Symetra’s Tour Prasco Charity Championship in Cincinnati.

The showing matched the best of Huffer’s career on the Symetra Tour. She was also second in an event in September 2016.

The Littleton High School graduate (pictured in LPGA photo) shot rounds of 69-66-70 for an 11-under-par 205 total, which left her four strokes behind champion Muni He.

Also placing in the top 10 on Sunday was former University of Colorado golfer Jenny Coleman (73-68-68–209), who placed seventh.

Meanwhile former Coloradan Wyndham Clark posted his fourth top-five finish of the year on the Web.com Tour, making him look better and better to earn a PGA Tour card by finishing the year in the top 25 on the regular-season Web money list. He currently sits sixth on that list.

Clark played his final eight holes in 4 under par en route to a 4-under 67 on Sunday at the Lincoln Land Championship in Springfield, Ill. That gave him a 20-under 264 total. Anders Albertson won the title at 259.

Earlier this year, Clark has recorded finishes of second, third and fourth place on the Web.com Tour.
 

A month ago, it was announced that the Westminster resident will be part of the first group of women who will compete for the U.S. in the Arnold Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style competition between college players from America and their international counterparts that will take place July 6-8 in France.

Then on Tuesday, Kupcho received even a bigger honor when the USGA named her one of eight golfers who earned spots on the American team that will face Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup, a biennial match-play competition featuring some of the world’s top women amateurs.

The 40th Curtis Cup matches will take place June 8-10 at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.

“It is very exciting and quite an honor to get to represent the U.S. as one of eight girls,” Kupcho (pictured) said via email on Tuesday morning. “I’m excited to switch the waters and be teammates with girls that I’m always competing against. It is going to be an awesome experience and a great start to the summer. This is one of my greater honors because the girls in the USA are great golfers and being one of the top competitors is a very big honor.” 

Kupcho will have the distinction of being the first player who grew up in Colorado to play in the Curtis Cup since 1994, when Jill McGill made the U.S. team. McGill, winner of the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, is a Cherry Creek High School graduate who went on to win more than $2.3 million in a long LPGA Tour career. She’s also a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee. Kimberly Kim, who played one season at the University of Denver, competed in the Curtis Cup in 2008 and 2010.

Suffice it to say Kupcho is in elite company.

“Jennifer Kupcho is a fierce competitor,” Liz Fradkin, Team USA’s manager for the Curtis Cup, said during a USGA Facebook telecast on Tuesday.

Joining Kupcho on the U.S. squad will be:

— UCLA’s Lilia Vu, 20, of Fountain Valley, Calif., the world’s top-ranked women’s amateur.

— UCLA’s Mariel Galdiano, 19, of Pearl City, Hawaii.

— The University of Alabama’s Kristen Gillman, 20, of Austin, Texas.

— Stanford’s Andrea Lee, 19, of Hermosa Beach, Calif.

— Luci Li, 15, of Redwood Shores, Calif.

— The University of Texas’ Sophia Schubert, 22, of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

— The University of Alabama’s Lauren Stephenson, 20, of Lexington, S.C.

Galdiano and Lee also played in the event in 2016. Meanwhile, Li is the youngest U.S. Curtis Cupper since Lexi Thompson in 2010.

Virginia Derby Grimes, winner of the 1998 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, will be the U.S. captain.

“Our committee is extremely thoughtful during the selection process and takes very seriously the opportunity to select the members of this team,” said Martha Lang, a member of the USGA Executive Committee and former U.S. team captain. “We know the players we selected are extraordinarily talented competitors.”

Kupcho, a junior at Wake Forest in North Carolina, currently stands No. 3 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankongs. She recently won her second individual title of this college season and the fifth of her college career.

The Coloradan was the women’s NCAA individual runner-up last year after leading by two strokes with two holes remaining. In the national individual women’s college rankings this season, Kupcho is No. 9 according to both Golfweek and Golfstat. Besides her two wins individually this season, Kupcho has collected a runner-up and a sixth-place finish among her eight tournaments.”¨”¨

The 20-year-old has been a dominant force in Colorado women’s golf for several years and has been making a mark nationally and internationally recently.”¨”¨

Besides finishing second in the Women’s NCAA Championships in 2017, Kupcho qualified for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open, and she went on to finish 21st overall — and second among amateurs — in arguably the most presigious women’s golf tournament in the world.”¨”¨

Kupcho also claimed her first national title as she won the Canadian Women’s Amateur by five strokes. At the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she made the match play round of 64. Collegiately, she won an NCAA Regional and she was a finalist for women’s college player of the year.”¨”¨

The Jefferson Academy graduate earned the CWGA highest’s honor — the President’s Award — in 2017 after being named the CWGA Player of the Year for an unprecented three consecutive years (2014-16). She was inducted into the Sportswomen of Colorado’s Hall of Fame last year after being named the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year in 2016.

“¨”¨Additionally in 2017, Kupcho won her third consecutive CWGA Stroke Play, this one with a 13-shot victory margin. And at the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, she placed second for the second time while competing against a field that included many professionals.”¨”¨

The USA leads the all-time Curtis Cup series 28-8-3, but Great Britain & Ireland has won two of the last three meetings, including in 2016 in Ireland.

The Curtis Cup competition features six foursomes (alternate-shot) matches, six four-ball (best-ball) matches and eight singles matches over the course of the three days.

Among the Colorado Golf Hall of Famers who have competed in the Curtis Cup over the years are Barbara McIntire (1958, ’60, ’62, ’64, ’66 and ’72; captain in 1976 and ’98), Judy Bell (1960 and ’62; captain in 1986 and ’88), Tish Preuss (1962, ’64, ’66, ’68 and ’70; captain in 1984), Nancy Roth Syms (1964, ’66 and ’76; captain in 1980), Carol Sorenson Flenniken (1964 and ’66) and Jill McGill (1994). Another Coloradan, Dana Howe, played on the 1984 U.S. team.

Two Colorado clubs have hosted the Curtis Cup, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in 1962 and Denver Country Club in 1982.

That was apparent again on Sunday when the University of Oklahoma senior finished fifth individually out of 87 players at the 2018 Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. Wood (pictured in a University of Oklahoma photo) also helped OU claim its second team title of the season and fourth consecutive top-two finish.

Wood, the 2014 CWGA Stroke Play champion, carded rounds of 73-71-73 for a 1-over-par 217 total, which left her six strokes behind teammate Julienne Soo, who earned the individual title.

Sunday’s showing was Wood’s third top-six individual finish this season and the 12th top-10 of her college career. She has just a few college tournaments remaining in her career — the Clemson Invitational, Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Regionals and possibly the NCAA Finals.
    

When some of the kids from The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch were asking David Duval about the core values the organization teaches, the 2001 British Open champion couldn’t help but chuckle when “perseverance” was mentioned.

If any elite-level golfer knows about perseverance, it’s Duval, a Colorado resident since late 2003. After all, he was a stellar player in his 20s, winning 13 times on the PGA Tour from 1997-2001, ascending to the No. 1 spot in the world rankings and shooting a final-round 59 to claim victory in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1999.

But then a long stretch of injuries and poor play led to a dramatic downfall in his game, to the point that he’s recorded just four top-10 finishes — with no wins – in the 221 PGA Tour events he’s entered since the beginning of 2003. But if nothing else, he’s demonstrated remarkable perseverance in the face of adversity over that stretch.

“I’ve struggled in this game as much as anyone,” Duval said while conducting a First Tee GVR Kids Clinic — attended by about 200 people — that was sponsored by CoBank on Tuesday evening (see photos). As he noted, he’s a guy who’s shot 62 at Pebble Beach, as well as a person who’s posted an 85 at the same course.

But you have to hand it to Duval: In recent years, he’s found a vocation within a vocation, and he’s become pretty darn good at it. Since 2015, he’s been an analyst for the Golf Channel, and the more that he’s worked at it, the better he’s gotten. And as a former world No. 1 — and the winner of a major championship — he has some additional credibility that some other prominent golf analysts lack.

“I enjoy” the TV work, Duval said in an interview with coloradogolf.org on Tuesday. “It keeps you connected and around the game. It gives you a little bit of a voice. I think it’s fair to say I definitely prefer (broadcasting) live golf as opposed to wrapup shows. (About 30 percent of Duval’s work this year will be live golf.) But both are cool.

“There’s some type of learning curve to it, obviously, and getting comfortable and figuring out how to be concise and get your points across. I go about it trying to just maybe educate. If I can get you thinking about one thing or tell you one thing you didn’t know before each couple hours of the show, I think I’ve succeeded.”

Perhaps one of the reasons Duval has improved is that golf fans have gotten to know him better. During his years of playing full-time on the PGA Tour, he often came across as quiet and reserved, perhaps a little standoffish. But the role of TV analyst brings more of his personality — and knowledge of the game — to the forefront. In that sense, he’s not disimilar to golf analysts such as Nick Faldo or Curtis Strange — top-level players who could be testy at times while competing but have blossomed in the TV booth or studio.

“How a player chooses to compete — and how they need to compete to succeed … Some are quiet, some can’t shut up,” Duval noted. “I didn’t say much, Lee Trevino couldn’t stop talking. That’s just your makeup and what’s best for you as an individual to compete and succeed. On the other side of the camera, whether you like to talk or not, you have to. You’re in a position where you’re going to learn about a person now more.

“It wasn’t that hard” to transition to putting more of himself out there publicly on TV. “It’s one of those simple things that it is what it is. If you’re going to do it, this is what you have to do.

“Even though I may have been quiet when I was competing 20 times a year, I didn’t lack an opinion. I still had a pretty strong opinion. You just had to ask me for it. Now I just tell it to you without you asking me. That’s the difference.”

Duval tries to walk that fine line between being very critical of PGA Tour players at times — a la Johnny Miller — and losing credibility with viewers by virtually never finding fault with a golfer’s performance.

“I have certainly gotten on things (been critical), but when I do, I try to explain why,” he said. “‘This is why this was bad, this is why this was wrong.’ When I’ve done live golf, the reality is, when a guy hits an 8-iron and misses the green by 15 yards, it’s a friggin awful shot. What else are you going to call it? But I don’t think there’s reason to be mean for mean’s sake. That’s how I go about it. And I also recognize that having done it, how hard the game is.

“I also go about it that 98 percent of the time, the players are trying their best, trying to shoot the best score they can. There’s a few times they phone it in every now and again. If he’s shooting 73, he’s trying to shoot 72. I try to keep that in mind. I’ve shot 62, which is part of the course record at Pebble Beach. I’ve also posted 85 there, making sure I didn’t shoot 86 that day. I try to think of it that way.”

Duval said the approach he’s taken to being a golf analyst on TV is pretty straightforward.

“The best advice I’ve been given — and the thing I’ve been asked to do — is just be myself,” the 45-year-old said. “Give my thoughts, explain why I have those thoughts. That’s what they really want from me, both in studio work and in live golf. The rhythm of those shows are obviously different, but that’s what I’ve really tried to do.”

Duval, who met his future wife Susie while in Colorado for The International, has long lived in Cherry Hills Village with his family and plays a fair amount at Cherry Hills Country Club when he’s at home and the weather is decent. The Denver area is a far cry from his former home of Jacksonville, Fla., but despite occasional grumblings about a snowstorm, he’s taken to it quite nicely.

“We love it here. We feel like it’s home,” he said. “Like a lot of people, I sometimes wish the winter would shorten up a little bit. That snowstorm in May was quite annoying. But I love it. All you have to do is walk outside right now, and it tells you everything you need to know. It’s just spectacular. The people are wonderful. I love the culture of it — the food, the views, the mountains, the air. It’s just wonderful.”