And now it looks like the former Fort Collins resident and Air Force Academy golfer will be a regular on that circuit again in 2019.

Whitney finished fourth out of 99 players on Friday in a PGA Tour Latinoamerica Q-school tournament in Mazatlan, Mexico, which gives him fully-exempt status for the first half of the 2019 season.

Meanwhile, two other players with strong Colorado ties earned conditional PTLA status for 2019 — former Colorado State University golfer Blake Cannon and Castle Pines resident Josh Seiple, who’s in the midst of his senior season at the University of Mississippi.

Whitney, who shared the lead after three rounds, tallied scores of 67-70-65-67 for a 19-under-par 269 total that left him five strokes behind medalist Jacob Bergeron of the U.S., who closed with a 62 and is fully exempt for the entire season.

Whitney eagled a par-4 during Friday’s round, but also made a 7 on a par-5.

Players who finished 2-11 are fully exempt for the first half of the season.

Those who placed 12th through 35th and ties are conditionally exempt in 2019. That’s the category in which Cannon and Seiple fell. Cannon (66-69-71-69) tied for 15th at 275, while Seiple (69-70-69-72) shared 32nd place at 280.

Two more PGA Tour Latinoamerica Q-school events remain, both next week: in Brazil and Argentina.

Coloradan Chen Earns Conditional Status on PGA Tour China: Westminster resident and University of Northern Colorado golfer Li Chen landed conditional status on PGA Tour China on Friday by tying for 21st place out of 100 players in a Q-school tournament in Guangzhou.

The finishers in the 13-35 range earned conditional status through the first six events of 2019.

Chen posted rounds of 73-76-75-78 for a 22-over-par 302 total.

Chen is in the midst of his senior season at UNC. In 2017, he was medalist in qualifying for the U.S. Amateur at Fort Collins Country Club.

This week marked the first of four qualifying tournaments in 2019 for PGA Tour China.

Former Buff Jeremy Paul Wins in Scottsdale: Meanwhile, in mini-tour action, former University of Colorado golfer Jeremy Paul won a one-round tournament, the Waste Management Warm-Up in Scottsdale, Ariz., an Outlaw Tour event.

Paul shot a 5-under-par 67 for a one-stroke victory and earned $1,500 on Monday.

Steven Kupcho Runner-Up in Napa: Elsewhere on mini tours, former CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Steven Kupcho recently posted his second top-10 finish in a month.

Kupcho tied for second in the Napa Open at Silverado Resort and Spa in California last week. The former University of Northern Colorado golfer posted a 7-under-par 209 total, finishing seven back of champion Corey Pereira and earning $3,500.

In December, Kupcho shared ninth place in a Mexico Professional Golf Tour event in Mazatlan.
 

Whitney (left), a former Air Force Academy golfer, tied for second place on Friday in the Panther Trail Classic, an Adams All Pro Tour event in The Woodlands, Texas.

Whitney shot rounds of 66-72 for a 6-under-par 138 total, which left him five strokes behind champion Sean Walsh of Keller, Texas. The performance was worth $2,637 for Whitney.

Elsewhere:

— Former University of Denver golfer Chris Gilman tied for fourth place on Friday in the Golden State Tour’s Season Opener in Oceanside, Calif. Gilman went 69-67 for a 6-under 136 total. That put him three strokes behind winner Stuart Macdonald of Rancho Mirage, Calif.

— And Boulder native and former Louisville resident George Cunningham and former University of Colorado golfer Jeremy Paul tied for ninth place on Wednesday in the Outlaw Tour’s McCormick Ranch Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Cunningham carded rounds of 73-70-70 for a 3-under-par 213 total, while Paul went 69-75-69 for the same tally. Each earned $1,325. Mackenzie Brock won with a 206 total.

— Meanwhile, in the first of four qualifying tournaments in 2019 for PGA Tour Latinoamerica, AJ Morris of Aspen fell just short of earning conditional status for PTLA on Friday.

With the 13th- through 35th-place finishers and ties in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., landing conditional status, Morris placed 41st out of 112 players, two strokes shy of the final spots. He posted rounds of 68-73-73-78 for a 4-over-par 292 total.
 

After posting finishes of ninth and fifth place in Series events over the last seven months, the CU sophomore on Friday won the 112-player Saguaro Amateur at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.

Olkowski, a former Grand Junction resident who now lives in Las Vegas, carded rounds of 71-67-70 for an 8-under-par 208 total, good for a one-stroke victory over Sean Carlon of Albuquerque, N.M. In the final round, Olkowski made five birdies, giving him 16 for the three rounds. (Olkowski is pictured at left with Edwards in September at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, where the sophomore tied for first place but lost in a playoff.)

This week’s performance gave Olkowski the overall championship in the Troon Saguaro Amateur Series.

Olkowski was one of three players who grew up in Colorado to post top-10 finishes in the Saguaro Amateur on Friday. Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village, a senior at Colorado State, and Tyler Severin of Johnstown, a University of Wyoming freshman, tied for fourth place. Staiano, the 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, went 73-69-71 for a 3-under-par 213 total. He birdied two of his last three holes. Severin carded scores of 70-73-70 for his 213. He made the top five despite a 42 on the front nine on Thursday.
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For all the scores from the Saguaro Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Schalk, a two-time 3A state high school champion from Holy Family High School, fired a 3-under-par 68 — second-best of the the final round — and finished at 2-over 215 overall, six behind champion Ashely Shim of San Mateo, Calif.

Schalk (left), the 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Girls Player of the Year, birdied two of her last three holes of the tournament and finished with four birdies and one bogey on Sunday. The 16-year-old carded rounds of 74-73 on Friday and Saturday. Over the three days, the future University of Colorado golfer went 5 under par on the final four holes at Longbow.

Here are the finishes for the other players with strong Colorado ties who competed in the Silver Belle this week: Colorado State University golfer Ellen Secor (220, 27th place), University of Denver golfer Mary Weinstein (224, 40th place) and Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village (226, 50th place.)

Many elite players have competed in the Arizona Silver Belle over the years, and the past winners include then-Colorado Springs resident Lauren Howe, who won in 1976. Howe will be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in June.

For all the scores from the 2018 Arizona Silver Belle, CLICK HERE.
 

By placing between 11th and 40th in Chandler, Ariz., Creel (left) will be exempt for at least the first eight events of 2019. The season will open Jan. 13-16 at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. There will be a Colorado stop — the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes — set for July 11-14 at TPC Colorado in Berthoud.

Creel, who played four Web events in 2017 after having conditional status, shot four straight rounds in the 60s (69-67-66-68) for an 18-under-par total in Arizona. He made six birdies and two bogeys on Sunday. For the week, Creel carded an eagle and 21 birdies.

The medalist after four rounds — former University of Virginia golfer Danny Walker, at 27-under-par 261 — will be fully exempt for the entire 2019 Web season, while finishers 2-10 and ties will be exempt for the first 12 events and finishers 11-40 and ties for the first eight tournaments. Everyone else in the 135-man field will receive conditional status.

Boulder native George Cunningham placed 74th at 274 on Sunday and failed to improve his 2019 Web.com Tour status. Cunningham — grandson of the late Chuck Melvin, who played in six Colorado Cup matches — already had some status on the Web circuit by virtue of finishing second on the PGA Tour Canada money list. 

Here are the round-by-round scores for players with significant Colorado ties:

34. Cheyenne resident and former CU golfer Josh Creel 69-67-66-68–270
74. Boulder native and former Louisville resident George Cunningham 70-67-68-69–274

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

Whitney, Brown Post Top-10s on Mini Tours: On Friday, former Fort Collins resident Tom Whitney scored his second top-10 finish of the week on the All Pro Tour in Texas. The former Air Force Academy golfer tied for third place on Friday at the Cypresswood Open-Cypress in Spring, Texas. That was three days after an eighth-place showing at the Cypresswood Open-Tradition tournament, also in Spring, Texas. In the event that ended on Friday, Whitney shot rounds of 65-68 for an 11-under-par 133 total and finished three strokes behind champion Michael Arnaud. The showing was worth $1,877 to Whitney. … Zahkai Brown of Golden placed eighth on Thursday in the Outlaw Tour’s Legacy Classic in Phoenix. The former CoBank Colorado Open champion went 67-72-65 for a 204 total that left him nine strokes behind winner Jeff Burton. Brown earned $1,350.
 

Creel (left), who competed in four Web events in 2017 and posted one top-10 finish, shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on Saturday and shares 37th place at 14-under-par 202. He trails co-leaders Norman Xiong, Jimmy Stanger and Andy Zhang by nine strokes going into Sunday’s final round.

The medalist after four rounds will be fully exempt for the entire 2019 Web season, while finishers 2-10 and ties will be exempt for the first 12 events and finishers 11-40 and ties for the first eight tournaments. Everyone else in the 135-man field will receive conditional status.

On Saturday, Creel made an eagle and four birdies en route to the 66.

Meanwhile, Boulder native George Cunningham, who grew up in nearby Louisville, carded a 68 in round 3 to check in at 205 and in 66th place. Cunningham — grandson of the late Chuck Melvin, who played in six Colorado Cup matches — likewise went bogey-free on Saturday, making four birdies. The former Coloradan already has some status on the Web circuit by virtue of finishing second on the PGA Tour Canada money list, but would like to improve on that. 

Here are the round-by-round scores for players with significant Colorado ties:

37. Cheyenne resident and former CU golfer Josh Creel 69-67-66–202
66. Boulder native and former Louisville resident George Cunningham 70-67-68–205

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

The two players with ties to Colorado and the area are 8 and 7 under par, respectively, at the halfway point of the four-round tournament in Chandler, Ariz. And yet neither is currently in the top 40 — what is necessary to receive exempt status on the 2019 Web circuit.

With leader Norman Xiong an amazing 16 under par through two rounds (65-63), Josh Creel of Cheyenne, who started his college golf career at the University of Colorado before transferring to Central Oklahoma, stands in 49th place at 8-under 136. And Boulder native George Cunningham, who grew up in nearby Louisville, is at 137 and in 65th place. Both Creel and Cunningham shot 5-under-par 67s on Friday.

The medalist after four rounds will be fully exempt for the entire 2019 Web season, while finishers 2-10 and ties will be exempt for the first 12 events and finishers 11-40 and ties for the first eight tournaments. Everyone else in the 135-man field will receive conditional status.

On Friday, Creel fired a 6-under 30 on the front nine, but played the back in 1-over 37. He made seven birdies and two bogeys on the day.

Cunningham — grandson of the late Chuck Melvin, who played in six Colorado Cup matches — carded six birdies and one bogey in round 2. Cunningham already has some status on the Web circuit by virtue of finishing second on the PGA Tour Canada money list, but would like to improve on that. 

Here are the round-by-round scores for players with significant Colorado ties:

49. Cheyenne resident and former CU golfer Josh Creel 69-67–136
65. Boulder native and former Louisville resident George Cunningham 70-67–137

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

As an example, the two players with ties to Colorado and the surrounding area shot 3-under-par 69 and 2-under 70 on Thursday, yet that didn’t even get them in the top 60 on the scoreboard out of the 135-man field in Chandler, Ariz.

Josh Creel of Cheyenne, Wyo., who began his college golf career at the University of Colorado before transferring to Central Oklahoma, made four birdies and posted the 69, which left him in a share of 66th place. And Boulder native George Cunningham, who grew up in nearby Louisville, made five straight birdies and opened with the 70, putting him in 84th place.

Cunningham — grandson of the late Chuck Melvin, who played in six Colorado Cup matches — already has some status on the Web circuit by virtue of finishing second on the PGA Tour Canada money list, but would like to improve on that. 

Meanwhile, 13 players shot 65 or lower on Thursday, including leaders Braden Thornberry and Bryan Bigley, who opened with 62s. Thornberry is the 2017 NCAA individual champion.

The top 40 finishers and ties after four rounds will earn some exempt status for 2019. The winner will be fully exempt for the entire season, while finishers 2-10 and ties will be exempt for the first 12 events and finishers 11-40 and ties for the first eight tournaments. Everyone else will receive conditional status.

Here are the round-by-round scores for players with significant Colorado ties:

66. Cheyenne resident and former CU golfer Josh Creel 69
84. Boulder native and former Louisville resident George Cunningham 70

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Paul, who wrapped up his CU golf career in May, finished fourth out of 19 players on Thursday at the 54-hole ASU Karsten Fall Championship on the Dreamchasers Tour in Tempe, Ariz. Paul (left) carded rounds of 66-71-72 for a 4-under-par 209 total, which left him six strokes behind winner Ray Knoll of Naperville, Ill. Paul, who advanced to the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-school this fall, earned $1,500 for the performance this week.

Coloradan Eric Hallberg, who won a Dreamchasers Tour event on Nov. 1, tied for 10th on Thursday at 219 after rounds of 73-76-70.

Morris, who like Paul went to the second stage of Web Q-school this year, placed third out of a 20-man field on Wednesday in the 18-hole Tampa Palm Series event on the West Florida Golf Tour. He shot a 73 and finished three strokes behind champion Tim Rosenhouse.
 

Jennifer Kupcho has roughly six months left in her amateur career — barring the unforeseen — and she hopes to add a few more major accomplishments to her golf resume before she starts playing for prize money on the LPGA Tour.

But in at least one regard, the Westminster resident figures to go out on top.

This week, digital golf news magazine Global Golf Post published its All-Amateur Teams for the sixth time, with the accompanying amateur player of the year announcements. And, in what should be a surprise to no one, Kupcho (left) was named the world’s female Amateur of the Year as 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt Parziale received the honor on the male side.

The selection of Kupcho, who’s in the midst of her senior year at Wake Forest, couldn’t have been a particularly difficult one. While she currently sits No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings — behind her U.S. Curtis Cup, Arnold Palmer Cup and World Amateur Team teammate Lilia Vu — Kupcho has been No. 1 15 weeks so far in 2018. And she was in the top spot at the time when the prestigious Mark H. McCormack Medal was awarded in August. She became the first American to win the women’s McCormack honor as the top female player in the WAGR as of the conclusion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Here are some of the accomplishments that put Kupcho on top of the world, golf-wise:

— The 21-year-old won the women’s NCAA Division I individual title in May after placing sixth as a freshman and second as a sophomore. Kupcho is the first Colorado resident to win the prestigious individual championship on the women’s side.

— The three-time CWGA Player of the Year helped three U.S. national teams capture international team titles in 2018 — at the Curtis Cup, the Arnold Palmer Cup and the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. In the latter event, Kupcho finished second individually out of a field of 170.

— Kupcho also was the runner-up — out of 102 players — in this fall’s final stage of LPGA Q-school, known as the Q-Series, an eight-round event played over the course of two weeks. She plans to finish her final season of college golf, then start her LPGA Tour career late in the spring.

— Also against a mostly-pro field, Kupcho placed an LPGA career-best 16th this year in the LPGA Marathon Classic.

— All told, Kupcho claimed three individual titles during the spring portion of the college schedule this year.

“Knowing the way she plays and the talent that she has, I think that now that she knows where she can play right after graduation will just free her up even more,” first-year Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen told Global Golf Post. “Her dream is to play on the LPGA Tour and she knows that’s next after this spring.”

Indeed, that’s what Kupcho told ColoradoGolf.org immediately after earning her LPGA Tour card this month.

“It’s awesome to just be able to go back to school knowing that I have what I’m going to do after college already in the bank,” she said.

Kupcho was part of an 11-person Global Golf Post All-Women’s Amateur First Team for the second consecutive year. GGP named amateur, mid-amateur and senior amateur teams for both men and women.

Kupcho wasn’t the only Coloradan mentioned on Global Golf Post’s All-Amateur Teams this year. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore was an honorable mention selection in the Women’s Mid-Amateur category, for players 25 and older. Ten women’s mid-ams were named to the first team and five each to the second team and honorable mention.

And part-time Gunnison resident Marilyn Hardy earned an honorable mention spot on the Women’s Senior Amateur team, which is limited to players 50 and older. Eleven first-teamers were included, along with five second-teamers and eight honorable mention picks. (Hardy and Moore are pictured, with Hardy at left.)

Moore, a five-time winner of the CGA Women’s Stroke Play in the 1990s, qualified for three USGA national/international championships in 2018 — the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. At the Mid-Am, she survived a playoff to make match play and advanced to the round of 32. And at the Senior Am, she also made it to the final 32. In CGA women’s championship action, Moore teamed with Eaton to win the CGA Women’s Brassie.

Hardy, who once made it as far as the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, earned a spot in the round of 32 at that event this year. Then in the Senior Am, she advanced to the Sweet 16, where she lost to eventual champion Lara Tennant.

In previous years, players with strong Colorado connections included on Global Golf Post’s All-Amateur Teams were Kupcho, who was on the Women’s Amateur first team last year, and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who was named to the Women’s Senior Amateur first team in 2013 and ’16.

To view Global Golf Post’s entire list of top amateurs recognized this year, CLICK HERE. A total of 199 players from 24 countries were included on the magazine’s all-amateur teams in 2018.