It wasn’t quite Babe Ruth’s “called shot” from the 1932 World Series, but it was nevertheless an impressive example of an athlete noting what needed to be done, then going out and flat doing it.

After Friday’s second round of the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe was eight strokes out of the lead, but said, “You shoot a 66 or 65, you’re back in the tournament.”

Twenty-four hours later, Jobe walked off the East Course in his old home state with a nifty 4-under-par 66 — which matched the best round Saturday — that vaulted him into fifth place and just three strokes out of the lead going into Sunday’s final round.

Reminded Saturday of his words from a day earlier, Jobe chucked and said, “I delivered.”

It’s the second straight year that Jobe has gone low in the third round of the U.S. Senior Open to land a spot on the leaderboard. A year ago in Peabody, Mass., Jobe tied the U.S. Senior Open single-round scoring record by shooting an 8-under-par 62 in round 3. That one put him within six strokes of the lead.

“Saturdays have been good,” he noted this time around. “These last two Saturdays (at the Senior Open), if I could make the Saturdays the rest of the week, I’d be in a little better shape.”

At The Broadmoor, Saturday’s 66 and 1-under-par 209 total left Jobe with half the 54-hole deficit he faced last year as Jerry Kelly leads at 206, 2001 PGA Champion David Toms is in second place at 207 and 2017 Senior Open runner-up Kirk Triplett and Tim Petrovic share third at 208.

“I’ve got to go out there and probably shoot another 66” on Sunday to have a realistic chance to win, Jobe said. “I’ve got a lot of good players ahead of me obviously.”

Many local fans will be rooting for Jobe, who lived in Colorado from 1970 to ’99. During that time, he won a Colorado Open, three CGA Match Plays, one CGA Amateur, one CGA Junior Amateur and one CGA Junior Match Play. (Coincidentally, his first two CGA Match Play wins came at The Broadmoor, on the South Course.) The Kent Denver graduate also finished second in The International at Castle Pines in 2005 after having a healthy lead going into the final day. His mom, dad, brother, sister and brother-in-law still live in Colorado.

Jobe never won on the PGA Tour — he finished runner-up four times. And so far in his PGA Tour Champions career, the 52-year-old Jobe has won once — last year’s Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.

But Jobe is leading the PGA Tour Champions in driving distance this year, and often seems to do well in senior majors.

He’s posted six top-10 finishes in those events, which is notable considering he didn’t play in his first one until 2016. He’s been second and fourth in the Senior Players, third in that 2017 U.S. Senior Open where he shot the third-round 62, third and eighth in the Senior PGA, and fifth in the Senior British Open.

“My length, it’s huge out here,” he said. “Even (playing partner Bob Estes) is fairly long for out here and I was hitting it 30 (yards) by him. And the harder the course, the fewer people that can hang in there. The difficulty and the length helps me.”

So does playing four rounds in senior majors vs. three in regular PGA Tour Champions events.

“Four rounds always helps, no doubt about it,” he said. “Putting four rounds together vs. three, the guy that’s playing the best is going to continue to rise. It’s not as much of a sprint when you play four rounds. In three-round (events), if you don’t get it going (early) you kill yourself. I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve learned a lot out here.”

On Saturday, Jobe switched putters to a virtually identical model with perhaps a little less loft, which seemed to turn things around after what he called “horrible” putting days Thursday and Friday. He birdied three of his first six holes, making a couple of 15-footers and saving a par from 5 feet on 4, and finished with five birdies and one bogey on the day.

“I’ve had the (old) putter for a year and there’s something wrong with it,” he said. “It got bent in the hosel. They fixed it, but now it looks like it’s doing it again, so I said, ‘I’m not going to putt with it anymore.'”

Jobe now lives in Texas and will soon be moving to Oklahoma City. But the Kent Denver graduate explained on Saturday why he left Colorado 19 years ago after living in the state for nearly three decades, mostly recently in Castle Rock.

“I finally kind of realized it’s tough,” he said. “Even coming back here I laugh because the ball does so many different things than it does (at sea level). It’s just different golf here.

“It’s hard to do this kind of altitude and the way the ball goes when every week (on tour) we’re at sea level. That’s kind of why I made the change. And also just to get somewhere where the winters weren’t so difficult.”

For scores from the U.S. Senior Open, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s pairings at The Broadmoor, CLICK HERE.

Portie, who was the first women’s golf coach at Metropolitan State University of Denver the last four seasons, replaces Stephen Bidne, who resigned from the UNC post to take the same job at the University of Hawaii.

Metro State hosted the NCAA Division II Championship Finals last year, and Portie played a key role as the women’s tournament was played at CommonGround Golf Course and the men’s at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

Prior to coaching at Metro State — where he led the Roadrunners to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles in 2015 and ’16 — Portie was an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at UNC from 2010 to ’13. The 2012 squad won the Big Sky Conference tournament title.

“I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of the UNC Bear family again,” Portie said in a UNC press release. “I am looking forward to jumping right in and helping our current Bear golf team be successful in the classroom, community and golf course.”

Portie played his college golf at the University of Colorado, and the left-hander led the way indiviudally the last time the Buff men competed in the NCAA Finals, in 2002. As a pro, besides winning a Colorado Open, Portie has captured the title twice in the Rocky Mountain Open.

As an amateur, Portie was the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year in 2001.

UNC is one of four NCAA Division I women’s golf programs based in Colorado, along with CU, Colorado State University and the University of Denver.
 

But No. 369 was the charm.

Jobe, who lived in Colorado from 1970 to ’99 before moving to Texas, finally scored a breakthrough on Sunday when he captured the title at the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.

Prior to the win, Jobe had certainly come close on several occasions, including at The 2005 International at Castle Pines, where he held the 54-hole lead but finished one point behind winner Retief Goosen. Also among his four PGA Tour runner-ups was a playoff loss at the 2005 BellSouth.

Then on PGA Tour Champions over the last two years, he’s placed third three times, including at the 2016 Senior PGA Championship.

But on Sunday, he finally claimed a big championship trophy in the U.S., winning professionally for the first time since 1998.

A week after making a putter switch, the 51-year-old shot rounds of 67-66-69 for a 14-under-par 202 total, good for a one-stroke victory over former UCLA roommate Scott McCarron and Kevin Sutherland, who made two eagles in his final six holes, including a 2 on the par-4 18th. Bernhard Langer, coming off back-to-back wins in senior majors, placed fourth at 204.

Winning “is huge,” Jobe said on Golf Channel. “I’ve been knocking on that door a long time. … To finally get a win means a lot.

Later, he added, “It’s hard. You’re out here to win, and I haven’t done as good of a job as I would have liked. This is nice. It’s a little bit of a relief.”

In a four-birdie, one-bogey final round on a windy Sunday, Jobe birdied the par-5 15th from 3 feet to pull ahead, and parred out for the win. The accompanying payday — $262,500 — vaulted him from 22nd to sixth on the 2017 money list, with $556,978.

In Colorado, Jobe was an outstanding player in the 1980s and ’90s, winning three CGA Match Plays, one CGA Stroke Play, one CGA Junior Amateur, one CGA Junior Match Play, and the 1992 Colorado Open. He went on to win a dozen international championships in the ’90s, mostly in Asia.

For scores from the Principal Charity Classic, CLICK HERE.

Denver’s Love Rides Third-Round 61 to 8th-Place Finish in Canada: Denver resident James Love used a 9-under-par 61 in Saturday’s third round in Victoria, British Columbia, to propel him to an eighth-place finish Sunday in the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open on PGA Tour Canada.

Love — who shot a 59 in a Web.com Tour Q-school event in St. George, Utah last fall — carded rounds of 68-69-61-72 for a 10-under-par 270 total. He ended up six strokes behind winner Max Rottluff. 
 

The 1998 Colorado Open champion spent much of last year recovering from a shoulder injury. Ironically, in his last PGA Tour event before the long layoff, Bertsch posted his best finish on that circuit since January 2013 by placing 35th in the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

This year, Bertsch (pictured) has been playing on the Web.com Tour, where he’s a three-time winner. He’s made one cut in five tournaments, finishing 20th on April 23 at the United Leasing & Finance Championship.

Bertsch, 47, is on a medical extension from the PGA Tour and has 11 events to earn at least $612,397 in order to keep his PGA Tour playing privileges.

(May 6 Update: Bertsch shot 75-75 for a 6-over-par 150 total and missed the cut by five strokes in Wilmington.)

Another Coloradan, Mark Wiebe of Aurora, also will return to major golf action this week as he’s competing in the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational starting Friday in The Woodlands, Texas. Wiebe has won five times on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, including the 2013 Senior British Open.
 

A Denver native and a former member at Denver Country Club and Hiwan Golf Club, Sweeney once dominated the senior amateur competition at the Colorado Open. When the tournament was held at Hiwan, Sweeney claimed seven senior amateur titles from 1983 to ’91.

Sweeney also teamed with now-Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Larry Eaton to win two of the first three CGA Senior Four-Ball championships — in 1983 and ’84.

In addition, Sweeney was a member of the inaugural senior amateur team for the Colorado Cup Matches in 1983, when the senior ams defeated their professional counterparts.

Sweeney was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1933 and graduated from Regis University. He helped run the advertising agency Fox, Sweeney & True in Denver.

A burial mass for Sweeney will be held Thursday (April 6) at 10 a.m. at Risen Christ Catholic Church (3060 S. Monaco Parkway in Denver), with a reception immediately following at the same site.

Memorial donations can be made to Porter Hospice Foundation, 2525 S. Downing Street; Mason Hall — 2nd Floor; Denver, CO 80210. For online donations, CLICK HERE.

For more information on Sweeney’s life, CLICK HERE.
 

Hamer, a Mississippi native and Lakewood High School alum who played golf for the University of Colorado from 1962 to ’64, was one of Colorado’s top amateur players in the 1960s and early ’70s — an era which also featured such luminaries as Hale Irwin, Les Fowler, Larry McAtee and Jim English.

Hamer, a longtime member at Boulder Country Club, won the CGA Amateur in both 1969 and ’70 and he remains one of just four players since 1960 to have captured that title in back-to-back years, joining Irwin, Bob Byman and Kane Webber.

“It’s a sad day for BCC and the Colorado golf community,” Boulder Country Club director of golf Kevin Bolles said in an email.

“I just remember how great a competitor he was,” added longtime friend and fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Gary Potter, with whom Hamer won three CGA senior team championships.

Indeed, Hamer at one time had aspirations of becoming a PGA Tour player. And he certainly had some game. At the 1963 CGA Amateur (then known as the CGA Stroke Play), Hamer posted a very respectable score of 6 under par for 72 holes. The only problem was, there was one player better than him in the field — a guy named Irwin, who was 15 strokes in the distance.”¨ “I remember thinking there was probably a few other guys out there like Hale, so that ended those thoughts (of turning pro),” Hamer later told the (Boulder) Daily Camera. “If I had known how good Hale was, though, I might have tried it.” Irwin, of course, went on to win three U.S. Opens.

But Hamer, who worked as an investment advisor in Boulder, more than held his own in the Colorado amateur ranks. Besides winning the ’69 and ’70 CGA Amateur, he prevailed in the 1992 and ’96 CGA Senior Amateur and qualified for the 1993 U.S. Senior Open that Cherry Hills Country Club hosted. In addition, Hamer finished third in the Colorado Open in 1969, the year he was named state amateur of the year.

And at Boulder Country Club, competing against players such as Fowler and 1962 CGA Match Play champion Ray Pierson, Hamer won 15 BCC club championships.

Hamer was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

“His record of championships won speaks for itself and his conduct on the course speaks to his character as a gentleman,” fellow Hall of Famer Gary Longfellow once noted.

No services are planned for Hamer, who lived with wife Gayle in Surprise, Ariz., in recent years. The Hamers’ son Ty is the general manager and head golf professional at Quail Dunes Golf Course at Fort Morgan. Also surviving John is daughter Shannon.
 

In fact, in the 43-year period from 1972 through 2014, there’s was only one year (2007) that Colorado didn’t host at least one event that fell into the aforementioned category.

The LPGA Tour held tournaments in the state for 16 consecutive years beginning in 1972. The Senior/Champions Tour had a six-year run in Colorado beginning in 1982. And the PGA Tour visited annually from 1986-2006 thanks to The International at Castle Pines Golf Club. In addition, there were numerous USGA championships and other big events held in the Centennial State during that time span.

And since The International exited, Colorado has hosted the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2008, the 2009 Palmer Cup (a Ryder Cup-like competition for the best college players), the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2012 U.S. Amateur, the 2013 Solheim Cup and Junior Solheim Cup, and the 2014 BMW Championship.

But since September 2014, the state has experienced a bit of a lull in hosting major spectator golf competitions in the state — the kind that draw national or even international attention. That will continue in 2017, but a couple of USGA championships are on the horizon, with the 2018 U.S. Senior Open coming to The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and Colorado Golf Club in Parker hosting the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2019.

However, that certainly doesn’t mean the almost four-year period from the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club to the 2018 U.S. Senior Open has been/will be without significant golf events in Colorado. Last year, for instance, the NCAA Division II men’s and women’s national championships were held in the Centennial State along with the first four majors in Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado history, and in 2015 Colorado hosted the 100th CWGA Match Play and the Women’s Pac-12 Conference Championships.

Which brings us to 2017. What will the new year hold for golf fans and competitors in the way of significant new, different or otherwise notable events? Here’s a brief rundown:

— Pac-12 Tourney Coming to Boulder: For the first time since 1972, the University of Colorado will host a men’s golf conference championship as the Pac-12 meet comes to Boulder Country Club April 28-30. BCC hosted the women’s Pac-12 tournament in 2015.

The Pac-12 has traditionally been one of the top men’s golf conferences in the nation, winning four national team titles since 2004, including Oregon claiming the crown last spring. The Ducks will defend their title this year, almost certainly with Colorado’s own Wyndham Clark in the lineup.

Going into the spring portion of the college schedule, five Pac-12 teams are ranked among the top 30 in the nation, according to Golfweek: USC (sixth), Stanford (eighth), Colorado (24th), Oregon (28th) and Arizona State (30th).

— High-Country Golf: Both the CGA and the Colorado PGA will hold major championships in the mountains this year.

The 81st CGA Amateur is set for Aug. 3-6 at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards, west of Vail, marking the first time the tournament has been contested in the mountains since 2003, when Kane Webber won at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale. Meanwhile, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship will be hosted by Red Sky Golf Club at the Fazio Course in Wolcott Sept. 11-13.

Other 2017 CGA championships scheduled for the mountains are the Parent/Child (June 3-4 at Frost Creek Ranch & Club in Eagle) and the Mid-Amateur (Sept. 8-10 at Keystone Ranch Golf Course).

The CWGA also will on the Western Slope or in the mountains for several events in 2017: the Brassie Championship at Rifle Creek Golf Course Aug. 5-6; the Chapman Championship at Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks in Silverthorne Sept. 16-17; the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur qualifying at Pole Creek Golf Club in Tabernash Aug. 1; and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifying at Vail Golf Club Aug. 28.

The CWGA two-person Chapman Championship, by the way, is returning after a one-year hiatus.

As for the biggest CGA championships, in addition to the Amateur at Sonnenalp, the 117th Match Play is set for June 19-23 at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton.

On the CWGA side, the Stroke Play is scheduled for June 19-21 at Lone Tree Golf Club and the 102nd Match Play for July 17-20 at Buffalo Run in Commerce City.

Overall, the first CGA championship of 2017 will be the Senior Four-Ball May 1-3 at Broadland Golf Course in Broomfield. The CWGA will open with the Mashie June 6-8 at Todd Creek in Thornton and Saddleback in Firestone.

— USGA Qualifiers: Colorado once again will host two final-stage qualifying tournaments for USGA open championships.

U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying is scheduled for May 24 at Riverdale Dunes in Brighton, while U.S. Senior Open Qualifying is planned for June 8 at Meadows Golf Club in Littleton.

And while no final-stage qualifiers for the U.S. Open are set in Colorado, the state will host three Local Qualifiers: May 8 at Heritage at Westmoor, May 15 at CommonGround and May 16 at Collindale.

— Colorado Open Championships: This year’s schedule for the CoBank Colorado Open Championships at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver will be similar to last year’s, with the Senior Open set for May 31-June 2, the Open scheduled for July 20-23, and the Women’s Open planned for Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

— Junior Golf: On the junior golf end of things, not all the sites for the four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado major championships have been set, but Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy will be a host for a JGAC major for the second time in two years.

Here’s the JGAC major schedule as it stands:

June 12-14 — Colorado Junior PGA Championship, Eisenhower GC

July 10-12 — Colorado Junior Amateur Championship, site TBD

July 31-Aug. 2 — Colorado Junior Match Play, Black Bear GC

Oct. 7-8 — JGAC Tour Championship, site TBD

Meanwhile, Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster will be the new host of the AJGA Transamerica / Hale Irwin Colorado Junior June 6-8, beginning at least a three-year run at the course.

— Winter Events: While the statewide tournament golf season won’t begin until spring, there are several significant events in the interim that can serve to whet the appetite.

The Denver Golf Expo will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Denver Mart. The G4 Summit, which brings together many of the leaders in the Colorado golf industry to hear about and discuss key issues facing the game, is set for Feb. 21 at the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield. And the CWGA’s annual meeting is scheduled for March 4 at the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center in Englewood.
 

For the fourth time since late May, the Colorado golf community lost one of its most notable members as Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Bisdorf passed away last Monday (Sept. 19) in Denver at the age of 87.

Ironically, the man who was born exactly four months before Arnold Palmer in 1929 died just six days before The King did on Sunday.

In winning three of the first four Colorado Opens at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, Bisdorf is one of just three players who have captured that title at least three times, along with Dave Hill (four wins) and Bill Loeffler (three).

Bisdorf (pictured) was runner-up to Bob Pratt in the 1966 Colorado Open, meaning his first four finishes in the tournament were first, first, second, first. He was also second in 1975 (placing just in front of Peter Jacobsen), third in 1971 and fifth in ’72.

Add it up and that’s seven top-five finishes in the first dozen Colorado Opens. He also won the the 1959 and ’66 Colorado Section PGA Championships, the 1960 Wyoming Open and the 1965 Mile High Open.

Ronn Spargur, a former longtime executive director of the Colorado Open, noted that Rocky Mountain News golf writer Dave Nelson — who’s also in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame — had a nickname for Bisdorf back in his prime.

“He called him ‘the blacksmith’ because (Bisdorf) could hit the ball two or three miles,” Spargur said. “He was really strong.”

Indeed, it’s said that Bisdorf out-drove Jack Nicklaus during practice leading up to the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine Country Club.

Not surprisingly, Bisdorf was named the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year following his first two Colorado Open victories (1964 and ’65). He also claimed the championship in 1967. Interestingly, Bisdorf didn’t receive any official prize money for winning the first Colorado Open as there was no purse that year. And it’s notable that the runner-up that first year, amateur Jim English, also passed away in the summer of 2016. In ’65 and ’67, Bisdorf won $1,000 and $1,200, respectively, for his Colorado Open victories.

Bisdorf competed in 46 events on the PGA Tour from 1956 to ’71, including a career-high 14 in 1957. He posted two top-10 finishes, including a third place in 1956.

Bisdorf played 16 major championships over the years — 10 PGA Championships and six U.S. Opens. He finished tied for 20th — along with Raymond Floyd — in the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine.

And after the creation of the Senior Tour — now known as PGA Tour Champions — Bisdorf competed in nine events on that circuit from 1980 to ’86, recording three top-25 finishes.

A member of the PGA of America since 1955, Bisdorf served as the head professional at Green Gables Country Club from 1959 through ’67. He later owned Denver Capitol Golf, where golfers could receive year-round lessons, then was head professional at Twilight Golf Course from 1979 to ’89.

Bisdorf was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. Since May, fellow Hall of Famers Will Nicholson Jr., English and Ed Nosewicz have also passed away.

Norma Bisdorf, Bill’s wife, said there will be no services, but half of his ashes will be placed at Fort Logan Cemetary. Bill Bisdorf served in the Navy and played on Naval Championship teams along with Billy Casper and Gene Littler during the early 1950s. 

Bisdorf is survived by Norma, five children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
 

On Wednesday, the former CGA Stroke Play champion won his second Dreamchasers tournament of the month, this time prevailing at the 2016 Tour Invitational at Legacy Golf Club in Phoenix.

Brown, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Open champion, went very low and won by six in the Tour Invitational. He carded rounds of 64-63-64 for a 22-under-par 191 total, making an eagle and 24 birdies in the process.

The victory was worth $7,500.

Just two weeks earlier, Brown won by four in the Golf Club of Estrella Championship.

Also on the mini tours this week, former CSU golfer Dustin Morris placed second in the Adams Pro Tour’s Fakier Open in Houma, La. He posted scores of 70-67-70-68 for a 13-under-par 275 total and finished three strokes behind winner Andrew Presley. Morris earned $13,000.

In addition, former CSU women’s golfer Emily Roering ended up seventh in a Cactus Tour event in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Roering went 81-69-76 for a 10-over-par 226 total, which left her seven strokes behind champion Tisha Abrea of Murrieta, Calif.