Hailey Schalk of Erie, Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, Kelsey Webster of Boulder and Emma Bryant of Aurora will have a distinction only eight other players in Colorado golf history can claim.

They’ll represent the Centennial State in a Girls Junior Americas Cup held in Colorado.

It happened previously only in 1982 and 2000, both at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. Among the Colorado competitors in 2000, for example, was current University of Denver women’s golf head coach Lindsay Kuhle, then known as Lindsay Hulwick.

There’s something special any year about representing your state in such a major event, but to do so in your home state makes the occasion particularly memorable.

The 41st Girls Junior Americas Cup will be hosted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, the site of the event next week. Opening ceremonies and a formal practice round are set for July 24, with championship rounds scheduled for July 25-27. The GJAC is open to the general public, free of charge.

Many of the best girls players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico will compete in the event. Eighteen four-person teams will be in the field, with team and individual competition on tap. Each team represents a state, region or country.

Colorado’s squad will feature a diverse group, age-wise, as there’s one player who’s graduated from high school and is headed to the University of Colorado (Webster), one that’s going to be a high school senior (Lehigh), one a junior (Schalk) and one a sophomore (Bryant).

Among them, they’ve won five Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors (four by Schalk and one by Bryant) and four girls state high school titles (two by Schalk, one by Lehigh and one by Bryant).

Schalk and Lehigh also played on Colorado’s 2017 GJAC team — along with Jaclyn Murray and Charlotte Hillary — that finished sixth, and Schalk also participated in 2016.

Here’s a brief rundown on the Colorado representatives this year:

— Hailey Schalk of Erie: At 16, will be playing in her third GJAC. … Was the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Girls Player of the Year for 2017. … Has won four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors — one in 2016, two in 2017 and one in 2018. … Won the 3A girls state high school title in 2017 and ’18 as a freshman and a sophomore at Holy Family. … Won the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior girls title in 2017.

— Kelsey Webster of Boulder: Will be competing in her first Girls Junior Americas Cup. … Will play golf at CU beginning in the fall. … Finished third in the CGA Women’s Stroke Play last month. … Placed third as a Fairview senior at the 5A girls state high school tournament. … Tied for fourth in U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying last month at Walnut Creek. … This month, finished 64th out of a field of more than 150 players in the girls 15-18 division of the IMG Academy Junior World Championships. … Qualified for the 2018 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.

— Lauren Lehigh of Loveland: Will be playing in her second Girls Junior Americas Cup. … Has verbally committed to play her college golf at the University of New Mexico beginning in 2019. … Won the 4A girls state high school title in 2017 and finished second this year while representing Loveland HS. … Placed third last month in the girls division of the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … Recently competed in the national Girls Junior PGA Championship, finishing 111th. … Won the Big I Junior Classic state title in 2017. … Finished third in the Colorado Junior PGA Championship last month. … Qualified for the 2018 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.

— Emma Bryant of Aurora: Will be playing in her first Girls Junior Americas Cup. … Won the 5A girls state high school title by seven strokes as a freshman at Eaglecrest. … Won the girls championship in the Colorado Junior Match Play last year. … Finished fourth among girls at both Colorado Junior PGA and Colorado Junior Amateur this year. … Qualified for the 2018 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.

For a story on the boys who will represent Colorado at the Junior America’s Cup in Montana, CLICK HERE.

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GIRLS JUNIOR AMERICAS CUP: THE ESSENTIALS

What: The 41st Girls Junior Americas Cup competition.

Where: Hiwan Golf Club (left) in Evergreen.

When: Championship rounds July 25-27. Tee-time range each day: 7-8:30 a.m. Practice rounds July 23-24.

Fan Information: The public can attend the event free of charge.

Opening Ceremonies: July 24, 5 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards Presentation: July 27, approximately 1:30 p.m.

Format: 54 holes stroke play. Team and individual competition. The low three scores for each team each day count toward the team total.

Participating Teams: Colorado, Arizona, Alberta (Canada), British Columbia (Canada), Hawaii, Idaho, Mexico, Montana, Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, San Diego, Southern California, Southern Nevada, Sun Country (New Mexico), Utah, Washington and Wyoming. For all the individual competitors, CLICK HERE.

Defending Team Champion: Southern California, which also won in 2016. (Colorado tied for sixth in 2017.)

Previous Years Colorado Hosted GJAC: 1982 and 2000, both at Eisenhower Golf Club at Air Force Academy.

Best Finish by Colorado Team: Won in 1993 with a team of Jennifer Kern, Heather Stock, Ann Grooms and Jennifer McCormick. Kern claimed the individual title that year.

Other Notable Coloradans Who Have Played in GJAC: Jennifer Kupcho, Jill McGill, Paige Spiranac, Ashley Tait, Becca Huffer, Kelly Jacques, Hannah Wood and Somin Lee.

Service Project: This year’s GJAC will include a service project, with the Special Olympics of Colorado Golf Clinic set for July 25. Competitors there will assist Special Olympians as they putt, chip and take full swings at the clinic.

Host Course: Hiwan was home of the Colorado Open from 1964 through 1991. Junior tournament-wise, the club has hosted the 1965 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 1976 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 2006 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, the 2007 AJGA Rolex Girls Junior and the 2011 boys Junior America’s Cup. Among those who have competed in tournaments at Hiwan in the last dozen years are Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler (in 2006); Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Cheyenne Woods and Kimberly Kim (in 2007); and Bryson DeChambeau (in 2011).

Additional Information About GJAC: CLICK HERE.

The 2012 CGA Stroke Play champion played his final nine holes in 3 under par on Saturday and finished with an even-par 72, leaving him at 4-under 140 overall. That puts him in a tie for third place, one back of co-leaders Taylor Knoll of Sacramento State and Evan Russell of Hartford. Kupcho (pictured) made four birdies and four bogeys in round 2.

As a team, UNC fell into fourth place in the eight-team event. The Bears are at 5-over-par 581, 14 strokes behind leader Sacramento State.

Meanwhile, at the Pac-12 Championship in Salt Lake City, University of Colorado junior Jeremy Paul remained in the top 10 individually.

Paul shot a 3-over-par 74 on Saturday and dropped into eighth place against a very tough field. He trails leader K.K. Limbhasut of Cal by 11 strokes.

In the team race, the Buffs slipped into eighth place at 29-over-par 1,094. Stanford remains in the lead and will take a 29-under-par 1,036 total into Sunday’s final round.

Men’s Big Sky Conference Championship
April 29-May 1, 2016 in Boulder City, Nev.
4. (out of 8 teams) Northern Colorado 285-296–581
3. Steven Kupcho 68-72–140; 11. Conner Barr 70-74–144; 18. Li Chen 74-74–148; 24. Joshua Matz 73-76–149; 38. Sam Marley 80-78–158.

Men’s Pac-12 Conference Championship
April 29-May 1, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah
8. (out of 12 teams) Colorado 360-363-371–1094
8. Jeremy Paul 67-68-74–209; 34. Philip Juel-Berg 72-77-70–219; 37. John Souza 76-70-74–220; 45. Ethan Freeman 75-73-76–224; 52. Ross Macdonald 72-77-77–226; 57. Wilson Belk 74-75-78–227.

Men’s Big 12 Conference Championship
April 29-May 1, 2016 in Trinity, Texas
26. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oklahoma State 75-78-73–226
 

The Champions Tour season begins on Friday, and never before have there been so many players with strong Colorado connections competing on the circuit as there will be in 2015.

Up first on the schedule is the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii, where the 40-player field will include Centennial State locals Hale Irwin, Craig Stadler, Mark Wiebe and Esteban Toledo.

All told, there’s a good chance that 10 competitors with major ties to Colorado will play at some point during the Champions Tour season, which ends in November. That number has been — or will be — bolstered by Doug Rohrbaugh (pictured above) of Carbondale earning conditional status through Q-school and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe becoming eligible for the tour on Aug. 1 when he turns 50.

The 10 locals account for a remarkable 68 Champions wins — with former University of Colorado athlete Irwin holding the tour’s all-time record with 45 — and 48 victories on the PGA Tour.

Here’s an alphabetical rundown on the “locals” on the Champions Tour.

R.W. Eaks (Colorado Springs native and attended UNC, 4 Champions Tour wins and 3 Web.com victories) — Eaks, now 62, only played in one Champions Tour event in 2014, finishing 64th in the Quebec Championship. But the 2011 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open champion has made a nice living on the Champions circuit, having won nearly $4.7 million.

Gary Hallberg (Castle Rock resident, 1 Champions Tour victory, 3 PGA Tour wins and 1 Web.com victory) — Hallberg hasn’t always been exempt on the Champions Tour — and he won’t be in 2015 either — but he’s managed to play in more than 20 events each of the last four years after winning his one and only Champions tournament in 2010. However, the $262,310 he earned in 2014 was his lowest total since 2009.

Hale Irwin (Grew up in Boulder and CU graduate and Colorado Sports Hall of Famer, 20 PGA Tour wins and record 45 Champions Tour victories) — The World Golf Hall of Famer will turn 70 years old in June, but he continues to have his moments on the Champions Tour. While Irwin hasn’t won since he captured the title in the 2007 MasterCard Championship in Hawaii, he’s recorded 15 top-10s in the last six seasons. The last of those came in August, when placed ninth in 3M Championship for his 210th Champions Tour top-10. He bettered his age in all three rounds at that event, marking the first time that’s happened for a Champions Tour player since 2009. (Irwin is pictured above with granddaughter Tatum.)

Brandt Jobe (Kent Denver High School graduate and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, 0 PGA Tour wins) — Jobe hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since 2013 — having undergone shoulder surgery in November of that year — but that will probably change soon as he has 10 events remaining on a medical extension. And the four-time PGA Tour runner-up could get a new career start when he turns 50 on Aug. 1 and becomes eligible for the Champions circuit. Jobe did show he still has some talent by finishing second in a Web.com Tour event in August.

Steve Jones (Grew up in Yuma and former CU golfer and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, 8 PGA Tour wins, 0 Champions Tour victories) — The 56-year-old Jones, who got a late start as a Champions Tour players because of major elbow problems, has yet to score a top-10 on the circuit in 48 starts. Without exempt status, he’s been limited to between 10-15 starts a year as a Champions player. A 40th-place showing was the 1996 U.S. Open champ’s best in 2014.

Mike Reid (former Cherry Creek High School golfer, 2 PGA Tour wins and 2 Champions Tour victories) — The 60-year-old played in 21 events last season, but managed just two top-30 showings in non-team events. Reid hasn’t surpassed $200,000 in season-long earnings since 2010.

Doug Rohrbaugh (Carbondale resident) — Rohrbaugh, the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open champion, will be a Champions Tour rookie in 2015. He earned the final conditional spot at the Q-school finals, meaning he probably won’t get a lot of starts. But it’s nevertheless a step up into the big time for Rohrbaugh, winner of the 2013 and ’14 Colorado PGA Professional Championships.

Craig Stadler (Evergreen resident, 13 PGA Tour wins and 9 Champions Tour victories) — Stadler had a rough season in 2014 after in 2013 winning on the Champions circuit for the first time in almost nine years — a record gap for the tour. His best showing last year in a non-team event as a 25th-place performance. The $156,137 Stadler won in 2014 was the second-lowest total of his 12-year Champions career.

Esteban Toledo (onetime Castle Rock resident, 2 Champions Tour victories and 1 Nationwide Tour win) — Toledo, who once lived in Castle Pines, had a very good 2014 after a stellar 2013, when he won twice as a Champions Tour rookie. He finished 27th on the season-long money list last year after placing 12th — with $1.27 million — in 2013. Toledo notched two top-four finishes in 2014.

Mark Wiebe (Aurora resident and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, 2 PGA Tour wins and 5 Champions Tour victories) — Wiebe’s performance level fell off in a major way in 2014 primarily due to injury/ailments. Wiebe won twice in 2013 — including the Senior British Open — compared to nothing better than 40th place in a non-team event in 2014. He went from $803,025 in earnings in 2013 to $62,189 last year. After having finished in the top 30 on the money list for six straight seasons, he dropped to 98th in 2014.
 

Moreover, after the Colorado contingent entered the 2013 season having gone winless in the previous year, the locals begin 2014 after a stellar last 12 months. Players with strong Colorado ties won a remarkable five times on the Champions Tour in 2013.

Mark Wiebe (pictured) of Aurora claimed two titles, including the Senior British Open in a five-hole playoff. Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo won twice as a Champions Tour rookie. And Craig Stadler of Evergreen established the record for the longest time between Champions Tour victories (8 years, 9 months — and 171 starts) when he won the Encompass Championship in June.

Joining Wiebe, Toledo and Stadler in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship field will be former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin and former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid. Also competing are Tom Lehman, who won the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club, and Willie Wood, who captured the 1984 Colorado Open title.

The MEC field is limited to 2012 and 2013 tournament champions, winners of Champions Tour majors from the past five years and special invitees. The tournament runs Friday through Sunday at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Hualalai Course on Hawaii’s Big Island.

While Irwin hasn’t won in seven years, the three-time U.S. Open champion can’t be dismissed as a title contender, even though he’s 68 years old and is beginning his 47th tour season.

One reason is that with just 41 players competing this weekend, there are fewer to beat. In addition, the MEC is where Irwin won the last of his record 45 Champions Tour titles. And the Boulder High School graduate loves the Aloha State. He’s won nine official tour events in Hawaii, including eight Champions Tour tournaments and two MEC titles.

Beside, the World Golf Hall of Famer is already the oldest champion in the history of the event (61 years, 7 months in 2007). This week marks the 19th consecutive year Irwin has competed in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship (or its previous incarnations) — far and away the longest stretch in the field.

Last year, Irwin finished a season-best ninth in the MEC.