It’s been a quick-moving, eventful last three years in golf administration for Laura Robinson.

And, as of the end of this month, the ride will be over for a person who couldn’t have foreseen all the twists and turns along the way.

Robinson, a former CWGA executive director who’s currently the managing director of membership and integration for the CGA, plans on retiring at the end of the year, calling it a career after lengthy stints in the business world, as a college faculty member in an information technology studies program — and these recent years in leadership roles in Colorado golf.

“This has been the most rewarding three years of my career,” Robinson said in a recent phone conversation. “I had to pull knowledge from every aspect of all my experience together — from accounting and finance, employment law, human resources, marketing, customer service (and) operations in order the lead the CWGA, then to integrate the two associations (the CGA and the CWGA).

“I think I’ve been very, very lucky to have this as the capstone to my career. It’s been so much fun. I truly appreciate the support the CWGA board of directors gave me by first hiring me for the job, then keeping me in line and teaching me about golf administration and everything we were trying to do to build out women’s golf in Colorado.”

Robinson, a Colorado resident for the last 20 years, couldn’t have known what to expect when she volunteered in the summer of 2014 to help develop an I.T. stragegy for the CWGA. She then joined the association’s volunteer board of directors in 2015.

When the CWGA board decided to go in a new direction, leadership-wise, it turned to Robinson, who became the acting executive director at the beginning of 2016 and resigned her board position. And in May of that year, the “acting” part of her title was removed and Robinson became just the fourth E.D. the CWGA ever had, following Maggie Giesenhagen (1988-1991), Robin Jervey (1992-2014) and Ann Guiberson (2014-15).

During Robinson’s time as executive director, the CWGA celebrated its 100th anniversary throughout 2016, then the association joined forces with the CGA, becoming one organization at the beginning of this year. The unification, prompted by the USGA’s decision to partner with just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region, was long in the works, with current CGA co-presidents Joe McCleary and Juliet Miner playing key roles in the process, along with Robinson and CGA executive director Ed Mate. (The four are pictured below.)

“This was an unexpected career move for me,” Robinson said regarding golf administration. “I was thrilled to be working for the CWGA for two years and learning about golf administration and running a small business. Merging with the CGA was a wonderful business move and I was really excited to be one of the leaders in that effort.

“It was very exciting formulating a plan make the CWGA and CGA a new organization to support the future of the game. It was so exciting to be part of all that — to lead an effort to integrate two companies so successfully, to identify a new logo, a new website (both of which will be unveiled early next year), a new way of operating, to expand our programs to men. It was just so exciting to be part of making sure the future of golf was strong in Colorado.”

And, given that this process has played out over more than three years, how does she think the integration has worked out?

“The two organizations were combined to make both of us stronger,” Robinson said. “We could share the resources the CGA had. They had more resources than the CWGA. And the CGA could benefit from all of the programs that are developed for women and high handicappers that could be rolled out for men. We were literally building the future of a golf association in Colorado to serve a wider variety of people than either organization had served before. It was really exciting to be part of that.”

Mate has worked closely with Robinson in recent years, both before and after the unification, and he certainly appreciates what Robinson has done to make the merger relatively seamless.

“Laura was just the right person at the right time in so many ways because of her business background, her ability to organize, prioritize and really kind of tease out the right questions through the integration,” Mate said. “She maintained the really good continuity with the leadership of the CWGA through this transition. She was just indispensible.

“Her business background has been such a great addition, a skill set we’ve been able to really capitalize on because she was able to develop a strategic plan by working with a team during the busiest time of the year. As we’re preparing for next year, we have by far the best blueprint to guide us for the next several years. She led us through a process of prioritization and analysis of membership. She almost did a Masters degree project that was an excercise in strategic planning. It will have huge benefits moving forward. She’s leaving us in great position. What a great legacy that that will live on for a while.

“Beyond that, she’s been very fun to work with, very passionate about the game of golf.”

The staff of the CWGA didn’t simply move into the same offices as the CGA. The volunteer boards of the two organizations were joined together — with McCleary and Miner agreeing to serve a year as co-presidents to further ease the transition period — and the CWGA staff has become integral in CGA work moving forward. That includes Kate Moore, Matthew Walker, Aaron Guereca and Debbie Kolb — in addition to Robinson.

“We had a great team in the (CWGA) office, and I’m so glad for the CGA that every one of them has decided to stay,” Robinson said. “I feel like I’ve made friends for life through this whole experience.”

And Robinson’s run over these recent years also gave her an ever-increasing appreciation of the work volunteers do — and have done — for the associtions.

“Due to this experience, I truly learned about volunteerism,” she said. “The CWGA has almost a hundred dedicated volunteers, passionate about golf, passionate about giving back to the game they love. Without the volunteers, we couldn’t have had the successful tournaments and Golf Experiences that we had. Thank you to each and every one of the volunteers for being part of the success.”

During the last year as part of the CGA staff, Robinson (at left with Miner) has taken on a multi-faceted role in the effort to make the association as good as it can be serving its newly combined membership.

“I led the team to integrate the two organizations,” she said. “It was a lot more than simply moving in together. We had to identify new roles and responsibilities. We kicked off a plan to develop a new brand and identity through a new logo and color scheme, which will be shared with the public at the (Denver) Golf Expo in February. We have a new website that is currently under development to take advantage of the new brand identity — presenting one consolidated view of the CGA to all golfers in the state.

“I was behind the effort to create a strategic plan for the newly formed CGA. It wasn’t merely taking two organizations and band-aiding them together. We really wanted to take advantage that we were a new organization focused on new programs, new demographics and a new way of operating. So a strategic plan that I developed helped support that effort. We still have a few tasks left in the integration, (including) merging all of our documents and the combined website. Though we started moving in (to the CGA offices) in late October of 2017, it truly has taken over a year to complete the integration of the two organizations.”

As the CGA forges on, Robinson and her husband Paul will continue to split time between Colorado and Florida — and will remain members at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. The plan for the foreseeable future includes “playing lots of golf, ski and travel,” she said.

And, there will be time to reflect on these eventful last few years in golf administration.

“Every day was memorable,” she said. “Every day was a learning experience, meeting new people, developing new programs, cementing our relationship in the golf community. One of the highlights was when the CWGA (received a distinguished service award from) the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. I think that cemented our history and our place in history in the golf community. Another high moment was when I chaired my very first annual meeting for almost 175 women from clubs all over the state. That was incredibly rewarding to see the level of passion, energy and participation from public clubs, private clubs, nine-hole leagues, 18-hole leagues, championship golfers and high handicappers alike.”
   

“I’m a comer, I’m a doer, I’m a participant.”

That was Juliet Miner’s matter-of-fact reaction after answering in the affirmative when recently asked if she had attended each G4 Summit since the event’s inception in 2014.

Indeed, when it comes to volunteering in Colorado golf, Miner does far more than her fair share. And she’s not just a passive volunteer. She plays key roles, and doesn’t hesitate when tough decisions have to be made and big-picture planning is needed.

In that regard, she’s been in the right position at the right time. For the past two years, Miner served as president of the CWGA, and this year she’s a co-president of the CGA along with Joe McCleary.

And during her tenure as president/co-president, she, along with other association leaders, has been where the buck stops as the CWGA switched executive directors, conducted a series of celebrations as part of its 100th anniversary, and as the CWGA joined with the CGA to become a single Allied Golf Association serving both men and women in Colorado.

It’s little wonder why Miner was named Volunteer of the Year for 2017 at the recent CGA Women’s Annual Meeting.

“It’s been unbelievable working with her,” said McCleary, who was sole president of the CGA for two years before he and Miner agreed to be co-presidents. “She’s a thinker, she’s a doer. I think everything came together at the right time because we have an excellent working relationship.”

Asked about all that’s happened in her time as president/co-president, Miner won’t deny that it was more than she expected, but she didn’t shy away from doing what needed to be done.

“I’m from the Midwest (she grew up in Iowa) and we’re big on duty,” she said in a recent interview. “I was surprised that it was as much of a challenge as it was. Fortunately for me, I thrive on challenges, so I just set to it and got it done.

“If we all do our part, it makes it easier for all of us. If we all gave a bottle of water, people wouldn’t be thirsty. If we all gave food, nobody would be hungry. If we all volunteered, people would be helped. It just takes a big effort from a lot of people. If everybody did their part, it would be easy.”

And Miner is quick to point out she’s gotten plenty of help during her time in a leadership role.

“I have a sense of great pride for the accomplishments that I’ve been able to make through all the wonderful friendships and collaborations with everyone — the men, the women, commitee chairs, golfers, members,” Miner said. “I’ve gotten feedback from everyone I’ve come into contact with and if I didn’t know the answer (regarding a particular issue), I’ve asked for help from people. I’d have to say Laura Robinson and Kathryn Davis (former CWGA executive director and president, respectively) were my pillars of support, along with Joanie Ott, who was my predecessor” as CWGA president.

Robinson, currently the managing director of membership and integration at the CGA, served with Miner on the CWGA board of directors before becoming executive director in 2016, heading the staff that carried out the wishes of the CWGA board.

“It’s been very special with Juliet,” Robinson said. “We really do complement each other. Juliet sees the big picture so clearly. Her job is to set the vision and strategy and my job is to execute. We were fortunate that we had complementary sets of skills. We actually had a lot of fun. I’m going to miss her (when she steps down as co-president at the end of the year) as far being as my boss.”

With the executive director change, the CWGA’s 100th anniversary celebrations and the integration with the CGA, “She made all that happen,” Robinson added. “Juliet has a lot of courage to make change happen. She saw the need for change a couple of years ago and knew that kind of change would be better for women’s golf.”

Miner, a criminal defense attorney since 1984 and a Colorado resident since ’83, was helped in her current role by experience she gained in the 1990s. That was when she served as the president of the club at Perry Park Country Club in Larkspur.

“Not the ladies group — the club (overall),” she noted. “It was a similar situation (as now). They got me on the board and the vice president resigned, so I was president for two years, which was unprecedented. I went through the death of a club manager (and other significant issues). This is nothing new to me.”

Like McCleary and other association presidents in the past, Miner volunteers considerable time to the role. It’s not unusual for her to spend 20 hours a month on her volunteer duties during busy times of the year. And in 2017, she racked up 4,000 miles of driving while serving the CWGA. She averages four meetings a month, along with a like number of phone calls. Overall, this is her seventh year on the board of the CWGA/CGA. She’s a past captain of the Colorado Girls Junior America’s Cup team and she continues to serve on the CGA Course Rating Committee and on the board of trustees for the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. Still, she notes that there are other women’s golf volunteers in the state who devote even more time to the cause.

(And despite her job as a lawyer and her volunteer duties, Miner still plays more than 100 rounds of golf per year. “I try to play golf every day that I can,” she said. “I’m no spring chicken and I’ve only got probably 20 years left (to play regularly). I want to play every day that I can in the 20 years that I have left.”)

Pivotal in the bigger picture of golf in Colorado was the integration with the CGA, which was long in the making. As part of efforts to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations, the USGA announced that starting at the beginning of 2018, it would partner with just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. That directive led to the unification of the associations, which was finalized in the case of the CGA and the CWGA late last summer. The board of directors of the two associations formed into one leadership team, with McCleary and Miner becoming co-presidents. And the staff of the associations merged, based out of the existing CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

Integration of separate golf associations in some other states/regions didn’t go as smoothly. But a foundation that Miner and McCleary laid in the fall of 2015 — before they were presidents — paid dividends in that regard.

The USGA had held a town hall meeting in K.C. regarding its Allied Golf Association plan. On the flight back to Denver, Miner had boarded first, and when McCleary later walked down the aisle, he sat in an available seat in the same row. The two chatted on the flight — mainly about personal things rather than the USGA plan — and hit it off well.

“I firmly belive if you know someone personally, you can do business with them,” Miner said. “That’s the beauty of golf. If you can play a round of golf with someone, you can do business with them. You know what their ethics are, you know what their goals are, what their challenges are. That’s the way to do business.”

Said McCleary: “I didn’t really know her until we went to Kansas City. Our friendship — which is what I’ll call it because I think it’s applicable — really started to develop on the plane flight back.”

From there, as presidents of the CGA and CWGA, McCleary and Miner met regularly for breakfast or lunch, and called each other whenever needed.

“We constantly met and refined the goals of both organizations in the unification (process) so we could combine them to make a better organization,” Miner said. “We’ve always had the same vision — to be the best Allied Golf Association there is and to continue to do the groundbreaking efforts both the CGA and the CWGA have made.

“Although we have a written transition agreement (for the unification of the CGA and CWGA), I would say this is a handshake deal. He promised me and I promised him that we would both get what our members wanted. Although we confirmed it in writing, it was a handshake deal. When I say a handshake deal, that’s a good thing. We trusted each other to understand what each other wanted and needed. We were working toward a common goal.”

McCleary has pointed out at recent public golf functions that he and Miner share the same initials, including the middle name — JFM. McCleary is Joe Franklin McCleary and Miner is Juliet Frances Miner. If that wasn’t a good omen for the two getting along, what is?

“It’s been one of those connection points,” McCleary said. “A lot of time it’s chemistry that gets things done and there was a certain amount of chemistry in getting everything finished (with the unification). That just made it easier for me. I’ve always had a good working relationship with the women from the time I was at Saddle Rock (Golf Course), and this took it to the next level.”

After Miner and McCleary had put so much effort into the integration process, their terms as president were supposed to expire at the end of 2017. But to them — and many others — it didn’t make sense to possibly lose that momentum. So they agreed to stay on in a leadership role for 2018 and presented a united front by sharing the CGA president’s role.

“That sent the right message to everybody involved,” McCleary noted.

Given this unexpected third year as a president, Miner jokingly says she’s the reluctant president — similar to the names of films such as the Relucant Astronaut and the Reluctant Debutante.

“No, I never hesitated (in adding a year to her term),” she said. “It was a show of unity and unification and (McCleary and my) personalities just melded because we have the same work ethic. He’s more detail-oriented, I’m more overview-oriented but together we’re pretty fantastic. I think we were able to present a united front that was best for both organizations and the united organization.”

The unification process was smooth to the point that the CGA nominated the CWGA for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Distinguished Service Award, which will be formally presented on May 20 at Sanctuary.

At the recent CGA Women’s Annual Meeting, where Miner received the Volunteer of the Year Award, she was happy to have her husband, Butch Pike, on hand.

“I got to share the award with my husband,” she said, noting that he has driven her to many golf functions over the years. “I think it’s important to say nobody can volunteer without the support of the families because the families are the ones that give up the time with you. It was really fun to have my husband there so he could see what it’s all about because he’d managed to avoid it up until then.”
 

The transition from what was long known as the CWGA Annual Meeting to what is now named the CGA Women’s Annual Meeting appeared seamless on Saturday at the Hilton Denver Inverness.

To be sure, there were some questions from attendees about how specific things will work now that the CGA and CWGA are one unified organization.

But, generally speaking, longtime CGA executive director Ed Mate seemed to sum up the mood of the day when he noted, “We’re just better together. It’s that simple.”

Saturday’s Women’s Annual Meeting featured many of the mainstays from years past — there were golf worshops, a silent auction to benefit the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, awards presentations, brunch and plenty of socializing among the 175 attendees, which represented about 90 clubs from around the state.

But the one thing that veered from the normal was a panel discussion featuring CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary, with Mate asking questions. (Pictured above are, from left, McCleary, Mate and Miner.) One of those queries was about the integration of the CGA and the CWGA, which became official as of Jan. 1. It’s part of a nationwide effort by the USGA to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations by partnering with just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. 

Subsequently, the board of directors of the two associations have formed into one leadership team — in fact it held a quarterly meeting just after the Women’s Annual Meeting. McCleary, the CGA president for the past two years, and Miner, who  served as the CWGA president for a similar time, are co-presidents of the CGA for 2018. And the staff of the associations have also merged, based out of the current CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

“We love to do course rating, we love to run tournaments, we love to run USGA qualifiers, we love to work with (members),” Miner told the audience at the Women’s Annual Meeting. “It was only obvious to our membership that this (unification) was a good thing because now we’re bigger, better, stronger, richer — and we have lots of staff. If you talk to our staff, each and every one of them loves the synergy of being in that office together. … This is not just to make the best of something that the USGA decided was a good idea for golf, but to make it the best for golf in Colorado, and to be a beacon for golf in the United States of America.”

McCleary feels similary after going through a unification process that lasted more than two years.

“From the beginning I said, ‘Let’s do what’s best for golf and golfers in the state of Colorado,” he told the attendees. “We needed to come together as one organization representing both men and women (in order) to lay the groundwork for the future. Things are changing. It’s incredibly important to do what we’ve done. I think it’s paid dividends and it will pay significant dividends in the future.”

Laura Robinson, former CWGA executive director and current managing director of membership and integration for the CGA, organized Saturday’s meeting and liked the way the panel discussion went.

“I hope the women here who heard Joe, Juliet and Ed talk gained a sense of confidence that this (integration) is really good for women’s golf,” Robinson said.

One way that the inification paid off tangibly was evident on Saturday. Last year, the silent auction at the CWGA Annual Meeting raised slightly under $7,000 for junior golf. This year, more than double that total — $15,365 to be exact — was raised for the cause (left). With increased resources being brought to bear with the merged organizations, close to 100 items were available for auction, and a nearly two-week-long online element was added this year, yielding $7,570 of the $15,365 total.

All in all, Miner saw this year’s Annual Meeting as a valuable tool in more ways than one.

“I think the meeting went as successfully as it has been for the last number of years,” she said. “The difference is that we had all of the (pre-existing) CGA board here, which is comprised of mostly men. They’re all here and they’re seeing what we do. They get to see our product — which before they’d only heard about — up close.”

Saddle Rock WGA Named Women’s Club of the Year: For the second straight year, a Women’s Club of the Year was recognized at the Annual Meeting, and this year the honor went to members of the Saddle Rock Women’s Golf Association (left).

The award is presented to a club that has demonstrated a commitment to golf or their community through innovative programs such as fundraising, programs or competitions.

Saddle Rock WGA stood out in part thanks to a tweak of the traditional member-guest tournament format that led to additional fundraising for a good cause. The club played a “Cha-Cha-Cha for Charity” and members were able to invite multiple guests, which increased participation significantly. That resulted in a donation of more than $1,100 to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, to support the teaching and development of junior golf programs in the community, money was raised for the Paul McMullen Scholarship Fund. Also, Saddle Rock has long provided volunteers for the annual Grandview High School girls golf invitational, running shuttles, registration, check-in and scoring.

The Saddle Rock WGA has celebrated 20 years as an association, with 10 of its original members still actively participating in league play.

Other nominees for the Women’s Club of the Year were:

— Aurora Hills 9-Hole Women’s Golf Association
— Kissing Camels Ladies Golf Association
— Pinery Ladies Golf Association
— Red Sky Ranch
— Riverdale Women’s Golf Association

Last year’s co-Clubs of the Year were from Patty Jewett and Fitzsimons.

Miner Honored as Volunteer of the Year: Juliet Miner has overseen much in her two  years as president of the CWGA and now as co-president of the CGA. There was the hiring of a new CWGA executive director. There was the CWGA celebrating the centennial of its founding. There was the CWGA joining forces with the CGA in establishing a single USGA-affiliated golf association in Colorado.

On Saturday, for all Miner has done for the CWGA, she was named the Volunteer of the Year. (She’s pictured speaking to attendees.)

(FYI: A feature story on Miner and her accomplishments will be published later this month on the coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org websites.)

Players of the Year for 2017: The CWGA Players of the Year — and the winner of a related award — were announced last fall, but the three honorees were publicly recognized on Saturday.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the CWGA’s Player of the Year the previous three seasons, was given the President’s Award, the CWGA’s highest honor. Mary Weinsten of Highlands Ranch earned the Player of the Year honor. And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton won the Senior Player of the Year Award for the eighth time in nine years. Eaton, now an Arizona resident, was likewise named the Arizona Women’s Golf Association Senior POY in 2017, earning that honor for the sixth time.

Kupcho and Weinstein are in the midst of their college seasons — Kupcho at Wake Forest and Weinstein at the University of Denver — and were unable to attend Saturday’s festivities. But Eaton (left) traveled from Arizona for the event.

For information on the 2017 accomplishments of the three players, CLICK HERE.

In Short: A $7,000 check — from money raised at the 2017 CWGA Annual Meeting, was presented Saturday to Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, president of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. … Besides CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary and executive director Ed Mate, among those in attendance Saturday were the CGA volunteer board of directors, Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth and Colorado Golf Hall of Fame president Scott Radcliffe and executive director Jennifer Lyons. The CWGA is receiving a Distinguished Service Award from the Golf Hall of Fame in May. … Among the announcements to attendees on Saturday was a reminder that the Girls Junior America’s Cup, a tournament featuring many of the top female junior golfers from the western U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will be played in Colorado for the first time in 18 years. The event is set for July 25-27 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. … Recognized Saturday for its fundraising was the Raccoon Creek Ladies 9-Hole Group, whose 2017 tournament to benefit the Evans Scholarship for caddies led to a $1,200 donation. … Among the former CWGA board members — and current CGA board members — who have accepted chairperson duties for CGA committees are Laurie Steenrod (Course Rating Committee) and Phyllis Jensen (Tournament Site Selection Committee). … Miner said CGA Women’s Annual Meetings will continue into the future “as long as you (attendees) keep coming.”
 

Paige Spiranac currently has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and 179,000 on Twitter, and she can trace her meteoric rise on social media to something she experienced at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton on July 9, 2015.

That was the day that Spiranac won the 100th CWGA Match Play Championship at Raccoon Creek. In the scheduled 36-hole final of that milestone CWGA event, Spiranac played stellar golf, finishing 9 under par for 35 holes in outdueling University of Colorado golfer Brittany Fan 2 and 1 for the title.

It was a triumphant return to Colorado for Spiranac (at left on that day), who grew up in the Centennial State and won the 2010 CWGA Junior Stroke Play as well as the 2006 CJGA Tournament of Champions. (As a pro, Spiranac finished ninth in the 2016 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open; pictured below.)

While a story with pictures on the CWGA Match Play victory appeared on the CWGA and CGA websites that day in 2015, there were other things going on.

According to a recent article in azcentral.com, the digital home of The Arizona Republic newspaper, “She picked up her first individual win in years, and checked her phone as she walked off the course, assuming the stream of texts was to congratulate her. Then she checked Instagram.

“Thousands of people had followed her. As she searched for explanation, a friend texted her a link to an article on (name redacted) a website devoted to frat parties and college girls. Spiranac clicked the link. The bro-targeted site had declared, “The Whole World Is About To Fall In Love With Paige Spiranac,” complete with a dozen photos and a link to her Instagram account.

“… Thousands of more people found her and followed Spiranac. She told her sister she just wanted a ‘K,’ to see her follower count tick from ‘9,999’ to ’10K.’ That happened in a few hours. Then it kept climbing.

“Twenty-thousand. Fifty. By the next day, she had more than 100,000 followers.”

Since then, the numbers have kept skyrocketing. But Spiranac has become adept at making the numbers work in her favor.

Golf Digest put her on the cover of its magazine in May 2016, an issue that featured “innovators and infuencers changing the game.”

As an attractive social media sensation and professional golfer, Spiranac often makes public appearances (including at the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open last week), does some modeling, is a brand ambassador for PXG, and speaks out publicly about cyberbullying and its effects.

And this week, Sports Illustrated announced that Spiranac will be among those featured in its 2018 Swimsuit Issue. Included is a story entitled, “Paige Spiranac Is Using Her Platform as an SI Swimsuit Model to Fight Cyberbullying”. For that article, CLICK HERE.

In connection with that topic, Spiranac serves as an ambassador for the Cybersmile Foundation, a non-profit that works to battle cyberbullying.

“It still hasn’t hit me that I’m going to be in the 2018 @SI_Swimsuit issue,” Spiranac wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “But thank you for listening to my story and why I’m so passionate about stopping cyberbullying!”

Spiranac was born in Colorado and lived in the state full-time until she was 13. Then she split time between Arizona and Colorado until she went to San Diego State as a student-athlete.
 

Bolster served as president, the CWGA’s top volunteer position, in 1992. She played a key role in the hiring of Robin (Elbardawil) Jervey as executive director, leading the search committee. Jervey, who succeeded the CWGA’s first executive director, Maggie Giesenhagen, went on spend 22 years as the association’s top staffer, by far the longest tenure of anyone in that position. (Bolster, at right in photo, is pictured in 2014 with Jervey.)

Bolster, who was elected CWGA president in November 1991, was a strong leader of the association. Besides being president, she was a vice-president, chaired the association’s Rules Committee and served on the Course Rating and Handicap Committee at various times. She proudly volunteered for the CWGA until she and husband Bill moved to Arizona in 1998, and a CWGA necklace was her pride and joy.

While in Colorado, Bolster was a longtime member and ardent golfer at Fox Hill Country Club in Longmont.

Bolster grew up in Huntington, W. Va., and attended Marshall University. Hannah and Bill married in 1961 and spent the next 17 years in Saginaw, Mich., before moving to Colorado. Bill predeceased Hannah.

Following up from last week, when we started our two-part retrospective on the top Colorado golf stories of 2017 (CLICK HERE for the first installment), we continue our countdown with the top dozen stories of the year — in reverse order. And at the end, included is a list of honorable-mention selections.

12. USGA’s Passey Calls It a Career: Mark Passey spent 27 1/2 years as a director of regional affairs for the USGA, including the last 11 based in the Denver metro area. Passey was very highly regarded in the region, but in June at age 70, he retired, leaving big shoes to fill. (Kyle Nuss, based in Dallas, has taken over as the USGA’s director of regional affairs for the nine-state Central Region, which includes Colorado.) READ MORE

11. Workman’s Stellar Summer: Glenn Workman had a summer to remember in state and regional tournaments in 2017. The Pueblo West resident became the first player in history to win the CGA Amateur and Wyoming State Amateur in the same year. The University of Wyoming golfer also scored low-amateur honors at the Rocky Mountain Open and the Wyoming State Open. READ MORE”¨

“¨10. Big-Name Clinics for The First Tee in Colorado: Ever since CoBank took over as title sponsor of the Colorado Open Championships, some big-name tour players have been coming to Colorado to put on exhibitions, primarily aimed at the kids participating in The First Tee programs. Last year, Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer and Paula Creamer did the honors. This year, David Duval, Lexi Thompson and Mark O’Meara came to First Tee sites, most notably the one at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, which hosts the Colorado Open tournaments. That’s quite a run, considering those six players account for eight major championship victories.

9. Jobe’s Champions Breakthrough: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe came very close to winning on the PGA Tour during his time on that circuit, four times placing second, including at the 2005 International at Castle Pines. Then on the PGA Tour Champions, he finished third three times leading up to this past summer. But in June in Des Moines, Iowa, Jobe scored a breakthrough victory, prevailing in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic. Jobe, who lived in Colorado from 1970 to ’99 before moving to Texas, also had a very strong record in senior majors in 2017, finishing second in the Senior Players, third in the U.S. Senior Open and eighth in the Senior PGA. He also matched the tournament record with a round of 62 at the U.S. Senior Open. READ MORE

8. $50K for CoBank Colorado Women’s Open Champ: As soon as the CoBank Colorado Open drastically raised its purse in 2016, a similar hike was virtually inevitable for the Colorado Women’s Open. You could take it to the (Co)Bank. Almost exactly a year after the purse for the men’s Open jumped to $250,000 — with an amazing $100,000 going to the winner — Colorado Open Golf Foundation officials announced a comparable increase, percentage-wise, for the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open. Not coincidentally, CoBank has been the title sponsor for the Colorado Open championships since the beginning of 2016. For the 2017 women’s tournament, first prize more than quadrupled — to $50,000 from $11,000 — and the overall purse doubled — to $150,000. In both cases, those are records for a women’s state/regional open and the $50,000 is considerably more than the winner received for any 2017 event on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA’s development circuit. Liz Breed of Waynesboro, Pa., claimed the first $50,000 winning prize, holding off amateur Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, who finished runner-up for the second straight time in the CWO.

7. Kaye Wins 2nd Colorado Open, 21 Years After His First: Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye (left) hadn’t competed in a tournament in three months, but that didn’t stop the former University of Colorado golfer from winning the CoBank Colorado Open shortly before his 47th birthday. Kaye, a two-time PGA Tour winner who plays little tournament golf anymore, sank a 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Green Valley Ranch to post a one-stroke victory and earn the $100,000 first prize. Kaye, the runner-up in 2016, finished at 23-under par, which tied the tournament’s scoring record, relative to par. He became just the seventh golfer to win at least two Colorado Open titles. For the record, the 21 years between Colorado Open victories by Kaye is a record, bettering the 14 years between Brian Guetz’s wins (1994 and 2008). READ MORE

6. Bryant Slam: A junior golf oddity made this one of the top stories of the season in the state. The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado schedule features four major championships, and the Bryant siblings won their own version of a grand slam by combining to claim all four titles. Davis Bryant won all three in which he competed — the Colorado Junior PGA, the Colorado Junior Amateur and the JGAC Tour Championship. And when he missed the Colorado Junior Match Play while he was competing in the national Junior PGA Championship — where he placed 14th — 14-year-old sister Emma pulled through for an improbable victory for the girls title. Davis Bryant went on to be named the boys JGAC Player of the Year after also winning the 5A state high school title, placing ninth individually in the Junior America’s Cup and advancing to the match play round of 64 at his second U.S. Junior Amateur.”¨

5. CGA Vets Play Key Roles in Changes to Rules of Golf: Rules issues have played a major — and controversial — role in televised golf in recent years. And in the midst of all that, Rules modernization and simplification efforts by the USGA and the R&A have taken center stage. And at the core — or near the core, anyway — of those modernization efforts is the USGA Rules of Golf Committee. In 2017, three people who have worked for the CGA in the 21st century served on the committee — current executive director Ed Mate, along with former staffers Thomas Pagel (now a USGA employee) and Pete Lis (who works for the LPGA). That’s quite a Rules pedigree for the state association. READ MORE

4. Major Changes for Several Denver-Area Courses: This year turned out to be a big one regarding some of the oldest courses in the Denver metro area. On Nov. 1, 105-year-old City Park Golf Course closed until sometime in 2019, with the course being redesigned to accommodate a stormwater detention area which the city hopes will protect at-risk neighborhoods from flooding. World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin and Broomfield-based iCon Golf Studio were picked to redesign the course. (A rendering of the new City Park GC clubhouse is at left.)  Meanwhile, plans were approved so that another City of Denver course, Overland Park, will be closed for play for five weeks each September and early October from 2018-22 to host a three-day music festival. Then it was announced that Fitzsimons Golf Course, which dates back almost 100 years, would close for good in mid-December, making way for bioscience facilities and residential units.

3. Year to Remember for Clark: Although he previously came close on many occasions, former Highlands Ranch resident Wyndham Clark (left) didn’t score his first individual college victory until early in 2017. And that opened the floodgates for the then-University of Oregon senior, who posted three victories in his final 4 1/2 months as a collegian. One of those wins was a storybook ending as he prevailed at the Pac-12 Conference Championship in his home state, at Boulder Country Club, where he also won the 2010 CGA Amateur. With that strong final half of the season, Clark was named the 2017 Player of the Year in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, the Pac-12. That goes with the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year honors he earned while at Oklahoma State. Clark ended up being one of three finalists for the national male college player of the year. Then since turning pro in June, Clark has made two cuts on the PGA Tour, including a 17th-place finish on Oct. 29 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. This month, he secured his playing card for 2018 on the Web.com Tour with a 23rd-place finish in the final stage of Q-school.

2. The Kupcho Show: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster continues to up her game, as this year has demonstrated. The fact that she’s currently the No. 3-ranked women’s amateur in the world says plenty. The Wake Forest golfer came ever so close to becoming the first Coloradan to win the women’s individual NCAA Division I title, leading by two with two holes left before a triple bogey resulted in a runner-up finish. She quickly rebounded from that disappointment to qualify for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open — and went on to finish 21st overall in arguably the most presigious women’s golf tournament in the world (despite taking a 9 on her 35th hole). She also won her first national title, the Canadian Women’s Amateur, by five strokes. Other victories included her third straight in the CWGA Stroke Play, and two wins this calendar year in college golf, where she was a finalist for women’s player of the year honors. She also placed second for the second straight time in the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open. Recently, Kupcho was named one of the top 11 women’s amateur golfers in the world by Global Golf Post and played in a practice session leading up to the 2018 Curtis Cup, though she isn’t guaranteed a spot on the U.S. team. Kupcho is also seventh in the women’s rankings leading up to the spring selection of the inaugural 12-player U.S. women’s team that will compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup July 6-8 in France. The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-like competition for college golfers in which Americans play an International squad. (Australians Robyn Choi and Kirsty Hodgkins, who compete for the University of Colorado, are ranked 11th and 15th among the International players.)

1. CGA/CWGA Unification: The CGA and CWGA each celebrated 100th anniversaries in recent years, and most of that time they’ve been separate — but complementary — organizations serving golf in Colorado. But they’ve now joined forces — while continuing to serve golf in the state — under the banner of the Colorado Golf Association, which will serve roughly 60,000 members. As part of efforts to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations, the USGA announced more than a year ago that, starting at the beginning of 2018, it will partner will just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. That directive led to this unification. The board of directors of the two associations have formed into one leadership team. Joe McCleary, the CGA president for the last two years, and Juliet Miner, who has served as the CWGA president for a similar time, will be co-presidents of the CGA for the coming year. The staff of the associations have also merged, based out of the current CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

(At top, pictured together earlier this year after formally reaching an agreement were McCleary and Miner along with CGA executive director Ed Mate and his CWGA counterpart, Laura Robinson, the new managing director of program integration for the CGA.)

As Mate, who will remain the CGA’s executive director moving forward, said earlier this year, “I’ve been working for the CGA for a long time — over 25 years in stops and starts — and to me it’s the most significant thing we’ve ever done because I think it’s going to position golf and all the things we represent for the next 100 years.” READ MORE

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Honorable Mention

— David Duval, once the top-ranked golfer in the world, moved from Cherry Hills Village to Atlantic Beach, Fla., in recent months. The 2001 British Open champion had lived in Colorado for more than a dozen years. He was born and raised in northeast Florida. Other Colorado-based tour players who have departed the Centennial State in 2016 and ’17 are Sam Saunders (also now in Atlantic Beach, Fla.) and Mark Wiebe (San Jose, Calif.), who’s now the director of instruction at San Jose Country Club. All three are returning to their roots as Duval and Saunders are native Floridians and Wiebe went to college at San Jose State.

— The drinks were on Peyton Manning — he who helped the Broncos claim their third Super Bowl title less than two years ago — after the former quarterback great made a hole-in-one at No. 12 at Cherry Hills Country Club on Nov. 25. For the record, the weapon of choice was a 5-iron from 196 yards.

— Colorado Springs resident Kaden Ford became just the fourth Coloradan in five years to qualify for the national finals of the Drive Chip & Putt Championship, hosted by Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on the eve of the Masters. Ford will be among 80 contestants on April 1. READ MORE

— This year marked a major historical milestone in Colorado golf as it was 50 years since Columbine Country Club hosted the 1967 PGA Championship. To this day, it’s the only PGA Tour major that’s been held at a Colorado site other than Cherry Hills Country Club. READ MORE

— 2016 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle scored his first individual college victory — and did it in his home state — as the University of Utah junior prevailed in the University of Colorado’s Mark Simpson Invitational in Erie in late September. Dunkle closed with a 64 at Colorado National. READ MORE

— Former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele posted two top-five finishes — a third and a fourth — in his rookie year on the European Tour. Then he shot a final-round 65 in Q-school to regain his card for the 2017-18 wraparound season.

— The Mile High Showdown World Long Drive event at Park Hill produced drives of 485 yards for the men and 406 yards for the women. READ MORE

— CU teammates Esther Lee and Brittany Fan shared stroke-play medalist honors in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball before falling in the round of 16 of match play.

— University of Denver golfer Chris Korte won the CGA Match Play, completing a career sweep of major CGA titles. READ MORE

— Three Colorado courses were included among Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” — the grandaddy of all the rankings as the first and the most respected. Making the grade were Castle Pines Golf Club (No. 42), Ballyneal (No. 50), and Cherry Hills Country Club (No 73). READ MORE

— The Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy — a popular initiative which promotes the use of caddies by paying the base caddie fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip — added a small pilot program in Grand Junction. READ MORE

— Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird surpassed $15 million in earnings after a decade on the PGA Tour.

— Coloradan Mackenzie Cohen helped Rhodes College in Memphis win the NCAA Division III women’s national title for the second straight year. READ MORE

— Denver’s Jonathan Marsico won his second straight Charlie Coe Invitational team event at Castle Pines. READ MORE

— Former Coloradan Open champion Ben Portie was named the women’s head coach in golf at the University of Northern Colorado. READ MORE

— Jackson Solem of Longmont becomes the first Coloradan since 2009 to win a match at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

— With a fourth-place showing, Colorado recorded its third top-four finish since 2011 at the Junior America’s Cup. READ MORE

— Coloradans competed for the final time as the USGA State Team Championships ended their run. READ MORE

— Littleton’s Jim Knous earned official money ($24,480) on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career by tying for 41st place after Monday qualifying for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. READ MORE

— A CU Evans Scholar alum honored the chapter’s “founding fathers” by endowing scholarships for Dick Campbell, Sonny Brinkerhoff and Homer McClintock. READ MORE
 

Golfers are always in need of something, and we’re here to provide. So in the spirit of the season, it’s time to make public our annual holiday gift list for Colorado golfers.

To: Westminster resident Jennifer Kupcho.
Gift: Spots on the U.S. Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup teams in 2018, along with another run at the women’s NCAA individual title.

To: TPC Colorado.
Gift: Success to match the anticipation leading up to your opening in Berthoud in 2018.

To: The Broadmoor.
Gift: A 2018 U.S. Senior Open to rival the historical impact of the 1959 U.S. Amateur (winner: Jack Nicklaus), 1982 U.S. Women’s Amateur (winner: Juli Inkster) and 1995 U.S. Women’s Open (Annika Sorenstam) you hosted.

To: The CGA and CWGA.
Gift: A successful — and seamless — unification that pays dividends for male and female members across the state.

To: Part-time Colorado resident Kevin Stadler.
Gift: A return to the PGA Tour after battling hand problems for the last three years.

To: Dustin Jensen, the soon-departing managing director of operations for the CGA.
Gift: Happiness and peace of mind in relocating back to North Dakota, knowing you have positively impacted many in the Colorado golf community.

To: Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.
Gift: Knowledge that imitation around the country is the sincerest form of flattery.

To: Regulars at Denver’s City Park Golf Course.
Gift: That the end product when the course re-opens in 2019 after a redesign is worth the wait.

To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe.
Gift: A U.S. Senior Open victory in your old home state, at The Broadmoor, in 2018.

To: Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.
Gift: That similar programs will continue to take root around the state, nation and beyond.

To: Davis Bryant, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2017 male Player of the Year.
Gift: Advancing to the final four after qualifying for your third U.S. Junior Amateur in 2018.

To: Hiwan Golf Club.
Gift: That the Colorado squad will notch its second team title ever at the Girls Junior America’s Cup, when the club hosts the festivities in July.

To: Former Colorado resident Wyndham Clark.
Gift: Earning a PGA Tour card through your performance on the Web.com circuit in 2018.

To: CU Evans Scholars.
Gift: True appreciation for the opportunity you’ve been given, and that the words “life-changing” when describing the full tuition and housing scholarship for caddies aren’t just trite modifiers.

To: Colorado-based college golf programs.
Gift: Multiple berths in the national championship finals in 2018.

To: Part-time Boulder resident and two-time CoBank Colorado Open champion Jonathan Kaye.
Gift: A Web.com Tour win to go along with your two PGA Tour victories.

To: Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs.
Gift: Making a serious run at the age-group title on TV at the Drive Chip & Putt finals at Augusta National on the eve of the Masters.

To: Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program.
Gift: That the program’s efforts will eventually pay big-time dividends in growing the game in the state.

To: World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin.
Gift: Continuing to build an enduring legacy in Colorado — and beyond — through things like the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program and the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior.

To: Colorado golf volunteers.
Gift: The satisfaction of knowing the countless hours of work you devote keep the game vibrant in our state.

To: Denver native Mark Hubbard.
Gift: A return to the PGA Tour in 2018-19 after a three-year run on that circuit ended in August.

To: Colorado PGA professionals and local golf course superintendents.
Gift: Appreciation from golfers for the enjoyment you add to the game through your work.

To: Colorado-based First Tee programs.
Gift: Another stellar lineup of tour players for Colorado-based exhibitions in 2018 to provide inspiration for young golfers in the state.

To: Hailey Schalk, the Junior Golf Alliance’s female Player of the Year in 2017.
Gift: A run at the title in the 2018 Girls Junior America’s Cup at Hiwan Golf Club.

To: All in the Colorado golf community.
Gift: Happy holidays and a great year of golf ahead.
 

It’s been obvious for a while now that Jennifer Kupcho has been in a class by herself when competing in CWGA events and other tournaments in Colorado.

Now the CWGA is further cementing her lofty status. After being the CWGA Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons — an unprecedented feat — Kupcho has been awarded the CWGA’s “highest honor” for 2017, the President’s Award.

“The President’s Award is unlike any other CWGA award as it is only given when we recognize exceptional achievements and contributions to the game of golf,” CWGA president Juliet Miner said in her congratulatory letter to Kupcho. “Your outstanding performance in the U.S. and Canada this year illustrates why you have received this award.”

Kupcho (pictured), a 20-year-old from Westminster who’s a junior at Wake Forest, is one of three golfers being recognized by the CWGA for their play in 2017. Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Girls Player of the Year in 2016, was named the CWGA Player of the Year for the first time, while Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton earned the CWGA Senior Player of the Year honor for the third straight year and for the eighth time in nine years. Eaton has also been the CWGA’s overall Player of the Year a record four times, the last coming in 2010.

Here’s a rundown on the highlights of the season for each of the CWGA player honorees:

— Jennifer Kupcho, CWGA President’s Award: With a stellar 2017 season, Kupcho has vaulted into the No. 3 spot in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.

The Jefferson Academy graduate, who was inducted into the Sportswomen of Colorado’s Hall of Fame in 2017 after being named the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year in 2016, continued to blossom on a national/international level, while continuing to add to her Colorado resume. As a Wake Forest sophomore, she nearly became the first Coloradan to win the women’s individual NCAA Division I title as she led by two strokes with two holes left before a triple bogey resulted in a runner-up finish. A few days later, she bounced back to qualify 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.

Additionally, 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. 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, in the 2017 calendar year, Kupcho earned two individual titles, including at an NCAA Regional, and she was a finalist for women’s college player of the year.

The USGA announced earlier this month that Kupcho is one of a dozen American players invited to a Dec. 17-18 practice session in Birmingham, Ala., leading up to the 2018 Curtis Cup, a biennial competition between the top women’s amateurs from the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland. Kupcho isn’t guaranteed a spot on the eight-person U.S. Curtis Cup squad, but certainly has a leg up toward earning a berth in the matches, which will be played June 8-10 in Scarsdale, N.Y. Next month’s practice sessions are set for Shoal Creek Golf Club, host of the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open.

After her eventful 2017, Kupcho was thankful for the latest honor from the CWGA.

“Wow! What a great honor to receive such a high award,” Kupcho said in an email over the weekend. “Thank you to the Colorado Women’s Golf Association for awarding me.

“It has truly been a remarkable and memorable year for me on the golf course. I always love playing the events in Colorado and when I go out of state or country it’s always fun to hear and know that I have Colorado golf cheering me on. I want to thank everyone in the Colorado Golf Association and Colorado Women’s Golf Association for supporting me, and of course my parents for making everything I do golf-related possible as I continue to chase my dreams!”

— Mary Weinstein, CWGA Player of the Year: Weinstein, who transferred to the University of Denver in July after a season at Regis University, didn’t compete in a lot of tournaments this past summer, but she was a factor most of the time when she did tee it up.

Weinstein earned a spot in her first U.S. Women’s Amateur, becoming the first Colorado resident since 2015 to qualify in the state for the national tournament. In CWGA championships, the Highlands Ranch resident finished fourth in the Stroke Play and made the semifinals at the Match Play. She also made the cut and placed 35th in the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, finishing fourth among amateurs.

After being named the women’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and placing 22nd in the Women’s NCAA Division II Championship Finals in the spring, Weinstein made the transition to D-I at DU. The sophomore helped the Pioneers win two team titles in 11 days this fall and posted three top-15 showings individually.

“It is such an honor and I am humbled to be named the 2017 CWGA Player of the Year,” Weinstein told DenverPioneers.com. “I would like to thank the Colorado Women’s Golf Association for this award and all of the support they have given me throughout the years. I am also beyond grateful to be a part of the University of Denver women’s golf team and for all of the amazing opportunities that the program has given me.”

— Kim Eaton, CWGA Senior Player of the Year: Since turning 50 in 2009, Eaton has claimed the SPOY award from the CWGA in 2009 through ’13, and from 2015 through ’17. The one year she didn’t earn the honor, 2014, she was in a short-lived “retirement” from CWGA championship play. Also during that time, she was the overall Player of the Year in 2009 and ’10.

This year, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer won the CWGA Senior Stroke Play for the fifth time — and for the third time with a double-digit victory margin. She also claimed her fourth CWGA Senior Match Play, sweeping the association’s major senior titles in a single year for the third time.

The now-full-time Arizona resident owns 24 CWGA titles for her career, leaving her one behind Carol Flenniken’s record of 25.

Elsewhere, Eaton advanced to the round of 32 at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, a championship where she’s made the quarterfinals four times. She helped Arizona finish seventh in the final USGA Women’s State Team Championship and won the Arizona Women’s Golf Association State Amateur Seniors Championship for the eighth time. And the former police officer earned two gold medals and two silvers in golf in the World Police and Fire Games in Los Angeles. 

Kim Eaton now has an even handful of titles when it comes to the CWGA Senior Stroke Play.

The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer dominated the 35th playing of the tournament this week at Mariana Butte Golf Course in Loveland, winning the event for the fifth time “” but the first since 2013.

On Tuesday, the margin of victory was 13 shots, giving her three wins by double digits in the tournament. She prevailed by 16 shots in 2012 and by 10 in 2013.

Tuesday’s victory gave the Mesa, Ariz., resident her third season sweep of the CWGA Senior Stroke Play and Senior Match Play. She also managed to pull off that feat in 2010 and ’13.

“It’s a big deal to win both (in the same year),” said the 58-year-old (pictured). “There’s some good players here and when you can win both, that kind of tells you really who the best senior is in Colorado.”

Overall, Tuesday’s CWGA title was the 24th of Eaton’s career, leaving her just one shy of Carol Flenniken’s record of 25.

“It means I’m a step closer,” said Eaton, who tentatively plans to compete in the Senior Match Play, Senior Stroke Play and Brassie in Colorado in 2018. “It means next year I could do it.”

Eaton followed up her 5-under-par 67 on Monday with a 3-over 75 on Tuesday, leaving her with a 2-under 142 total. The four-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur quarterfinalist made three birdies on Tuesday, including an impressive one from 8 feet on the final hole after hitting her approach with her feet in a fairway bunker and her ball in the rough. “That was probably the longest putt I made all week,” said Eaton, whose one major blemish of the final round was a triple-bogey 8 on the fifth hole. (Eaton is pictured at top receiving a high-five from playing partner Tiffany Maurycy on No. 18 on Tuesday.)

“I started out birdie-par-birdie and thought, “˜Maybe I can do as good as I did yesterday,'” said Eaton, a former police officer who won two gold medals and two silvers in golf last week in the World Police and Fire Games in Los Angeles. “But that 8 kind of derailed me.”

Kathy West of Castle Pines, who recently won the CWGA Brassie title with Christie Austin, finished runner-up on Tuesday in just her second CWGA championship. West carded the best score of the final round, a 74, to check in at 11-over-par 155.

It was a welcome result for West, who has undergone a fusion of vertebrae in her neck and two shoulder surgeries in recent years, and endured a very rough airplane landing in 2016 that set back her recovery.

“I’m really thankful that I’m even able to play golf,” said West, who splits her time between Tulsa, Okla., Castle Pines and Scottsdale, Ariz. “I’m not sure I was going to be able to play (following the surgeries). Today I had it going. It was so much fun. This was probably was one of the best (ball)-striking rounds I’ve had since I had my surgeries. And it was in a tournament, which makes it better.

“It was a really good tournament for me. (The airplane situation) screwed up my neck again and so I had to start all over again getting healthy. This is only the second individual event for me since over a year ago. That’s one reason I’m kind of proud of (the result).”

Mary Doyen of Denver, the 2011 champion, came in third at 156 after a closing 76. (Pictured, from left, are Doyen, Eaton and West.) And two-time winner and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Lynn Zmistowski of Boulder was fourth at 157 after an 80 on Tuesday.

Maurycy, who had been in second place after Monday, self-reported signing an incorrect scorecard in the first round and was disqualified.

The gross score champions in the other flights were: Linda Raunig (First Flight, 74 82″“156); Patricia Sato (Second Flight, 83-79″“162); Peggy Puckett (Third Flight, 86-80″“166); Claudia Gallegos (Fourth Flight, 85 87″“172); Ann Scarry (Fifth Flight, 91-85″“176); Insook Bhushan (Sixth Flight, 87-97″“184); and Lucille Carroll (Seventh Flight, 93-96″“189).

The net flight winners were Doyen (Championship Flight, 73-69″“142); Linda Raunig (First Flight, 64-72″“136); Donna Edelen (Second Flight, 69-69″“138); Peggy Puckett (Third Flight, 70-64″“134); Claudia Gallegos (Fourth Flight, 68-70″“138); Ann Scarry (Fifth Flight, 70-64″“134); Insook Bhushan (Sixth Flight, 64-74″“138); Lucille Carroll (Seventh Flight, 64-67″“131).

For all the net scores, CLICK HERE.

CWGA Senior Stroke Play

At Par-72 Mariana Butte GC in Loveland

GROSS SCORES

Championship Flight

 Kim Eaton 67 75 “” 142

 Kathy West 81 74 “” 155

 Mary Doyen 80 76 “” 156

 Lynn Zmistowski 77 80 “” 157

 Kelly Martin 77 82 “” 159

 Christie Austin 77 83 “” 160

 Katherine Moore-Lilly 81 80 “” 161

 Kathy Malpass 82 80 “” 162

 Lisa Lee 84 81 “” 165

 Sandra Bickel 79 86 “” 165

 Meghan Christensen 84 82 “” 166

 Debra Woolf 85 82 “” 167

 Nina Dulacki 82 85 “” 167

 Laurie Steenrod 86 85 “” 171

 Pam Ryan 88 85 “” 173

 Tiffany Maurycy DQ

First Flight

Linda Raunig 74 82 “” 156

Jane Ford 78 79 “” 157

Jennifer Hocking 80 78 “” 158

Jill Kirkpatrick 82 76 “” 158

LeAnna Rosenow 80 78 “” 158

Nancy Werkmeister 83 81 “” 164

Louise Lyle 83 81 “” 164

Patty Smogor 83 81 “” 164

Mary Lou Grooms 80 85 “” 165

Kathleen Johnson 81 85 “” 166

Kate Connor 83 84 “” 167

Dee Baker 86 83 “” 169

Phyllis Emrich 84 85 “” 169

Second Flight

Patricia Sato 83 79 “” 162

Donna Edelen 82 82 “” 164

Pam Cortez 84 83 “” 167

Karen Leuschel 83 84 “” 167

Mariko Coplin 83 86 “” 169

Wendy Atkinson 81 89 “” 170

Kay Geitner 82 89 “” 171

Kimalee Hull 89 83 “” 172

Myoungsoon Kim 86 86 “” 172

Patricia Swanson 87 85 “” 172

Valerie Hunter 83 90 “” 173

Sue Dischner 86 88 “” 174

Karen Chase 89 87 “” 176

Debra Bolke 95 89 “” 184

Maggie Brindley 94 95 “” 189

Chris Jansen WD

Tina Johnson WD

Third Flight

Peggy Puckett 86 80 “” 166

Karin Hathaway 80 89 “” 169

Hee Chung 85 84 “” 169

Anne Cadden 82 88 “” 170

Berta Thimmig 87 83 “” 170

Barbara Mcduffie 86 87 “” 173

Dot Lindsey 90 83 “” 173

Janine Lowe 84 90 “” 174

Vicki Porter 84 90 “” 174

Pam Levkulich 88 91 “” 179

Darlene Evans 89 90 “” 179

Suzanne Wibby 92 89 “” 181

Suzanne Kanaly 89 93 “” 182

Kathryn Davis 91 92 “” 183

Jean Melaragno 93 91 “” 184

Jennifer Tempas 94 93 “” 187

Lea Croghan 98 92 “” 190

Fourth Flight

Claudia Gallegos 85 87 “” 172

Pam Hauck 85 88 “” 173

Pat O’Connor 90 87 “” 177

Joni Hornbeck 90 89 “” 179

Amy Hicks 86 93 “” 179

Paula Sinn-Penfold 89 91 “” 180

Deborah Sturm 92 89 “” 181

Kate Laudon 93 88 “” 181

Jenny Elliott 87 95 “” 182

Judy Maillis 91 94 “” 185

Peggy Bauer 93 93 “” 186

Paulette Engrav 101 95 “” 196

Irene Stein 103 100 “” 203

Fifth Flight

Ann Scarry 91 85 “” 176

Sharon Thiel 91 87 “” 178

Linda Yamaguchi 93 86 “” 179

Juna Orr 89 93 “” 182

Cindy Ortega 95 87 “” 182

Mary Goulart 91 93 “” 184

Connie Garcia 91 94 “” 185

Amber Leis 104 84 “” 188

Sammy Scoma 95 94 “” 189

Dee Riedel 99 91 “” 190

Kim Normandin 100 90 “” 190

Sue Knutson 104 89 “” 193

Veronica Crain 100 96 “” 196

Carol Jessop 101 101 “” 202

Deb Stratton 100 110 “” 210

Sixth Flight

Insook Bhushan 87 97 “” 184

Beverly Byer 94 92 “” 186

Rochelle Tisdale 94 92 “” 186

Becky Finger 97 90 “” 187

Susan Elliott 102 91 “” 193

JoAnn Barbour 97 97 “” 194

Bunny Ambrose 96 100 “” 196

Betty-Ann Wittenberg 101 96 “” 197

Vickie Bajtelsmit 100 101 “” 201

Laura Laux 106 98 “” 204

Sandy McChesney 103 101 “” 204

Rachel Maes 100-WD

Seventh Flight

Lucille Carroll 93 96 “” 189

Barbara Bender 96 96 “” 192

Marcia Hall 99 95 “” 194

Nancy Loftus 101 98 “” 199

Kathy Flynn 101 99 “” 200

Woody Hagin 102 98 “” 200

Susie Goldberg 105 100 “” 205

Cheri Wallace 101 105 “” 206

Kathy Mansueto 101 106 “” 207

JoAnn Smith 105 103 “” 208

Dolly Moreno 107 104 “” 211

Deanna Messerli 107 109 “” 216

Lesley Ackerman 110 113 “” 223 

Eaton, a Mesa, Ariz., resident who last won this championship in 2013, made six birdies on Monday and fired a 5-under-par 67.

Earlier this summer, Eaton (pictured) won the CWGA Senior Match Play and now she’s seeking a 2017 sweep of the top state titles for women amateurs 50 and older. Should Eaton win on Tuesday, she’ll own 24 CWGA championships overall, leaving her one short of Carol Flenniken’s career record.

Tiffany Maurycy of Denver is Eaton’s closest pursuer heading into Tuesday’s final round. She shot a 3-over-par 75 on Monday.

Two Colorado Golf Hall of Famers “” Christie Austin of Denver and Lynn Zmistowski of Boulder, each of whom has won this championship twice “” share third place at 77 with Kelly Martin.

In all, 116 players are entered in the 36-hole championship, with competition broken up into eight flights, both gross and net.

Tuesday’s final round will begin at 9 a.m., for all competitors “” via shotgun start.

 For all the scores, CLICK HERE.