The former Colorado School of Mines golfer tied for 10th place in his first tournaent as a PGA Tour rookie, at the Safeway Open in October.

Then on Sunday, in just his eighth career start on the circuit, the 29-year-old not only matched his age with a very respectable 29th place at Torrey Pines in San Diego, but he made the first hole-in-one at the Farmers Insurance Open since 2015.

The native of Basalt aced the 193-yard third hole — his 12th of the day — at the South Course, using an 8-iron. (He’s pictured signing the ball after the feat, in a photo on Twitter.)

Knous played his final 10 holes in 5 under par and shot a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday. That gave him an 8-under 280 total.

Another golfer who grew up in Colorado, Denver native Wyndham Clark, also posted a top-40 finish on Sunday, placing 35th. But after coming into the final round in 11th place, Clark struggled on his final nine holes, playing it in 4-over 40 despite two birdies. Clark closed with a 75 for a 281 total.

Justin Rose won the title on Sunday with a 267 total.

For all the scores from the Farmers Insurance Open, CLICK HERE.

After having earned her 2019 LPGA Tour card but deferring taking membership because she wanted to complete her senior season and graduate from Wake Forest, Kupcho (left in an LPGA photo) indicated earlier this month that she planned to focus on school and college golf in her final semester at Wake.

But after the team’s schedule underwent some minor tweaking, Kupcho decided to compete at Augusta National just before the Masters. The 21-year-old earned an invitation by being among the top 30 U.S. players in the final Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking of 2018. (Updated Jan. 23: Kupcho returned to No. 1 in the world rankings on Wednesday.)

Augusta National Women’s Amateur officials announced on Tuesday that 66 players have accepted invitations for the inaugural event, including 36 from outside the U.S. A 72-person field is planned.

The competitors will play the first 36 holes at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga., on April 3 and 4, with a practice round set for Augusta National on April 5 before the 30 players who make the cut compete in the final round at Augusta National on Saturday, April 6.

NBC will televise three hours of that final round, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (MT)

For the entire Augusta National Women’s Amateur field to date, CLICK HERE.
 

Just about every major national golf publication does course rankings of one sort or another these days.

There are general course rankings — nationally, internationally and by state — as well as ones for modern courses, classic courses, residential courses, resort courses, “courses you can play”, military courses, casino courses, courses in Mexico and the Caribbean … The lists go on and on.

But it wasn’t always so.

It was Golf Digest that got things rolling in a big way on the course ranking front. Since 1966, the publication has compiled a biennial ranking of “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses”, which is the self-proclaimed “gold standard in the golf community.”

Golf Digest panelists play and evaluate courses based on seven criteria: shot values, resistance to scoring, design variety, memorability, aesthetics, conditioning and ambience.

With two years since its last rankings, Golf Digest last week published its 2019-20 edition of America’s 100 Greatest. And Colorado was well-represented, with two courses in the top 50 and three in the top 75.

Pine Valley in Pine Valley, N.J., checks in at No. 1 for the 14th time since 1985.

The rest of the top 10 are Augusta National in Augusta, Ga., home of the Masters (2), Cypress Point in Pebble Beach, Calif. (3), Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y. (4), Oakmont in Oakmont, Pa. (5), Merion (East) in Ardmore, Pa. (6), Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. (7), National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y. (8), Sand Hills in Mullen, Neb. (9) and Fishers Island in Fishers Island, N.Y. (10).

As for Colorado-based courses, Ballyneal (above) in Holyoke checked in at No. 46, Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock at No. 48, and Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village at No. 72. Here a short rundown on each:

46. Ballyneal in Holyoke — The minimalist Tom Doak design, which opened in 2006, has reached its highest point in the Golf Digest rankings, having been 50th two years ago. It’s been included among the America’s 100 Greatest since 2011.

Here’s Golf Digest’s take on Ballyneal: “If No. 9 Sand Hills Golf Club stands for the notion that there’s nothing more glorious than a round of golf beyond the range of cell phone reception, then Ballyneal (Tom Doak’s northeast Colorado answer to Nebraska’s Sand Hills) proves that isolated golf is even better when Spartan in nature. With no carts and with dry, tan fescue turf on fairways and greens, Ballyneal is even more austere than Sand Hills. It provides absolutely firm and fast conditions, and with many greens perched on hilltops, the effect of wind on putts must be considered. Other than No. 15 Friar’s Head, Ballyneal is the only course to have constantly risen in our rankings over the past 10 years.”

48. Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock — Designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1981, Castle Pines (left) hosted the PGA Tour’s International from 1986 through 2006. The course has been ranked continuously in the America’s 100 Greatest since 1987, peaking at No. 28 in 2009-10. It was in the No. 42 slot two years ago. Jack Vickers, the club’s founder, passed away in September.

Here’s Golf Digest’s take on Castle Pines: “When Golf Digest began its annual Best New Course awards in 1983, the review panel selected Castle Pines as the Private Course winner, but Bill Davis, co-founder of Golf Digest and founding father of all its course rankings, didn’t care for the course and vetoed its inclusion. So no private course was honored that year. Davis soon recognized his error, and in 1987 — its first year of eligibility — Castle Pines joined America’s 100 Greatest and has remained there ever since. Club founder Jack Vickers, a Midwest oilman, had urged architect Jack Nicklaus to produce a mountain-venue design worthy of a major championship. Jack did, but when a championship never resulted, Vickers established his own, The International, which for many years was the only PGA Tour event played under a unique Stableford format. It’s a pity that The International is no longer on the Tour’s schedule.”

72. Cherry Hills in Cherry Hills Village — The William Flynn-designed course, which opened in 1922, has hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, a U.S. Women’s Open, a U.S. Senior Open, two U.S. Amateurs, a BMW Championship and nine USGA championships overall. Cherry Hills (left) has been included almost continuously — aside from 1971-72 — in America’s 100 Greatest since its inception in 1966. Its highest ranking was 21st in 2003-04 and it was slotted at No. 73 two years ago.

Here’s Golf Digest’s take on Cherry Hills: “When Cherry Hills opened in the early 1920s, it was a ground-breaking design, with the nation’s first par-5 island green and closing back-to-back par-5s, although in championship play the 18th is played as a par-4. In the 1960 U.S. Open, winner Arnold Palmer popularized the idea of a drivable par 4 by going for the first green in every round. Curiously, when Palmer and partner Ed Seay remodeled Cherry Hills in 1976, they lengthened the first hole so no player could duplicate Arnie’s feat. Nearly 40 years later, modern equipment has once again made the first hole reachable from the tee.”

For the entire list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile, another ranking was also recently published, with Golf Advisor listing its top 50 golf courses in the U.S., determined by ratings and reviews received by Golf Advisor in 2018.

One Colorado course made the grade, with Pole Creek Golf Club in Tabernash slotted in at No. 44.

Golf Advisor’s top course for the rankings was the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y.

For the complete Golf Advisor list, CLICK HERE.

Cunningham (left) — grandson of the late Chuck Melvin, who played in six Colorado Cup matches — finished No. 2 on the Canadian money list in 2018, which earned him status on the Web.com Tour for 2019.

In Cozumel, PGA Tour Latinoamerica defeated PGA Tour Canada 11.5-8.5 on Saturday despite Cunningham going undefeated.

In Saturday’s singles, Cunninham halved with Latinoamerica’s Marcelo Rozo in a back-and-forth match in which Rozo led most of the front nine and Cunningham was 2 up after 13 holes. But after Rozo went 1 up with a birdie on No. 17, Cunningham won 18 with a par to earn the halve.

In Thursday’s four-ball, George Cunningham and Sam Fidone defeated Nicolas Echavarria and Rozo, 2 and 1, rallying after being 2 down after eight holes.

And in Friday’s foursomes, Cunningham and Zach Wright beat Austin Smotherman and Matt Gilchrest, 2 up, after winning the last two holes with pars.

For all the results from the Cozumel Cup, CLICK HERE.
 

Just in the last week or so, there have been honors bestowed for golf courses, private clubs and club fitters. And Colorado-based organizations have been among those featured prominently.

For example:

— In Golfweek’s Top 200 Residential Courses in the U.S., published this week, the Wade Hampton Club in Cashiers, N.C., is No. 1 in the category, and seven courses in Colorado made the list, including two in the top 10:

No. 5: Colorado Golf Club (left) in Parker, which in 2019 will host the U.S. Mid-Amateur for players 25 and older. The Solheim Cup and the Senior PGA Championship have also been held at Colorado GC.

No. 10: Castle Pines Golf Club. Castle Pines, founded by the late Jack Vickers and designed by Jack Nicklaus, hosted The International PGA Tour event from 1986 through 2006.

No. 28: The Mountain Course at Glacier Club in Durango.

No. 42: The Club at Redlands Mesa in Grand Junction.

No. 60: Golf Club at Ravenna in Littleton.

No. 132: Cherry Creek Country Club in Denver.

No. 179: Aspen Glen in Carbondale.

For Golfweek’s complete list, CLICK HERE.

— Four Colorado golf courses were included in Golfweek’s Top 200 Resort Courses in the U.S., a list also published this week.

In a category headed by Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, two courses each from The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and Red Sky in Wolcott were included:

No. 60: East Course at The Broadmoor, which hosted its second U.S. Senior Open this year and has been the site of six USGA championships overall, including two U.S. Women’s Opens.

No. 74: Fazio Course at Red Sky.

No. 125: West Course at The Broadmoor, host for the 1967 U.S. Amateur.

No. 155: Norman Course at Red Sky.

For Golfweek’s complete list, CLICK HERE.

— The top Platinum Clubs of the World for 2018-19 were likewise unveiled recently. The list recognizes the finest private golf and country clubs, 700 of which do the voting. That voting is based on universal recognition, excellence in amenities and facilities, caliber of staff and professional service levels, quality of membership, governance and prudent fiscal management, adapting to changing times and overall experience.

While Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, home of the Masters, earned the No. 1 spot on the list, Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado made honorable mention, which goes to clubs that were ranked in the 101-175 category.

For all the Platinum honorees, CLICK HERE.

— This week, Golf Digest published its list of America’s 100 Best Clubfitters after consulting the magazine’s course ratings panel, “industry sources” and reader recommendations. Included are 86 state/regional facilities and 14 national chains included.

Seven facilities in Colorado made the top 100.

Denver-based GolfTEC had three of its Colorado locations on Golf Digest’s list — Centennial, Colorado Springs (Chapel Hills) and Denver (DTC). Thirty-three GolfTEC facilities outside of Colorado are also included among the best.

Likewise in the top 100 are Club Champion Denver in Highlands Ranch, Gott Golf in Denver, D’Lance Golf Performance Center in Englewood, and the PGA Tour Superstore in Greenwood Village.

For Golf Digest’s complete list, CLICK HERE.
 

The fall portion of the college golf season wrapped up last week for the Division I programs based in Colorado.

There were plenty of highlights for teams and players with major connections to the Centennial State and, probably not coincidentally, many of those superlatives took place in tournaments held in Colorado.

As we enter intermission for a 2018-19 season that won’t resume in earnest until February in most cases — or late January at least — we’ll revisit some of the top local moments from the fall Division I schedule:

— The University of Colorado men’s squad claimed two team titles in September — at the season-opening Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy, and at their own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in Erie.

— Not to be outdone, the Colorado State University men also won twice team-wise in the fall. The Rams claimed their fifth straight title as they hosted the Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins, then prevailed in winter-like conditions at the Paintbrush Invitational in Parker.

— On the women’s side, CSU accomplished a momentous feat by earning a team victory at a major invitational for the first time in over eight years. It came at the University of Denver’s Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, the Rams’ third tournament under new head coach Laura Cilek.

— At that same event, CSU junior Ellen Secor claimed the first individual victory of her college career. Secor subsequently was named the Mountain West Conference’s Women’s Golfer of the Month for October. And notably, one of the two players who tied for second in Highlands Ranch, a stroke behind Secor, was CSU’s Katrina Prendergast, Secor’s teammate when the two won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball national championship in May. (The two are pictured, with Secor at left.)

— Kyler Dunkle, who grew up in Colorado and won the CGA Amateur in August, had a stellar fall individually as a senior at Utah. Dunkle won the individual title at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational for the second straight year. And this time, it was his second college win in eight days. Dunkle finished the fall with three top-four finishes.

— Also at CU’s Simpson Invitational, Buffs sophomore Trevor Olkowski technically tied for the individual title — and it will go down as a victory — though Dunkle beat him in a playoff by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole. (Below, Olkowski is pictured with Dunkle, in the red shirt.)

— Junior Daniel O’Loughlin, a CU teammate of Olkowski, recorded an outright individual victory at the season opener at the Air Force Academy. O’Loughlin notched four top-10 finishes in five fall tournaments.

— One of the more remarkable performances of the fall was by CSU freshman Oscar Teiffel, from Sweden. In a final round of the Paintbrush Invitational in which temperatures hovered in the mid-30s and it was snowing more than a little, Teiffel carded a stellar 5-under-par 67 at Colorado Golf Club. The three-stroke victory was the first for Teiffel in his young college career.

Add up all of the above, and local schools recorded five team victories in the fall, and local players posted six individual wins — or, in Olkowski’s case, a tie for first.

— Junior Robyn Choi, the top player for the CU women, didn’t manage an individual victory in the fall, but certainly made a few runs at it. In all, she had three top-six finishes in three fall tournaments. And, perhaps most impressively, she earned her LPGA card for 2019 by finishing 45th in the final stage of Q-school, the Q-Series.

— Coby Welch, a junior at the University of Northern Colorado who went to the U.S. Amateur in August, had a strong fall, notching three top-five individual finishes — all coming in Colorado. He was third at both the Gene Miranda and Ram Masters, and fifth at the Paintbrush Invite.

— Freshmen had the top two stroke averages for CSU in the fall: Teiffel (70.77) and Aurora resident Davis Bryant (72.13).

— Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch, a junior at the University of Denver, shot a program-record 8-under-par 64 to close out the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. The stellar final round gave Weinstein her best individual finish — third place — since transferring from Regis to DU in the summer of 2017.

— Luke Trujillo, a freshman from Colorado Springs, leads the Air Force Academy golf team in stroke average after the fall season with a 74.4 norm.

— Beah Cruz, a sophomore from Vacaville, Calif., recorded two top-10 individual finishes for the University of Northern Colorado women in the fall — a sixth and a ninth.

— Meanwhile, in a matter not directly related to performance, this season a DU women’s player is carrying a golf bag at each tournament that honors Danny Dietz, a Navy Seal and former Littleton resident who was killed in combat in 2005 during the war in Afghanistan. Coach Lindsay Kuhle went to Heritage High School with Dietz, knows his family, and came up with the idea to pay tribute to Dietz through the Folds of Honor Foundation program. Dietz’s story was part of the book and movie “Lone Survivor”.

Below are the rankings for the Colorado-based NCAA Division I teams as of the end of the fall season (updated Nov. 14):

Men
Colorado State ( 47th Golfstat, 51st Golfweek)
Colorado (73rd Golfstat, 81st Golfweek)
Northern Colorado (118th Golfstat, 122nd Golfweek)
Denver (137th Golfstat, 149th Golfweek)
Air Force Academy (203rd Golfstat, 204th Golfweek)

Women
Colorado (36th Golfweek, 42nd Golfstat)
Colorado State (69th Golfstat, 74th Golfweek)
Denver (79th Golfweek, 81st Golfstat)
Northern Colorado (149th Golfstat, 150th Golfweek)

And here are the rankings of local players in the top 250 in the nation:

Men
91. Longtime Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (Golfweek)
110. Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (Golfstat)
118. Oscar Teiffel, CSU (Golfweek)
120. Coby Welch, UNC (Golfstat)
189. Davis Bryant, CSU (Golfweek)
238. Trevor Olkowski, CU (Golfstat)

Women
11. Robyn Choi, CU (Golfstat)
57. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest (Golfweek)
72. Kirsty Hodgkins, CU (Golfweek)
87. Mary Weinstein, DU (Golfweek)
97. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, Harvard (Golfweek)
192. Katrina Prendergast, CSU (Golfstat)
 

When PGA head professional Dan O’Shaughnessy and the rest of the folks at Meadow Hills Golf Course in Aurora first heard about the Youth on Course initiative coming to Colorado early in 2018, his reaction was simple:

“Win, win.”

A win for kids in the Youth on Course program, who pay no more than $5 per round at participating facilities. And a win for those courses, which receive a subsidy as part of the initiative, and which can be adding long-term customers. And it’s also a victory for golf in general, helping kids fall in love with the game, which can pay dividends years and decades down the line.

In Colorado, Youth on Course was launched at the beginning of 2018 with the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado — founded and operated by the CGA and the Colorado PGA — overseeing the program in the Centennial State. Fifteen courses in Colorado signed on for 2018 — some allowing the kids to play for $5 or less anytime, and others with day and time restrictions.

Those 15 courses include facilities from the western half of the state (Lincoln Park in Grand Junction, Gypsum Creek and Vail Golf Club), the south (Silver Spruce in Colorado Springs) and the north (City Park Nine in Fort Collins), besides the Denver metro area. All five City of Aurora courses were among those to embrace the initiative in its first year in Colorado. For a complete list of the participating facilities in the Centennial State, CLICK HERE.

Overall, 661 junior rounds were played in the state as part of Youth on Course in 2018, with more than $3,800 in subsidies paid out to participating facilities by the national Youth on Course foundation. Soon, Colorado-based funding will be used to pay the subsidies.

Youth on Course was one of the topics of conversation last week at the annual Colorado Public Golf Operators Meeting held at Meadow Hills.

That site was appropriate given that Meadow Hills led the way on the Youth on Course front in Colorado in year 1. O’Shaughnessy, who accepted an award on behalf of Meadow Hills for that reason (left), said the course had about 230 Youth on Course rounds in 2018.

“They gave us the info (on the program) in February or March. We read it over and thought, ‘Win, win,'” O’Shaughnessy said after the meeting. “Number 1, we’re not doing something that reduces our revenue. We keep it the same, but by reducing the cost to the participant, it’s a winner. A kid comes in at 2 o’clock, $5, he’s off and playing. We’ll get our $6 back (on an $11 junior green free). It’s fantastic from that perspective.”

YOC, a non-profit started in 2006 as a Northern California Golf Association initiative, has been steadily taking root across the country, mainly through USGA-affiliated Allied Golf Associations — traditionally known as state and regional golf associations — and affiliated organizations. To date, according to the Youth on Course website, there have been 45,000 members, with 900 participating courses and more than 700,000 rounds of golf having been subsidized.

In Colorado, in order to participate in the Youth on Course program, youngsters must be JGAC members. Youth on Course members in Colorado can play for $5 or less at participating courses outside the state as well.

In Meadow Hills’ case, Youth on Course was used in part to lessen costs for junior golfers as the facility launched a league for kids 14-16 years old — just older than those who participate in PGA Jr. League.

“We did quite a few through that league,” O’Shaugnessy said. “They would come out every Monday, play in a league, play match play, play stroke play, and have fun and it would cost them $5 (per round). That was easy to put into a package and we had about 50 (participants) this year. We hope to double it next year. There were two prices: $250 and $170. All they had to do to get the $170 deal was join the Junior Golf Alliance and become eligible for Youth on Course. It was a pretty simple equation.”

Meadow Hills uses Youth on Course as part of a bigger initiative to build junior golf.

“We didn’t see a lot of loveblood” years ago, O’Shaugnessy said. “But we built a little three-hole course on a dead area on the course. We paired with First Tee of Front Range to bring in their programming here. So this (Youth on Course) was part of a bigger puzzle to try to build our club to be more junior focused. We’ve been doing PGA Jr. League for six years — we’re one of the initial ones to do that — so that’s been a great component. And now we’re building some other components around it because it’s got a lot of momentum. It’s a high priority.”

CGA executive director Ed Mate predicted a year ago that Youth on Course could be a game-changer for player development.

And what’s his impression after one year of having the initiative in Colorado?

“I think it’s a good start,” he said. “Like most things, it takes time to establish them. … My sense is we’re going to double next year easily, then it will just go from there.”

One issue is potentialy making the Youth on Course initiative work for facilities that have “kids play free” programs already in place. It’s possible moving forward that Youth on Course can help such facilities by using subsidy dollars for marketing and advertising such programs.

“Today just proves we need to be nimble to adjust,” Mate said after hearing some feedback from public course operators.

But generally speaking, Mate sees great promise for Youth on Course — and the potential for considerable growth, both locally and beyond.

“It’s such a small footprint of courses doing it (so far in Colorado), but the ones that were — like Dan here — just loved it,” Mate said. “I’d love to see more of the Youth on Course stuff in windows, but I just think we did a really good job of setting the stage for next year.

“This group today (at the Public Course Operators Meeting) is our core audience for that because it’s not something you offer through private clubs. It’s a public golf initiative. That’s one of the reasons I love it. If it wasn’t for public golf, I wouldn’t be a golfer. And if wasn’t for municipal golf, I wouldn’t be a golfer. This is my home here.”

And at facilities like Meadow Hills, the bottom line is that Youth on Course helped increase rounds among junior golfers — which is exactly what the initiative is all about.

“They played a lot more,” O’Shaghnessy said of participants. “You’re just taking the number of rounds up. If they played two or three times — he or she has that many dollars — and now they have more dollars (thanks to the subsidy) and they play five, six, seven times. We definitely saw that.

“I don’t know if it brought a new player into (the game) — there are other avenues to get kids in — but an established kid that wanted to play heard about this program, signed up and played more.”

For more information about Youth on Course in Colorado or to inquire about joining the program, contact Holly Champion from the Colorado PGA at hchampion@pgahq.com

Public Course Operators Meeting Notes: Fifty-two people attended the Nov. 1 Colorado Public Golf Operators Meeting at Meadow Hills (left). As always, much of the discussion at the event was centered around best practices — and bouncing ideas off one another — so that public operators can run as efficiently as possible. Also, attendees were brought up to date on programs and activities operated by the CGA, Colorado PGA and the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. During the winter and early spring, the CGA compiles data from a rounds and revenue survey of the public golf operators that gives a sense of the general direction of the golf business in the state.

This week, when Stadler plays in the Sanderson Farms Championship that starts on Thursday in Jackson, Miss., Koepka is No. 1 in the world, Thomas is fourth and Molinari sixth.

Yes, it’s been that long.

Stadler — a part-time Denver resident who won a state high school title while at Kent Denver, notched victories in two CGA Match Plays and captured the Colorado Open championship in his pro debut in 2002 — this week will be competing on the PGA Tour for the first time since missing the cut in the John Deere Classic in July 2015. The last time Stadler has made a cut on the world’s top tour was over four years ago, at the Shiners Hospitals for Children Open.

“There’s no reason to stay away now (from the PGA Tour),” Stadler said in an interview with ColoradoGolf.org after missing the cut in the CoBank Colorado Open in late July.

Stadler won the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open for his first victory on the PGA Tour, finished eighth at the Masters that spring and placed 36th on the Tour money list that season with more than $2.3 million in earnings. That’s in addition to being runner-up in the 2014 European Tour’s Alstom Open de France at the course that hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup.

But just as Stadler was becoming one of the better players on the PGA Tour, things went awry in a hurry. In November 2014 while competing in China, he began experiencing major pain in his left hand.

“It literally felt like I had a firecracker going off in my palm every time I’d practice,” he said in 2016. “It was a nightmare.”

It turns out Stadler had a broken hamate bone and nerve damage. But it took a l-o-n-g time for the doctors to come to that conclusion — years, in fact. In August 2017, he finally had the surgery that alleviated the pain.

“It’s 100 percent (healed),” Stadler said regarding the hand in late July. “They couldn’t diagnose it for the longest time. It was the same bone they were fixated on the whole time. But for the previous 18 months I kept being told it was fully healed. It was actually broken and kept getting worse, but I kept being told it was fine. Because I didn’t know what was wrong, I kept trying to play and dealing with the pain, which caused a lot of funky things to pop up in my golf swing. A lot of different hand motion and stuff that instinctively happened to lessen the pain. It still hurt like hell, but it was less.

“It feels fine now, but the motor skills have taken over that I’ve got to unwind. That’s what I’m working on right now.”

Stadler will compete in the 2018-19 PGA Tour wraparound season on a major medical extension. He will have 26 tournaments to earn at least $717,890 in order to keep his exempt status.

Stadler has certainly competed since initially getting injured in November 2014 — just not on the PGA Tour. There were three events in 2015 — the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the Masters and the aforementioned John Deere Classic. Between 2017 and ’18, there have been four tournaments on the Web.com Tour, where Stadler won four times more than a decade ago. And he finished 41st in the 2016 Colorado Open and missed the cut at that same event this year. In every case, he was either still injured or trying to knock the considerable rust off his game.

“I developed a lot of really ugly habits in my golf swing that I have to unwind,” he said at the Colorado Open almost three months ago. “It’s great coming out and seeing what it is in competition.

“The whole thing (regarding damage in the hand) was a mess. I was told it was a stress fracture. A year later I was told it was fully healed, but it kept getting worse. I stopped after having about 6-8 MRIs on it. They told me it was healed for nine months in a row and I was still having pain. They couldn’t find the answer for it. The pain finally got back to day 1 excruciating last summer (in 2017). I was told it was 75 percent broken. I’d seen six different hand surgeons — and they’re all in major league baseball. I had two out of maybe six or seven guys tell me I needed surgery initially and the other guys said not to.

“But it’s doing great now. I just need to figure out how to get the game back in working order.”

Stadler has competed in 264 PGA Tour events over his career, winning about $9.7 million. And now he’s looking forward to a full-schedule season for the first time since 2013-14, when he played in 26 events.

“I can just play like a normal season,” the 38-year-old said. “Ideally I’d just make the playoffs next year and get my (card) that way and don’t have to worry about starts or anything. But worse-case scenario, if I play say 21-22 events, then I have four more for the following season to try to get whatever I may need.”

During the Colorado Open, Stadler appeared to have dropped some weight.

“I’m just trying to get rid of what I found in the last few years off,” he said. “I needed to drop some. Being away from marching on a golf course 25 times a year, five days a week, it snuck up on me and stacked them on. So starting to get rid of a few.”

Also in the Sanderson Farms field this week are several other competitors with strong Colorado ties: Jim Knous and Wyndham Clark, who like Stadler grew up in Colorado; former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders; and former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird.
 

Some of the best players in the state age 13 and under competed in the event, with the designated “Team Europe” (pictured) defeating Team USA 19-13 after three sessions of matches.

While the USA won Sunday’s 18-hole singles session, 9-7, Europe had built a commanding lead in the team portion of the event, winning the nine-hole four-ball and the nine-hole foursomes — both held on Saturday — by 6-2 margins in each case.
  “¨
Out of the 32 juniors who competed in the Junior Ryder Cup, just four won all three of their matches — Emily Cheng (USA), Caitlyn Chin (Europe), Wes Erling (Europe) and Frank Lockwood (Europe).

Junior Ryder Cup ResultsӬ
At CommonGround GC in AuroraӬ
OVERALL SCORE: TEAM EUROPE 19, TEAM USA 13

Sunday’s 18-Hole Singles (USA 9, Europe 7)
Emily Cheng (USA) def. Hadley Ashton, 1 up
Liam Wood (USA) def. Matai Naqica, 2 and 1
Kaitlin Zingler (Europe) def. Gisella Lagrimas, 4 and 3
Charlie Flaxbeard (USA) halved with Blake Sullivan
Caitlyn Chin (Europe) def. Brooke Hudson, 4 and 3
Wes Erling (Europe) def. Luke Cushman, 4 and 3
Ashleigh Wilson (USA) def. Logan Hale, 2 up
Carter Surofcheck (USA) halved with Yusuke Ogi
Colin Young (Europe) def. Andrew White, 4 and 3
Frank Lockwood (Europe) def. Tiki Jaffe, 3 and 2
Ben Chin (USA) def. Jack Chambers, 6 and 5
Will Balliet (USA) def. Grant Samuelson, 4 and 3
Livia Pett (Europe) def. Addison Hines, 1 up
Miles Kuhl (USA) def. Andre Dumonteil, 2 and 1
Maddie Makino (USA) def. Taylor Wilson, 2 and 1
Clint Summers III (USA) def. Brayden Destefano, 1 upӬ

Saturday’s 9-Hole Four-Ball (Europe 6, USA 2)”¨
Naqica/Sullivan (Europe) def. Wood/Flaxbeard, 2 and 1
Erling/Yogi (Europe) def. Cushman/Surofcheck, 1 up
White/Balliet (USA) def. Young/Samuelson, 2 and 1
Chambers/Lockwood (Europe) def. B. Chin/Jaffe, 3 and 2
Cheng/Lagrimas (USA) def. Ashton/Zingler, 3 and 2
C. Chin/Hale (Europe) def. Hudson/A. Wilson, 2 and 1
Dumonteil/Destefano (Europe) def. Kuhl/Summers, 1 up
Pett/T. Wilson (Europe) def. Hines/Makino, 2 and 1

Saturday’s 9-Hole Foursomes (Europe 6, USA 2)
Naqica/Sullivan (Europe) def. Wood/Flaxbeard, 1 up
Erling/Ogi (Europe) def. Cushman/Surofcheck, 2 and 1
Young/Samuelson (Europe) def. A. White/Balliet, 1 up
Chambers/Lockwood (Europe) def. B. Chin/Jaffe, 2 up
Cheng/Lagrimas (USA) def. Ashton/Zingler, 1 up
C. Chin/Hale (Europe) def. Hudson/A. Wilson 1 up
Domonteil/Destefano (Europe) def. Kuhl/Summers, 1 up
Hines/Makino (USA) def. Pett/T. Wilson, 1 up”¨    

In a field of 56 players — 35 on the boys side and 21 on the girls — 16-year-old Jacob Mason of Westminster shot a 2-under-par 69 for the boys lead and 3A state high school champion Jackson Klutznick of Denver posted a 1-under 70 to also finish in red numbers.

Meanwhile Caroline Jordaan of Lakewood, who has committed to play her college golf at the University of Denver, carded an even-par 71 to take a three-stroke lead in the girls competition at the fourth and final JGAC Tour major of 2018.

Mason, the winner of a JGAC Tour event at Legacy Ridge in July, placed sixth individually on Tuesday at the 3A state high school meet while competing for Holy Family. He made four birdies and two bogeys on a cool Saturday at DCC.

Klutznick also carried over his strong play from the 3A state tournament, carding three birdies and two bogeys in round 1.

Billy Howenstein of Boulder, who tied Mason for sixth play at the 3A meet, holds third place at even-par 71 after a one-birdie, one-bogey day.

In the girls tournament, Caroline Jordaan and her younger sister, Marie, are 1-2 on the scoreboard, with 2016 JGAC Tour Championship winner Charlotte Hillary of Englewood sharing second place with the younger Jordaan.

Caroline Jordaan, runner-up in the 3A state tournament in the spring, recorded five birdies and five bogeys in round 1. She had three “2s” on her card.

Marie Jordaan and Hillary finished with one birdie and four bogeys each on Saturday.

Defending champion Hailey Schalk of Erie and 2018 JGAC Girls Junior Tour points leader Lauren Lehigh of Loveland each opened with a 77.

The 36-hole tournaments for both the boys and girls will conclude on Sunday.

For scores from the JGAC Tour Championship, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS