Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, a four-time quarterfinalist in the national Senior Women’s Am, earned medalist honors in qualifying in Scottsdale, Ariz., by shooting a 72 on Tuesday. And Kathy West of Castle Pines Golf Club also landed a spot at that site, posting a 79.
The Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs will host the Colorado-based qualifier for the event on Monday after the tournament was moved from the nearby Broadmoor because of hail damage. In Colorado Springs, 29 golfers will be vying for the seven spots in the U.S. Senior Women’s Am, which is set for Oct. 6-11 at Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach, Fla. That will mark the final USGA championship of 2018.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore of Centennial, who has qualfiied for every U.S. Senior Women’s Am for which she’s been eligible, will be in the field at the Country Club of Colorado. This year, she’s already competed in the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, and she’s also qualified for the upcoming U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, which will be her 27th USGA championship.
Also scheduled to play on Monday are fellow 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Am competitors Kristine Franklin of Broomfield, Susan Hartwell of Arvada, Marilyn Hardy of Gunnison, Kathy Malpass of Evergreen, Sandra Bickel of La Porte and Lisa Lee of Longmont.
Hartwell, Eaton and Franklin made match play at last year’s national championship, with Eaton and Hartwell advancing to the round of 32. So far in 2018, Franklin has won the CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play and fellow Monday competitor Tiffany Maurycy of Denver claimed the title in the CGA Women’s Senior Match Play.
For Monday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
]]>Walker Franklin of Broomfield, who finished second individually in the Class 3A state tourney last fall, scored a seven-stroke victory in the boys division of the JGAC Spring Tour event at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
And Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora, the reigning 5A state high school individual champion, posted a one-shot win in the girls division in Colorado Springs. (Franklin and Chitkoksoong are pictured.)
Franklin, son of Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and University of Colorado women’s assistant coach Brent Franklin and 1986 CWGA Stroke Play champion Kristine (Hoos) Franklin, ran away with the title in the 62-player boys event by carding rounds of 72-71. That left the 16-year-old with a 1-over-par 143 total. He made seven birdies over the course of two days.
Tying for second place at 150 on Sunday were former 4A state champion Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs, Jake Welch of Highlands Ranch and John McGinley of Casper, Wyo., all of whom went 74-76.
Meanwhile, Chitkoksoong recorded rounds of 80-76 for a 14-over-par 156 total to earn the girls title. The 17-year-old fended off Brittlynn Jade O’Dell of Grand Junction, who posted a tournament-best 73 on Sunday to check in at 157. After shooting an 84 on Saturday, O’Dell played her first 12 holes in 1 under on Sunday. But a bogey on her final hole dropped her out of a tie for the lead.
Maxine Choi of Colordo Springs (84-77) and Kaylee Chen of Denver (80-81) tied for third place out of a field of 23 girls.
For scores from the Country Club of Colorado event, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS.
(April 29 Update: Chitkoksoong also won the second JGAC Tour event of the year, which concluded April 29 at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo. With a 5-over-par 149 total, she posted a two-stroke victory. In the boys division, Trujillo turned the tables from the Country Club of Colorado tournament, winning while Franklin finished second. Trujillo posted a winning total of 2-under-par 142, which gave him a one-shot edge on Franklin. For scores from Walking Stick, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS)
]]>Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction rallied from an eight-stroke deficit going into the final round to win the boys tourney by one at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
And Hailey Schalk of Erie, the 2016 Colorado Junior Match Play champion, wasn’t seriously challenged in posting an eight-stroke victory in the girls competition. (The two winners are pictured.)
Olkowski, brother of 2016 JGAC Tour Championship winner Trevor Olkowski, rebounded from a first-round 77 to card a 1-over-par 72 on Sunday, giving him a two-day total of 7-over 149. Canon, 16, notched four birdies in round 2, offset by three bogeys and a double bogey.
Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs, who led after an opening-round 69, tied for second at 150 following an 81 on Sunday. Particularly costly was a quadruple-bogey 7 on his 17th hole Sunday. Also sharing second place was University of Colorado-bound Cole Krantz of Windsor, who closed with a 71, the low score on Sunday.
In the girls tournament, the 15-year-old Schalk carded back-to-back rounds of 74 for a 6-over-par 148 total. On Sunday, she overcame a triple-bogey 8 with three birdies, and added three bogeys.
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland finished second at 156 after a second-round 77. Amisha Singh of Greenwood Village took third place at 157 after closing with an 80.
The tournament in Colorado Springs marked the beginning of the “spring points chase”. The top three boys and top three girls in the points standings after three spring Tour events will earn spots in the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by Transamerica that’s being hosted by Walnut Creek Golf Preserve (the former Heritage at Westmoor) June 6-8.
For scores from this weekend’s JGAC Tour event, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS.
JGAC Series Opener at Pueblo CC: Meanwhile, the first JGAC Series event of 2017 also concluded on Sunday — in this case at Pueblo Country Club.
The winners for the various age/gender divisions were: Mario Dino of Denver (boys 14-18), Katelyn Lehigh of Loveland (girls 14-18), Matai Naqica of Centennial (boys 11-13), Sofia Choi of Littleton (girls 11-13), Andre Dumonteil of Centennial and Kaden Devenport of Windsor (boys 6-10), and Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch (girls 6-10).
For all the scores from Pueblo Country Club, CLICK HERE.
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Former Masters champion Craig Stadler, a resident of Colorado for more than two decades, and Ann Finke of Colorado Springs, the first female member of the Colorado PGA and a national leader in junior golf, were voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
The two will be inducted as the Hall of Fame’s 44th class next year, likely in mid-May.
“I can hardly put into words (my reaction),” Finke said Wednesday. “It’s amazing. I can’t help but think about that kid playing golf a hundred years ago and wonder, ‘How did I get here?’ I can’t tell you how neat it is. I’m taken aback, to be honest.”
Stadler, an Evergreen resident since 2003 and a Coloradan since 1994, has won 13 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1982 Masters, plus nine times on the Champions Tour, along with the 1973 U.S. Amateur.
Between the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, 11 of Stadler’s victories have come since he moved to Colorado, including two Champions Tour majors: the 2003 Ford Senior Players Championship and the 2004 JELD-WEN Tradition.
Propelled by his victory in a playoff against Dan Pohl at the Masters, Stadler led the PGA Tour money list in 1982, when he posted four wins overall. Twenty-one years later, he became the first Champions Tour player to win on the PGA Tour as he claimed the title at age 50 in the B.C. Open.
Later in 2003, Stadler was named the Champions Tour Rookie of the Year, and in 2004 he earned Champions Tour Player of the Year honors after a five-win season. In his first 15 months as a senior player, the Walrus notched eight victories. Among those was the 2004 First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, where Stadler teamed with Aaron Woodard — son of now-Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Tom Woodard — to also win the junior-pro best-ball competition.
In 2013 at age 60, Stadler claimed another distinction by winning the Encompass Championship — that of having the longest time between victories on the Champions Tour (8 years, 8 months, 28 days).
During his PGA Tour career, Stadler played in each of the first 17 Internationals contested at Castle Pines Golf Club, placing in the top 15 five times.
Stadler’s son Kevin is also a player of some prominence, and Craig caddied for Kevin in his son’s professional debut at the 2002 Colorado Open at Sonnenalp Golf Club just west of Vail, where the younger Stadler won in a playoff over PGA Tour player Gary Hallberg and Brian Kortan. That same year, Craig and Kevin teamed up to win the nationally televised Office Depot Father/Son Challenge. In 2014, the two became the first father and son to compete in the same Masters (pictured above).
In addition to his outstanding playing record, Craig Stadler has co-designed a course in Colorado (with Tripp Davis), Grand Elk Ranch & Club in Granby.
“I’ve had some great memories in Colorado,” Stadler told Golf Digest in 2012. “Denver is a perfect place to be. The city and surrounding area has a great sports scene, a wide variety of golf courses, a ton of things to do and fantastic restaurants. It’s home, and we love being here.”
Stadler, now 62, has previously been inducted into several other Halls of Fame: San Diego Breithard Hall of Fame (1996), the University of Southern California Athletic Hall of Fame (1999), the Argentine Golf Association Hall of Fame (2012) and the Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame (2014).
Finke (left, teaching kids), meanwhile, has been a fixture on the Colorado golf scene for three decades. During that time — all spent at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, where she’s now director of instruction — she’s given about 38,000 lessons, more than 40 percent of those to juniors.
“When you think 40 or 50 swings for each of those, that’s a lot of swings,” Finke said with a laugh on Wednesday.
Finke was the first female to become a member of the Colorado PGA, joining in 1985, six years after she turned pro. She was also the first woman member in the Nebraska Section PGA, gaining that status in 1983.
Finke has drawn particular acclaim for her work with junior golfers, and in 2010 she was named the PGA of America’s national Junior Golf Leader, making her the first female member of the Colorado PGA to earn a major national PGA award.
Finke has had an impact on thousands of junior golfers over the years — not just from her club, but from all around southern Colorado and even Denver and Wyoming — so much so that an area at the Country Club of Colorado has long been dubbed “Finke Hill” by her students. Finke gives roughly 1,000 junior lessons each year and does almost 50 hours of golf clinics, according to the PGA of America.
Perhaps the most recognizable junior player to have been taught by Finke was Tom Glissmeyer, who grew up playing the Country Club of Colorado and went on to qualify for the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old in 2003.
Finke (left) also has taken a very active role in the Pikes Peak Junior Golf organization, including serving as president from 1991 through 2002.
Finke was just the ninth female nationally to become a quarter-century PGA member. This fall, she and Hale Irwin received a legacy award from The First Tee of Pikes Peak, and next month she’ll be honored with the Noble Chalfant Award for distinguished service to the Colorado PGA.
“I’ve had so many neat things happen this year,” Finke said. “I keep thinking, ‘Wow!’ We go out and do our thing, and it’s very gratifying to do something you love. To be recognized for that is really neat.”
On the same night that Stadler and Finke are inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Hall will hand out three awards.
Jim Hajek, the PGA head professional at Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden, will receive the Golf Person of the Year Award. Hajek recently earned the PGA of America’s national Public Merchandiser of the Year honor, becoming the eighth Colorado PGA national honoree in the last nine years.
Mike and Terri Knode will be given the Distinguished Service Award. They founded the Western Colorado Golf Foundation, a longtime beneficiary of the Rocky Mountain Open which has awarded many educational scholarships to junior golfers from the Western Slope over the years. The Western Colorado Golf Foundation owned the Rocky Mountain Open before being sold last year. Mike Knode serves on the CGA Board of Governors and has also been president for the CGA’s Western Chapter.
Coloradan Homer McClintock will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. McClintock played a key role in the acquisition of the Evans Scholars house for caddies at the University of Colorado in the late 1960s and in the CGA’s Eisenhower Scholarship linking up with the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship. McClintock also served on the CGA Board of Governors when the CGA started to greatly expand its reach and services.
]]>It’s hard to imagine the two girls state high school tournaments turning out much differently.
In the 4A meet at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Jefferson Academy junior Jennifer Kupcho posted one of the biggest — if not the biggest — victory margins in the history of the girls state tournaments: 14 strokes.
“I felt someone would be up there with me, but that didn’t happen,” said Kupcho, the 2013 CWGA Junior Player of the Year who has already committed to Wake Forest.
In the 5A meet at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton, Rock Canyon senior Michelle Romano (pictured above getting hugged) prevailed in a playoff at an event in which four other players finished within a shot of the winning total, including runner-up Hannah Wood of Arapahoe.
While Kupcho (pictured at left), who competed in four USGA championships last year, was certainly the pre-tournament favorite in 4A, Romano received far less attention competing against the likes of Wood, defending champion Calli Ringsby of Cherry Creek and Sydney Merchant of Dakota Ridge.
“I would definitely call myself an underdog,” Romano said after the biggest win of her career. “… I already know where I’m going to school (and playing golf, the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs). I didn’t have much relying on this except it really is just a self-accomplishment. I started playing golf my freshman year of high school. I never would have thought I would have been here today. It hasn’t exactly sunk in. Winning this tournament means I put in as much effort as I could and it paid off.”
Romano, sister of 2012 CGA Junior Match Play champion Andrew Romano, won the 5A Northern Regional tournament leading up to state, and also captured two or three other titles during the high school season.
But she had to overcome a bogey-bogey-bogey finish to post the victory. Wood, the University of Oklahoma-bound senior, birdied the final hole of regulation from 4 feet to tie Romano. And when Jaylee Tait of Columbine, playing at her home course, also struggled down the stretch, going 5 over par in the last four holes, Romano and Wood were headed to a playoff.
Tait (pictured at left in pink) could have won the tournament outright with a par on No. 18, or joined the playoff with a bogey. But she closed with a double bogey — hitting into a greenside bunker and three-putting — to share third place with Merchant and Anna Kennedy of Legend.
“I’m just disappointed because it feels like someone didn’t beat me; I beat myself, I guess,” said Tait, whose sister Ashley won three 4A state titles.
In the playoff, both golfers hit the green in regulation on the par-4 first hole. But Wood left her 25-foot birdie putt 4 feet short. And after Romano’s 15-foot birdie attempt finished 2 feet from the cup, Wood lipped out her par try (pictured at left). Then Romano converted her par putt for the victory.
“It’s disappointing,” said Wood, winner of the last two CJGA Tournament of Champions. “I had been three-putting all day. I considered the greens to be faster than they were and I knew the hail (from during a weather delay) had some effects on the greens.
“It’s pretty disappointing because I really wanted to do this for Arapahoe considering what we went through as a school” with the December shooting and killing of Claire Davis by a fellow student.
Wood finished her high school career with four top-10 finishes at state, going 10th, third, third and second.
Romano closed with a 3-over-par 75 on Tuesday to post a 9-over 153 total. But after making a 15-foot birdie on No. 15 and being tied for the lead with Tait, she missed a 6-foot par putt on 16. Then after putting her tee shot 30 feet from the pin on No. 17, play was delayed for more than an hour by lightning and large marble-sized hail (pictured below).
When play resumed, Romano three-putted for bogey and then popped up a drive about 100 yards on No. 18 en route to another bogey.
“I didn’t know I was tied for first (at the time of the weather delay) — and I didn’t want to know either,” Romano said. “I think the weather delay definitely affected my mojo and how I was handling myself. Then I three-putted that hole, and all the nerves set in. Then I skied a drive (on 18) and thought I was completely done.”
But Romano gathered herself to prevail in the playoff with that 2-foot par.
“That last putt, I was shaking,” she admitted. “I’ve never been so nervous in my life to make a 2-footer. It was definitely a very good feeling to get that one in.”
Wood, who was paired with Romano on Tuesday, matched her final-round 75. Those two finished one stroke better than Kennedy (final-round 74), Tait (79) and Merchant (77).
In the 5A team competition, Regis Jesuit won by three over Rock Canyon, ending Cherry Creek’s run of three straight titles. Regis swept the boys and girls 5A state championships during the 2013-14 school year. Creek, led by Ringsby’s seventh-place individual showing, finished fifth on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, at the 4A tournament in Colorado Springs, there was very little drama in the individual competition after Kupcho opened up a nine-stroke lead after round 1.
Tuesday turned out to be little more than an extended coronation for Kupcho, who like Wood is a member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course.
Kupcho backed up her even-par 72 on Monday with a 74 on Tuesday at the Country Club of Colorado for her 14-stroke victory over Andrea Ballou of Valor Christian. Kupcho earned the top spot after finishing third at state as a freshman and second last year.
“It’s really amazing,” she said. “I’m pretty excited. I’m excited I represented my school like that. I get to go back and all my friends will be excited and proud and everything.”
On Tuesday, with little challenge being mounted from opponents, the 17-year-old Kupcho carded a birdie and three bogeys in her round of 74. The bottom line was, she wasn’t to be denied again at the state tournament.
“I wanted to do it,” she said. “Obviously, I’ve lost the last couple of years so I’ve always really wanted to win — and I finally did it.”
Cheyenne Mountain, playing in its hometown, easily defended its 4A team title, rallying on Tuesday to beat runner-up Montrose by 15 shots for the tournament.
For the final state high school scores, click on these links: 5A, 4A
]]>Jaylee Tait works at Raccoon Creek Golf Course, site of the 5A girls state high school tournament. She plays the course pretty much “every day” during the golf season. Her dad, Pat, is the head professional at the facility. Her school, Columbine, is just a half a mile away.
All that considered, it’s no surprise that the senior is in the hunt at the halfway point of the state tournament.
Tait, younger sister of three-time 4A state champion Ashley Tait (who played at Mullen), shot a 3-over-par 75 Monday and shares the lead at Raccoon Creek with sophomore Morgan Sahm of Grandview.
“It’s an advantage and also pressure” playing at Raccoon Creek, said Tait (pictured above). “I mean, senior year, home course. But it certainly gives me a course-management advantage.”
While Tait and Sahm are tied for the top spot, Sarah Hunt from Denver East trails by one after a 76. Meanwhile, many of the pre-tournament favorites struggled some on day 1 of the 36-hole event by carding scores in the high 70s.
Defending champion Calli Ringsby, a Cherry Creek senior who’s signed with Stanford, opened with a 6-over-par 78, the same as Arapahoe senior Hannah Wood, who’s bound for the University of Oklahoma. Wood was 1 under par for the first eight holes, but struggled most of the rest of the way. And Dakota Ridge sophomore Sydney Merchant, winner of last year’s CWGA Junior Match Play, checked in at 77.
All are still very much in contention for the title, but Tait and Sahm are in the driver’s seat.
Tait, who has signed with Montana State, was just 1 over par through 16 holes, but she made a double bogey on 17, where she chipped and then three-putted. For the day, she made two birdies, three bogeys and the double bogey.
“If I would have finished 1 over, that would have put me in a really good position,” Tait said. “Unfortunately I had that bad hole. I really wished I hadn’t doubled that hole.”
Sahm, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship as a 14-year-old in 2012, was steady on Monday. She made 15 pars and three bogeys en route to her 75.
The state tournament is a big day for most high school golfers, but like Tait, Merchant has additional reason to try to perform well.
Merchant (pictured at left), who shot 63 to win one tournament this season and 68 to prevail in another, is wrapping up her final high school season in Colorado, even though she’s just a sophomore.
In a week, Merchant’s family is moving to the Orlando, Fla., area so Sydney can play golf year-around, and the 5A state meet is her last Colorado tournament before she bids adieu.
“This is it,” said Merchant, who competed in the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur. “I’ve lived here (15 years), practically my whole life” so leaving is difficult. But “I want to go so bad.”
Merchant was far from pleased with her performance on Monday — she was even par through seven holes but went 5 over her last 11 — but she’s still in fourth place. (She tied for third in the 2013 5A state meet as a freshman.)
“I had some rough holes,” she said. “There’s not much to say. My game wasn’t on today.”
Asked if she can rally on Tuesday, she said, “Of course.”
In the 5A team competition, three teams share the lead at 245 after the first day: Legacy, Regis Jesuit and Rock Canyon. Legacy gained a share of the lead despite competing with just three players and not being able to throw out its high score.
Three-time defending state champion Cherry Creek trails the co-leaders by six strokes heading into the final round.
Jefferson Academy’s Kupcho Up by 9 in 4A Meet: Jefferson Academy junior Jennifer Kupcho came into the 4A state tournament with the top golf resume, and she lived up to her billing on Monday.
Kupcho, who’s finished third and second in her previous two state appearances, built a whopping nine-shot advantage after the first round at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
Kupcho, who competed in four USGA championships in 2013 and was named the CWGA Junior Player of the Year, shot an even-par 72 on Monday and was the only player to break 80. The Wake Forest recruit made three birdies and three bogeys in the opening round. Kupcho is part of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course.
Mariah Ehrman, a Jefferson Academy teammate of Kupcho, and Valor Christian’s Andrea Ballou share second place at 81.
In the 4A team race, Montrose leads with a 267 total. Defending champion Cheyenne Mountain holds down second place at 270.
For the state high school scores, click on these links: 5A, 4A.
]]>Stanford-bound Calli Ringsby of Cherry Creek will defend her 5A state high school title on Monday and Tuesday at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton. Among other seniors likewise expecting to be in the hunt there are Hannah Wood of Arapahoe (University of Oklahoma), Sarah Hankins of Legacy (Wyoming), Jenni Chun of Highlands Ranch (Cal State Bakersfield) and Jaylee Tait of Columbine (Montana State).
All told, nine of the top 10 5A finishers from a year ago are back for another run at the state title. Four of the top five performers from the 5A state tournament a year ago are now seniors.
And at the 4A state meet Monday and Tuesday at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, junior Jennifer Kupcho of Jefferson Academy should be considered the favorite. Though Kupcho hasn’t formally signed with a college program — that isn’t allowed until the senior year — she has committed to play college golf at Wake Forest.
All in all, a lot of firepower will be on display.
Ringsby (pictured above) has finished second, fourth and first in her previous three state high school appearances. In 2012, she swept both the CWGA Junior Stroke Play and Junior Match Play titles, and was selected to play in the USA-China Youth Golf Match.
Wood, the winner of the last two CJGA Tournament of Champions titles, has gone 10th, third and third the last three years at the state high school tournament. She’s been a member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course the last two years. In 2013, she competed in three USGA championships and won the prestigious Kathy Whitworth Invitational junior tournament in Texas.
Kupcho has finished third and second in her other state appearances (Kala Keltz, now at Northern Colorado, won the 2013 4A title). Kupcho competed in four USGA championships in 2013 and was named the CWGA Junior Player of the Year. Last year, she went to the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the USGA Women’s State Team. She was also named to the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround.
Earlier this week, Kupcho placed an impressive sixth in U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying in Colorado.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Ringsby, Wood, Kupcho and Sydney Merchant made up the team that represented the CWGA in the Girls Junior America’s Cup last year.
Merchant, a sophomore at Dakota Ridge, won the CWGA Junior Match Play in 2013 and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She’s been stellar this high school season, claiming two of her tournament victories with rounds of 68 and 63. She tied for third in the 2013 5A state tournament as a freshman and should certainly be in the mix again this year.
Team-wise next week, Cherry Creek will be seeking its fourth consecutive 5A state title, while Cheyenne Mountain will be defending in 4A. Cheyenne Mountain is led by Kylee Sullivan, who finished sixth individually last year and who will be playing at her home course (the Country Club of Colorado) for the state meet. Sullivan won the CJGA Junior Series Championship last year at that same course.
Here are the 2014 champions, both team and individual, for the regional state-qualifying tournaments that were held earlier this month:
5A Central Regional at Broken Tee — Team Winner: Regis Jesuit 228. Individual Winner: Sydney Gillespie, Regis Jesuit, 71.
5A Western Regional at Fox Hollow — Team Winner: Fossil Ridge 247. Individual Winner: Ali Pepper, Arvada West, 78.
5A Southern Regional at Colorado Springs Country Club — Team Winner: Arapahoe 246. Individual Winner: Hannah Wood, Arapahoe, 71.
5A Northern Regional at Highland Meadows — Team Winner: Rock Canyon 227. Individual Winner: Michelle Romano, Rock Canyon, 71.
4A Colorado Springs Regional at Eisenhower Silver — Team Winner: Cheyenne Mountain. Individual Winner: Kylee Sullivan, Cheyenne Mountain, 77.
4A Western Regional at Adobe Creek — Team Winner: Montrose 246. Individual Winner: Kiselya Plewe, Dolores, 72.
4A Southern Regional at Hollydot — Team Winner: Pueblo East 256. Individual Winner: Gia Zupancic, Pueblo East, 75.
4A Northern Regional at Olde Course in Loveland — Team Winner: Broomfield 259. Individual Winner: Haley Patterson, Yuma, 78.
4A Metro West Regional at Indian Tree — Team Winner: Colorado Academy 241. Individual Winner: Jennifer Kupcho, Jefferson Academy, 74.
]]>The group ran the gamut in terms of age (young women to senior citizens) and golf ability (USGA handicap indexes ranging from 13 to 64, and most with no handicaps at all).
But young or old, good players or not, the 44 women who gathered Saturday at the Greg Mastriona Courses at Hyland Hills in Westminster had at least a couple of things in common. They like golf and are looking to improve their games, and they love to have a good time while they’re at it.
Saturday’s outing marked the start of the fifth year of the Women’s Golf Experiences, events hosted by the CWGA that combine small-group instruction with some fun social interaction with other women interested in the game.
“I do like events like this,” said Monica Halley, who participated in some of the popular “Ladies Night Out” social golf events at Hyland Hills last year. “I’m not a brand-new golfer, but I’m somewhat new. I don’t keep score yet. But this kind of gives me a way to come out and be with other women where I don’t feel intimidated. I feel like I fit in and can learn. They teach you a lot of new skills.
“My husband golfs and my youngest son is going to school at (CU-Colorado Springs) to be a golf pro. I’ve been around it but haven’t gone out too much myself. So this gives me a good opportunity to go out. And I was just thinking about joining a women’s group here in the summer on Tuesday and Thursday morning.”
That is music to the ears of organizers of events such as these. With the National Golf Foundation reporting that the number of female golfers in the U.S. dropped from 7 million in 2005 to 5 million in 2012, making potential new women’s golfers — and golfers in general — feel welcome and wanting to play more is a high priority.
“The CWGA is helping courses take advantage of this opportunity that women want social golf,” said Kim Schwartz, the association’s director of member programs. “Women are social, so they want opportunities to go play and have fun. As the CWGA, we represent all of women (golfers) across the state. We’re not just a championship organization. If we can offer opportunities by partnering with different golf courses, that’s huge to have (programs) for women to enjoy golf.”
Over the last several years, the CWGA has placed an ever-increasing emphasis on building the base of women’s golfers through social golf activities.
At the Women’s Golf Experience events, participants receive roughly 45 minutes of small-group instruction at each of four stations — full swing, chipping, putting, and rules, then have lunch afterward. Goodie bags are distributed and drawings are held for prizes. PGA/LPGA professionals provide the instruction. Among those leading the way Saturday was 2011 HealthOne Colorado Open champion Ben Portie, now the women’s golf head coach at Metro State, along with PGA professionals Val Heim and Joe Chavez of Hyland Hills, Jeff Carter from the Broadlands and Brian Lindstrom from Highland Meadows.
Saturday was the first of three Women’s Golf Experience events scheduled for 2014, with the others being May 10 at Overland Park in Denver and May 17 at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Denver broadcast personality Denise Plante is expected to be a special guest at the Overland Park Experience.
But the Experience events just scratch the surface of social golf outings the CWGA organizes or participates in. This year alone, there are more than three-dozen such events, with Hyland Hills, CommonGround, Buffalo Run and the City of Denver courses among those hosting outings. For a list of events, CLICK HERE. Many include social get-togethers in addition to golf.
Saturday marked the first local Women’s Golf Experience that new CWGA executive director Ann Guiberson has witnessed firsthand, and she came away impressed.
“This is a terrific event today,” she said. “We’ve got a good mix of CWGA members and new golfers and advanced golfers, and everyone is supporting each other and having a good time.
“I talked to a few people today who said they weren’t sure if they were going to come out, but they decided to come. Once you get here, everyone is talking to everybody else and sharing experiences and helping each other. It’s a great program.
“Kim (Schwartz) has done a fantastic job putting this program together the last couple of years. Based on what I’ve seen today, it’s something we will definitely continue and maybe even take around the rest of the state.”
Among the sites that have hosted Women’s Golf Experience events in past years are Grand Junction, Colorado Springs and Loveland, in addition to the Denver metro area.
Included among the first-time participants on Saturday was Shona Eliason, president of the Women’s 9-Hole League at the Broadlands in Broomfield. She attended along with one of her regular playing partners.
“It’s one of those benefits that we get that we don’t usually take advantage of,” Eliason said of the Experience, which is discounted for CWGA members.
Eliason, a 20-handicap, enjoyed the rules instruction, along with the fact that most of the various teaching stations featured two instructors for each rotating group of 10 or 11 players.
“I like that they have different instructors at each station because sometimes if you just go with one or two instructors (total) and you do a half-day clinic, it’s not quite as interesting,” Eliason said. “I also liked that they had two people at each one. It changed it up.”
The idea is that the Experience engages the participants to the point that they’re drawn into the game long-term.
“We have two instructors at most of the stations to give somewhat personalized instruction, so everyone of every ability can get something out of it,” Schwartz said. “That’s what the goal is today. That’s why we’re drawing that broad range (of golfers). But by far, most of the participants are newer golfers or new to golf. I think why this is popular in the spring is because it’s kind of jump-starting their games.”
Drawing more women into the sport will take time, but events like the Women’s Golf Experience are part of the step-by-step process.
“We can’t just build women’s golf by ourselves,” Schwartz said. “We have to work with everyone else in the community.”
Besides getting to play some golf on a workday, Athey made the decision pay off in a couple of respects. First, she tied for the best individual score of any of the 120 players competing in the CWGA Club Team Championship, shooting a 9-over-par 80. And more importantly, she led the Country Club of Colorado to the team title at its home course.
“That’s awesome,” Athey said of claiming the team championship. “It’s the first time (the club) has ever played in this, so to win is fun and cool. The club was excited.”
The four representatives of the club in Colorado Springs (pictured) put their home-course advantage to good use as they ran away with the Club Team title. Though archived records for the event aren’t complete, the Country Club of Colorado’s 15-stroke victory is likely the largest winning margin in the tournament’s nine-year history.
It marked the second time in the last seven Club Team Championships that the home course has come out on top. Columbine Country Club did it in 2006.
The Country Club of Colorado posted a cumulative total of 369 for its A, B, C and D players, which gave the club a comfortable victory margin over the next-best teams: City Park Golf Course (384), Canongate Colorado (385) and Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club (385).
In addition to Athey’s 80, individual scores for the winning team were: Carol Key 85, Terry Keller 88, and Sheila Manzanares 116.
“The main advantage we may have had is knowing our greens,” Athey said. “The mountain (Cheyenne Mountain) plays a huge factor.”
But having never competed in the Club Team before, Athey, Key, Keller and Manzanares didn’t know what a good score for the event was. Suffice it to say they didn’t expect their total to be in the hunt.
“We were really surprised because we had never done it before,” Athey said. “369 — that seemed high to me, but who knew?”
And now Athey has one title to show for the one CWGA championship in which she’s ever competed.
“One-for-one, woo-hoo,” she said with a laugh.
Defending champion Saddle Rock Golf Course placed 20th this year with a 406 total. In the history of the CWGA Club Team Championship, no course has repeated as champion.
CWGA Club Team Championship
At Par-71 Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs
CC of Colorado 186-183–369
City Park GC 192-192–384
Canongate Colorado 192-193–385
Heritage Eagle Bend GC 197-188–385
Foothills GC 193-193–386
Kissing Camels GC 203-185–388
Patty Jewett GC 194-194–388
Fox Hollow GC 203-190–393
Glenmoor CC 199-195–394
CommonGround GC 201-194–395
Valley CC 202-196–398
The Links GC 201-198–399
Broken Tee GC 196-204–400
Red Rocks CC 206-195–401
Monument Hill CC 206-197–403
Westwoods GC 195-208–403
Willis Case GC 199-204–403
Raccoon Creek GC 211-194–405
The Meadows GC 202-203–405
Saddle Rock GC 201-205–406
Overland Park GC 207-203–410
The Club at Rolling Hills 212-198–410
Wellshire GC 203-208–411
The Ranch CC 205-209–414
South Suburban GC 207-209–416
Deer Creek GC at Meadow Ranch 211-208–419
Meadow Hills GC 212-209–421
Breckenridge GC 207-217–424
Highlands Ranch GC 211-218–429
The Courses at Hyland Hills 222-213–435
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