Jared Reid had modest goals going into the 32nd CGA Mid-Amateur Championship this weekend at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

“This week, honestly, my goal was to make the cut and be top 30 — just so I didn’t have to qualify again for next year’s (Mid-Am),” the 28-year-old from Legacy Ridge Golf Course said.

To say that the Denver resident exceeded expectations — his own and those of others — at the Mid-Am would be an understatement of monumental proportions.

Not only did Reid finish in the top 30 on Sunday, but he won the state title in the tournament limited to players 25 and older. And not only did he win, but he did so while going head to head in the final group with two players who have won five CGA Mid-Ams between them — two-time champ Chris Thayer of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve and three-time winner Jon Lindstrom of Lakewood Country Club.

“Teeing off with those two and they’re announcing all the times they’ve won the championship and runner-ups and everything like that,” noted Reid (pictured above and below). “I’m like, ‘Geez, how am I going to do this today? Hopefully I get out of their way most of the time.'”

Certainly no need to worry about that, as it turned out. And, on top of all that, Reid became just the third player in the history of the championship to finish double digits under par, joining four-time champ Keith Humerickhouse (11 under in 2012) and seven-time winner Rick DeWitt (10 under in 2000).

The victory was the first by Reid in a CGA championship. In fact, he’s only competed in three — two Mid-Ams and the CGA Four-Ball — since moving from Michigan about five years ago.

“This is definitely, definitely” the biggest thing he’s done in golf, he said. “I never won any events in college — just maybe some best balls back home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is definitely the biggest individual accomplishment I’ve ever had. I couldn’t imagine what the week was going to end up like.”

Reid completed a wire-to-wire performance on Sunday by finishing with a 10-under-par 203 total at CommonGround. He avoided a playoff when Thayer, the defending champion, saw his 9-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole slip just to the right of the cup.

Reid, who played college golf at Northern Michigan University, closed with a 1-under-par 70 on Sunday — the same score as playing partners Thayer and Lindstrom.

After he was tied for the lead with Thayer through nine holes on Sunday, Reid took the lead for good when he sank a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 10. Then he two-putted the par-5 11th for another birdie, giving him three birdies in four holes. And Thayer didn’t help his cause when he slightly pulled his 6-iron second shot and it went into the water on 11, though he did save par on the relatively easy par-5, where the stroke average on Sunday was 4.36.

But Reid’s most impressive shot came on the 495-yard, par-4 15th hole, where a massive drive left him with just 140 yards for his approach shot. He hit a gap wedge to 1 foot for birdie to go two ahead.

Reid then two-putted from 65 feet for par on 16, but bogeyed 17 after going into the greenside bunker on the par-3, leaving him with a one-stroke lead going into the par-5 18th. There, he was right of the green in two and pitched over a bunker complex to 25 feet, two-putting for par.

That gave Thayer (left) a chance to force a playoff, but the 38-year-old couldn’t sink his 9-footer for birdie.

In the last five CGA Mid-Amateurs, Thayer has now finished first, second, second, first and second. He’s posted six straight sub-par rounds in this event, dating back to last year.

“I was happy with the way I hung in there,” Thayer said. “I hit the ball really well, but I missed a 7-footer on 9, a 5-footer on 13 and a 9-footer (on 18). There were a lot of putts like that.

“But Jared played great. He played smart and hit good shots under pressure. He rips it and he hit it really straight all day. With that type of clubhead speed, you could be just a little bit off and they could go a bunch of different directions.

“But this is definitely a bomber’s course. I’m not a bomber, but I’m in the top 20 percent of the field in terms of distance. But these guys that hit it 30 yards by me, it’s an edge for sure.”

Lindstrom (below) will second Thayer’s praise of Reid’s performance this week.

“It’s awesome. The guy hits it a mile,” Lindstrom said. “I had a couple of really good drives and he was 70 yards ahead of me. It’s tough to compete.”

Reid fully acknowledges the difference his driver can make. He wasn’t hitting it well on the front nine on Sunday, but on the back side, it returned to form and he was smacking it long and straight down the stretch.

“My game kind of lives and dies by my driver,” he said. After struggling off the tee in the first half of the round, “the driver was kind of working (starting on the back nine) and I didn’t miss a fairway through the rest of the day, which kept my momentum going. I started feeling good on the tee and I could swing as hard as I could and the ball was going right where I was looking for. I springboarded off that.

“When I’m hitting gap wedge into some of the par-4s and they’re hitting 7- through 5-irons, that’s definitely an advantage.”

Really, it was with nine holes left that Reid had the confidence to feel he could win the title.

“Honestly I’ve only won probably two or three tournaments, even in high school,” he said. “That’s what the most uncomfortable feeling was: Could I finish this off?

“But (after 45 holes) I thought, ‘I might as well just do it since you’ve come all this way.”

Lindstrom, who’s won the title in 2008, ’15 and ’16, finished third for the second straight year, sharing that spot this time at 205 with with former Colorado State University golfer Dominic Kieffer of Collindale Golf Course, who closed with a 68.

At age 51, Lindstrom was the first winner of the Super Mid-Amateur Division for players 40 and older. He was six strokes better than Super Mid-Am runner-up Michael Harrington of Garden of the Gods Club, who likewise posted a 70 on Sunday.

“I’m glad they have the old-man flight now,” Lindstrom said with a smile. “It feels great (to be the first Super Mid-Am champ). I was telling (CGA executive director Ed Mate) they should get us a sponsor like Joint-Ritis or Depends. How about the Depends Super-Senior Mid-Am Flight?”

For all the scores from the CGA Mid-Amateur, CLICK HERE.

But Dunkle, who has long called Parker and The Club at Pradera home, certainly went out on a high note.

In the same week the family home was sold, the 21-year-old claimed the CGA Amateur title on Sunday at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver. And within the last five weeks, despite battling back problems, he’s also qualified in Fort Collins for the U.S. Amateur and finished ninth and earned low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open in Denver.

That’s what you call a run of good play.

“This feels great,” Dunkle said of winning the CGA Amateur. “It means a lot. It’s one of the bigger tournaments in Colorado that I had yet to make a run in. It’s fun. To have my name on the trophy with a lot of other really good players (including Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman and Wyndham Clark), that will be a cool thing.

“Growing up in Colorado, this is the tournament that a lot of people want to win. This is where all the best players in the state play. So this definitely ranks up there near the top (of my golf accomplishments). I got to play with a bunch of really good players this week and it was really fun.”

Dunkle, who will soon be going into his final year on the University of Utah golf team, played nearly mistake-free golf on Sunday at the CGA Amateur, making just one bogey in shooting a 3-under-par 67. His 14-under 266 total for the week was good for a two-stroke victory.

“Really there wasn’t anything special about the (final) round,” Dunkle said. “It was just kind of keep plugging along and a couple of putts fell here and there. I wasn’t trying to force anything. I just stuck to my game plan. My dad(/caddie) and I talked about it every tee shot and hit driver as much as we could. We just went and found it and hit it from there.

“I had the same strategy the whole week. I was hitting driver as much as I could, trying to get as close to the green as I could (on par-4s and 5s). The thing that feels best (in my game) right now is my driver. The driver has always been a weapon because I hit the ball pretty far. Lately, I’ve been hitting it pretty straight and haven’t been getting into too much trouble. On a course like this that helped a lot because I was able to get pretty close to a lot of greens.”

It’s the third CGA championship for Dunkle, who has also won a CGA Western Chapter title and a CGA Parent/Child with dad Jason, who caddied for Kyler all this week at Pinehurst. Dunkle was also the CGA’s Les Fowler Player of the Year in 2016. (Kyler is pictured at top, and with Jason while walking off the 18th green on Sunday.)

University of Northern Colorado golfer Coby Welch, from The Links Golf Course, led by two after three rounds, and pulled even on Sunday with Dunkle with a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 15, where he very nearly holed out his approach shot.

But the par-5 16th proved pivotal. Welch’s tee shot ended up just in the right fairway bunker, but he had to stand outside of the sand, making for a somewhat-awkward approach from about 210 yards. He pulled the shot left of the green, then left his pitch short of the putting surface. His subsequent chip ran 15 feet by the hole, and when he missed that putt, he carded a bogey.

The long-hitting Dunkle, meanwhile, hit his second shot on the green, 40 feet past the flag, and two putted for birdie, accounting for a two-shot swing.

“I just got a little unlucky break (on 16),” said Welch (left). “The ball was 6 inches in the bunker right in front of the lip. I hit a decent shot out of there, then I got around the green and my short game got to me again. That’s been the case lately.

“I knew I could get that up and down (for birdie on 16). I’ve gotten (shots like that) up and down a thousand times. I didn’t have a great lie, but I hit two really bad chips. This tournament, I scored well, but my short game wasn’t very good.”

On 17, Dunkle’s tee shot finished well left of the green on the par-3, but he nestled his pitch down a slope to within two feet for par. He called that “one of the bigger moments for me.” And he made a routine par on 18 for the victory.

Welch, a former CGA Boys Junior Player of the Year, had made just one bogey combined on Friday and Saturday. But he had four on Sunday to go with three birdies, one of which was an improbable, big-breaking 60-footer on No. 10. He ended up shooting a 1-over-par 71 and finishing runner-up at 268.

“I didn’t play well. I didn’t clutch up when I needed to,” said Welch, who like Dunkle will play in the U.S. Amateur this month. “It’s unfortunate, but I just didn’t have my best today. I felt fine. To be honest I wasn’t even nervous. But I didn’t perform.

“You always want to finish first, but I’m glad Kyler won. He’s a good kid. If it wasn’t me, I’m glad it was him.”

Griffin Barela (left) of Bear Creek Golf Club made a run to get in contention, one stroke out of the lead with three holes left. But the University of Wisconsin golfer bogeyed the last three to shoot 69 and share third place at 271.

“Going into the day my goal was to try to get to 14 (under) to try to have a chance,” said Barela, who won a college tournament in April and finished 15th last Sunday at the CoBank Colorado Open. “I knew I was one back (after 15). Obviously I didn’t want to finish that way, but I’m happy with how I played this week. I wanted to give myself a chance to win, and I did that. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but it happens.”

At that 271 figure with Barela were Tyler Zhang of Lone Tree Golf Club (bogey-free final-round 66) and former Colorado State University golfer Dominic Kieffer (67 despite bogeying the last two).

Former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte of Littleton, competing in his final amateur event, encountered considerable tree trouble on Sunday, leading to a triple bogey and two doubles in his final 10 holes. Despite five birdies, he shot 74 and shared sixth place at 273 with Michael Tait of Raccoon Creek Golf Course (final-round 70).

Sunday’s win adds to Dunkle’s list of notable victories in Colorado, which also includes earning the title at the 2017 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational college tournament and the 2012 5A state high school meet. Dunkle started his college career at CSU before transferring to Utah.
He’ll live in Salt Lake City for the time being, but plans to continue to play tournaments in Colorado in the future, ideally if plans pan out to turn pro late next spring.

But for now, he’s concentrating on making a run at the U.S. Am, which begins on Aug. 13. And why not, considering the way he’s been performing on the golf course lately?

“I’m definitely in a groove. I’ve been playing really good since the beginning of June,” Dunkle said.
For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

The Rams shot a 1-under-par 287 in the final round to post a 4-under 860 total, finishing 14 strokes behind champion UNLV.

Senior Dominic Kieffer (pictured) fired a career-best 6-under-par 66 in Sunday’s final round to lead the way for CSU by placing sixth individually at 5-under 211. Coloradan Jimmy Makloski, who aced the 170-yard fourth hole on Saturday, tied teammate Max Oelfke for 15th place at 214.

The Air Force Academy ended up 10th in the 11-team field with an 878 total.

Meanwhile, Coloradan Hannah Wood, a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma, tied for 12th Sunday at the Women’s Big 12 Conference Championship in San Antonio, Texas. The 2014 CWGA Stroke Play champion rallied after an opening-round 77 to post two consecutive 70s and finished at 1-over 217, 10 strokes behind winner Kenzie Neisen of Oklahoma State.

Men’s Mountain West Conference Championship

April 22-24, 2016 (final) in Tucson, Ariz.
4. (out of 11 teams) Colorado State 281-292-287–860
6. Dominic Kieffer 71-74-66–211; 15. Max Oelfke 69-71-74–214; 15. Jimmy Makloski 71-70-73–214; 33. Kyler Dunkle 70-77-74–221; 54. Blake Cannon 73-80-81–234.

10. Air Force Academy 287-293-298–878
22. Sunwoo Choi 71-71-75–217; 28. Brenden Bone 68-74-76–218; 39. Michael Fan 77-73-73–223; 43. Bryant Falconello 76-75-74–225; 48. Tate Tatom 72-76-78–226.
 

On Tuesday, Keltz, now a junior at the University of Northern Colorado, moved back to the forefront, not only posting by far her best college result, but getting an individual victory in the process.

In UNC’s final tournament of the regular season, Keltz prevailed by one in a 98-player field at the Bobcat Spring Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz. And she did it despite a triple bogey on her third-to-last hole of the tournament.

Keltz (pictured) posted rounds of 71-71-77 for a 3-over-par 219 total, which was a stroke better than runner-up Alexus Song of Seattle. The result was not only Keltz’s first college victory, but her first top-five performance.

As a team, UNC placed third at 909, 16 strokes behind champion Seattle and 15 back of runner-up Wyoming.

Keltz wasn’t the only Colorado-based Division I player to notch a very impressive finish on Tuesday. Colorado State’s Dominic Kieffer was runner-up in the Ping Cougar Classic that concluded on Tuesday in Provo, Utah.

Kieffer, a senior from Byron, Minn., shot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round to card a 10-under 206 total. He finished a stroke behind champion Austin Christensen of Brigham Young University. It was Kieffer’s fourth top-six individual showing of the season.

CSU ended up fourth in the 10-team field, with BYU prevailing for the title.

Bobcat Spring Invitational
April 11-12, 2016 (final) in Goodyear, Ariz.
3. (out of 17 teams) Northern Colorado 310-307-292–909
1. Kala Keltz 71-71-77–219; 18. Janet Yeo 81-80-70–231; 23. Nicole Okada 78-82-73–233; 43. Amanda Myers 80-85-72–237; 59. Baile Winslow 81-74-86–241.

Also
31. Coloradan Taylor Dorans, Wyoming 81-79-75–235
48. Coloradan Jaylee Tait, Montana State 80-85-74–239
52. Coloradan Kathleen Kershisnik, Wyoming 81-77-82–240

Ping Cougar Classic
April 11-12, 2016 (final) in Provo, Utah
4. (out of 10 teams) Colorado State 289-287-287–863
2. Dominic Kieffer 69-67-70–206; 26. Blake Cannon 72-74-72–218; 32. Kyler Dunkle 74-75-71–220; 43. Jimmy Makloski 74-73-76–223; 43. Max Oelfke 76-73-74–223. Competing only as individual: 50. Logan Iverson 78-74-75–227.

Also
53. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 77-78-77–232
 

Cameron Harrell of Colorado Springs was named one of the five national finalists for the 2015 Nelson Award, which is presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

One of the 10 nominees for this year’s Nelson Award, announced on Wednesday, is CSU’s Dominic Kieffer, who appopriately hails from Byron, Minn.

So far this college season, Kieffer has three top-six individual finishes to his credit, including a second and a third. But the senior is currently nursing an ankle injury.

Other nominees for the Nelson Award are South Carolina’s Will Starke, Clemson’s Stephen Behr Jr., UNLV’s AJ McInerney, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Niebrugge, Michigan’s Chris O’Neill, Washington’s Jonathan Sanders, Louisville’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist and two players from Illinois, Charlie Danielson and Alex Burge.

Colorado State men’s golf coach Christian Newton called it an “outlier” — in this case a very positive outlier that paved the way for the Rams’ second team victory of the young season.

Kyler Dunkle, a redshirt freshman from Larkspur, shot a competitive course-record 7-under-par 63 Monday at Fort Collins Country Club that set the tone for the Rams’ second consecuctive victory in the Ram Masters Invitational event they host.

To put the performance into perspective, the 63 was the lowest single-round score at this week’s tournament — by three strokes.

“I can’t say enough about the 63 yesterday,” Newton said on Tuesday. “Sometimes when you shoot such an outlier of a round, you give yourself a five- or six-shot (team) cushion before the thing even starts. There’s so much parity in these things; it’s going to be close no matter what. We were able to ride (that cushion) the whole time. It was awesome, one of the best rounds I’ve ever seen.”

In finishing fourth on Tuesday, Dunkle, a former Colorado 5A state high school champion, posted his second individual top-10 in two events this season. He was seventh on Sept. 13 at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

“I was in about as good of a rhythm as I can find that first round (at Fort Collins CC),” he said. “It was really cool. During a tournament setting, this is a hard course to play.”

But sometimes not so much for Dunkle (left). In July, he shot consecutive rounds of 69 at FCCC to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. And in intra-team qualifiers held leading up to the season, he went 65-67-64 in three straight rounds at the club for a 14-under par total.

“That stretch of three days was the best I’ve ever played in my life,” said Dunkle, who also this summer shot a 59 in a casual round at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Silver Course. “For me this course sets up really well. I love this place.”

Dunkle, who posted an even-par 210 total for three rounds, is one of three Coloradans on the CSU roster, and all three of them placed in the top 20 Tuesday out of a field of 88. Jake Staiano (left), a true freshman from Cherry Hills Village, ended up eighth (212) and junior Jimmy Makloski from Pueblo checked in at 19th (218).

“When I got here it really was a priority to recruit those guys and feel like you get the best one (in the state) every year,” said Newton, now in his fourth season at CSU. “I feel like we’ve done that and are continuing to do that. It’s great to see them play like I thought they could when I recruited them. It’s really awesome.”

Another Coloradan, sophomore Chris Korte from the University of Denver, who last month won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, also cracked the top 20 on Tuesday, finishing 12th at 216.

Ben Welle, who plays at Kansas for former CSU head coach Jamie Bermel, claimed the individual title at 4-under-par 206.

All told, Colorado State not only won the team title but put seven of its nine players in the top 20 individually. Senior Dominic Kieffer (left) and sophomore teammate Max Oelfke (below) tied for second place at 208. A week after finishing third at the Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club, Kieffer notched another top-three showing on Tuesday.

Staiano, who advanced to match play last month at the U.S. Amateur, was playing strictly as an individual at the Ram Masters Invitational, but had a strong showing in just his second college event, going 75-68-69–212. He made 11 birdies combined in the last two rounds.

“Obviously I had a good showing at the (U.S.) Am and I came up here and I think I put a little too much pressure on myself,” he said. “I haven’t been playing my best golf since I’ve been up here, but I finally got it going the last two rounds. I was really happy with how I fought back. I played my game for once, which felt good.”

As a team, the Rams fended off Kansas and finished at 1-under-par 839 for three rounds, winning by 10. DU (890) placed eighth, Air Force (894) 10th and Northern Colorado (899) 13th.

This after CSU won the Falcon Invitational by three over the University of Colorado on Sept. 13.

“To start out back-to-back is awesome,” said Newton, who this month has notched his third and fourth victories as a head coach, with three of the four having come in Colorado. “We’re in a good place right now.”

Staiano noted that he hasn’t shot higher than 74 in qualifying, but still hasn’t cracked CSU’s top five, which shows the Rams’ depth.

“I think we have something pretty special,” he said. “It’s just fun to be around a winning atmosphere. Our first qualifier, (Dunkle) shot 14 under (for three rounds). Obviously that’s going to make me a better player too. That’s the best part.”

Added Dunkle: “All of us are working our tails off and it’s finally starting to show. This week was really a testament to what we’ve been doing. Starting out with two wins doesn’t happen very often, especially with the competition we play against. It was really cool.”

And, not be lost in the big week for the Rams, one of the players who competed only as an individual at Fort Collins CC made a hole-in-one on Tuesday, as Alec Bone aced the 250-yard 17th hole.

Ram Masters Invitational
Sept. 21-22, 2015 (final) at Par-70 Fort Collins CC

1. (out of 15 teams) Colorado State 277-283-279–839
2. Max Oelfke 73-66-69–208; 2. Dominic Kieffer 68-72-68–208; 4. Kyler Dunkle 63-74-73–210; 19. Colton Yates 73-73-72–218; 19. Jimmy Makloski 76-72-70–218. Competing as individuals: 8. Jake Staiano 75-68-69–212; 14. Blake Cannon 71-71-75–217; 38. Alec Bone 77-73-73–223; 58. Logan Iverson 75-78-74–227.

8. Denver 304-295-291–890
12. Chris Korte 73-71-72–216; 19. Adam Ruben 69-75-74–218; 58. Arti Edelman 80-76-71–227; 66. Jake Kelley 82-73-74–229; 84. Petter Mikalsen 84-80-80–244. Competing as individuals: 58. Michael Boylan 79-72-76–227; 88. Johan Werge 81-92-84–257.

10. Air Force 303-296-295–894
19. Sunwoo Choi 74-73-71–218; 29. Brenden Bone 78-69-73–220; 52. Bryant Falconello 74-78-74–226; 70. Michael Fan 77-76-77–230; 84. Tate Tatom 84-78-82–244. Competing as individual: 62. Kyle Fuller 74-80-74–228.

13. Northern Colorado 291-311-297–899
35. Conner Barr 70-77-75–222; 35. Steven Kupcho 73-77-72–222; 58. Julian Woodfork 76-78-73–227; 62. Joshua Matz 72-79-77–228; 82. Sam Marley 77-85-78–240.

Also
19. Kade Crossland, Colorado 71-76-71–218
38. Wilson Belk, Colorado 74-73-76–223
66. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 76-75-78–229
 

It seemed only fitting that a week that will culminate with the Colorado-Colorado State football game would start with a showdown between the rivals on the golf course.

Though 14 other teams competed in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Academy, they ended up playing second fiddle to CSU and CU.

The Rams (pictured above) prevailed in the 16-team tournament on Sunday, earning the Falcon Invite title for the third time in the 47-year-old event. CSU has taken home the trophy in 2008, ’09 and ’15.

“It’s big” to beat CU, said Rams senior Dominic Kieffer, who placed third individually. “The history between the two schools … we’ve always been close to them, (but) they’ve been a little bit better than us the last few years so it’s nice to get a win against them.”

But the Buffs didn’t go home empty-handed. They claimed the individual championship — with senior Philip Juel-Berg (left) earning his first college victory — in addition to being the runner-up team-wise.

Breaking through individually is “awesome,” said Juel-Berg, a native of Denmark who earlier this summer won the Danish International Amateur. “It’s definitely been a dream since I started college. I played really well over the summer, so I thought there was a chance to win a tournament when I got back here. It’s a great way to start off my senior year. I’m obviously really, really happy.”

CSU, which went into the final round three behind CU, shot a 7-under-par 281 as a team on Sunday and finished at 15-under 849. That was three better than CU, the 2012 champions. Wyoming was a distant third at 863. Northern Colorado (877) was seventh and host Air Force (881) was 11th.

Individually, Juel-Berg birdied five consecutive holes in the middle of his round — making a 45-foot putt, then four inside of 3 feet — and was 6 under for the day through 12. Ultimately, he posted a 4-under 68 in the final round. That left him at 12-under 204, good for a five-stroke victory over Devon Purser of Weber State. Juel-Berg matched the CU record for most shots under par in a three-round tournament.

Kieffer (above) and UTEP’s Frederik Dreier shared third place at 210.

Two former Colorado state high school champions also placed in the top 10, with CU’s Ethan Freeman (below) tying for fifth at 212 and CSU’s Kyler Dunkle sharing seventh place at 213.

The last four holes ultimately determined the team title as the four CSU golfers who had their scores count on Sunday went a combined 1 under down the stretch, while the corresponding Buffs went 5 over par.

“The guys did a nice job in general,” said CSU coach Christian Newton. “Kyler Dunkle was 3 over after 3, then made three birdies on the front to get it back to even, then shoots 2 under on the back, which was awesome, really gutsy. Blake Cannon had played really bad yesterday — he was in (71st) place — but he was 1 under for us today, which was huge. It was fun to watch.”

But not so much for the Buffs, who shot 16 strokes higher in round 3 than in round 2.

“It’s obviously real sad standing here afterward not being able to pull it out (team-wise),” Juel-Berg said. “We have to be honest: We just weren’t good enough. We dropped a lot of shots coming down the stretch.”

During Saturday’s first two rounds of the 54-hole event, CU competed with a four-man team, meaning that all the scores counted, with none being thrown out. That was because sophomore John Souza withdrew due to back spasms. He returned for Sunday’s third round and shot a 77.

“We’re very happy for Philip (Juel-Berg, left),” Buffs coach Roy Edwards said. “Anytime you have an individual win the event, you’re real excited. He’s a very hard worker, a senior. I know he’s very motivated to play well this year.

“Second (as a team) is obviously a nice event considering our situation with one guy not playing yesterday and hitting some bunts off the tee today. You’re never happy when you don’t win. We’re definitely not satisfied with second, but I’m certainly happy with how we played.

“It was a great battle with CSU. It’s always good to be in those situations, especially to start the year off.”

CU has a solid lineup, but lost one of its key players after just two seasons, as Yannik Paul is back is his native Germany, expected to soon turn pro. Yannik’s twin brother, Jeremy, remains one of the Buffs’ top players and tied for seventh on Sunday.

As for CSU, it put three players in the top 10 on Sunday — Kieffer, Dunkle and Max Oelfke (who also tied for seventh).

“We’ve got a tremendous amount of competition” on the team, Newton noted. “All the guys have gotten better. We’ve got seven or eight legitimate players; there are good guys at home. That speaks well for the program. There’s a lot of pushing and shoving for those spots. Ultimately that will make everyone better.

“We’re looking forward to next week and our home event (the Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 21-22 at Fort Collins Country Club). I’m really happy for the boys. This is really nice for them because they’ve worked really hard.”

Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational
At Par-72 Eisenhower GC (Blue Course) at Air Force Academy

Team scores — 1. Colorado State 849; 2. Colorado 852; 3. Wyoming 863; 4. Weber State 866; 5. Texas-El Paso 867; 6. Nevada 875; 7. (tie) Northern Colorado and Missouri-Kansas City 877; 9. William & Mary 878; 10. Utah State 879; 11. Air Force 881; 12. Boise State 885; 13. (tie) Abilene Christian and Utah 886; 15. Air Force B 904; 16. Southern Utah 944.

1. Colorado State 286-282-281–849
3. Dominic Kieffer 70-71-69–210; 7. Max Oelfke 72-70-71–213; 7. Kyler Dunkle 71-72-70–213; 15. Jimmy Makloski 73-69-73–215; 52. Blake Cannon 74-79-71–224.

2. Colorado 294-271-287–852
1. Philip Juel-Berg 69-67-68–204; 5. Ethan Freeman 76-67-69–212; 7. Jeremy Paul 71-69-73–213; 52. Ross Macdonald 78-68-78–224; 86. John Souza DNP-DNP-77.

7. Northern Colorado 286-299-292–877
22. Steven Kupcho 72-75-71–218; 35. Joshua Matz 75-71-75–221; 35. Sam Marley 68-78-75–221; 52. Conner Barr 78-75-71–224; 69. Li Chen 71-81-76–228.

11. Air Force Academy 300-291-290–881
18. Sutton Farmer 73-72-72–217; 35. Michael Fan 74-74-73–221; 46. Sunwoo Choi 76-75-72–223; 46. Bryant Falconello 77-73-73–223; 52. Brenden Bone 77-72-75–224.

15. Air Force Academy B 301-297-306–904
59. Tate Tatom 73-73-79–225; 62. Kyle Fuller 76-74-76–226; 67. Dane Hankamer 75-76-76–227; 79. Troy Berglund 86-74-75–235; 80. Turner Howe 77-79-80–236.

Other Local Players and Locals Competing as Individuals Only
22. Tristan Rohrbaugh, Boise State 73-72-73–218
28. Pierce Aichinger, Colorado 74-73-72–219
29. Glenn Workman, Wyoming 72-73-75–220
35. Jake Staiano, Colorado State 72-70-79–221
52. Kade Crossland, Colorado 73-74-77–224
88. Colton Yates 68-72-DNP