The title will be settled over 36 holes in the event for players at least 62 years old. There will be a separate masters division for golfers 72 and older.

Past winners of the younger championship who are scheduled to compete at Perry Park include defending champion Gary Albrecht, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2016 champ), Robert Polk (2015), Kary Kaltenbacher (2014) and Jerry Kidney (2012).

Also planning to play are 2018 CGA Super-Senior Match Play champion Harry Johnson; Dave Brown, who finished runner-up to Johnson in that event; Robin Bradbury; Sean Forey; and Roger Gunderson.

Among the contestants in the masters division is Don Alley, a former pro who has won the last two titles in that tournament.

For Wednesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
  

Fifty-five players will be in the field, with the top three finishers earning spots in the Senior Am, which will be contested Aug. 25-30 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Of those 55, almost one-fifth have competed in the U.S. Senior Am just in the last five years.

The list includes Wyoming resident John Hornbeck, the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play champion who has played in three U.S. Senior Amateurs, going to the quarterfinals in 2016. Also, there’s three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk (round of 64 in 2017), Guy Mertz (2017), Robin Bradbury (round of 64 in 2016), Gary Albrecht (2016), Jim Reynolds (2016), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2015), Thomas Roos (2015), and David Delich and Harry Johnson (both 2013 and ’14).

Also competing on Tuesday are Steve Ivan, winner of the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur and runner-up in the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play; Charlie Post, who played in the 2017 U.S. Senior Open; 2015 CGA Senior Amateur winner Bill Fowler; 2014 CGA Senior Match Play champ Tom Musselman and Sean Forey.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

A field of 82 players will be vying for four spots into the national tournament, set for Oct. 7-12 at Capital City Club in Atlanta.

Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield, the winner of the last two CGA Mid-Amateurs and the U.S. Mid-Am Qualifying medalist last year, qualified for the 2017 event earlier this week as a co-medalist in Carson City, Nev.

But among those in the Murphy Creek field are 2016 qualifiers Chris Thayer of Golden and Wes Martin of Denver. Thayer advanced to match play at the national championship, losing in the round of 64.

Among the others scheduled to compete in Aurora are Steve Irwin of Arvada, who recently competed in his third U.S. Amateur; Kyle Danford of Fort Collins, who has qualified for two U.S. Ams in recent years; 2008 CGA Amateur champion Jonathan Marsico; 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz of Aurora; two-time CGA Senior Player of the Year David Delich; and this week’s CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play champion Gary Albrecht.

After next year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur is held at Charlotte, N.C., Colorado Golf Club in Parker will host the national championship in 2019, with the dates set for Sept. 21-26.

The U.S. Mid-Amateur is limited to golfers at least 25 years old.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

On Wednesday, Gary Albrecht capped off a 72-hour stretch of golf that he won’t soon forget.

On Sunday, the Denver resident won the open-division club championship at CommonGround Golf Course, which is no small feat for a 61-year-old.

Three days later, Albrecht fended off a stiff challenge by Colorado Golf Hall of Famer — and defending champion — Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club to earn a title in a CGA championship for the first time.

Albrecht (left and below), who’s a member at Ballyneal as well as CommonGround, shot a 3-under-par 33 on his final nine holes — and a 3-under 69 for the day — to edge Moore in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City.

“It feels awesome,” said Albrecht, a private-practice attorney. “It feels great. It’s a very competitive group of super-senior players. I’m proud to come out in first. It’s been amazing.”

Albrecht, who qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur last year, sank a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to go ahead by two, then made a knee-knocker for par — and the win — on the 18th after Moore had drained a 10-foot birdie.

In the cases of both of his wins in recent days, Albrecht had in mind the memory of a longtime friend, Tom Collins, who died early this year. They met as members at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen in the late 1990s. Two months ago, Albrecht also participated in the Hundred Hole Hike at Ballyneal, playing 128 holes in a single day — all walking, covering about 38 miles in the process. In Albrecht’s case, the effort raised funds for the New York-based Double H Ranch, where Collins’ sons had attended Cindy’s Comfort Camp for kids with terminally ill parents.

“I played today with a golf ball with a logo on it in (Collins’) honor,” Albrecht noted. “I had (also) done it at CommonGround for the club championship. He’s been with me.”

At Buffalo Run, Albrecht finished with a 5-under-par 139 total, one ahead of Moore, who likewise closed with a 69 after birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 on Wednesday.

“He played great,” Moore said of Albrecht. “He almost never missed a shot. He missed one drive on the front and it cost him a bogey. Other than that, he was putting for birdie on every hole. He just played so steady and putted good. That was a delightful round to watch.

“(For me), it was a really good score for the way I hit it on the back. I’m disappointed to lose, but not disappointed in the scoring. Normally (Moore’s total) would win by two or three.”

In the three CGA super-senior individual championships in which Moore (below) has participated, he’s now finished first and second in the Super-Senior Stroke Play and first in the 2017 Super-Senior Match Play.

Although Albrecht was ahead most of the way on Wednesday, the long birdie putt he sank on 17 proved pivotal. Playing partner Sean Forey was on a similar line and putted first, just missing. Then Albrecht was dead-on.

“I know how great a player Kent is and he was right there,” Albrecht said. I hit a lot of good shots. I was a little disappointed in some of the putts I hit because I didn’t really have the pace. But the birdie putt on 17 was a huge one. I knew I needed to make it. I just saw the line and knocked it in.

“Yesterday I was trying to find break in putts and most of them were straight. That putt really was straight. I said, ‘You just have to trust that.’ I did, and it went right in the middle.”

This was the first time Albrecht had played in a CGA super-senior championship, but probably not the last.

“Maybe I just didn’t want to enter a super-senior event,” he said. “Maybe I was in denial a little bit. But these guys can golf. There’s a lot of really good golfers. Beating guys like Kent Moore and Robert Polk, that’s tough to do. They’ve won a lot of these events and they’re tournament-tested-tough players.”

Polk a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year from Colorado Golf Club, placed third on Wednesday at 142 after finishing with a 68, the low round of the 61-plus championship. That means that members of the CGA’s volunteer Board of Governors went 1-2-3 in the association’s Super-Senior Stroke Play.

“We have a strong (board),” Albrecht noted. “We should have a Board of Governors golf event.”

Dave Runberg of CommonGround placed fourth in the 61-and-older division at 144 after a 71 on Wednesday.

In the 71-plus division, Don Alley (left) of Antler Creek Golf Course won for the second consecutive year. Alley, a former Colorado PGA professional who has had his amateur status reinstated, put together a stellar finish, playing his final eight holes in 6 under par. The 72-year-old from Colorado Springs made an eagle and four birdies during that stretch to shoot a 68, giving him a 3-under-par 141 total and a two-stroke victory.

“It feels wonderful, very surprising,” Alley said. “I came in here not playing well. I had a real rough winter. I got sick. I lost a lot of weight and a lot of stength, so I just haven’t been playing very well. I came in here with very low expectations. I didn’t play really well until the last nine. I got things going on the last nine and made some putts. I’m happy.”

As for the final-nine 31, Alley said, “It’s been a while since I’ve done that in a competitive event.”

It was the second CGA title for Alley, who served as a Colorado PGA professional for about two decades — including as general manager at the now-defunct Gleneagle Golf Club — and was president of the Section in the mid-1980s. He left the golf business and didn’t play the game for about a dozen years. But he received his amateur status back in the 1990s and now is going strong again.

Bob Sims of Clubcorp Colorado, who took a three-stroke lead into the final round, tied for second at 143 with Roger Gunderson of Aurora Hills Golf Course, a past winner of both the CGA Senior Amateur and Senior Match Play. Gunderson closed with a 69 and Sims with a 73.

(FYI: Starting in 2017, the age requirement for each CGA super-senior championship will go up by one year each year through 2021, when no one younger than 65 will be allowed to compete. Similarly, the minimum age for the older division will rise annually, with 75 and older being the criteria in 2021 and beyond.)

For Super-Senior Stroke Play scores, CLICK HERE.

Albrecht (pictured), who qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur last year, shot a 2-under-par 70 to grab a one-stroke lead at the halfway point of the 61-and-older division. He made four birdies and two bogeys, and played his final three holes in 2 under par.

Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer seeking to win his third consecutive CGA super-senior individual championship, opened with a 71, making four birdies on the day. He shares second place with Sean Forey of The Club at Rolling Hills, who placed second to Moore in this tournament last year. Forey carded three birdies and bogeys on Tuesday.

Daniel Dymerski of Columbine Country Club sits in fourth place, two back of Albrecht. Dymerski posted a birdie, a bogey and 16 pars on Tuesday.

(FYI: Starting in 2017, the age requirement for each CGA super-senior championship will go up by one year each year through 2021, when no one younger than 65 will be allowed to compete.)

Meanwhile, in the 71-and-older division, Bob Sims of Clubcorp Colorado grabbed a three-stroke lead, Sims, winner of the CGA Super-Senior Match Play in 2012, fired a 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday, when he made four birdies.

Defending champion Don Alley of Antler Creek Golf Course and Jim Hotchkiss of Lakewood Country Club share second place in the older division at 73.

The final round for both divisions will take place on Wednesday. The 71-and-older leaders will tee off at 8:21 a.m., with the top threesome from the 61-and-older division starting at 8:30 a.m.

For Super-Senior Stroke Play scores, CLICK HERE.

Sixty-three players, all 55 and older, will be competing for three national berths into the Senior Amateur, set for Aug. 26-31 at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis.

Gary Albrecht of CommonGround Golf Course and Robin Bradbury of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, both 2016 U.S. Senior Am qualifiers, will be in the field in Colorado Springs.

Other qualifiers in Colorado from recent years — David Delich (2013 and ’14), Harry Johnson (2013 and ’14), Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Kent Moore (2015) and John Olive (2012), Thomas Roos (2015), Ted Warner (2013) and Kelly Crone (2012).

Also scheduled to play on Monday are three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk and other former CGA senior champions Tom Musselman, Guy Mertz and Ken Sady.
 

Wayne Wright of Aledo, Texas, seeded 12th in the match-play bracket, defeated 53rd-seeded Bradbury 5 and 4.

Bradbury (pictured) never led on Monday, falling 6 down after eight holes before winning two of the next three. Bradbury finished 5 over par for the 14 holes of the match, while Wright was 2 under.

The U.S. Senior Amateur is limited to players 55 and older.

Here are the stroke-play scores and positions of all the players with strong Colorado ties who competed in St. Louis:

48. Robin Bradbury of Superior 74-76–150 (Lost in R64)

Failed to Advance to Match Play
96. Gary Albrecht of Denver 78-77–155
150. Jim Reynolds of Denver 79-85–164

For all the results from the U.S. Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

The top 64 players, out of the original field of 156, advance to match play, which begins on Monday.

Bradbury (pictured) posted three birdies, six bogeys and one double bogey in Sunday’s round of 5-over-par 76. The 60-year-old checked in with a 36-hole total of 8-over-par 150, which left him 12 strokes behind medalist Tim Jackson of Germantown, Tenn.

The other two Coloradans competing in the U.S. Senior Amateur fell short of advancing to match play as Gary Albrecht of Denver placed 96th at 155 and Jim Reynolds of Denver was 150th at 164.

The U.S. Senior Amateur is limited to players 55 and older.

Here are the scores and positions of all the players with strong Colorado ties who are competing in St. Louis:

48. Robin Bradbury of Superior 74-76–150

Failed to Advance to Match Play
96. Gary Albrecht of Denver 78-77–155
150. Jim Reynolds of Denver 79-85–164

For all the scores from the U.S. Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

The 60-year-old, competing in a USGA national championship for the first time, shot a 3-over-par 74 and shares 32nd place out of 156 players after Saturday’s opening round of the U.S. Senior Amateur at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis.

Bradbury (pictured) made three birdies and six bogeys on Saturday.

The players who finish in the top 64 in stroke play, which ends after round 2, will advance to the match play portion of the championship.

As for the other Coloradans competing at Old Warson, Gary Albrecht of Denver — also competing in his first USGA championship — opened with a 78 (93rd place) while Jim Reynolds of Denver, who made it into the field after being an alternate, carded a 79 (112th place).

The U.S. Senior Amateur is limited to players 55 and older.

Here are the scores and positions of all the players with strong Colorado ties who are competing in St. Louis:

32. 93. Robin Bradbury of Superior 74
93. Gary Albrecht of Denver 78
112. Jim Reynolds of Denver 79

For all the scores from the U.S. Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.

It took a while — six decades to be precise — but Gary Albrecht of Denver and Robin Bradbury of Superior scored USGA breakthroughs on Thursday.

The two Coloradans, both now 60 years old, had never had the good fortune of qualifying for a USGA championship before. But they crossed that off their bucket lists at Fox Hollow Golf Course by punching their tickets to the U.S. Senior Amateur.
 
“One of my goals has been to get to a USGA event, so it’s a big deal for me,” Bradbury said. “It took 60 years to get here … but better late than never. I’m very excited about it.”

Said Albrecht: “It’s amazing, awesome. I’ve never qualified for an event like this.”

In fact, both went so far as to call what they did Thursday the top golf accomplishment of their lifetimes.

“Without question,” said Albrecht, who competed in a national long-drive competition at the 1982 PGA Championship.

“Clearly,” added Bradbury (left), who posted top-four finishes in both the CGA Senior Match Play and Senior Amateur in 2015.

Albrecht and Bradbury joined John Hornbeck of Saratoga, Wyo., in earning the three available U.S. Senior Amateur spots from Thursday’s qualifying tournament. (The qualifiers are pictured above, from left: Hornbeck, Albrecht and Bradbury.)

On a day when no one in the starting field of 55 matched or broke par, Albrecht, Bradbury and Hornbeck shared medalist honors at 1-over-par 72 with Jim Reynolds of Denver.

Then after Bradbury and Hornbeck secured the first two national berths with pars on the second hole of a playoff, Albrecht rebounded from a double bogey on extra hole No. 2 to earn the final Senior Am spot with a routine par. Reynolds, who survived a double bogey on the second playoff hole after losing his tee shot in a hazard, three-putted for bogey from 70 feet on the third extra hole to end up the odd man out in the four-person playoff. His 8-foot par putt just slipped by the right edge of the cup.

“I thought he made his putt.” said Albrecht. “I was fortunate.”

That means Albrecht, Bradbury and Hornbeck, 58, will be headed in mid-September to Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, where the U.S. Senior Am will be played Sept. 17-22.

This marks the second time this summer that Hornbeck has qualified in Colorado — via a playoff — for a USGA championship. He played in the U.S. Senior Open last week, missing the cut. Thanks to bouncing back from a bogey-bogey start on Thursday, this year will mark his second U.S. Senior Amateur and his eighth USGA championship overall.

“I’m getting tired of having to keep playing in them,” Hornbeck (left) said of playoffs in Colorado-based qualifiers. “But this is really special” to advance to two USGA championships in the same year. “The Senior Open was fantastic. I wasn’t even nervous or anything playing around with those (PGA Tour Champions) guys.”

Albrecht, who serves on the CGA board of governors and plays much of his golf at Ballyneal and CGA-owned CommonGround, went 2 under par for his last 10 holes of regulation on Thursday.

Bradbury, meanwhile, needed just 22 putts in regulation, then one-putted the second playoff hole for par after a poor drive.

“All that really means is I missed a lot of greens,” he said of his 22-putt round. “Like (on the second extra hole), a one-putt. That’s what I was doing all day today. Twenty-two putts is pretty crazy, but whatever it takes.”

The U.S. Senior Amateur is limited to players 55 and older.
 

U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifying
At Par-71 Fox Hollow GC (Canyon/Meadow) in Lakewood

QUALIFIED FOR U.S. SENIOR AM
John Hornbeck, Saratoga, Wyo. 36-36–72
Gary Albrecht, Denver, Colo. 38-34–72
Robin Bradbury, Superior, Colo. 36-36–72
ALTERNATES (IN ORDER)
Jim Reynolds, Denver, Colo. 35-37–72
Mark Barkley, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 34-39–73
DID NOT QUALIFY
Jake Jacobson, Castle Rock, Colo. 37-36–73
Robert Polk, Parker, Colo. 34-39–73
Harry Johnson, Edwards, Colo. 37-36–73
Guy Mertz, Longmont, Colo. 39-34–73
Charlie Post, Castle Rock, Colo. 37-36–73
Paul Edwards, Parker, Colo. 38-36–74
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 38-36–74
Ken Sady, Avon, Colo. 37-37–74
Jeffrey Page, Natick, Mass. 36-38–74
Pat Bowe, Denver, Colo. 38-37–75
Jerry Morgan, Amarillo, Texas 38-37–75
Mark Franz, Aurora, Colo. 38-37–75
Matt Hall, Grand Junction, Colo. 41-34–75
Sean Forey, Morrison, Colo. 38-38–76
Michael Larson, Boulder, Colo. 39-37–76
Laird Middleton, Centennial, Colo. 39-37–76
Kary Kaltenbacher, Englewood, Colo. 39-37–76
Rick George, Greenwood Village, Colo. 42-35–77
James English, Boulder, Colo. 40-37–77
Jim Lemar, Littleton, Colo. 38-39–77
Mark Breese, Lafayette, Colo. 37-40–77
Brian Harris, Denver, Colo. 37-40–77
Bill Bolgar, Parker, Colo. 42-36–78
David Brown, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 42-36–78
Bob Schuler, Denver, Colo. 42-36–78
Bruce Hayes, Golden, Colo. 39-39–78
Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction, Colo. 40-38–78
Grant Porter, Castle Pines, Colo. 36-42–78
Robert Cloud, Denver, Colo. 39-40–79
David Merritt, Castle Pines, Colo. 40-40–80
John Sostman, Denver, Colo. 38-42–80
Tim McAdam, Scottsdale, Ariz. 39-41–80
Randy Dolan, Englewood, Colo. 42-38–80
Jerry Lehrman, St. Louis Park, Minn. 44-37–81
Wes Heusel, Pueblo, Colo. 41-41–82
Thomas Grawe, Pine, Colo. 44-38–82
Pat Bucci, Littleton, Colo. 44-39–83
Greg Thiesen, Erie, Colo. 39-44–83
David Delich, Colorado Springs, Colo. 44-39–83
Jeff Reich, Chandler, Ariz. 42-41–83
Butch Carlson, Boulder, Colo. 40-43–83
Chris Pennels, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 40-43–83
Steve Cribari, La Quinta, Calif. 42-42–84
Stephen Barlow, Cherry Hills, Colo. 42-42–84
Randy Miller, Boulder, Colo. 44-45–89
Louis Gerig, Glenwood Springs, Colo. 49-41–90
Danny Wyrick, Arvada, Colo. 47-44–91
Gary Stark, Denver, Colo. 48-43–91
William Farmer, Dallas, Texas NS
John Olive, Colorado Springs, Colo. WD
David Derks, Arvada, Colo. WD