In fact, two locals posted top-four finishes on such tours.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe (left) placed a season-best third in a PGA Tour Champions major, the Constellation Senior Players Championship in Highland Park, Ill.

And Denver-area resident Jim Knous tied for fourth in the Web.com Tour’s Utah Championship in Farmington after leading going into the final round.

Jobe, who finished fifth in the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor two weeks ago, continued his stellar player in senior majors. He’s now competed in a dozen such events since 2016 and owns eight top-10 showings and seven top-5s.

Jobe was tied for the lead with three holes left in his round Sunday at the Senior Players, but finished two strokes behind Vijay Singh and Jeff Maggert, who played off for the title, with Singh winning.

Jobe, who lived in Colorado for 29 years, went 67-67-70-66 for an 18-under-par 270 total. He moved up to No. 15 on this year’s PGA Tour Champions money list with $605,613.

Meanwhile, Knous posted his best finish ever on the Web.com Tour with his fourth-place showing on Sunday.

Knous set the 54-hole scoring record for the Utah Championship by posting scores of 65-64-62. But the Colorado School of Mines golfer couldn’t get his putter working on Sunday and shot a 72 for a 21-under-par 263 total. That left him three strokes behind winner Cameron Champ.

Despite a final-hole bogey, Sunday’s showing was worth $30,800 for Knous.

Even closer to Colorado, the Wyoming State Open wrapped up on Sunday in Cheyenne, and though Colorado PGA professional Geoff Keffer took home the top professional prize of $10,000, he finished runner-up in the event to amateur John Murdock, a University of Wyoming golfer from Laramie.

Murdock shot rounds of 63-67-65 at Airport Golf Course, giving him a winning total of 15-under 195. Keffer, a five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year, finished a stroke behind after going 61-66-69.

Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion, won the senior pro division in Cheyenne, going 68-70-71 for a 1-under-par 209.

For scores from the Wyoming State Open, CLICK HERE.
 

Seven of the eight Colorado competitors missed the 36-hole cut on Monday in Seaside, Calif., and the one professional who advanced to Tuesday fell victim to the 54-hole cut.

Geoff Keffer of Lakewood, a five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year, finished 94th on Tuesday out of the original field of 312. He needed to get into the top 70 and ties after three rounds to make it to Wednesday’s final round, where the remaining players will battle it out for spots in the fourth men’s major of the year.

Keffer (pictured), winner of the 2016 Colorado PGA Professional Championship, recorded rounds of 74-75-79 for a 12-over-par 228 total. The 39-year-old made two birdies, seven bogeys and a double bogey on Tuesday.

(June 20 Update: Marty Jertson, a former Colorado School of Mines golfer who won the 2001 CGA Amateur, finished ninth in the national tournament on Wednesday and qualified for the PGA Championship. A finish in the top 20 earned players a spot in the fourth men’s major championship of the year.

Wednesday marked the third top-10 finish in the national PGA Professional Championship for Jertson, who has played in six previous PGA Tour events, including the PGA Championship in 2011 and ’12.

Jertson, the director of product development at Ping in Arizona, shot rounds of 75-72-74-68 in Seaside, finishing at 1-over-par 289, six strokes behind champion Ryan Vermeer of Happy Hollow Club in Nebraska.

To read a 2017 feature story on Jertson, CLICK HERE.)

Here are the scores for all the Coloradan who played in the national championship:

Missed 54-Hole Cut
94. Geoff Keffer, Greater Golf Development 74-75-79–228

Missed 36-Hole Cut
142. Jordan Gibbs, Denver CC 75-77–152
142. Jack Allen, Cherry Hills CC 77-75–152
142. Micah Rudosky, Conquistador GC 74-78–152
227. John Ogden, Cherry Hills CC 81-75–156
248. Rick Cole, Eaton CC 82-76–158
270. Barry Milstead, Valley CC 77-84–161
304. Derek Rush, Cherry Hills CC 87-81–168

ALSO
Qualifies for PGA Championship
9. Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Marty Jertson 75-72-74-68–289

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

With the 36-hole cut on Monday reducing the field from its original 312 to 90 and ties, the five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year advanced on the number.

Keffer (left), the 2016 Colorado PGA Professional Champion, was the top Colorado finisher after two rounds, standing in 85th place. Keffer shot a 3-over-par 75 on Monday, leaving him at 5-over-par 149. He was even par for the day through 10 holes, but went 3 over in his last eight holes and bogeyed his final hole of the day. At first, it looked like that might cost him, but he later made it inside the top 90.

There will be another cut after Tuesday’s third round, to the top 70 and ties.

All of the Coloradans who competed in Seaside earned their spots in the national tournament through their performances last September in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

The top 20 finishers after Wednesday’s final round will earn spots in the PGA Championship Aug. 9-12 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. If the tournament ended Monday, golfers at even-par would be the final ones to advance.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradan who played in the national championship:

Advances to Round 3
85. Geoff Keffer, Greater Golf Development 74-75–149
Missed 36-Hole Cut
142. Jordan Gibbs, Denver CC 75-77–152
142. Jack Allen, Cherry Hills CC 77-75–152
142. Micah Rudosky, Conquistador GC 74-78–152
225. John Ogden, Cherry Hills CC 81-75–156
248. Rick Cole, Eaton CC 82-76–158
269. Barry Milstead, Valley CC 77-84–161
304. Derek Rush, Cherry Hills CC 87-81–168
ALSO
Advances to Round 3
51. Former Coloradan Marty Jertson 75-72–147

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

It’s the year-ending holiday season, which means different things to different people.

One of the things that comes with this time of year here at coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org is a reflection on the past 12 months and compilation of the top stories of the year in Colorado golf. We’ve been doing it annually since 2009, and we’re not about to stop now.

There’s no lack of worthwhile candidates, so in recent years we’ve broken up the list into a two-part series. We go in reverse order, for the sake of preserving some suspense, and add an honorable-mention list that will be included with Part II, which will be published in the coming days.

Today, we’ll cover Nos. 25-13, so without further ado …:

25. Year 2 for Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado: The JGAC, which made quite a splash upon debuting in 2016, continued a significant upward trajectory in 2017. The Alliance — a joint effort of the CGA, Colorado PGA and CWGA — further expanded its reach by creating more tournaments, including several in western Colorado, and adding services. Junior players of all abilities can benefit from JGAC-related programs, including anything from the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy to Colorado PGA Golf in Schools to the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program to Drive Chip & Putt and PGA Junior League competitions.

24. Three Victories by DU Women’s Team: The University of Denver women’s golf team has compiled quite a record from late last season to early this one. In late April, the Pioneers won their 14th straight conference championship, an eye-opening run even if their conference isn’t particularly strong in women’s golf. Then this fall, DU won two tournaments in 11 days — both in Colorado, at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott and the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch. For the record, that made for three wins in the course of five tournaments spanning two seasons. Denver, ranked among the top 25 women’s teams in the nation to complete the fall (along with the University of Colorado), was given a boost in the offseason when 2017 CWGA Player of the Year Mary Weinstein transferred in from the Regis University.

23. Eaton’s March Toward CWGA Record: This year, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton reached 24 CWGA championship victories by sweeping the Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play titles. That leaves her just one shy of Carol Flenniken’s career-record total of 25. After her third sweep of the Senior Match and Senior Stroke in the same year, Eaton earned the CWGA Senior Player of the Year honor for the eighth time. She’s also been the overall CWGA Player of the Year four times since 2004.

22. Variety is Spice of Life for Moore: Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Kent Moore, added to a rather remarkable feat that likely will never be matched. With his victory in the Super-Senior Match Play, Moore (pictured above) now has claimed titles in eight different CGA individual championships. Over the last 44 years, he’s won the 1973 Junior Match Play, the 1986 Amateur, the 1989 Match Play, the 1995 Mid-Amateur, the 2006 Senior Match Play, the 2014 Senior Stroke Play, the 2016 Super-Senior Stroke Play and the 2017 Super-Senior Match Play. READ MORE

21. Longmont’s Nygren Inaugural Putting Champ: Longmont’s Cole Nygren, a pro for just a couple of months, earned a nice paycheck ($15,000) and plenty of publicity with his Halloween victory in the All Pro Championship at the inaugural Major Series of Putting in Las Vegas. The most eye-catching part of the win was the fact that it came against a field that featured PGA Tour veterans Brad Faxon, John Cook, Tommy Armour III and Colt Knost. Nygren, who placed fourth in the CGA Amateur in August to conclude his amateur career, beat Knost, the 2007 U.S. Amateur champion, 3 and 2 in the match-play finale. READ MORE

20. Major Changes for Colorado Cup Matches: The Colorado Cup Matches, a Ryder Cup-style competition between CGA/CWGA amateurs and Colorado PGA professionals, have been held annually since 1971. But there were many significant changes implemented in 2017, which will be the last time the matches are conducted until 2019. With no college golfers playing for the amateur team for the first time, the Colorado PGA (left) prevailed 26-14 in the event, which now features open, senior and women players competing for a single Cup. That result came a year after the pros were swept by the ams. READ MORE

19. More National Recognition for Colorado PGA: Mark Pfingston, the PGA head professional at The Golf Club at Bear Dance, this year was named the PGA of America’s national Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities. With Pfingston’s accomplishment, Colorado PGA members continued their roll of the last decade-plus in receiving national recogntion for their work. In the last 11 years (2007 through ’17), CPGA members — or the Section as a whole — have earned nine national awards from the PGA of America. READ MORE

18. Chalk Up Another Honor for Keffer: In the last decade, Geoff Keffer has become one of the most awarded players from the Colorado PGA in the Section’s history. This year, the Lakewood resident received the Section’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year Award for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in six years. To put that into perspective, only one player has been the Colorado PGA’s Finsterwald Player of the Year more times than Keffer, with two others matching his total. And all of the other three members of the five-timers club have all been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Bob Hold owns the record for most CPGA Finsterwald Player of the Year Awards, with seven earned between 1966 and ’74, including six straight starting in ’66. Other five-time Players of the Year, in addition to Keffer, are Vic Kline (1975 to 1981) and Ron Vlosich (1986 to ’91). READ MORE

17. Back to North Dakota for CGA’s Jensen: Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s highly regarded and well-liked managing director of operations, recently accepted a job as associate dean of student engagement at his alma mater, the University of Jamestown in his hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota. Jensen was a key administrator in Colorado golf, particularly playing a pivotal role in the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado getting up and running during its initial years. READ MORE

16. Age No Problem for Schalk: Hailey Schalk (left) of Erie was only 15 years old during the 2017 golf season, but that didn’t keep her from becoming the girls Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Player of the Year. In 2017, Schalk was the first Coloradan to win a title at the prestigious AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. And in May, she was the first freshman since 2002 to win a girls state high school individual championship in Colorado. In addition, she captured the titles at both of the JGAC majors in which she competed. She also placed 14th individually while playing for Colorado at the Girls Junior America’s Cup. She and Davis Bryant were recently named “Future Famers” by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

15. Seniors Rule at CPGA Professional Championship: The Colorado PGA Professional Championship is the top tournament of the year for the Section. But this year’s event, held at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, turned into a showcase for the 50-and-over set as 50-year-old John Ogden prevailed in a playoff over 64-year-old Rick Cole, who was ever so close to becoming the oldest winner of this event — by far. As it was, Ogden earned the $8,000 first prize, then promptly donated half of that total to the Colorado PGA REACH Foundation. READ MORE


14. Timely 59 for Sam Saunders: Former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders picked a good time for his career round. Saunders, grandson of the late Arnold Palmer, opened the Web.com Tour Championship with a 12-under-par 59 in Atlantic Beach, Fla., where he moved from Fort Collins last year. It was just the seventh round under 60 in the history of the Web.com circuit. More importantly, it led to a second-place finish in the Web Tour Championship, which secured Saunders’ fully-exempt PGA Tour card for 2017-18 after he had lost that status late in the summer.


13. Bunch, Harvanek Voted into Colorado Golf Hall of Fame: Two Coloradans whose service in golf has made an indelible impact were voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Jim Bunch of Denver and Danny Harvanek of Littleton will make up the 46th class of the Hall of Fame and will be inducted on May 20 at Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia. Bunch has served in high-powered volunteer roles at the USGA and with the Western Golf Association, including as the chairman of the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, of the WGA and of the Evans Scholars Foundation that awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means. Harvanek, a longtime PGA Master Professional in Colorado, has long been touted for his highly-effective instruction work with junior golfers, which helped lay the groundwork for the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program. READ MORE
   

Tonight (Oct. 27), when the Colorado PGA holds its Special Awards Gala at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, the Lakewood resident will receive the Section’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year Award for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in six years.

To put that into perspective, only one player has been the Colorado PGA’s Finsterwald Player of the Year more times than Keffer, with two others matching his total. And all of the other three members of the five-timers club have all been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

Bob Hold owns the record for most CPGA Finsterwald Player of the Year Awards, with seven earned between 1966 and ’74, including six straight starting in ’66. Other five-time Players of the Year, in addition to Keffer, are Vic Kline (1975 to 1981) and Ron Vlosich (1986 to ’91).

Keffer (pictured), the Colorado PGA Professional Champion last year, was also the Section’s Apprentice Player of the Year three times from 2007 through ’11. He won or tied for the title in six Section tournaments in 2017 — the season-long Assistants Match Play and Four-Ball Match Play, a one-day pro-only event and three-pro-ams. He finished a stroke out of a playoff, in third place, at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship last month.

Keffer is part owner of the Denver-based Greater Golfer Development Center.

Earning the Colorado PGA’s Senior Player of the Year honors was 64-year-old Rick Cole, the head professional at Eaton Country Club, who finished second in a playoff to John Ogden at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. Cole also placed sixth in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open, the best showing by a Coloradan this year.

Here are the other Colorado PGA award winners who will be honored tonight, including Golf Professional of the Year Mark Kelbel (READ MORE) from The Broadmoor Golf Club.

Golf Professional of the Year — Mark Kelbel, The Broadmoor Golf Club”¨”¨

Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year — Geoff Keffer, Greater Golf Development Center

Senior Player of the Year — Rick Cole, Eaton Country Club

Apprentice Player of the Year — Bryan Hackenberg, Riverdale GC

Teacher of the Year — Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Golf Academy”¨”¨

Bill Strausbaugh Award (mentoring fellow PGA professionals) — Ty Walker, GolfTEC Denver Tech Center”¨”¨

Assistant Professional of the Year — Cy Twete, The Golf Club at Bear Dance”¨”¨

Horton Smith Award (exceptional contributions to promote and improve PGA educational programs) — Patrick Nuber, GolfTEC, national director of teaching quality and instruction”¨”¨

Player Development Award — Leighton Smith, The First Tee of Pikes Peak”¨”¨

Youth Player Development Award — Todd Laxson, Cherokee Ridge Golf Course”¨”¨

Warren Smith Award (special contributions to game of golf, the Colorado PGA, junior golf and their facility) — Barry Milstead, Valley Country Club”¨”¨

Private Merchandiser of the Year — Steve David, Denver Country Club”¨”¨

Resort Merchandiser of the Year — Phillip Tobias, River Course and Ranch Course at Keystone Resort”¨”¨

Public Merchandiser of the Year — Dale Smigelsky, Collindale Golf Course

Todd Phipers Media Award — Stan Fenn and Doug Perry (Morning Cup of Golf radio show)

President’s Award (promoting and enhancing PGA professionals, the PGA Section and the game of golf and contributing to the betterment of the golf professional vocation) — Eric Kenealy

(Updated Oct. 30) Vic Kline Award (to Section board of directors member for outstanding service and leadership for the Section) — Scott Erwin, Maroon Creek Club

Noble Chalfant Inductees (lifetime distinction for PGA members) — Don Fox, Lewis Lepore.

When John Ogden shook hands with playoff opponent Rick Cole after winning the Colorado PGA Professional Championship on Wednesday, he did so gingerly with his left hand.

That seemed only fitting given that the two professionals who squared off for the title are seniors by PGA tournament standards, with many of the ailments and maladies that come with age.

In Ogden’s case, his right elbow has been giving him fits, so he had to improvise — both with the handshake and with his swing at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

But in spite of their age — Ogden is 50 and Cole 64 — the two finished atop the leaderboard at the Colorado PGA’s biggest tournament of the year, ahead of a field that included plenty of guys in their 20s and 30s. In fact, had Cole won, Colorado PGA records indicate he would have been the oldest champion in this event, by far, and the tournament dates back to 1958.

“The gray-haired guys, that was pretty good,” Ogden said with a smile afterward. “But Rick’s got a few more years than me on the gray hairs.”

But the “seniors make good” theme didn’t stop with Ogden and Cole. The top dozen finishers included seven pros who are 50 and older. Besides Ogden and Cole, there was three-time champion Doug Rohrbaugh (55), Barry Milstead (50), former PGA Tour player Larry Rinker (60), Paul Lobato (54) and three-time winner Bill Loeffler (61).

“I think the seniors definitely had the advantage in the tournament,” Cole said. “We’re hitting drivers on some of the holes (where younger players) are hitting 4-irons and 5-irons and 3-woods. I think that was an equalizer on this golf course, to be honest with you.”

Appropriately enough, being the PGA head professional at Cherry Hills Country Club for the last decade, Ogden (above and left) earned a trophy on Wednesday that bears the name of Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Ralph “Rip” Arnold, who himself served as the head pro at Cherry Hills. Also for being the best of the bunch this week at the Fazio Course at Red Sky, Ogden received the $8,000 first prize — and promptly announced that he was donating half of that total to the Colorado PGA REACH Foundation.

“That’s such a great foundation,” he said. “I’ve sat on that foundation board in years past. I think it’s the right thing to do. Money is money. It’s nice, but I just like to compete. I’ve never been about winning money or anything like that. I’ve been very blessed in my life and my profession, so anything I can do to help out, I’m happy to help out.”

Despite his right elbow issues — which he said might eventually require surgery — Ogden had what it took to claim this title for the first time. But, again, he had to improvise.

“I usually play right-hand (dominant), and I played left-armed this week,” he said.

“When you play left-armed, it’s kind of like old school. When I was a kid I took some lessons from Stan Thirsk, who was Tom Watson’s instructor. I kind of went back to some of those thoughts and had some of those images of those lessons with Stan. All I was doing was letting my arm get up vertical and letting my left arm pass. I kind of had an image of Tom Watson in my head too.”

And that did the job for Ogden. He hit a 400-yard drive on the downhill par-5 final hole in regulation and two-putted from 20 feet for birdie to force a playoff with Cole, then won in sudden death on the same hole with a bogey.

Ogden shot a 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday to post a 4-under 212 total.

Cole, the PGA head pro at Eaton Country Club for the last 32 years, also checked in at that figure after finishing birdie-birdie. He nearly aced the 156-yard 17th hole, then two-putted from 30 feet to close out regulation. His 67 was Wednesday’s best round by two strokes.

Kirk Trowbridge of the MetaGolf Learning Center finished tied for third at 213 after leading early on the back nine on Wednesday. After making an eagle and two birdies on the front side and shooting a 4-under 32, his Waterloo came on the par-4 13th hole. There, he lost two balls — one right off his tee shot and one over the green when the wind shifted as he was hitting his approach — and he had to sink a 6-foot putt for a triple bogey.

Still, Trowbridge would have been part of the playoff had he sunk his 6-foot eagle putt on 18, but he missed and settle for birdie. His 70 put him at 213, one back of Ogden and Cole.

Asked if he was playing “what-if” after what happened on the 13th hole, Trowbridge said no. “I also made an eagle and a couple of birdies early on, so that’s golf, right? I’m happy. I probably managed my game this week better than maybe ever.”

Sharing third place at 213 with Trowbridge was 2016 champion Geoff Keffer from the Greater Golfer Development Center at Park Hill. Keffer had a one-birdie, one-bogey final day and shot 72.

Rohrbaugh, who’s believed to be the oldest winner of the tournament when he claimed the title in 2015 at age 53, placed fifth on Wednesday at 215 after carding a final-round 71.

The playoff on the 18th hole wasn’t pretty — as both participants readily admitted — but Ogden posted a bogey to win, while Cole made a double bogey. It was a far cry from their birdies in regulation, but both players paid the price for their tee shots.

Ogden thought his drive was as good as the one he hit in regulation on the hole, but it bounced into the environmentally sensitive area right of the rough and he was forced to take a penalty. Cole (left), usually a fixture in the fairway off the tee, double-crossed his drive and his ball shot left and “onto somebody’s back patio, but there’s no out of bounds stakes,” he noted. If Cole’s memory serves, it was just his second missed fairway of the entire tournament, though he hadn’t seen the course before Monday’s first round.

After the awry drive, “I thought I hit a perfect shot out of there,” Cole said. “I see a ball down there in the middle of the fairway — which was my provisional; I forgot I hit a provisional because I’m kind of old — so I’m thinking, ‘What a shot.’ But somebody comes down and says, ‘Rick, your ball went into a hazard’ (on the right side, where Ogden had hit his tee shot). I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Really?’ It hit really, really hard and bounced into the hazard. So I took a drop, and it was (all but done) at that point because John was greenside in three.”

Ogden was indeed laying 3 in a greenside bunker. And after Cole hit a 7-iron to just short of the green and a pitch that ended up 18 feet shy of the cup, Ogden blasted to about 20 feet. He two-putted for bogey and Cole did likewise for double bogey and that was the tournament.

“I didn’t see this one coming,” Ogden said of the victory. “I’ve got a messed-up right elbow. And I haven’t played very good in the last month. I didn’t play good last week at the Smith-Cole (at Cherry Hills). And at 50, I thought my days of (possibly) winning this, those times were past. But you just never know.

“This means the world. It’s probably the biggest victory of my professional career, that’s for sure,” added the former University of Kansas golfer, who once beat John Daly to win the Missouri Open. “I don’t win much, so this might be No. 1 (of his career overall). Who knows? It’ll mean a lot to my family and to my club and my staff.

“Winning is hard to do, especially in our Section where we have great players. At the (Colorado PGA) Senior Championship a few weeks ago, I shot 3 under and just got it handed to me.”

Meanwhile, Cole came ever so close to winning the Section’s top championship as a 64-year-old, which would have set the new age standard in the event by 11 years.

“I don’t even think about it to be honest with you,” he said of the age factor. “I’m just happy with the way I played, happy with the way I putted.

“I’ve got the points lead (among seniors in the Section). I thought if I could just make a good showing in this tournament I might win the points championship on the senior end of it. My goal honestly was to make the cut and get some more points on (his senior challengers). I really accomplished my goal in that regard. And I managed my game probably as well as I have all year.”

Thanks to their performances at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, eight players qualified for the 2018 national PGA Professional Championship, set for June 17-20 at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside, Calif.

Advancing to that event were Ogden, Cole, Trowbridge (left), Keffer, Rohrbaugh, Jack Allen of Heritage Eagle Bend, Micah Rudosky of Conquistador and Barry Milstead of Valley. Allen, Rudosky and Milstead tied for sixth place on Wednesday along with Rinker, the director of instruction at Red Sky who isn’t eligible to compete at the national championship.

For Cole, it will be the first national PGA Professional Championship he’s qualified for since 1987.

“I figured there was no chance,” he said. “So to go out there is an awesome privilege.”

Colorado PGA Professional Championship
Sept. 11-13, 2017 (final) at Par-72 Fazio Course at Red Sky GC in Wolcott
Top Finishers
1. John Ogden (won playoff on first extra hole) 72-70-70–212
2. Rick Cole 70-75-67–212
T3. Kirk Trowbridge 74-69-70–213
T3. Geoff Keffer 70-71-72–213
5. Doug Rohrbaugh 72-72-71–215
T6. Jack Allen 75-72-69–216
T6. Micah Rudosky 77-69-70–216
T6. Barry Milstead 71-72-73–216
T6. Larry Rinker 71-70-75–216
10. Paul Lobato 76-70-72–218

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Keffer (pictured), from the Greater Golfer Development Center at Park Hill, is tied for the top spot after Tuesday’s second round with former PGA Tour player Larry Rinker of Red Sky and Derek Rush from Cherry Hills Country Club. All three sit at 3-under-par 141 through 36 holes at the Fazio Course.

But plenty of players still have a chance at the title as 19 contestants are either leading or within five strokes of the top spot going into Wednesday’s final round.

Keffer, the 2016 champion, fired a 1-under-par 71 while making five birdies on Tuesday.

Rinker, a 60-year-old who has made 525 starts on the PGA Tour, shot a second-round 70 at his home facility, chalking up four birdies on Tuesday.

And Rush, the first-round leader, posted a second-round 74, also after making four birdies.

John Ogden, Rush’s boss at Cherry Hills, sits in fourth place, a stroke back of the leaders, after a 70 on Tuesday.

Three-time champion Bill Loeffler from The Links Golf Course, at 61 years old remains very much in the hunt at 1-under 143, along with Barry Milstead of Valley Country Club, Kirk Trowbridge of the MetaGolf Learning Center and Mike Swan of Crested Butte. Swan had the best score of round 2, a 67.

Three-time winner Doug Rohrbaugh of Ironbridge and fellow former champ Mike Northern share ninth place at even-par 144.

The field was cut to the low 51 players and ties after round 2, with everyone at 154 or better advancing to Wednesday.

Eight players will earn spots in the 2018 national PGA Professional Championship based on their performance at Red Sky.

For scores from the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, CLICK HERE.

Tied at 3 over after round 1 were Geoff Keffer of Lakewood, the 2016 Colorado PGA Professional Champion; runner-up Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, who finished fourth in last year’s national Senior PGA Professional Championship; and Ari Papadopoulos of Eagle-Vail, who placed third in the Section tournament.

Keffer shot a 74 on Meadows Golf Course and Northern and Papadopoulos had 75s on Crosswater Club Course to share 129th place after round 1 of the 312-person tournament.

Both Keffer and Northern recorded two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on Sunday, while Papadopoulos made one birdie and four bogeys.

Arizonan Marty Jertson, winner of the 2001 CGA Amateur, is tied for 62nd place after opening with a 1-over-par 72.

Loren Personett of Nashville, Tenn., leads the way after shooting a 5-under-par 66 on Sunday, when he holed out from 161 yards for eagle on the par-4 12th hole.

The eight Coloradans competing earned spots in the field thanks to their finishes last September in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship at Cherry Creek Country Club.

The field will be cut to the low 90 players and ties after 36 holes and to the low 70 players and ties after 54 holes.

Play will conclude on Wednesday. The top 20 finishers will qualify for the PGA Championship, set for Aug. 10-13 in Charlotte, N.C.

Here are all the scores for players with significant Colorado connections:

62. Former CGA Amateur champion Marty Jertson, 72 (+1)
129. Geoff Keffer, Lakewood 74 (+3)
129. Mike Northern, Colorado Springs 75 (+3)
129. Ari Papadopoulos, Eagle-Vail 75 (+3)
155. Dale Smigelsky, Fort Collins 75 (+4)
243. Caine Fitzgerald, Parker 78 (+7)
243. Eric Bradley, Parker 78 (+7)
291. Joseph Carlton, Golden 81 (+10)
291. Kirk Trowbridge, Castle Rock 82 (+10)

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

Who would have guessed this day would ever come?

The top golfers in the most recent watch lists for the ANNIKA Award (given at the end of the season to the national player of the year in women’s college golf) and the Haskins Award (presented to the men’s national player of the year in college golf) are both Colorado residents.

Not Californians, not Texans, not Floridians, but Coloradans — in this case Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster (a sophomore at Wake Forest) and Wyndham Clark of Highlands Ranch (a fifth-year senior at Oregon). Both never finished outside the top 10 in their fall college tournaments, with Kupcho winning her last two events of the autumn, becoming the only NCAA Division I woman in the country to win more than one full-field event in the first two months of the season.

We’ll delve more into college golf when both the men’s and women’s fall season is complete, but the rankings of Kupcho and Clark are two of the many highlights of the 2016 tournament season in Colorado and for Colorado golfers. With the tourney season in the Centennial state now complete, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the top moments of the year:

— Kupcho (pictured) is a good place to start given that she’s had a season few Colorado women golfers have ever matched. That includes becoming the first player to win three straight CWGA majors since the late 1980s as she swept the 2016 Match Play and Stroke Play titles. And the 19-year-old did it by amazing margins — 12 and 10 in a 36-hole match play finale, and 19 shots in the Stroke Play. In the Stroke Play, she set the women’s course record at historic Denver Country Club with a 7-under-par 65, breaking the previous mark of 68 established by world-renowned athlete Babe Zaharias on July 3, 1946.

Out of the state, besides notching her first two college victories, Kupcho placed sixth in the women’s NCAA Championship Finals as a freshman. And she and fellow Coloradan Hannah Wood both qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, arguably the top women’s tournament in the world.

It’s little wonder why Kupcho was recently named the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year.

— As for Clark, he posted three top-six finishes in his first three tournaments at Oregon after transferring from Oklahoma State. Over the summer, Clark qualified for his fifth U.S. Amateur — quite a feat for a player 22 years old. And once he made it to the U.S. Am, he advanced to the round of 32 in match play out of an original field of 312.

— Though, as mentioned above, NCAA Division I golfers from Colorado accomplished plenty in 2016, it’s worth noting that two golfers from the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference won the CGA’s top two open-division championships in 2016. Nathaniel Goddard, who wrapped up his Colorado Christian golf career last spring, prevailed in the CGA Match Play, while current University of Colorado-Colorado Springs golfer Colin Prater (left) won the CGA Amateur by five shots.

— Two of the most remarkable scores shot in tournament golf in recent months were recorded by players with strong Colorado connections. University of Colorado senior Esther Lee set the NCAA women’s record for lowest score in relation to par as she shot an 11-under-par 61 in September at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, held at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course in Albuquerque, where Lee claimed the title.

Then last month, Denver resident James Love fired a 12-under-par 59 in a Web.com Q-school event at Sunriver Golf Course in St. George, Utah. That helped earn the former University of Denver golfer a spot in a second-stage tournament this week.

— Speaking of former DU golfers, former Pioneers had the distinction of qualifying for two of the biggest tournaments in the world in 2016.

Oskar Arvidsson earned medalist honors in a British Open qualifier in Scotland, landing a spot in the third men’s major championship of the year, where he missed the 36-hole cut.

Also this summer, Espen Kofstad qualified for the Olympics by winning a tournament on the European Challenge Tour. He finished 43rd in the men’s tourney at the Summer Games.

— Several players with strong Colorado ties made a splash in USGA championships in 2016.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur for a remarkable fourth time. Earlier in the year, Eaton made the CWGA Senior Match Play the 22nd CWGA title of her career.

Also advancing to the final eight in a USGA championship was Alex Buecking of Columbine Valley, who joined former SMU teammate Jason Enloe in making the quarters of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

And CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle (left) earned a berth in the final 16 of the U.S. Amateur just a year after finishing 311th out of 312th in stroke play at the same event.

— Certainly one of the biggest oddities of the year took place at the CGA Mid-Amateur. The top finishers at the 2016 tournament looked almost identical to the 2015 version.

Not only did Jon Lindstrom win by four strokes for the second straight year, but the top four finishers were the same in 2016 as they were in 2015. In fact, they were almost in the exact same order, with the only difference being Steve Irwin tying for second this year and placing third alone in 2015. For the record, Chris Thayer tied Irwin for second and Ryan Axlund was fourth.

— Back on the college front, the CGA’s 2015 Junior Player of the Year made a remarkably quick adjustment at the next level. University of Northern Colorado freshman Coby Welch, competing in just his fourth college tournament, won the individual title at the 108-man Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational after a final-round 66 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.

— Also in college, Colorado State University senior Blake Cannon pulled off a remarkable feat in September, winning two college titles in one week, the first one coming at CSU’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club. This was after going his first three years as a collegian without an individual victory.

— Geoff Keffer used his first victory in the Coloado PGA Professional Championship to move into some rarefied air. Keffer subsequently received the CPGA’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year award for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five seasons. Only three other players have captured that honor three straight years: Bob Hold (1966-71), Vic Kline (1977-79) and Ron Vlosich (1986-88). Vlosich, by the way, qualified for his fifth U.S. Senior Open in 2016.

— Mary Weinstein (left) of Highlands Ranch had a rather remarkable run to wrap up her junior career. After winning the 5A state individual title to close out her high school career at Regis Jesuit, Weinstein won the first two Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors ever held, the Colorado Junior Amateur and the Colorado Junior PGA Championship. Then she finished strong in national events, placing 15th at the Junior PGA Championship a week after ending up fifth at the Optimist International Junior.

Not surprisingly, Weinstein was named the JGAC’s female player of the year, while AJ Ott of Fort Collins earned the male award. Ott won the boys title at the Colorado Junior PGA at Indian Tree, shooting a course-record 7-under-par 63 on day 2.

— Kent Moore‘s victory in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play certainly wasn’t the most prestigious victory of his career, but it did continue to expand upon a rather remarkable distinction. The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer has now claimed titles in seven different CGA individual championships — the Junior Match Play, Amateur, Match Play, Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur, Senior Match Play and now the Super-Senior Stroke Play — an unprecedented feat in CGA competition. Moreover, he’s won CGA championships in five consecutive decades, starting with the 1973 CGA Junior Match Play at Flatirons Golf Course.

— In team competition, the amateurs broke new ground in 2016. This year marked the first time ever that amateurs from the CGA and CWGA won all three competitions in the Colorado Cup matches against the pros from the Colorado PGA — the open-division men, senior-division men and open-division women. But later in the year, the Colorado PGA earned a big team victory of its own, winning the biennial Taylor Cup matches against the Sun Country PGA for the first time since 2008.

Also on the team front, Kent Denver High School set a Colorado High School Activities Association record by winning its ninth boys golf state title. Kent captured the 3A team title this time around.

— Sherry Andonian-Smith, an instructor at Valley Country Club, made some history of her own this fall when she became the first female to win one of the Colorado PGA’s top tournaments. With a 5-under-par 139 total, she prevailed by three shots at the Colorado PGA West Chapter Championship at Aspen Glen Club.

Also scoring a first in 2016 was Alexandra Braga from Denver Country Club, who won the inaugural Colorado PGA Women’s Championship, held at Cherry Creek Country Club.

— And, let’s finish off with the biggest-money event of the year … Neil Johnson of Phoenix earned the distinction of being the first winner of the CoBank Colorado Open after the tournament more than quadrupled its first-place prize money, to $100,000. Johnson was playing in his first Colorado Open after qualifying for the tournament on Monday of championship week.

Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye, winner of two PGA Tour events, tied for second place in his first tournament in two years.
 

The Colorado PGA will recognize some of its best of 2016 tonight (Nov. 4) at its Awards Gala at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

Most of the award winners were announced in August (READ MORE), including Leslie Core-Drevecky being named the Section’s 2016 Golf Professional of the Year, its highest honor. Core-Drevecky, the PGA head professional at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora, became the first female president of the Colorado PGA in 2014.

Finalized more recently have been the Colorado PGA’s Players of the Year. Player honorees will be:

— Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year: Geoff Keffer (pictured above), PGA Learning Center at Park Hill. Keffer, who won his first Colorado PGA Professional Championship in September, receives this award for the third consecutive year and for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Others who have been Player of the Year three straight times include Bob Hold (1966-71), Vic Kline (1977-79) and Ron Vlosich (1986-88).

— Senior Player of the Year: Mike Northern, Colorado Springs. Northern, a three-time Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year, claimed the title in the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship in mid-August.

— Apprentice Player of the Year: Pat Grady, University of Colorado men’s golf assistant coach. Grady won the National Car Rental Colorado PGA Assistants Championship in August and on Sunday he placed 11th in the National Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

Here are the recipients of the Colorado PGA’s special awards for 2016:

— Golf Professional of the Year (overall performance, including leadership, service and promotion of the game of golf): Leslie Core-Drevecky, Murphy Creek Golf Course.

— Teacher of the Year: Steve Patterson, Hiwan Golf Club.

— Assistant Golf Professionals of the Year: Brad Gannaway, Colorado Springs Country Club.

— Bill Strausbaugh Award (mentoring fellow PGA professionals): Dale Smigelsky, Collindale Golf Course.

— Horton Smith Award (exceptional contributions to promote and improve PGA educational programs): Mark Bacheldor, UCCS PGA-PGM.

— Warren Smith Award (special contributions to game of golf, the Colorado PGA, junior golf and their facility): Craig Parzybok, Fox Hollow Golf Course.

— Noble Chalfant Inductee (distinguished service to the Colorado PGA) — Tom Apple, Country Club of the Rockies

— Player Development Award: Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Golf Academy.

— Youth Player Development Award: Katie Milstead, The First Tee at Green Valley Ranch.

— Private Merchandiser of the Year: Greg Bryan, Roaring Fork Club.

— Resort Merchandiser of the Year: Rich Parker, Kissing Camels Club.

— Public Merchandiser of the Year: Mark Pfingston, The Golf Club at Bear Dance.

— President’s Award: Ed Mate, CGA

— Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year: Geoff Keffer, PGA Learning Center at Park Hill

— Senior Player of the Year: Mike Northern, Colorado Springs

— Apprentice Player of the Year: Pat Grady, University of Colorado

— Charles “Vic” Kline Award (outstanding service and leadership in the Colorado PGA through work on CPGA Board of Directors): Theo Gregory, El Pomar Foundation.
 

Gott Receives National Clubfitter Honor from Callaway: The people who will be recognized tonight aren’t the only members of the Colorado PGA Section who have been honored recently. Brian Gott, PGA director of instruction at Gott Golf, was named Callaway Golf’s National Club Fitter of the Year on Oct. 17 in San Diego.

Gott opened Gott Golf in 2008 and was named one of Golf Digest’s top 100 club fitters in America in 2015 and ’16. Among the clubs Gott works with in Colorado are Cherry Hills, Castle Pines, The Broadmoor and Maroon Creek.

Gott Golf is based at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.