Following up from earlier this week, when we started our two-part retrospective on the top Colorado golf-related stories of 2018 (CLICK HERE for the first installment), we continue our countdown with the top dozen stories of the year — in reverse order. And at the end, included is a list of honorable-mention selections.

12. Stewart Signs With No. 1-Ranked College Team in Nation: It’s not often that a Colorado golfer signs a national letter of intent with the No. 1-ranked college program in the nation. But such was the case in November when Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins put his John Hancock on the dotted line with Oklahoma State. Stewart, who graduated from Fossil Ridge High School this month, will be headed to Stillwater for the fall semester next year. The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Boys Player of the Year is one of at least nine Colorado residents or JGAC members from the Class of 2019 who are headed to NCAA Division I golf programs. READ MORE

11. Another National Honor for Colorado PGA: Dating back to the late 1950s, members of the Colorado PGA or the Section itself have won 19 national awards from the PGA of America. Ten of those 19 have come since 2007, including this year’s Herb Graffis Award for player development, which the CPGA received for the second time since 2011. READ MORE

10. New CGA President Janene Guzowski Continues Trend in Colorado: The last several months of this year have proven to be a major boon for women in leadership roles in Colorado golf. Janene Guzowski is the new president of the CGA, Janet Moore is the new president of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, and Molly Greenblatt has become the new chairperson of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. And that’s in addition to Suzy Whaley being elected the first national president of the PGA of America. READ MORE

9. Colorado, Hiwan Shine as Girls Junior Americas Cup Hosts: The Girls Junior Americas Cup — a team competition featuring players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico — is hosted just once every 18 years by Colorado, and 2018 was the Centennial State’s turn. Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, where the Colorado Open was held from 1964 to ’91, was a fitting mountainous setting for the event. While Mexico swept the team and individual titles, Colorado posted its best finish since 2013 by placing fifth out of 18 teams. Staff and volunteers from the CGA and the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado played major roles in running this major junior event. READ MORE

8. Colorado Sweeps Team, Individual Titles at Boys Junior America’s Cup: At the same time the Girls Junior Amerias Cup was taking place at Hiwan, a Colorado team (left) was making history at the boys Junior America’s Cup in Montana. For the first time in the 44 years in which Colorado has competed in the event, its squad claimed the team title. In fact, a Colorado team had never finished better than third before this year in the competition that includes players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. To add to the feat, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins won the individual title out of the 72-player field. Joining Stewart on the winning team were Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, Davis Bryant of Aurora and Walker Franklin of Broomfield. Former longtime CGA staffer Dustin Jensen captained the Colorado squad. READ MORE

7. 2 Coloradans Qualify for PGA Tour, 2 More for LPGA Tour: Seldom have players who grew up in Colorado enjoyed so much success in qualifying for the top men’s and women’s golf tours in the world as they did in the final half of 2018. Wyndham Clark and Jim Knous earned promotions to the PGA Tour with their performances on the Web.com Tour regular season and Finals, respectively. And Jennifer Kupcho and Becca Huffer landed spots on the LPGA Tour in 2019 by both finishing in the top 10 in the eight-round LPGA Q-Series, with Kupcho placing second and Huffer 10th. All four Coloradans will be rookies on those top circuits in 2019. In fact, the PGA Tour’s wraparound season began in October, and Knous recorded a top-10 finish in his first event as a member of that Tour. Joining Kupcho and Huffer in earning an LPGA card last month was former University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi.

6. Gearing Up for Rules Changes: With the modernized Rules of Golf set to take effect on Jan. 1, the USGA and its affiliated Allied Golf Associations have been very busy trying to bring members up to speed on the changes. For the CGA, that effort has included weekly “Ready for the 2019 Rules” videos and four-hour Ready for the Rules seminars held at various locations around the state late in 2018 and also planned for the first several months of 2019. READ MORE

5. Year 1 of New-Look CGA: Our No. 1 story of 2017 in Colorado golf was the unification a year ago of the CGA and CWGA after both associations had celebrated their 100th anniversaries as separate — but complementary — organizations serving golf in Colorado. With 2018 being their first full calendar year together, things have gone, by just about any measure, extremely well. All of which is very good news, considering how many golfers the new-look CGA serves as members. There’s still work to be done, but it’s certainly been a stellar first year together.

4. CSU Golfers Claim USGA National Title: Golfers with strong Colorado ties don’t often get to say they’re reigning USGA national champions, but Colorado State University golfers Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor (left) earned that honor by winning the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title in early May in Tarzana, Calif. The two never trailed in the first four matches they played at El Caballero Country Club. In the title match, they were 2 down with four holes left, but a big-time rally down the stretch netted them a 1-up victory over teenagers Yachun Chang of Chinese Taipei and Lei Ye of China — and the national championship. The victory was believed to be the first USGA national amateur championship by a person or team with strong Colorado ties since Jill McGill won the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. READ MORE

3. Vickers Passes Away: There are almost 12 dozen people in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, but even in that select group, there are some that took it to the next level. A good rule of thumb as to who those people are is if they’ve also been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. There are less than a dozen people who are members of both Halls of Fame. One of them passed away in September — 93-year-old Jack Vickers. Vickers made his mark in a variety of sports, but likely will be most remembered as the founder of Castle Pines Golf Club and The International that hosted PGA Tour events for 21 years. No less than Jack Nicklaus, who designed Castle Pines, paid tribute to Vickers the day he died. Vickers’ International ran from 1986 through 2006. It featured a unique modified Stableford scoring system, which promoted aggressive play as a birdie and a bogey were worth more than two pars. The tournament produced quite a few big-name champions, including Greg Norman, Davis Love III (twice), Phil Mickelson (twice), Vijay Singh and Ernie Els. READ MORE

2. Kupcho Phenomenon Continues: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster may very well accomplish great things in the coming decades, but even long into the future, 2018 will be a year she’ll remember fondly. Here’s a brief rundown of what she accomplished: The Wake Forest golfer won an NCAA Division I individual title a year (left) after placing second. She became the first Colorado resident to win the prestigious individual championship on the women’s side. She helped three U.S. national teams capture international team titles in 2018 — at the Curtis Cup, the Arnold Palmer Cup and the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. In the latter event, Kupcho finished second individually out of a field of 170. She also placed second at the eight-round final stage of LPGA Q-school. After concluding her college career in May, she’ll immediately begin her LPGA career. Kupcho finished an LPGA career-best 16th this year in the LPGA Marathon Classic. Overall in 2018, she won three individual college titles. Kupcho also claimed the prestigious Mark H. McCormack Medal, becoming the first American to win the women’s McCormack honor as the top female player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings as of the conclusion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur. And she was named the world female Amateur of the Year by digital new magazine Global Golf Post. READ MORE

1. U.S. Senior Open a Hit at The Broadmoor: It had been almost four years since Colorado had hosted a big-time tour-level event — the kind that attracts 100,000-plus fans. But the drought ended this year when the U.S. Senior Open (pictured at top) was conducted at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. And the results didn’t disappoint. The announced attendance for the week was 134,500, the most for the Senior Open since the 157,126 in Omaha, Neb., in 2013. David Toms, who won the 1999 Sprint International at Castle Pines but hadn’t captured a title on the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions in seven years, captured the victory at the Senior Open by one stroke. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe placed fifth, marking his second straight top-5 performance in the U.S. Senior Open. Shortly after the conclusion of the championship, the USGA announced that the U.S. Senior Open will return to The Broadmoor in 2025.

Honorable Mention

— Lauren Howe, who grew up in Colorado, was a finalist in the U.S. Girls’ Junior as a 15-year-old and went on to win an event on the LPGA Tour, was voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

— Patrick Reidy became the fifth 50-something player in the last six years to win the Colorado PGA Professional Championship.

— Players from Texas swept the two CGA women’s major titles in 2018, giving Texans three consecutive such championships. Emily Gilbreth, a lifetime Houstonian before moving to Denver, won the 2017 CGA Women’s Match Play; Kristin Glesne of San Antonio the 2018 CGA Women’s Stroke Play; and Kennedy Swann the 2018 CGA Women’s Match Play.

— Former BYU golfer Justin Keiley won his second straight Rocky Mountain Open, defeating former Montrose resident Brandon Bingaman in a playoff after the latter shot a course-record 11-under-par 60 in the final round at Tiara Rado in Grand Junction.

— Three Colorado courses — Castle Pines, Ballyneal and Cherry Hills — are ranked among the 150 Greatest International Courses, according to Golf Digest.

— Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs finished sixth — tying the best showing ever by a Coloradan — in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta. At the 2019 National Finals, three Coloradans will compete — Caitlyn Chin of Greenwood Village, Chunya Boonta of Centennial and Grady Ortiz of Colorado.

— The University of Denver women’s golf team saw its remarkable string of league tournament championships end at 14, though the Pioneers’ Sophie Newlove claimed the individual title at Summit League Championship.

— CU’s Robyn Choi qualified in Colorado for the U.S. Women’s Open for a second straight year. Choi later earned her LPGA Tour card at the final stage of Q-school.

— Former Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, who won the CGA Amateur in August, claimed the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational championship for the second straight year for his second individual college title in eight days.

— Doug Rohrbaugh, who was paired with Scott McCarron and Miguel Angel Jimenez at the Senior PGA Championship, became the first golfer to sweep the Colorado PGA Player of Year and Senior Player of Year honors in the same season. Like Rohrbaugh, Colorado PGA professional Chris Johnson qualified for two PGA Tour Champions majors in 2018 — the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship.

— Nicholas Pevny of Aspen captured a national title, prevailing in the boys 12-13 age division of the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Florida.

— Former Parker resident Elizabeth Wang finished 34th — fourth among amateurs — at the U.S. Women’s Open. Wang also made it to the round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and to the round of 32 at the U.S. Girls’ Junior. Wang, now playing for Harvard, defeated Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster in 19 holes in the round of 64 at the U.S. Women’s Am.

— Fort Collins resident Dillon Stewart became to first Coloradan to win the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior boys title. Later, he captured a second AJGA championship, this time in Montana, and won 5A state high school individual and team titles.

— New Colorado resident Dan Erickson shot a 9-under-par 61 — a course record by two strokes at Fort Collins Country Club — en route to qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, where he made match play but bowed out in the round of 64 at Pebble Beach.

— Hadley Ashton of Erie finished fifth in the girls 9-10 division at the prestigious IMG Academy Junior World Championships.

— Thirty-two years after winning her first CGA/CWGA title, Kristine Franklin earned her second, this time overcoming five-time champion Kim Eaton in the Women’s Senior Stroke Play.

— Greg Condon of the southern Colorado town of Monte Vista shared stroke-play medalist honors in the U.S. Senior Amateur, while Scott Sullivan of Grand Junction advanced to the match play round of 16.

(Note: This story was updated on Jan. 2)

The trajectory of the three-year-old Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado is reminiscent of watching the ascendance of a tee shot hit by Dustin Johnson on Protracer.

A steady, impressive rise to the sky.

The JGAC, an organization founded and run by the CGA and the Colorado PGA, largely wrapped up its year with its Tour Championship and season-ending banquet on Oct. 7 at Denver Country Club. And it was an impressive season in numerous respects.

In fact, most of the numbers for Alliance-related events and programs were up substantially in 2018, year over year:

— Membership — which is now divided into three levels (Tour, Series and Introductory), depending on the skill and needs of given participants — hit 995 in 2018. That’s an 11 percent jump from 2018.

— At the various levels, there were 5,007 entries for JGAC events, up 12 percent form last year.

— This year, the JGAC oversaw 106 events, including 10 Drive, Chip & Putt qualifiers and the PGA Jr. League state championship.

— Speaking of Drive, Chip & Putt, there were 1,286 participants in 2018, up 18 percent from last year.

— In PGA Jr. League, 1,849 players competed, 29 percent more than in 2017. A total of 157 teams joined in, up 19 percent from last year.

— Fifteen courses in Colorado participated in the first year of Youth on Course in the state, with 658 rounds of subsidized golf (so far) on the books, and $3,864 in subsidies paid to the courses. Youth on Course makes golf more accessible to juniors by capping their cost for a round at $5 at participating facilities, possibly with some date/time restrictions. Then a subsidy of a similar amount per round is paid to the participating course.

— And funding has been approved for 10,053 kids to participate in the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program, which is supported by all the Allied Golf Associations in the state. The final number of participants for 2018 is to be determined as fall programming continues. Golf in Schools introduces kids to the game each school year through their P.E. classes at school.

“Our success is shown through our growth and our numbers and different things like that,” said Ashley Barnhart, the CGA’s director of junior competitions, who helps oversee the JGAC along with many other staffers and interns from the Colorado PGA and the CGA. “And I think people are becoming really familiar with our platform, which helps. There’s a lot of word of mouth. Coaches, instructors and people like that are becoming active in the program, which is what we really set out to do. I think we had a great year because of that.”

Beyond organizational success, JGAC members had some major individual and team accomplishments in 2018:

— For the first time in 44 years of competing in the boys Junior America’s Cup, the Colorado team won the competition against other squads from throughout the western U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico. Doubling the accomplishment, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins claimed the individual title in the event. Also competing on the Colorado team (left) were Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, Davis Bryant of Aurora and Walker Franklin of Broomfield, Bryant is now a freshman on the Colorado State University golf team while McCoy is playing for the University of Denver. Stewart, who just won the 5A individual state high school title while his Fossil Ridge squad earned the team championship, is expected next month to sign a letter of intent to play college golf at perennial powerhouse Oklahoma State starting in the fall of 2019.

— The JGAC hosted the Girls Junior Americas Cup for the first time in 18 years as Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen brought together some of the best girls players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. The team representing Colorado finished fifth out of 18 in the event, its best showing in five years.

— For just the second time in the short history of the Drive, Chip & Putt initiative, three Coloradans have qualified for the same National Championship. Three years after a trio of Coloradans competed in the national DCP event at Augusta National, Caitlyn Chin of Greenwood Village, Chunya “Bead” Boonta of Centennial and Grady Ortiz of Colorado Springs will do so in the 2019 event that will be held April 7 on the eve of the Masters. Each advanced through three qualifying events in 2018. Chin, who was one of the three Coloradans who qualified for nationals in 2016, will return next spring, making her the first player from the Centennial State to competed in the finals twice.

— Stewart claimed two AJGA titles in 2018. In June, he became the first Coloradan to win the boys championship at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. Then in early September, he prevailed at the AJGA Junior at Big Sky in Montana, coincidentally the same state where he won the Junior America’s Cup title. Another Coloradan that scored an AJGA victory in 2018 was Sofia Choi of Littleton, who won the AJGA Preview at Waubeeka in Massachusetta in early May.

— Also winning a significant title on a larger stage in 2018 was Nicholas Pevny of Aspen, who took the top spot in the boys 12-13 division of the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Florida in July.

— Another notable accomplishment came earlier this month when Lauren Lehigh of Loveland was among 12 girls — and 24 junior golfers overall — who were named to the 2018 Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-America Team by the AJGA. The honor is given to a very select group of junior golfers from all over the country and the world who particularly excel on the golf course, in the classroom and in the community. Lehigh’s cumulative GPA for her first three years of high school is 4.116, and her best score on the SAT has been 1,430. She was later named the JGAC’s 2018 Girls Player of the Year, while Stewart took the honor on the boys side.

— Hadley Ashton of Erie had an outstanding showing at a prestigious international tournament as she finished fifth in the girls 9-10 division at the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in the San Diego area.

— In May, Emma Bryant of Eaglecrest won the 5A girls state high school title as a freshman. The amazing thing about the accomplishment was that older brother Davis Bryant had won the 5A boys title last fall — in the same school year. It was the first time two players with the same surname have won the boys and girls state individual prep championships in one school year. (The Bryants are pictured at left.)

— Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village and Hailey Schalk of Erie, both high school sophomores at the time, made match play but lost in the round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in late April.

(All the award winners recognized at the JGAC’s recent banquet are listed below.)

While the junior golf season is nearly over in Colorado, there are some events held in mid and late October. For instance, the JGAC Parent/Child tournaments are scheduled for Oct. 27-28 at Indian Tree Golf Course in Arvada. And last Saturday, an Optimist Junior Tour event was held at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver, where 23 qualifying spots for the 2019 Optimist International Junior Golf Championships at Trump National Doral Resort in Miami were at stake.

The age-group winners included three Coloradans: Brandon Bervig of Colorado Springs (boys 16-18), Morgan Ryan of Centennial (girls 14-18) and Tyler Tyson of Arvada (boys 14-15).

2018 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Award Winners

Boys Player of the Year
Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins — Won individual title in Junior America’s Cup, which featured some of the top junior golfers from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. … Led Colorado to its first team title ever in the boys Junior America’s Cup. … Became the first Colorado boy to win the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … As a senior, won the 5A state high school individual championship and led Fossil Ridge to its first team title in boys golf. … Notched his second AJGA title of 2018 at the AJGA Junior at Big Sky in Montana. … Shared medalist honors in qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur. … Finished second at the Colorado Junior Amateur. … Has verbally committed to play college golf at Oklahoma State

Girls Player of the Year
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland — One of 24 players (12 girls) worldwide to be named to the Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-America Team by the AJGA. The Loveland High School senior earned that honor by placing in the top five in an AJGA open or invitational, then based on the following criteria: standardized test scores, grade-point average, school leadership and community service. … Won the girls division of the Colorado Junior Match Play, one of four JGAC majors. … During the course of 2018 at JGAC events, won three times, placed second seven times and third three times. … One of the runner-ups was in her title defense at the 4A state high school tournament. … Finished third among girls at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … Helped lead Colorado to a fifth-place finish at the Girls Junior Americas Cup competition at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, where Lehigh tied for 14th place individually. … Finished 13th nationally in Big I National Championship. … Has verbally committed to play in college at the University of New Mexico. … Has been a member of the Hale Irwin Player Program for three years.
 
Girls Most Improved Player
Ashley Kozlowski of Littleton — Sixteen-year-old JGAC Tour player saw her scoring average decrease 16 strokes compared to 2017.

Boys Most Improved Player
Will Balliet of Thornton — Scoring average for the 12-year-old in 2018 was 11.9 strokes better than in 2017.
 
Award of Excellence (based on community service, character, overcoming hardship and showing spirit of the game of golf)
Max Heupel (left) — The multi-sport athlete and dedicated golfer started a non-profit called “Bagging Homelessness”, raising money and buying supplies to create daily care packages for people living on the street.
 
10 & Under All-Stars
Taylor Wilson
Addison Hines
Maddie Makino
Livia Pett
Taylor Hale
Andre Dumonteil
Brayden Destefano
Clint Summers III
Sean Cary
Miles Kuhl

11-13 All-Stars
Charlie Flaxbeard
Matai Naqica
Wes Erling
Blake Sullivan
Nicholas Pevny
Hadley Ashton
Caitlyn Chin
Ashleigh Wilson
Emily Cheng
Kaitlin Zingler

14-18 All-Stars
Hunter Swanson
Maxwell Lange
Traejan Andrews
Tyler Tyson
Quinton Mosch
Amira Badruddin
Clara Hosman
Kaylee Jacobs
Jessica Mason
Elan Fleetwod

Tour All-Stars
Connor Jones
Emma Bryant
Walker Franklin
Charlotte Hillary
TJ Shehee
Caroline Jordaan
Davis Bryant
Hailey Schalk
Dillon Stewart
Lauren Lehigh

Points Chase Champions
Andre Dumonteil — 10 & Under Boys
Taylor Wilson — 10 & Under Girls
Charlie Flaxbeard –11 – 13 Boys
Hadley Ashton — 11 – 13 Girls
Hunter Swanson — 14 – 18 Boys
Amira Badruddin — 14 – 18 Girls
Dillon Stewart — JGAC Tour Boys
Lauren Lehigh — JGAC Tour Girls
 
Academic All-Stars
Emaan Adil – Greenwood Village
Christian Agelopoulos – Denver
Ewan Albright – Boulder
Gavin Amella – Pueblo
Elisandro Aragon – Highlands Ranch
Brendan Archer – Vail
Amira Badruddin – Parker
Savannah Balint – Grand Junction
Brynn Balliet – Thornton
Jamie Banghart – Fort Collins
Parker Beasley – Denver
Katie Berrian – Castle Rock
Liam Beshoar – Montrose
Pierce Bickerton – Windsor
Logan Biggerstaff – Cherry Hills Village
Andrew Blair – Denver
Christian Blair – Denver
Emmett Bleem – Windsor
Caroline Brandon – Denver
Davis Bryant – Aurora
Emma Bryant – Aurora
Dylan Bundy – Lone Tree
Caleb Busta – Centennial
Logan Byler – Parker
Qwenton Caldwell – Littleton
Cody Caldwell – Woodland Park
Paige Carlson – Parker
Owen Casey – Denver
William Chadwick – Boulder
Kaylee Chen – Denver
Christina Cheng – Colorado Springs
Emily Cheng – Colorado Springs
Benjamin Chin – Greenwood Village
Caitlyn Chin – Greenwood Village
Alyssa Chin – Greenwood Village
Ella Chism – Centennial
Sofia Choi – Littleton
Noah Clough – Fort Morgan
Christian Cohan – Golden
Alex Colby – Castle Rock
Jax Collins – Golden
Alexis Cunningham – Denver
Benjamin Daane – Rapid City, S.D.
Garrett Dalton – Parker
Mitchell Davis – Strasburg
Mario Dino – Denver
Dakota Dolph – Pine
Jake Dost – Parker
Drex Duffy – Littleton
Raven DuKane – Broomfield
Graham Dzengelewski – Highlands Ranch
Sydney Elder – Centennial
Wesley Erling – Castle Rock
Dylan Everett – Highlands Ranch
Ryan Falender – Colorado Springs
Nick Fallin – Highlands Ranch
Nolan Farrar – Larkspur
Nicole Fatovic – Broomfield
Jack Finch – Centennial
Tyler Findlow – Lone Tree
Jack Flaherty – Broomfield
Bobby Flaherty – Broomfield
Charlie Flaxbeard – Greenwood Village
James Flaxbeard – Greenwood Village
Jeth Fogg – Colorado Springs
Oscar Ford – Centennial
Kaden Ford – Colorado Springs
Nick Formby – Frederick
Jaxon Franklin – Broomfield
Walker Franklin – Broomfield
John Fredericks – Denver
Brendan Fricke – Highlands Ranch
Oliver Gibbons – Lakewood
Jacob Gilbert – Watkins
Devin Gilbreath – Aurora
Anthony Giordano – Denver
Alexander Goeltl – Fort Collins
Jonas Graham – Parker
Christopher Gunlikson – Longmont
Taylor Hale – Eagle
Logan Hale – Eagle
Kalai Hamlin – Monument
Sam Hammock – Fort Collins
Ben Harding – Longmont
Maryn Harlow – Fort Collins
Corbin Harris – Littleton
Booth Hayes – Frederick
Allie Henson – Windsor
Max Heupel – Littleton
Thomas Hicks – Greenwood Village
Charlotte Hillary – Englewood
Carter Hinkle – Windsor
Clara Hosman – Parker
Landon Houska – Fort Collins
Kylee Hughes – Aspen
Freddie Ingham – Lone Tree
Kaylee Jacobs – Denver
Jack Jacobsen – Englewood
Jordan Jennings – Montrose
Clara Jeon – Centennial
Rhett Johnson – Littleton
Hadley Johnson – Thermopolis, Wyo.
Hardy Johnson – Thermopolis, Wyo
Connor Jones – Westminster
Trey Jones – Colorado Springs
Caroline Jordaan – Lakewood
Marie Jordaan – Lakewood
Nathan Kim – Castle Pines
Holden Kleager – Glenwood Springs
Carter Kovarik – Englewood
Ashley Kozlowski – Littleton
Brooke Kramer – Aurora
Benjamin Kriech – Parker
Drew Laake – Colorado Springs
Gisella Lagrimas – Castle Rock
Amalei Lagrimas – Castle Rock
Noah Larchick – Aurora
Will Leary – Fort Collins
Jake Legg – Montrose
Katelyn Lehigh – Loveland
Lauren Lehigh – Loveland
Jack Leibold – Littleton
Emily Kate Lisle – Evergreen
Frank Lockwood – Englewood
Davis Long – Lafayette
Josh Lowrey – Highlands Ranch
Josee Lurcott – Englewood
Macallister Lurcott – Englewood
Mason Magley – Loveland
Katherine Malcolm – Parker
Aidan Mann – Boulder
Natasha McClain – Denver
Cole McCoy – Highlands Ranch
Cal McCoy – Highlands Ranch
Sarah McDevitt – Elizabeth
Campbell McFadden – Denver
Piper McFadden – Denver
Gavin McWhorter – Loveland
Benjamin Medina – Denver
Andrew Merz – Colorado Springs
Grant Meyers – Brighton
Bennett Meyers – Brighton
William Mitchell – Lafayette
Jessica Morrissey – Golden
Tyler Mulligan – Parker
Roger Nakagawa – Denver
Zach Nehm – Grand Junction
Max Noffsinger – Greeley
Brittlynn O’Dell – Grand Junction
Yusuke Ogi – Arvada
Kota Ogi – Arvada
Liam O’Halloran – Colorado Springs
Finn Olson – Castle Pines
Eshaan Palanati – Aurora
Sam Patrick – Highlands Ranch
Will Perez – Denver
Eva Pett – Denver
Livia Pett – Denver
Elaina Phiel – Denver
Carlo Pine – Telluride
Dylan Pyle – Boulder
Nathan Rabuck – Denver
Keaton Rich – Arvada
Maya Romero – Aurora
Kailer Rundiks – Denver
Ryan Sangchompuphen – Denver
Spencer Schlagel – Parker
Jack Schubert – Highlands Ranch
Isabella Scott – Castle Rock
Travis Seitz – Steamboat Springs
Suchit Sharma – Thornton
Brady Shaw – Pueblo
TJ Shehee – Mead
Timbre Shehee – Mead
Isabella Short – Evergreen
Jack Siler – Aurora
Aidan Sim – Parker
Windrem Smith – Fort Collins
Mena Song – Lew – Colorado Springs
Jack Stafford – Parker
John Stevens – Green Mountain Falls
Peter Stinar – Colorado Springs
Molly Stratton – Centennial
Blake Sullivan – Castle Pines
Carter Surofchek – Colorado Springs
Hunter Swanson – Denver
Sydney Taylor – Fort Collins
Leanne Telle – Colorado Springs
Conner Thomas – Frederick
Dawson Thulin – Denver
Jack Tickle – Centennial
Collen Todd – Golden
Jack Tourault – Broomfield
Lauren Tucker – Lone Tree
Taylor Tucker – Lone Tree
Charlie Tucker – Castle Pines
Zach Tyson – Arvada
Tyler Tyson – Arvada
James Wagner – Erie
Sean Wallace – Denver
Kelsey Webster – Boulder
Max Weisser – Denver
Jake Welch – Highlands Ranch
Gabrielle Werst – Fort Collins
Jacob Whelan – Highlands Ranch
Matthew Wilkinson – Centennial
Blake Williams – Lone Tree
Blake Williams – Lone Tree
Jadie Wilson – Denver
Ashleigh Wilson – Highlands Ranch
Taylor Wilson – Highlands Ranch
Liam Wood – Boulder
Garrett Wood – Centennial
Colin Young – Highlands Ranch
Grace Young – Highlands Ranch
Max Zadvorny – Centennial
Jessica Zapf – Windsor
Ian Zweifel – Orlando, Fla.
 

The Colorado representatives at the Girls Junior Americas Cup weren’t always happy with their golf games this week, but no one can say they didn’t go out on a high note Friday afternoon at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.

With Colorado hosting the GJAC for the first time in 18 years, Hailey Schalk of Erie capped the week for the local team by chipping in from 40 feet for birdie on No. 18, drawing cheers from the bystanders.

It didn’t make any difference in the team standings, but finishing like that definitely tends to leave a better taste in one’s mouth.

As it turned out, the team representing the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado posted its best finish at the GJAC in five years by placing fifth out of 18 squads from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“It was a blast,” Lauren Lehigh of Loveland said of the week as a whole, including playing a team event in your home state. “I had a great time spending time with the team and the coaches and getting to meet girls from all over the place and getting to do it this close to home. Having home fans come out and cheering you on is really neat. It was a great experience.”

The Coloradans ended up at 46-over-par 676 total after posting a 17-over 227 on Friday at a formidable Hiwan layout. The last time Team Colorado placed higher than fifth was a third-place showing in 2013.

“I think fifth is good,” said Kelsey Webster of Boulder, who was playing in her final junior event before joining the University of Colorado golf team. “We’re excited to finish fifth. In golf you’re always looking to do better. This course has a way of making you feel like your game is not in a good spot. I think all four of us are walking away not super happy with how we played this week overall. But we have to take a step back and know we finished fifth out of 18 teams, which is pretty good.”

Webster (left) and Lehigh led the way individually for Colorado by tying for 14th place in the 72-player field. They both closed with 75s for 16-over-par 226 totals.

“A year ago I was to a point I was about to quit the game” because of issues with her game, Webster said. “I really turned it around and started feeling really good about my swing a couple of months ago. Of course, there’s some issues here and there. But I’m proud of myself for persevering through that. Finishing 14th out of 72, I’m proud of that and excited to see where I can take it.”

Schalk, a three-time GJAC participant, shared 21st place at 227 after the 18th-hole chip-in gave her a 77 on Friday. And Emma Bryant of Aurora, competing in her first GJAC, placed 48th at 240 after a final-round 85.

“We’re very proud of our team,” said Jennifer Cassell, who co-captained the Colorado squad with three-time CGA Women’s Stroke Play champion Melissa Martin (pictured below with Schalk). “The girls played very hard and with their hearts. This is a hard course and there were a lot of good competitors out there.”

Speaking of which …

Mexico won the GJAC team title for the eighth time in the last 22 years — this week by 11 strokes over two-time defending champion Southern California. And Team Mexico (pictured celebrating at top), which was 12 over par as a whole for the week, claimed the individual championship as well, as future University of Arkansas golfer Cory Lopez, 16, earned top honors.

Lopez, ranked No. 41 in the world among girls by Junior Golf Scoreboard, shot rounds of 70-70-72 at Hiwan for a 2-over-par 212 total. The resident of Monterrey, Mexico prevailed by one stroke over Serena Sepersky of Southern California, who closed with a 71.

“It feels very good” to sweep the titles, Lopez said. “I played good, the team played very good. Representing your country means so much. After coming close the last couple of years, this year we were going to win it.”

Lopez (below), who was 3 under par through the first five holes on Friday, won despite playing her final dozen holes in 5 over par.

This week marked the first GJAC held in Colorado since 2000 and the first Hiwan has ever hosted, though the boys Junior America’s Cup was played at the club in 2011.

The facility and the event drew rave reviews, even if threatening weather forced Friday’s closing ceremonies inside.

“The star of the show this week was Hiwan,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said. “It reminds me of how great this place is. We can’t thank the club, owners David and Nancy Fowler, and the members enough. It really is all things Colorado.”

Added Cassell: “The event was an absolute success. The volunteers, the members, the staff, everything was wonderful. And the tournament was so well organized. It was very impressive, a great event all around.”

Among those on hand for at least part of this week’s GJAC were University of Denver women’s head coach Lindsay Kuhle, who played on the Colorado team the last time the state hosted the GJAC in 2000, and Georgene McGonagle, who captained the Colorado team for four straight years in the 1980s. McGonagle remains effusive about the event to this day.

“I think this is probably one of the most wonderful things for young girls for their development,” she said. “It’s something they’re going to remember the rest of their lives. They have to work with lots of other people. They learn the pressure of competition, which will suit them for any realm the rest of their life. (The GJAC) has to go on forever because it’s so meaningful and important for the development of those kids.”

Also in attendance at Hiwan on Friday was Davis Bryant of Aurora, who teamed with Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch and Walker Franklin of Broomfield as Colorado won its first title ever in the boys Junior America’s Cup. Bryant came to Hiwan to support his sister, Emma, who was on the GJAC team, after he returned from the boys competition in Montana. (Davis is pictured at left with his boys JAC medal.)

The 2018 Girls Junior Americas Cup was conducted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.

5. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 219-230-227–676

14. Kelsey Webster, Boulder 70-81-75–226
14. Lauren Lehigh, Loveland 74-77-75–226
21. Hailey Schalk, Erie 75-75-77–227
48. Emma Bryant, Aurora 77-78-85–240

For all the scores from the Girls Junior Americas Cup, CLICK HERE.
 

It was one of those days for the Coloradans at the Girls Junior Americas Cup — one of those which are all too common at the formidable test that is Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.

After a strong first day at the event, the four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado representatives at the GJAC didn’t make a single birdie on the first 11 holes of Thursday’s round and no one on the team broke 75 on day 2.

That did cost them two spots in the team standings, but they’re still in fifth place out of 18 teams in the prestigious event which features top junior golfers from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.

To put that into perspective, if the Coloradans finish where they are after Friday’s final round, they’ll have the state’s best showing in the event since 2013, when the locals placed third.

On Thursday, Colorado shot 11 strokes higher than on day 1, posting a 20-over-par 230 for the round, which dropped them from third to fifth place, with a 449 total.

“I saw everyone” during the round, Hailey Schalk (above) of Erie said of her teammates. “They’re looking at me like, ‘It’s so bad.’ 

“This course is hard. You have to make birdies because you’re going to make a ton of bogeys. It’s just going to happen. It’s really hard to just make solid pars. And if you can get three birdies (in a round), that’s really good.”

Thursday’s performance leaves the Coloradans 19 strokes behind team-leading Mexico — a seven-time winner of the GJAC — but just six out of a third-place tie (Southern California and Southern Nevada).

“A good goal is to probably shoot 75-76 or below tomorrow — for all of us,” said Emma Bryant of Aurora, the reigning 5A state high school champion. “If we do that, I think we’d have a decent shot at top five or top three” in the final team standings. (Bryant is pictured at left with Colorado co-captain Jennifer Cassell.)

Individually on Thursday, Colorado counted a 5-over-par 75 by Schalk, a 77 by Lauren Lehigh of Loveland and a 78 by Bryant. Rounding out the local scores was an 81 by Kelsey Webster of Boulder, who struggled a day after firing a 70 and sharing second place.

“That was one of the weirdest and sloppiest rounds I think I’ve ever played,” said Webster, who is competing in her final junior event before starting on the University of Colorado golf team in the fall. “My swing was there (after round 1), but warming up on the range today something funky was happening. Something weird was happening at impact — which was so weird because I was hitting it so great yesterday. It took me about 14 holes to figure out what I was doing. I found out my stance was extremely narrow. I was swaying back and forth and it was causing the ball to go everywhere. I was in a lot of trees today and had a lot of chip-outs.”

“But I wouldn’t be surprised if I came out tomorrow and shot a really good number now that I’ve got it figured out. It was just one of those bizarre days.”

Still, three of the four Coloradans are tied for 11th place individually or better through two rounds. Schalk, the JGAC 2017 Girls Player of the Year who is competing in her third Junior Americas Cup, shares ninth place at 10-over-par 150. She made her lone birdie Thursday on the 18th hole, draining a 20-footer. And Lehigh and Webster share 11th place out of 72 golfers, at 151. Bryant, meanwhile, is 28th at 155.

Lehigh (left), for one, doesn’t see any reason why Colorado can’t make headway on Friday.

“There’s no pressure on us to go out here and win,” the 2017 4A state high school champion said. “With girls (in the field) who are top ranked in the world junior rankings, there’s no pressure on us at all. We just have to go out and play our game. We know we’re good enough. We’ll get to where we get to.”

Added Webster: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we came out and shot really good scores tomorrow.”

Cory Lopez of Mexico holds the individual lead by one through 36 holes after consecutive rounds of 70 left her at even-par 140.

Friday’s final-round tee times will run from 7 to 8:50 a.m. off both the first and 10th tees. The Coloradans will go off from 7:40 to 8:10 from No. 1. The closing ceremonies for the event will be held short after the conclusion of the round.

The 2018 Girls Junior Americas Cup is being conducted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.

5. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 219-230–449

9. Hailey Schalk, Erie 75-75–150
11. Kelsey Webster, Boulder 70-81–151
11. Lauren Lehigh, Loveland 74-77–151
28. Emma Bryant, Aurora 77-78–155

For all the scores from the Girls Junior Americas Cup, CLICK HERE.
 

In 1993, Colorado celebrated its only team victory ever in the Girls Junior Americas Cup. And now, exactly a quarter-century later, the squad reprenting the Centennial State would like nothing better than to make sure the ’93 team has some company on the list of champions.

And the Coloradans took a step in the right direction on Wednesday on their home turf as they finished day 1 just a stroke out of the lead in the three-day event at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.

In the first GJAC held in Colorado since 2000, the local team shot a 9-over-par 219 on the difficult Hiwan course, which leaves it in third place out of 18 teams.

In a competition which features some of the top junior players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico, Mexico shares the lead with Southern Nevada. Mexico, which first won the team title in 1997 when a girl named Lorena Ochoa earned the first of three individual GJAC championships, has captured this title seven times, including in 2013, ’14 and ’15. Southern Nevada has never won the GJAC team title before.

“It’s a good situation (to be in contention), but there’s a ton of golf left to be played,” said Kelsey Webster (left) of Boulder, who led the team with an even-par 70 on Wednesday. “I do know the team can put up some good numbers. We have some really good players.

“I think our hometown advantage is huge at this tournament, just with the (difficult-to-read) greens and having played four practice rounds here. I think these greens are just baffling to some girls, and the two girls I played with really struggled on the greens. I think playing for a lag putt on your first putt and taking two putts is the way to go.

“But we also know there are some very good players out here — especially the California teams, which usually put up some really good numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised if their numbers got better and better throughout the week as they started to figure out the greens. We’ve got to do the same thing. It’s exciting to be in contention, and we’ll see what happens.”

The top five teams are very tightly bunched after day 1, with fifth-place Southern California — winner of the last two titles — just three out of the lead. 

“I’m really excited to come back out and try to keep Colorado in those top couple of spots here at home,” said Lauren Lehigh (left) of Loveland, who rallied to post a 74. “We all know we can improve on our scores each day, so I think we’ll have a really good chance (to contend for the title).”

Individually, Colorado put three players in the top dozen and ties after Wednesday. Webster, a University of Colorado-bound golfer who’s participating in her first GJAC and her last junior tournament, shares second place with her 70, while Lehigh (74) is seventh and Hailey Schalk of Erie (75) 12th. Rounding out Colorado’s scores was a 77 by 5A state high school champion Emma Bryant of Aurora.

McKenzi Hall of Southern Nevada shot the only sub-par score on Wednesday at the former home of the Colorado Open — a 2-under-par 68. She made three birdies and one bogey on the day to grab a two-stroke lead.

Webster is tied for second with Cory Lopez of Mexico. After the Boulder resident made bogeys following tee shots that went right on her eighth and ninth holes, she parred each of her final nine holes. Earlier in her round, she chipped in for birdie from 30 feet on her second hole, the formidable 11th (“It was the best birdie I’m every going to have,” she said) and added another birdie on her sixth hole (No. 15).

“I was hitting it extremely well today,” Webster said. “Overall, I played really well. Of course, I’m always craving to be under par. But I have to look at these greens and know par is a really good score here. 

“It is one of my better rounds, especially hitting the ball. I’ve never felt so confident hitting the ball, which is really fun, especially when I have an iron in my hand. That’s why I play the game of golf — for rounds like these when you can just walk up to the ball and know it’s going to be a good shot.”

Lehigh, the 2017 4A state high school champion, birdied two of her last three holes — from less than a foot and from 2 feet — for her 74.

Schalk (left), at age 16, is playing in her third GJAC. And though she wasn’t happy with a round in which she played her final 14 holes in 6 over par, she’s trying to keep it in perspective.

“Honestly, this is a hard golf course,” said the 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Girls Player of the Year. “The greens are hard and you really have to hit it in the right spots, so I think our team did really well.

“With us playing Eisenhower (Golf Club for a JGAC major each year), that’s an advantage for us here because most of these girls don’t have a course like Eisenhower where the greens are all slopey and really fast (like Hiwan’s are also). We probably did a little better in that area today. And we’re used to this kind of hilly, mountain course where some of them might not be, so I do think we have an advantage.”

The 2018 Girls Junior Americas Cup is being conducted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.

3. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 219

2. Kelsey Webster, Boulder 70
7. Lauren Lehigh, Loveland 74
12. Hailey Schalk, Erie 75
27. Emma Bryant, Aurora 77

For all the scores from the Girls Junior Americas Cup, CLICK HERE.

Selected shots from Tuesday evening’s opening ceremonies for the Girls Junior Americas Cup at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. The competition, which features 18 teams from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico, begins on Wednesday and runs through Friday.

Top photo: Colorado’s players, from left: Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, Hailey Schalk of Erie, Emma Bryant of Aurora and Kelsey Webster of Boulder.

Third photo: Colorado team, led by captains Jennifer Cassell and Melissa Martin, a three-time CGA Women’s Stroke Play champion.

The Boulder resident, who graduated from Fairview High School a couple of months ago, had long wanted to represent Colorado in the Girls Junior Americas Cup competition. And this year, she’s getting her chance.

The 2018 event will be held in Colorado for the first time in 18 years — at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday.

Not only that, but it will be Webster’s final tournament as a junior golfer, which makes it doubly special.

“Ever since I started junior golf, I looked at the Junior Americas Cup team as a goal of mine,” Webster (left) said this week. “It’s cool to be able to finally play on the team. It being my last junior event kind of signifies that I’ve been getting better and better each year. I started golf so late, so it’s a good way to (transition to) my college career. And it’s cool to have it in our home state. We have an awesome team that definitely can put up some good numbers. I think we’ll be able to represent Colorado well this year.”

Webster will be one of four players competing for the Colorado squad this week as 18 teams from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico vie for the GJAC title. The best three scores each day from each state/city/regional squad count toward the team total. Joining Webster on Team Colorado are Lauren Lehigh of Loveland (a high school senior-to-be), Hailey Schalk of Erie (junior) and Emma Bryant of Aurora (sophomore).

Though Webster is older than her teammates and they have plenty more junior golf ahead of them, she probably has less experience at high-level junior golf than any of them. After all, it was just 2 1/2 years ago that competitive golf became a top priority for Webster, who also played basketball in high school.

That will definitely make Webster a relative newcomer to elite junior golf compared to most of the other 71 competitors in the field for this week’s GJAC at Hiwan.

“I think it’s always different for me,” Webster said. “Every round that I go out and play, I’m still learning things about myself — not just about my golf game, but emotionally on the course and making decisions where to hit the ball. I’m still definitely learning that, where the other girls have gotten experience with that when they were 13 years old. Ever since I’ve gotten more experience, every tournament I feel like I gain something and I get better.

“That’s something cool about being such a newbie to the game is that I still have a lot of places to go with my game.”

And Webster has already made big strides, to the point that she’ll be playing NCAA Division I college golf for a team that finished 19th at the NCAA Championship finals last spring — her hometown University of Colorado. Just in the last few months, Webster has finished third in the CGA Women’s Stroke Play, third at the 5A girls state high school meet and tied for fourth in U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying, falling short of advancing to the national championship only in a playoff. And she was the highest Colorado finisher in the girls 15-18 age group at the prestigious IMG Academy Junior World Championships.

Webster’s dramatic improvement over the last 2 1/2 years can be tracked to a trip she took as a sophomore.

“The winter of that year, I decided to go to Arizona for a week-long golf camp,” she said. “One of the coaches was John Means, who was coaching the men’s Idaho team at the time. He just convinced me that I had a ton of potential and he just lit a fire under me. I’m not exactly sure why, but I came back and got a swing coach and it just absolutely took off from there. It’s been really fun ever since. As soon as I started playing better and better, I wanted to practice more and more. It’s kind of like an addiction.”
 

*********

GIRLS JUNIOR AMERICAS CUP: THE ESSENTIALS

What: The 41st Girls Junior Americas Cup competition.

Where: Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.”¨”¨

When: Championship rounds Wednesday through Friday (July 25-27). Tee-time range each day: 7-8:50 a.m. For tee times, CLICK HERE.

“¨”¨Fan Attendance: The public can attend the event free of charge.”¨”¨

Opening Ceremonies: Tuesday, 5 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards Presentation: Friday, approximately 1:30 p.m.

Format: 54-hole stroke play. Team and individual competition. The low three scores for each team each day count toward the team total.

“¨”¨Participating Teams: Colorado, Arizona, Alberta (Canada), British Columbia (Canada), Hawaii, Idaho, Mexico, Montana, Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, San Diego, Southern California, Southern Nevada, Sun Country (New Mexico), Utah, Washington and Wyoming. For all the individual competitors, CLICK HERE.

Colorado Team Members: Hailey Schalk of Erie, Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, Kelsey Webster of Boulder, Emma Bryant of Aurora.

Defending Team Champion: Southern California, which also won in 2016. (Colorado tied for sixth in 2017.)”¨”¨

Previous Years Colorado Hosted GJAC: 1982 and 2000, both at Eisenhower Golf Club at Air Force Academy.”¨”¨

Best Finish by Colorado Team: Won in 1993 with a team of Jennifer Kern, Heather Stock, Ann Grooms and Jennifer McCormick. Kern claimed the individual title that year.

Other Notable Coloradans Who Have Played in GJAC: Jennifer Kupcho, Jill McGill, Paige Spiranac, Ashley Tait, Becca Huffer, Kelly Jacques, Hannah Wood, Somin Lee, Lindsay Kuhle.

“¨”¨Service Project: This year’s GJAC will include a service project, with the Special Olympics of Colorado Golf Clinic set for Wednesday afternoon. Competitors there will assist Special Olympians as they putt, chip and take full swings at the clinic.”¨”¨

Host Course: Hiwan was home of the Colorado Open from 1964 through 1991. Junior tournament-wise, the club has hosted the 1965 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 1976 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 2006 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, the 2007 AJGA Rolex Girls Junior and the 2011 boys Junior America’s Cup. Among those who have competed in tournaments at Hiwan in the last dozen years are Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler (in 2006); Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Cheyenne Woods and Kimberly Kim (in 2007); and Bryson DeChambeau (in 2011).

Additional Information About GJAC: CLICK HERE.
 

Hailey Schalk of Erie, Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, Kelsey Webster of Boulder and Emma Bryant of Aurora will have a distinction only eight other players in Colorado golf history can claim.

They’ll represent the Centennial State in a Girls Junior Americas Cup held in Colorado.

It happened previously only in 1982 and 2000, both at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. Among the Colorado competitors in 2000, for example, was current University of Denver women’s golf head coach Lindsay Kuhle, then known as Lindsay Hulwick.

There’s something special any year about representing your state in such a major event, but to do so in your home state makes the occasion particularly memorable.

The 41st Girls Junior Americas Cup will be hosted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, the site of the event next week. Opening ceremonies and a formal practice round are set for July 24, with championship rounds scheduled for July 25-27. The GJAC is open to the general public, free of charge.

Many of the best girls players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico will compete in the event. Eighteen four-person teams will be in the field, with team and individual competition on tap. Each team represents a state, region or country.

Colorado’s squad will feature a diverse group, age-wise, as there’s one player who’s graduated from high school and is headed to the University of Colorado (Webster), one that’s going to be a high school senior (Lehigh), one a junior (Schalk) and one a sophomore (Bryant).

Among them, they’ve won five Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors (four by Schalk and one by Bryant) and four girls state high school titles (two by Schalk, one by Lehigh and one by Bryant).

Schalk and Lehigh also played on Colorado’s 2017 GJAC team — along with Jaclyn Murray and Charlotte Hillary — that finished sixth, and Schalk also participated in 2016.

Here’s a brief rundown on the Colorado representatives this year:

— Hailey Schalk of Erie: At 16, will be playing in her third GJAC. … Was the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Girls Player of the Year for 2017. … Has won four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors — one in 2016, two in 2017 and one in 2018. … Won the 3A girls state high school title in 2017 and ’18 as a freshman and a sophomore at Holy Family. … Won the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior girls title in 2017.

— Kelsey Webster of Boulder: Will be competing in her first Girls Junior Americas Cup. … Will play golf at CU beginning in the fall. … Finished third in the CGA Women’s Stroke Play last month. … Placed third as a Fairview senior at the 5A girls state high school tournament. … Tied for fourth in U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying last month at Walnut Creek. … This month, finished 64th out of a field of more than 150 players in the girls 15-18 division of the IMG Academy Junior World Championships. … Qualified for the 2018 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.

— Lauren Lehigh of Loveland: Will be playing in her second Girls Junior Americas Cup. … Has verbally committed to play her college golf at the University of New Mexico beginning in 2019. … Won the 4A girls state high school title in 2017 and finished second this year while representing Loveland HS. … Placed third last month in the girls division of the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … Recently competed in the national Girls Junior PGA Championship, finishing 111th. … Won the Big I Junior Classic state title in 2017. … Finished third in the Colorado Junior PGA Championship last month. … Qualified for the 2018 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.

— Emma Bryant of Aurora: Will be playing in her first Girls Junior Americas Cup. … Won the 5A girls state high school title by seven strokes as a freshman at Eaglecrest. … Won the girls championship in the Colorado Junior Match Play last year. … Finished fourth among girls at both Colorado Junior PGA and Colorado Junior Amateur this year. … Qualified for the 2018 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.

For a story on the boys who will represent Colorado at the Junior America’s Cup in Montana, CLICK HERE.

********************************

GIRLS JUNIOR AMERICAS CUP: THE ESSENTIALS

What: The 41st Girls Junior Americas Cup competition.

Where: Hiwan Golf Club (left) in Evergreen.

When: Championship rounds July 25-27. Tee-time range each day: 7-8:30 a.m. Practice rounds July 23-24.

Fan Information: The public can attend the event free of charge.

Opening Ceremonies: July 24, 5 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards Presentation: July 27, approximately 1:30 p.m.

Format: 54 holes stroke play. Team and individual competition. The low three scores for each team each day count toward the team total.

Participating Teams: Colorado, Arizona, Alberta (Canada), British Columbia (Canada), Hawaii, Idaho, Mexico, Montana, Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, San Diego, Southern California, Southern Nevada, Sun Country (New Mexico), Utah, Washington and Wyoming. For all the individual competitors, CLICK HERE.

Defending Team Champion: Southern California, which also won in 2016. (Colorado tied for sixth in 2017.)

Previous Years Colorado Hosted GJAC: 1982 and 2000, both at Eisenhower Golf Club at Air Force Academy.

Best Finish by Colorado Team: Won in 1993 with a team of Jennifer Kern, Heather Stock, Ann Grooms and Jennifer McCormick. Kern claimed the individual title that year.

Other Notable Coloradans Who Have Played in GJAC: Jennifer Kupcho, Jill McGill, Paige Spiranac, Ashley Tait, Becca Huffer, Kelly Jacques, Hannah Wood and Somin Lee.

Service Project: This year’s GJAC will include a service project, with the Special Olympics of Colorado Golf Clinic set for July 25. Competitors there will assist Special Olympians as they putt, chip and take full swings at the clinic.

Host Course: Hiwan was home of the Colorado Open from 1964 through 1991. Junior tournament-wise, the club has hosted the 1965 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 1976 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 2006 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, the 2007 AJGA Rolex Girls Junior and the 2011 boys Junior America’s Cup. Among those who have competed in tournaments at Hiwan in the last dozen years are Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler (in 2006); Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Cheyenne Woods and Kimberly Kim (in 2007); and Bryson DeChambeau (in 2011).

Additional Information About GJAC: CLICK HERE.

The third season of the JGAC will tee off Saturday and Sunday — assuming the weather cooperates — with a Spring Series tournament at Valley Hi Golf Course in Colorado Springs. There will be separate divisions for age groups 14-18, 11-13 and 10 & under.

Then the first JGAC Tour event — for the top junior golfers in Colorado — is scheduled for April 14-15 when the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs hosts a Spring JGAC Tour tournament.

As always, the highlights of the season for the top competitors will be the four JGAC majors, the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, the Boys and Girls Junior Americas Cup, and the USGA qualifying tournaments and championships themselves.

The AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, which features a field including national and international players plus plenty of Coloradans, will return to Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster, with the championship rounds set for June 5-7.

For the first time in 18 years, Colorado will be home to the Girls Junior Americas Cup, where many of the top players from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico will compete. Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen and the JGAC will host the event, with championship rounds scheduled for July 25-27. The boys JAC is set for July 24-26 in Anaconda, Mont.

And here’s the lineup for the four JGAC majors:

— June 11-13: Colorado Junior PGA Championship, Eisenhower GC Blue Course in Colorado Springs.

— July 9-11: Colorado Junior Amateur, Todd Creek GC in Thornton.

— July 30-Aug. 1: Colorado Junior Match Play, Plum Creek GC in Castle Rock.

— Oct. 6-7: JGAC Tour Championship, Denver Country Club.

As for USGA championship qualifying, both the qualifiers for the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior are scheduled for June 26, with the boys at Buffalo Run in Commerce City and the girls at Colorado National in Erie.

Both of the JGAC Players of the Year are set to return this summer, with Davis Bryant of Aurora and Hailey Schalk of Erie gearing up for another big year.

To access the full schedule for the 2018 JGAC tournament season, CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile, for JGAC introductory members, there will be six JGAC Experience events that will give kids a taste for different aspects of the game while providing professional instruction. There will also be 9-Hole Play Days from late May to late July. For the dates of those events, CLICK HERE.

There will also be Drive, Chip & Putt competitions, PGA Junior League, and many other events and activities. To go to the JGAC website, CLICK HERE.

The transition from what was long known as the CWGA Annual Meeting to what is now named the CGA Women’s Annual Meeting appeared seamless on Saturday at the Hilton Denver Inverness.

To be sure, there were some questions from attendees about how specific things will work now that the CGA and CWGA are one unified organization.

But, generally speaking, longtime CGA executive director Ed Mate seemed to sum up the mood of the day when he noted, “We’re just better together. It’s that simple.”

Saturday’s Women’s Annual Meeting featured many of the mainstays from years past — there were golf worshops, a silent auction to benefit the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, awards presentations, brunch and plenty of socializing among the 175 attendees, which represented about 90 clubs from around the state.

But the one thing that veered from the normal was a panel discussion featuring CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary, with Mate asking questions. (Pictured above are, from left, McCleary, Mate and Miner.) One of those queries was about the integration of the CGA and the CWGA, which became official as of Jan. 1. It’s part of a nationwide effort by the USGA to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations by partnering with just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. 

Subsequently, the board of directors of the two associations have formed into one leadership team — in fact it held a quarterly meeting just after the Women’s Annual Meeting. McCleary, the CGA president for the past two years, and Miner, who  served as the CWGA president for a similar time, are co-presidents of the CGA for 2018. And the staff of the associations have also merged, based out of the current CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

“We love to do course rating, we love to run tournaments, we love to run USGA qualifiers, we love to work with (members),” Miner told the audience at the Women’s Annual Meeting. “It was only obvious to our membership that this (unification) was a good thing because now we’re bigger, better, stronger, richer — and we have lots of staff. If you talk to our staff, each and every one of them loves the synergy of being in that office together. … This is not just to make the best of something that the USGA decided was a good idea for golf, but to make it the best for golf in Colorado, and to be a beacon for golf in the United States of America.”

McCleary feels similary after going through a unification process that lasted more than two years.

“From the beginning I said, ‘Let’s do what’s best for golf and golfers in the state of Colorado,” he told the attendees. “We needed to come together as one organization representing both men and women (in order) to lay the groundwork for the future. Things are changing. It’s incredibly important to do what we’ve done. I think it’s paid dividends and it will pay significant dividends in the future.”

Laura Robinson, former CWGA executive director and current managing director of membership and integration for the CGA, organized Saturday’s meeting and liked the way the panel discussion went.

“I hope the women here who heard Joe, Juliet and Ed talk gained a sense of confidence that this (integration) is really good for women’s golf,” Robinson said.

One way that the inification paid off tangibly was evident on Saturday. Last year, the silent auction at the CWGA Annual Meeting raised slightly under $7,000 for junior golf. This year, more than double that total — $15,365 to be exact — was raised for the cause (left). With increased resources being brought to bear with the merged organizations, close to 100 items were available for auction, and a nearly two-week-long online element was added this year, yielding $7,570 of the $15,365 total.

All in all, Miner saw this year’s Annual Meeting as a valuable tool in more ways than one.

“I think the meeting went as successfully as it has been for the last number of years,” she said. “The difference is that we had all of the (pre-existing) CGA board here, which is comprised of mostly men. They’re all here and they’re seeing what we do. They get to see our product — which before they’d only heard about — up close.”

Saddle Rock WGA Named Women’s Club of the Year: For the second straight year, a Women’s Club of the Year was recognized at the Annual Meeting, and this year the honor went to members of the Saddle Rock Women’s Golf Association (left).

The award is presented to a club that has demonstrated a commitment to golf or their community through innovative programs such as fundraising, programs or competitions.

Saddle Rock WGA stood out in part thanks to a tweak of the traditional member-guest tournament format that led to additional fundraising for a good cause. The club played a “Cha-Cha-Cha for Charity” and members were able to invite multiple guests, which increased participation significantly. That resulted in a donation of more than $1,100 to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, to support the teaching and development of junior golf programs in the community, money was raised for the Paul McMullen Scholarship Fund. Also, Saddle Rock has long provided volunteers for the annual Grandview High School girls golf invitational, running shuttles, registration, check-in and scoring.

The Saddle Rock WGA has celebrated 20 years as an association, with 10 of its original members still actively participating in league play.

Other nominees for the Women’s Club of the Year were:

— Aurora Hills 9-Hole Women’s Golf Association
— Kissing Camels Ladies Golf Association
— Pinery Ladies Golf Association
— Red Sky Ranch
— Riverdale Women’s Golf Association

Last year’s co-Clubs of the Year were from Patty Jewett and Fitzsimons.

Miner Honored as Volunteer of the Year: Juliet Miner has overseen much in her two  years as president of the CWGA and now as co-president of the CGA. There was the hiring of a new CWGA executive director. There was the CWGA celebrating the centennial of its founding. There was the CWGA joining forces with the CGA in establishing a single USGA-affiliated golf association in Colorado.

On Saturday, for all Miner has done for the CWGA, she was named the Volunteer of the Year. (She’s pictured speaking to attendees.)

(FYI: A feature story on Miner and her accomplishments will be published later this month on the coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org websites.)

Players of the Year for 2017: The CWGA Players of the Year — and the winner of a related award — were announced last fall, but the three honorees were publicly recognized on Saturday.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the CWGA’s Player of the Year the previous three seasons, was given the President’s Award, the CWGA’s highest honor. Mary Weinsten of Highlands Ranch earned the Player of the Year honor. And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton won the Senior Player of the Year Award for the eighth time in nine years. Eaton, now an Arizona resident, was likewise named the Arizona Women’s Golf Association Senior POY in 2017, earning that honor for the sixth time.

Kupcho and Weinstein are in the midst of their college seasons — Kupcho at Wake Forest and Weinstein at the University of Denver — and were unable to attend Saturday’s festivities. But Eaton (left) traveled from Arizona for the event.

For information on the 2017 accomplishments of the three players, CLICK HERE.

In Short: A $7,000 check — from money raised at the 2017 CWGA Annual Meeting, was presented Saturday to Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Alan Abrams, president of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. … Besides CGA co-presidents Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary and executive director Ed Mate, among those in attendance Saturday were the CGA volunteer board of directors, Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth and Colorado Golf Hall of Fame president Scott Radcliffe and executive director Jennifer Lyons. The CWGA is receiving a Distinguished Service Award from the Golf Hall of Fame in May. … Among the announcements to attendees on Saturday was a reminder that the Girls Junior America’s Cup, a tournament featuring many of the top female junior golfers from the western U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will be played in Colorado for the first time in 18 years. The event is set for July 25-27 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. … Recognized Saturday for its fundraising was the Raccoon Creek Ladies 9-Hole Group, whose 2017 tournament to benefit the Evans Scholarship for caddies led to a $1,200 donation. … Among the former CWGA board members — and current CGA board members — who have accepted chairperson duties for CGA committees are Laurie Steenrod (Course Rating Committee) and Phyllis Jensen (Tournament Site Selection Committee). … Miner said CGA Women’s Annual Meetings will continue into the future “as long as you (attendees) keep coming.”