Former Colorado State University golfer Blake Cannon (pictured) shot an 8-under-par 64 and leads by one after day 1. He made eight birdies in a bogey-free round.

German-born twins who used to play at the University of Colorado aren’t far off the pace. Yannik Paul opened with a 66 and brother Jeremy with a 68. Yannik made an eagle and went bogey-free, and Jeremy carded seven birdies on Tuesday.

The top 21 finishers after Friday’s final round will advance to Stage 2 of Q-school.

Numerous other First Stage tournaments are scheduled for the first two weeks in October. Then there will be five Second Stage tourneys from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. The Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz.

Here are this week’s First-Stage scores for all the players with strong Colorado ties:

Maricopa, Ariz.
(After 72 Holes, Top 21 Will Advance to Second Stage)
1. Former CSU golfer Blake Cannon 64
3. Former CU golfer Yannik Paul, Boulder 66
11. Former CU golfer Jeremy Paul 68
34. Zahkai Brown, Golden 72
50. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 73
60. Nick Mason, Parker 74  

Korte, Glenn Workman of Pueblo West, former University of Colorado golfer Kevin Kring and fellow former Buff Tom Gempel of Lone Tree made the grade in a Pre-Qualifying tournament by placing in the top 39 and ties. (Pictured are, from left, Korte and Workman.)

Korte, a former University of Denver golfer who has won both the CGA Amateur and CGA Match Play, carded rounds of 68-69-67 for a 9-under-par 204 total. Only medalist Stephen Stallings of Louisville, Ky., finished higher, at 202. Korte made bogeys on his first two holes on Friday, but went 6 under par the rest of the way.

Workman, winner of the 2017 CGA Amateur, advanced despite a final-round 76, which left him at 216 overall, in a tie for 21st place.

Kring closed with a 71 to post a 217 total, leaving him in 24th place. And Gempel had a final-round 75, finishing at 219, in 31st place.

After all five Pre-Qualifying tournaments are complete, there will be 12 First Stage events set for various dates from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, then five Second Stage tourneys from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. The Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz.

Web.com Tour Pre-Qualifying
At Lincoln, Neb. Aug. 29-31 (Top 39 Finishers Advance to First Stage)
ADVANCE
2. Chris Korte, Littleton 68-69-67–204
21. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 72-68-76–216
24. Former CU golfer Kevin Kring 70-76-71–217
31. Tom Gempel, Lone Tree 72-72-75–219
FAILED TO ADVANCE
55. Jacob Fair, Lone Tree 71-79-78–228

For all the scores from Lincoln, CLICK HERE.

With the top 39 finishers after Friday’s third round advancing to the “First Stage” of Q-school, former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte (left) of Littleton stands in fourth place, while Glenn Workman of Pueblo West is 11th. Korte won the 2015 CGA Amateur and the 2017 CGA Match Play, while Workman won last year’s CGA Am title.

Korte, in his pro debut, backed up his first-round 68 with a 2-under-par 69 on Thursday, giving him a 5-under 137 total. He trails leader Stephen Stallings of Louisville, Ky., by five. Korte made four birdies and two bogeys on Thursday.

Workman fired a 68 in round 2, making four birdies and a bogey, and checked in at 140.

Other locals in the top 39 through two days are Tom Gempel of Lone Tree (21st place at 144) and fellow former University of Colorado golfer Kevin Kring (33rd at 146).

After five Pre-Qualifying tournaments are held, there will be 12 First Stage events set for various dates from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, then five Second Stage tourneys from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. The Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz.

Web.com Tour Pre-Qualifying
At Lincoln, Neb. Aug. 29-31 (Top 39 Finishers After 54 Holes Advance to First Stage)
4. Chris Korte, Littleton 68-69–137
11. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 72-68–140
21. Tom Gempel, Lone Tree 72-72–144
33. Former CU golfer Kevin Kring 70-76–146
50. Jacob Fair, Lone Tree 71-79–150

For all the scores from Lincoln, CLICK HERE.

Korte (left), who’s making his pro debut, made four birdies and a bogey in round 1.

The top 39 players — out of an original field of 73 — after 54 holes will advance to the “First Stage” of Q-school.

All five players with strong Colorado ties competing in Lincoln shot 72 or below on Wednesday, with former University of Colorado golfer Kevin Kring posting a 70, Jacob Fair of Lone Tree a 71, and Tom Gempel of Lone Tree and Glenn Workman of Pueblo West 72s.

Stephen Stalling of Louisville, Ky., holds the first-round lead after a 66.

After five Pre-Qualifying tournaments are held, there will be 12 First Stage events set for various dates from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, then five Second Stage tourneys from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. The Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz.

Web.com Tour Pre-Qualifying
At Lincoln, Neb. Aug. 29-31 (Top 39 Finishers After 54 Holes Advance)
5. Chris Korte, Littleton 68
11. Former CU golfer Kevin Kring 70
14. Jacob Fair, Lone Tree 71
21. Tom Gempel, Lone Tree 72
21. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 72

For all the scores from Lincoln, CLICK HERE.

It was go low or go home on Wednesday in a U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournament at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

A year after no one shot lower than 68 in this event at CommonGround, six golfers posted better totals than that. And 13 players carded 69s or lower.

With five golfers out of the original field of 84 advancing to the second and final stage of U.S. Open qualifying, Jonathan Kuzava of Littleton fired a personal-best 7-under-par 64 to earn medalist honors. Former University of Colorado golfer Tom Gempel, now a teaching pro at The Pinery Country Club in Parker, managed a 65 to land the second spot. (The two are pictured, with Kuzava at left.)

Four players posted 67s, forcing a playoff for the final three berths. Glenn Workman (below, in a white shirt) of Pueblo West, who turned pro on the first tee after wrapping up his college career at the University of Wyoming, got up and down for par on the second playoff hole to advance. The same was true of Jack Castiglia of Lakewood, part of the Hale Irwin Player Program at CommonGround. Workman, the 2017 CGA Amateur champion, will graduate from Wyoming on Saturday, and Castiglia from Lakewood High School this month.

The final Sectional qualifier was Davis Bryant of Aurora, who won the 5A state high school title at CommonGround in October. Bryant, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Boys Player of the Year in 2017, atoned for a missed 3-foot par putt on the second playoff hole to drain a 5-foot birdie on the third extra hole to advance. Darrin Hall of Golden, who bogeyed the second playoff hole, missed a 5-foot birdie attempt on the third extra hole and had to settle for the first alternate position.

Like Castiglia, Bryant will graduate from high school this month, in his case from Eaglecrest. Bryant will play his college golf at Colorado State University and Castiglia at the University of Northern Colorado.

All five players who advanced on Wednesday will be going to U.S. Open Sectionals for the first time.

“It’s cool because I remember growing up at Columbine (Country Club, which used to host a U.S. Open Sectional) and watching all these guys come through for Sectionals when it was there,” said Kuzava, a son of well-known Denver media personality Steve Kelly. “I got to see Tom Kite and guys like that come through there. It was like, ‘Man, this is cool.’ I never thought I’d go through to that stage ever. I’m glad I didn’t think about it today; otherwise I probably wouldn’t have done it.”

Kuzava, 29, didn’t play high school or college golf — in fact, he was a backup quarterback at CSU-Pueblo. But he’s developed his game on the Florida mini tours, including one called the Florida Fresh Meat Pro Golf Tour, where he once posted a win.

“You won and you got $400 and they gave you all these coupons for this meat company down there,” Kuzava said with a smile.

“It’s crazy to me to think that even a few years ago, I didn’t even know I could do something like this,” he said of advancing to Sectionals. “I give credit to God because there’s no way I could have done it on my own. I don’t have an instructor or anything like that. It was awesome for me.

“It’s a weird route I’ve taken.”

On Wednesday, Kuzava chalked up an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys. From holes 4 through 11, he was 7 under par.

“I was just really relaxed,” he said.

Kuzava and Gempel, 31, were the elder statesmen of those who advanced on Wednesday.

Gempel was a very high-level amateur in the state, finishing runner-up in both the CGA Amateur and the CGA Match Play in 2009, losing in both cases to Steve Ziegler. But the results haven’t been as encouraging recently.

Asked when the last time he had shot 65, as he did Wednesday, Gempel said, “Not in a long time. A 68 last fall was probably my best score in recent memory. Lots of 73s and 74s earlier this year. It feels good to get a good one in there.

“It’s just really encouraging. I’m excited to test my game against good players on some hard tracks. I got married last year so it’s nice to show the wife that I can play a little bit.”

On Wednesday, Gempel played his final 12 holes in 6 under par, making an eagle at 7 and four birdies on the back nine.

“I hit my irons unbelievably well,” he said. “I was inside 20 feet it seemed like every hole. Fortunately, I got enough of them to go down. I’m really excited.”

Workman had an encouraging start to his pro career, going bogey-free in regulation and in the two playoff holes he played. He hit his first 19 greens of the day in regulation until just going over the par-3 17th in the playoff.

“I didn’t do anything too miraculous, just hit it well and putted well and shot a nice little 4 under,” he said. “You do that, you play well.”

Workman originally signed up for the qualifier as an amateur because he was still playing college golf for Wyoming. But with his senior season having come to an end, he declared his pro status on the first tee Wednesday.

“It’s great. I love where my game is at,” the 22-year-old said. “It’s coming into shape. I’m playing confident. I love moving back to Pueblo soon because it’s such a great town to get better at golf. It’s just a golf town and you can get better there. I love everything that Laramie has done for me, but I’m ready to start chasing. I’m excited to see where I’ll go from here.”

Then there were the two qualifiers who are still in high school. Castiglia, the 2017 Colorado Junior Match Play runner-up, is 17 years old and Bryant is 18.

Like Workman, Castiglia (left) went bogey-free on Wednesday. But for the teenager, that was a first in tournament play.

“I felt confident going into” my first tournament of the year, said Castiglia, the 2017 Colorado Junior Match Play runner-up. “I’ve played (at CommonGround) a lot because I’m part of the Hale Irwin program. I’m out here a lot. I know this course so I was able to put it together.”

On Wednesday, that translated into a two-birdie, one-eagle day. His eagle came via a 50-foot putt on No. 11.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s really cool (advancing) in a USGA event. To qualify for Sectionals for a U.S. Open is great.”

As for Bryant, he originally wanted to play in next week’s U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournament in Fort Collins, but he had a test that day. So he competed at CommonGround, where his state high school victory was part of a stellar 2017 season.

“I felt good because I obviously had good memories here and something special happened here (seven) months ago,” said Bryant, a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier. “But everyone is starting at even par and you’ve got to golf your ball and see how the cards fall at the end.

“But this is a great start to the summer. I haven’t played much at all. I’ve had (high school) baseball going since mid-December, when workouts started. I practiced (golf) as much as I could. After today I obviously feel great for what I was able to accomplish in my first tournament round of the year in Colorado.”

On Wednesday, Bryant (left) hit 14 greens in regulation in shooting his 67. Including the playoff, he made seven birdies and three bogeys on the day. On his 18th hole in regulation, he kept his chances alive to advance by making a 12-foot par putt.

The 36-hole Sectional Qualifying in the U.S. will be contested on June 4 at 10 sites in the U.S., plus one in England that day and one in Japan on May 21. From there, the top finishers will land berths in the Open itself, set for June 14-17 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

Wednesday marked the second of three Colorado-based U.S. Open Local Qualifiers this year. Earlier this week at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster, those who punched their tickets to Sectionals were John Murdock of Laramie, Wyo.; Steven Kupcho of Westminster; Josh Seiple of Castle Rock; Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction; and Zahkai Brown of Golden.

Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins will host the final Local Qualifying in Colorado, on Tuesday.

The U.S. Open is the only USGA championship that utilizes a two-stage qualifying process, with most entrants having to successfully negotiate Local and Sectional Qualifying in order to make it into the field for the second men’s major of the year.
 

U.S. Open Local Qualifying
At Par-71 CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora
ADVANCE TO SECTIONALS
Jonathan Kuzava, Littleton 64
Tom Gempel, Lone Tree 65
Glenn Workman, Pueblo West 67
Jack Castiglia, Lakewood 67
Davis Bryant, Aurora 67

ALTERNATES (In Order)
Darrin Hall, Golden 67
Kane Webber, Australia 68

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Workman, a University of Wyoming senior from Pueblo West, went 68-68 in the last two rounds after opening with a 74. That gave him a 6-under-par 210 total, which left him five strokes behind individual champion Sean Meehan of Texas-San Antonio.

Workman (pictured), who won the state amateur stroke-play titles in both Colorado and Wyoming last summer, made six birdies and two bogeys in the final round on Tuesday.

The showing marked Workman’s first individual top-10 finish of his career in a major college tournament. The Coloradan was competing only as an individual this week in Arizona, but two teammates tied for third on Tuesday — John Murdock and Aaron Lickteig — both one stroke ahead of Workman.

Also posting a top-10 college finish on Tuesday was the University of Northern Colorado’s Nicole Polivchak, a freshman from Sarasota, Fla. Polivchak tied for seventh individually and helped spark UNC, which placed fifth out of a 16-team field at the Bobcat Spring Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz.

Polivchak went 74-73-74 for a 5-over-par 221 total, which put her eight strokes behind champion Tara Finigan of Portland State.
 

Wyoming Cowboy Classic
April 9-10, 2018 (final) in Chandler, Ariz.
12. (out of 15 teams) Air Force Academy 297-290-289–876
34. Anson Kuznik 77-70-71–218
40. Bryant Falconello 68-77-74–219
56. Tate Tatom 77-72-73–222
62. Joshua Wu 77-75-71–223
66. Andy Germann 75-73-76–224
54. Dane Hankamer (competing only as individual) 73-70-78–221
74. Todd Millard (competing only as individual) 77-74-75–226

Also
6. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 74-68-68–210

Bobcat Spring Invitational
April 9-10, 2018 (final) in Goodyear, Ariz.
5. (out of 16 teams) Northern Colorado 310-298-298–906
7. Nicole Polivchak 74-73-74–221
15. Marisa Hisaki 77-74-73–224
33. Aili Bundy 81-76-74–231
54. Beah Cruz 81-75-83–239
59. Morgan Sahm 78-85-77–240
19. Hanna Atkins (competing only as individual) 78-75-74–227
44. Christina Ferrreira (competing only as individual) 76–81-78–235

Also
19. Coloradan Jaylee Tait, Montana State 75-76-76–227
25. Coloradan Delaney Elliott, Montana State 76-77-75–228
29. Coloradan Kiselya Plewe, Weber State 82-73-74–229

Silverado Showdown
April 8-10, 2018 (final) in Napa, Calif.

10. (out of 17 teams) Colorado 302-301-288–891
12. Brittany Fan 73-76-68–217
28. Robyn Choi 78-73-70–221
52. Kirsty Hodgkins 77-76-74–227
71. Alisha Lau 74-77-80–231
76. Gillian Vance 81-76-76–233
89. Elle Otten (competing only as individual) 85-80-82–247
 

Following up from last week, when we started our two-part retrospective on the top Colorado golf stories of 2017 (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. USGA’s Passey Calls It a Career: Mark Passey spent 27 1/2 years as a director of regional affairs for the USGA, including the last 11 based in the Denver metro area. Passey was very highly regarded in the region, but in June at age 70, he retired, leaving big shoes to fill. (Kyle Nuss, based in Dallas, has taken over as the USGA’s director of regional affairs for the nine-state Central Region, which includes Colorado.) READ MORE

11. Workman’s Stellar Summer: Glenn Workman had a summer to remember in state and regional tournaments in 2017. The Pueblo West resident became the first player in history to win the CGA Amateur and Wyoming State Amateur in the same year. The University of Wyoming golfer also scored low-amateur honors at the Rocky Mountain Open and the Wyoming State Open. READ MORE”¨

“¨10. Big-Name Clinics for The First Tee in Colorado: Ever since CoBank took over as title sponsor of the Colorado Open Championships, some big-name tour players have been coming to Colorado to put on exhibitions, primarily aimed at the kids participating in The First Tee programs. Last year, Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer and Paula Creamer did the honors. This year, David Duval, Lexi Thompson and Mark O’Meara came to First Tee sites, most notably the one at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, which hosts the Colorado Open tournaments. That’s quite a run, considering those six players account for eight major championship victories.

9. Jobe’s Champions Breakthrough: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe came very close to winning on the PGA Tour during his time on that circuit, four times placing second, including at the 2005 International at Castle Pines. Then on the PGA Tour Champions, he finished third three times leading up to this past summer. But in June in Des Moines, Iowa, Jobe scored a breakthrough victory, prevailing in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic. Jobe, who lived in Colorado from 1970 to ’99 before moving to Texas, also had a very strong record in senior majors in 2017, finishing second in the Senior Players, third in the U.S. Senior Open and eighth in the Senior PGA. He also matched the tournament record with a round of 62 at the U.S. Senior Open. READ MORE

8. $50K for CoBank Colorado Women’s Open Champ: As soon as the CoBank Colorado Open drastically raised its purse in 2016, a similar hike was virtually inevitable for the Colorado Women’s Open. You could take it to the (Co)Bank. Almost exactly a year after the purse for the men’s Open jumped to $250,000 — with an amazing $100,000 going to the winner — Colorado Open Golf Foundation officials announced a comparable increase, percentage-wise, for the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open. Not coincidentally, CoBank has been the title sponsor for the Colorado Open championships since the beginning of 2016. For the 2017 women’s tournament, first prize more than quadrupled — to $50,000 from $11,000 — and the overall purse doubled — to $150,000. In both cases, those are records for a women’s state/regional open and the $50,000 is considerably more than the winner received for any 2017 event on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA’s development circuit. Liz Breed of Waynesboro, Pa., claimed the first $50,000 winning prize, holding off amateur Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, who finished runner-up for the second straight time in the CWO.

7. Kaye Wins 2nd Colorado Open, 21 Years After His First: Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye (left) hadn’t competed in a tournament in three months, but that didn’t stop the former University of Colorado golfer from winning the CoBank Colorado Open shortly before his 47th birthday. Kaye, a two-time PGA Tour winner who plays little tournament golf anymore, sank a 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Green Valley Ranch to post a one-stroke victory and earn the $100,000 first prize. Kaye, the runner-up in 2016, finished at 23-under par, which tied the tournament’s scoring record, relative to par. He became just the seventh golfer to win at least two Colorado Open titles. For the record, the 21 years between Colorado Open victories by Kaye is a record, bettering the 14 years between Brian Guetz’s wins (1994 and 2008). READ MORE

6. Bryant Slam: A junior golf oddity made this one of the top stories of the season in the state. The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado schedule features four major championships, and the Bryant siblings won their own version of a grand slam by combining to claim all four titles. Davis Bryant won all three in which he competed — the Colorado Junior PGA, the Colorado Junior Amateur and the JGAC Tour Championship. And when he missed the Colorado Junior Match Play while he was competing in the national Junior PGA Championship — where he placed 14th — 14-year-old sister Emma pulled through for an improbable victory for the girls title. Davis Bryant went on to be named the boys JGAC Player of the Year after also winning the 5A state high school title, placing ninth individually in the Junior America’s Cup and advancing to the match play round of 64 at his second U.S. Junior Amateur.”¨

5. CGA Vets Play Key Roles in Changes to Rules of Golf: Rules issues have played a major — and controversial — role in televised golf in recent years. And in the midst of all that, Rules modernization and simplification efforts by the USGA and the R&A have taken center stage. And at the core — or near the core, anyway — of those modernization efforts is the USGA Rules of Golf Committee. In 2017, three people who have worked for the CGA in the 21st century served on the committee — current executive director Ed Mate, along with former staffers Thomas Pagel (now a USGA employee) and Pete Lis (who works for the LPGA). That’s quite a Rules pedigree for the state association. READ MORE

4. Major Changes for Several Denver-Area Courses: This year turned out to be a big one regarding some of the oldest courses in the Denver metro area. On Nov. 1, 105-year-old City Park Golf Course closed until sometime in 2019, with the course being redesigned to accommodate a stormwater detention area which the city hopes will protect at-risk neighborhoods from flooding. World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin and Broomfield-based iCon Golf Studio were picked to redesign the course. (A rendering of the new City Park GC clubhouse is at left.)  Meanwhile, plans were approved so that another City of Denver course, Overland Park, will be closed for play for five weeks each September and early October from 2018-22 to host a three-day music festival. Then it was announced that Fitzsimons Golf Course, which dates back almost 100 years, would close for good in mid-December, making way for bioscience facilities and residential units.

3. Year to Remember for Clark: Although he previously came close on many occasions, former Highlands Ranch resident Wyndham Clark (left) didn’t score his first individual college victory until early in 2017. And that opened the floodgates for the then-University of Oregon senior, who posted three victories in his final 4 1/2 months as a collegian. One of those wins was a storybook ending as he prevailed at the Pac-12 Conference Championship in his home state, at Boulder Country Club, where he also won the 2010 CGA Amateur. With that strong final half of the season, Clark was named the 2017 Player of the Year in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, the Pac-12. That goes with the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year honors he earned while at Oklahoma State. Clark ended up being one of three finalists for the national male college player of the year. Then since turning pro in June, Clark has made two cuts on the PGA Tour, including a 17th-place finish on Oct. 29 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. This month, he secured his playing card for 2018 on the Web.com Tour with a 23rd-place finish in the final stage of Q-school.

2. The Kupcho Show: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster continues to up her game, as this year has demonstrated. The fact that she’s currently the No. 3-ranked women’s amateur in the world says plenty. The Wake Forest golfer came ever so close to becoming the first Coloradan to win the women’s individual NCAA Division I title, leading by two with two holes left before a triple bogey resulted in a runner-up finish. She quickly rebounded from that disappointment to qualify for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open — and went on to finish 21st overall in arguably the most presigious women’s golf tournament in the world (despite taking a 9 on her 35th hole). She also won her first national title, the Canadian Women’s Amateur, by five strokes. Other victories included her third straight in the CWGA Stroke Play, and two wins this calendar year in college golf, where she was a finalist for women’s player of the year honors. She also placed second for the second straight time in the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open. Recently, Kupcho was named one of the top 11 women’s amateur golfers in the world by Global Golf Post and played in a practice session leading up to the 2018 Curtis Cup, though she isn’t guaranteed a spot on the U.S. team. Kupcho is also seventh in the women’s rankings leading up to the spring selection of the inaugural 12-player U.S. women’s team that will compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup July 6-8 in France. The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-like competition for college golfers in which Americans play an International squad. (Australians Robyn Choi and Kirsty Hodgkins, who compete for the University of Colorado, are ranked 11th and 15th among the International players.)

1. CGA/CWGA Unification: The CGA and CWGA each celebrated 100th anniversaries in recent years, and most of that time they’ve been separate — but complementary — organizations serving golf in Colorado. But they’ve now joined forces — while continuing to serve golf in the state — under the banner of the Colorado Golf Association, which will serve roughly 60,000 members. As part of efforts to streamline its relationship with state and regional golf associations, the USGA announced more than a year ago that, starting at the beginning of 2018, it will partner will just one full-service Allied Golf Association in each state or region. That directive led to this unification. The board of directors of the two associations have formed into one leadership team. Joe McCleary, the CGA president for the last two years, and Juliet Miner, who has served as the CWGA president for a similar time, will be co-presidents of the CGA for the coming year. The staff of the associations have also merged, based out of the current CGA offices in Greenwood Village.

(At top, pictured together earlier this year after formally reaching an agreement were McCleary and Miner along with CGA executive director Ed Mate and his CWGA counterpart, Laura Robinson, the new managing director of program integration for the CGA.)

As Mate, who will remain the CGA’s executive director moving forward, said earlier this year, “I’ve been working for the CGA for a long time — over 25 years in stops and starts — and to me it’s the most significant thing we’ve ever done because I think it’s going to position golf and all the things we represent for the next 100 years.” READ MORE

——————————————————————————————————-

Honorable Mention

— David Duval, once the top-ranked golfer in the world, moved from Cherry Hills Village to Atlantic Beach, Fla., in recent months. The 2001 British Open champion had lived in Colorado for more than a dozen years. He was born and raised in northeast Florida. Other Colorado-based tour players who have departed the Centennial State in 2016 and ’17 are Sam Saunders (also now in Atlantic Beach, Fla.) and Mark Wiebe (San Jose, Calif.), who’s now the director of instruction at San Jose Country Club. All three are returning to their roots as Duval and Saunders are native Floridians and Wiebe went to college at San Jose State.

— The drinks were on Peyton Manning — he who helped the Broncos claim their third Super Bowl title less than two years ago — after the former quarterback great made a hole-in-one at No. 12 at Cherry Hills Country Club on Nov. 25. For the record, the weapon of choice was a 5-iron from 196 yards.

— Colorado Springs resident Kaden Ford became just the fourth Coloradan in five years to qualify for the national finals of the Drive Chip & Putt Championship, hosted by Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on the eve of the Masters. Ford will be among 80 contestants on April 1. READ MORE

— This year marked a major historical milestone in Colorado golf as it was 50 years since Columbine Country Club hosted the 1967 PGA Championship. To this day, it’s the only PGA Tour major that’s been held at a Colorado site other than Cherry Hills Country Club. READ MORE

— 2016 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle scored his first individual college victory — and did it in his home state — as the University of Utah junior prevailed in the University of Colorado’s Mark Simpson Invitational in Erie in late September. Dunkle closed with a 64 at Colorado National. READ MORE

— Former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele posted two top-five finishes — a third and a fourth — in his rookie year on the European Tour. Then he shot a final-round 65 in Q-school to regain his card for the 2017-18 wraparound season.

— The Mile High Showdown World Long Drive event at Park Hill produced drives of 485 yards for the men and 406 yards for the women. READ MORE

— CU teammates Esther Lee and Brittany Fan shared stroke-play medalist honors in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball before falling in the round of 16 of match play.

— University of Denver golfer Chris Korte won the CGA Match Play, completing a career sweep of major CGA titles. READ MORE

— Three Colorado courses were included among Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” — the grandaddy of all the rankings as the first and the most respected. Making the grade were Castle Pines Golf Club (No. 42), Ballyneal (No. 50), and Cherry Hills Country Club (No 73). READ MORE

— The Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy — a popular initiative which promotes the use of caddies by paying the base caddie fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip — added a small pilot program in Grand Junction. READ MORE

— Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird surpassed $15 million in earnings after a decade on the PGA Tour.

— Coloradan Mackenzie Cohen helped Rhodes College in Memphis win the NCAA Division III women’s national title for the second straight year. READ MORE

— Denver’s Jonathan Marsico won his second straight Charlie Coe Invitational team event at Castle Pines. READ MORE

— Former Coloradan Open champion Ben Portie was named the women’s head coach in golf at the University of Northern Colorado. READ MORE

— Jackson Solem of Longmont becomes the first Coloradan since 2009 to win a match at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

— With a fourth-place showing, Colorado recorded its third top-four finish since 2011 at the Junior America’s Cup. READ MORE

— Coloradans competed for the final time as the USGA State Team Championships ended their run. READ MORE

— Littleton’s Jim Knous earned official money ($24,480) on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career by tying for 41st place after Monday qualifying for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. READ MORE

— A CU Evans Scholar alum honored the chapter’s “founding fathers” by endowing scholarships for Dick Campbell, Sonny Brinkerhoff and Homer McClintock. READ MORE
 

The statewide competitive golf season in Colorado largely shuts down after October and doesn’t crank up again until mid-spring, which makes this the perfect time for a little reflection on 2017.

As usual, there’s plenty that makes the season special — and that’s true even in a year when no large-scale spectator golf tournaments pay a visit. The U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs no doubt will be high on this list for 2018, but that’s for next fall.

Below are one observer’s top 10 list of highlights of the 2017 tournament season and for Colorado-based golfers.

It’s an understatement to say it’s not often that two Colorado residents — one man and one woman — are among the national college golfer of the year finalists, but 2017 was such a year. So it’s not surprising that our list starts with those two players.

1. The Kupcho Show: Jennifer Kupcho (pictured above) of Westminster continues to up her game, as this year has demonstrated. The fact that she’s currently the No. 2-ranked women’s amateur in the world says plenty. The Wake Forest golfer came ever so close to becoming the first Coloradan to win the women’s individual NCAA Division I title, leading by two with two holes left before a triple bogey led to a runner-up finish. She quickly rebounded from that disappointment to qualify for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open — and then to finish 21st overall in arguably the most presigious women’s golf tournament in the world. She also won her first national title, the Canadian Women’s Amateur. Other victories included her third straight in the CWGA Stroke Play, and two wins this calendar year in college golf. She also placed second for the second straight time in the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open.

2. Year to Remember for Clark: Although he previously came close on many occasions, Highlands Ranch resident Wyndham Clark (left) didn’t score his first individual college victory until early in 2017. And that opened the floodgates for the then-University of Oregon senior, who posted three victories in his final 4 1/2 months as a collegian. One of those wins was a storybook ending as he prevailed at the Pac-12 Conference Championship in his home state, at Boulder Country Club, where he also won the 2010 CGA Amateur. With that strong final half of the season, Clark was named the 2017 Player of the Year in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, the Pac-12. That goes with the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year honors he earned while at Oklahoma State. Then since turning pro in June, Clark has made two cuts on the PGA Tour, including a 17th-place finish on Oct. 29 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. This fall, he’s also advanced to the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-school.

3. Bryant Slam: A junior golf oddity made this one of the top stories of the competitive season in the state. The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado schedule features four major championships, and the Bryant siblings won their own version of a grand slam by combining to claim all four titles. Davis Bryant won all three in which he competed — the Colorado Junior PGA, the Colorado Junior Amateur and the JGAC Tour Championship. And when he missed the Colorado Junior Match Play while he was competing in the national Junior PGA Championship — where he placed 14th — 14-year-old sister Emma pulled through for an improbable victory for the girls title. Davis Bryant went on to be named the boys JGAC Player of the Year after also winning the 5A state high school title, placing ninth individually in the Junior America’s Cup and advancing to the match play round of 64 at his second U.S. Junior Amateur.

4. Kaye Wins 2nd Colorado Open, 21 Years After His First: Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye (left) hadn’t competed in a tournament in three months, but that didn’t stop the former University of Colorado golfer from winning the CoBank Colorado Open shortly before his 47th birthday. Kaye, a two-time PGA Tour winner who plays little tournament golf anymore, sank a 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Green Valley Ranch to post a one-stroke victory and earn the $100,000 first prize. Kaye, the runner-up in 2016, finished at 23-under par, which tied the tournament’s scoring record, relative to par. He became just the seventh golfer to win at least two Colorado Open titles.

5. Jobe’s Champions Breakthrough: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe came very close to winning on the PGA Tour during his time on that circuit, four times placing second, including at the 2005 International at Castle Pines. Then on the PGA Tour Champions, he finished third three times leading up to this past summer. But in June in Des Moines, Iowa, Jobe scored a breakthrough victory, prevailing in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic. Jobe, who lived in Colorado from 1970 to ’99 before moving to Texas, also had a very strong record in senior majors in 2017, finishing second in the Senior Players, third in the U.S. Senior Open and eighth in the Senior PGA. He also matched the tournament record with a round of 62 at the U.S. Senior Open.

6. Workman’s Stellar Summer: Glenn Workman had a summer to remember in state and regional tournaments in 2017. The Pueblo West resident became the first player in history to win the CGA Amateur and Wyoming State Amateur in the same year. The University of Wyoming golfer also scored low-amateur honors at the Rocky Mountain Open and the Wyoming State Open.

7. 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.

8. Seniors Rule the Day: 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 (left) 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.

9. Age No Problem for Schalk: Hailey Schalk 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 became the first Coloradan to win a title at the prestigious AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. And in May, she became 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 competing for Colorado at the Girls Junior America’s Cup. Schalk and Davis Bryant were recently named “Future Famers” by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

10. 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 place 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.

–– Honorable Mention: Colorado Springs resident Kaden Ford became just the fourth Coloradan in five years to qualify for the national finals of the Drive Chip & Putt Championship, hosted by Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on the eve of the Masters. Ford will be among 80 contestants on April 1. … Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton captured her fifth CWGA Senior Stroke Play title, with this being her third winning margin of at least 10 shots. She completed a sweep of the major CWGA senior titles (Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play) for the third time. … 2016 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle scored his first individual college victory — and did it in his home state — as the University of Utah junior prevailed in the University of Colorado’s Mark Simpson Invitational in Erie in late September. Dunkle closed with a 64 at Colorado National. … Another former CGA Player of the Year, David Oraee, claimed the title in the Wyoming State Open, posting his first professional victory. … Colorado State University’s men’s golf team won its own Ram Masters Invitational team championship for the fourth consecutive year. … Former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele has posted two top-five finishes — a third and a fourth — in his rookie year on the European Tour. … The Colorado PGA defeated the CGA/CWGA amateurs — a team playing without college-age golfers for the first time — in the final Colorado Cup Matches that will be held until 2019. … The University of Denver women’s golf team won two team titles in a span of just 11 days. … The Mile High Showdown World Long Drive event at Park Hill produced drives of 485 yards for the men and 406 yards for the women. … CU teammates Esther Lee and Brittany Fan shared stroke-play medalist honors in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball before falling in the round of 16 of match play.

Workman, who won both the CGA Amateur and Wyoming State Amateur in 2017, added low-amateur honors in the 79th RMO to being low-am in the Wyoming State Open last month.

Workman closed with a 3-under-par 68 on Sunday at Tiara Rado Golf Course, giving him an 8-under 205 total, which was one better than any other amateur in the field. He made seven birdies on Sunday, including ones on Nos. 16 and 18.

Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, who led the tournament overall after round 1, tied for second place among amateurs at 206. Also at that figure was Denver City Amateur champion Grant Olinger and Quintin Pope, a University of Wyoming teammate of Workman. Olinger fired a 65 on Sunday, while Pope had a 68 and Stewart a 72.

In the overal competition, Keiley earned the $10,000 first prize with his two-stroke victory. After taking a five-shot lead into the final round, the Hawaiian was 1 over par for the day through 12 holes. But he birdied 13 and 17 and didn’t make any more bogeys the rest of the way to post a 70. That left him at 15-under-par 198 overall.

Taylor Montgomery, a rookie pro after playing his college golf at Nevada-Las Vegas, tied for second at 200 after carding a final-round 64. He played his final six holes in 4 under par. Ryan Wallen, a former Wyoming teammate of Workman and Pope, also shared second place after closing with a bogey-free 63 that featured an eagle on the 300-yard par-4 seventh hole.

The top Colorado finisher was 2016 CGA Match Play champion Nathaniel Goddard of Fort Collins, who tied for fifth at 203 (66-71-66).

Owen Ellis of Boulder claimed senior amateur honors with a 5-over-par 218 total. He carded a 72 on Sunday.

For the final Rocky Mountain Open scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Keiley has yet to make a bogey through the first 36 holes, after which he owns a 14-under-par 128 total. On Saturday, he carded eight birdies, giving him 14 for two days.

Richard Gaona of Miami, Ariz., holds second place at 133 after shooting a bogey-free 65 on Saturday.

Amateur Dillon Stewart from Fort Collins, a junior golfer who led after Friday’s first-round 64, stands in third place at 8-under 134 following a 70 on Saturday. Stewart, a member of the Colorado Junior America’s Cup team this summer, leads CGA Amateur champion Glenn Workman by three in the low-amateur competition.

Play will concluded on Sunday at Tiara Rado. The winner — or low professional should an amateur prevail — will receive $10,000.

For Rocky Mountain Open scores, CLICK HERE.