Paul, who wrapped up his CU golf career in May, finished fourth out of 19 players on Thursday at the 54-hole ASU Karsten Fall Championship on the Dreamchasers Tour in Tempe, Ariz. Paul (left) carded rounds of 66-71-72 for a 4-under-par 209 total, which left him six strokes behind winner Ray Knoll of Naperville, Ill. Paul, who advanced to the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-school this fall, earned $1,500 for the performance this week.

Coloradan Eric Hallberg, who won a Dreamchasers Tour event on Nov. 1, tied for 10th on Thursday at 219 after rounds of 73-76-70.

Morris, who like Paul went to the second stage of Web Q-school this year, placed third out of a 20-man field on Wednesday in the 18-hole Tampa Palm Series event on the West Florida Golf Tour. He shot a 73 and finished three strokes behind champion Tim Rosenhouse.
 

Hoos, an Erie native and longtime resident of Boulder, had been battling leukemia.

“It’s with a very sad heart to say that my very best friend, a loving husband and dad, George Hoos, passed away today, surrounded by his family,” son Eric wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “He’s affected so many people’s lives in such a positive way it’s unbelievable. He was a great teacher and mentor and will be sorely missed but never forgotten. Love you so very much and everyone already really misses you. Play away dad.”

(George Hoos is pictured with wife Jean.)

Hoos played golf at CU under coach Les Fowler from 1953-55, with the Buffs winning the Big 7 Conference title in 1954, when Hoos placed third individually and teammate Keith Alexander won the tournament. CU shared the conference crown in 1955. Hoos also played on two Buffs’ teams that competed in the NCAA Championship Finals as CU placed 15th in 1954 and 31st in ’55. Hoos was CU’s top finisher at the ’55 nationals.

Hoos served as the boys golf coach at Fairview High School in Boulder for 30 years, starting in 1960, and led the Knights to state team titles in 1969 and ’73. In addition, three Fairview players won individual state championships in a five-season stretch — Pete Dawson in 1969, Tim Brauch in 1970 and Bob Byman in 1973.

Byman remains one of the most accomplished junior golfers in state history. Now a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, he won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1972 while still in high school, defeating Scott Simpson in the finals. That same year, he qualified for the U.S. Open, which was held at Pebble Beach, where Jack Nicklaus won.

Also during his high school years — age 16 to 18 — Byman won three consecutive CGA Amateurs, joining Hale Irwin as the only players to have pulled off that feat. And in 1973, he earned the individual state high school title while Hoos’ Knights earned the team championship.

“Bob was 16 going on 26,” Hoos once said. “He was a very mature player at that point. He had all the shots, and the head to go along with it. He was a hard worker, good competitor, super organized and mature beyond his years. We had other kids that played very well, but they weren’t the whole package that Bob was.”

Hoos also helped establish the girls golf program at Fairview.

Two of Hoos’ own kids became very accomplished golfers in their own right and were tour professionals for a time. Son Eric won a Web.com Tour event in 1991 and was the longtime head coach of the University of Denver men’s golf program. And daughter Kristine (now Kristine Franklin) won the CGA Women’s Stroke Play in 1986 and recently captured the title in the CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play.

After that win in August, Franklin dedicated the victory to her dad.

“I really wanted to do this for my dad,” said Franklin, who returned to competitive golf just last year after a layoff of 18 years. “I just can’t wait to tell my dad (about winning).

“I get so much joy from watching my kids play. I didn’t realize that back when I played that my parents got that much joy.”

One of Franklin’s sons — and George Hoos’ grandsons — is Walker Franklin, who’s among the top junior golfers in the state and who plays his high school golf at Prospect Ridge Academy. Franklin’s other son, Jaxon, used to play golf at Prospect Ridge, where Eric is now the head coach of the boys program and Kristine an assistant coach. Jon Hoos, another son of George Hoos, has had three of his kids play golf at Legacy High School — Morgan, Andrea and Grant — and Andrea currently competes in college golf at The Citadel in South Carolina. Jon Hoos himself played golf at Fairview and at Scottsdale Community College before later becoming a club professional.

Services for George Hoos are planned for Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Boulder (3485 Stanford Ct.).
 

This week, Q-school begins for two of the major U.S.-based tours — the LPGA and Web.com circuits.

Stage I of LPGA qualifying runs Thursday through Sunday (Aug. 23-26) in Rancho Mirage, Calif. And the first of six Pre-Qualifying tournaments for for Web Q-school runs Wednesday through Friday (Aug. 22-24), with the others being Aug. 29-31 and Sept. 5-7. No players with strong Colorado connections are competing until next week in the Web qualifiers.

The LPGA qualifying procession has been tweaked for this year, with Stage I and Stage II (in Venice, Fla., Oct. 15-18) leading to an LPGA Q-Series, which replaces the final stage. There, a maximum of 108 players will compete in two 72-hole stroke-play tournaments held on consecutive weeks Oct. 22-Nov. 3 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Scores will be cumulative over the two weeks.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the No. 1-ranked amateur in women’s golf who will soon be starting her senior season at Wake Forest, is exempt into the Q-Series, where at least the top 45 finishers and ties will earn LPGA Tour status in 2019. Amateurs who earn their cards can defer their acceptance of LPGA membership until July 1, 2019.

Among the 340 contestants in Stage I are at least 10 players with strong Colorado ties:

University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi
Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs
Former CU golfer Brittany Fan
Amateur Emily Gilbreth, a former Denver resident
Samantha Stancato of Colorado Springs
Ashley Tait of Littleton
Amateur Jaylee Tait of Littleton
Hannah Wood of Highlands Ranch
Amateur Elizabeth Wang, who grew up in Colorado
Former CU golfer Natalie Vivaldi

A minimum of the top 60 finishers and ties at Stage I will advance to Stage II.

As for Web.com Tour qualifying, there’s a maximum of four stages to negotiate. Fields haven’t been released for all six Pre-Qualifying tournaments, but the three in the western half of the U.S. are likely to draw local players: Lincoln, Neb., and Lantana, Texas, Aug. 29-31, and Woodland, Calif., Sept. 5-7.

Twelve First Stage tournaments are set for various dates from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9. There are five Second Stage events from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. Then the Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz.
 

A month ago, it was announced that the Westminster resident will be part of the first group of women who will compete for the U.S. in the Arnold Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style competition between college players from America and their international counterparts that will take place July 6-8 in France.

Then on Tuesday, Kupcho received even a bigger honor when the USGA named her one of eight golfers who earned spots on the American team that will face Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup, a biennial match-play competition featuring some of the world’s top women amateurs.

The 40th Curtis Cup matches will take place June 8-10 at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.

“It is very exciting and quite an honor to get to represent the U.S. as one of eight girls,” Kupcho (pictured) said via email on Tuesday morning. “I’m excited to switch the waters and be teammates with girls that I’m always competing against. It is going to be an awesome experience and a great start to the summer. This is one of my greater honors because the girls in the USA are great golfers and being one of the top competitors is a very big honor.” 

Kupcho will have the distinction of being the first player who grew up in Colorado to play in the Curtis Cup since 1994, when Jill McGill made the U.S. team. McGill, winner of the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, is a Cherry Creek High School graduate who went on to win more than $2.3 million in a long LPGA Tour career. She’s also a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee. Kimberly Kim, who played one season at the University of Denver, competed in the Curtis Cup in 2008 and 2010.

Suffice it to say Kupcho is in elite company.

“Jennifer Kupcho is a fierce competitor,” Liz Fradkin, Team USA’s manager for the Curtis Cup, said during a USGA Facebook telecast on Tuesday.

Joining Kupcho on the U.S. squad will be:

— UCLA’s Lilia Vu, 20, of Fountain Valley, Calif., the world’s top-ranked women’s amateur.

— UCLA’s Mariel Galdiano, 19, of Pearl City, Hawaii.

— The University of Alabama’s Kristen Gillman, 20, of Austin, Texas.

— Stanford’s Andrea Lee, 19, of Hermosa Beach, Calif.

— Luci Li, 15, of Redwood Shores, Calif.

— The University of Texas’ Sophia Schubert, 22, of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

— The University of Alabama’s Lauren Stephenson, 20, of Lexington, S.C.

Galdiano and Lee also played in the event in 2016. Meanwhile, Li is the youngest U.S. Curtis Cupper since Lexi Thompson in 2010.

Virginia Derby Grimes, winner of the 1998 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, will be the U.S. captain.

“Our committee is extremely thoughtful during the selection process and takes very seriously the opportunity to select the members of this team,” said Martha Lang, a member of the USGA Executive Committee and former U.S. team captain. “We know the players we selected are extraordinarily talented competitors.”

Kupcho, a junior at Wake Forest in North Carolina, currently stands No. 3 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankongs. She recently won her second individual title of this college season and the fifth of her college career.

The Coloradan was the women’s NCAA individual runner-up last year after leading by two strokes with two holes remaining. In the national individual women’s college rankings this season, Kupcho is No. 9 according to both Golfweek and Golfstat. Besides her two wins individually this season, Kupcho has collected a runner-up and a sixth-place finish among her eight tournaments.”¨”¨

The 20-year-old has been a dominant force in Colorado women’s golf for several years and has been making a mark nationally and internationally recently.”¨”¨

Besides finishing second in the Women’s NCAA Championships in 2017, Kupcho qualified for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open, and she went on to finish 21st overall — and second among amateurs — in arguably the most presigious women’s golf tournament in the world.”¨”¨

Kupcho also claimed her first national title as she won the Canadian Women’s Amateur by five strokes. At the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she made the match play round of 64. Collegiately, she won an NCAA Regional and she was a finalist for women’s college player of the year.”¨”¨

The Jefferson Academy graduate earned the CWGA highest’s honor — the President’s Award — in 2017 after being named the CWGA Player of the Year for an unprecented three consecutive years (2014-16). She was inducted into the Sportswomen of Colorado’s Hall of Fame last year after being named the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year in 2016.

“¨”¨Additionally in 2017, Kupcho won her third consecutive CWGA Stroke Play, this one with a 13-shot victory margin. And at the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, she placed second for the second time while competing against a field that included many professionals.”¨”¨

The USA leads the all-time Curtis Cup series 28-8-3, but Great Britain & Ireland has won two of the last three meetings, including in 2016 in Ireland.

The Curtis Cup competition features six foursomes (alternate-shot) matches, six four-ball (best-ball) matches and eight singles matches over the course of the three days.

Among the Colorado Golf Hall of Famers who have competed in the Curtis Cup over the years are Barbara McIntire (1958, ’60, ’62, ’64, ’66 and ’72; captain in 1976 and ’98), Judy Bell (1960 and ’62; captain in 1986 and ’88), Tish Preuss (1962, ’64, ’66, ’68 and ’70; captain in 1984), Nancy Roth Syms (1964, ’66 and ’76; captain in 1980), Carol Sorenson Flenniken (1964 and ’66) and Jill McGill (1994). Another Coloradan, Dana Howe, played on the 1984 U.S. team.

Two Colorado clubs have hosted the Curtis Cup, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in 1962 and Denver Country Club in 1982.

The Big 5-0.

People often joke about turning 50 and how that age makes them sound old. But in Jon Lindstrom’s case, what happened shortly after he reached that milestone was no joke.

Lindstrom, a Broomfield resident and the winner of eight CGA championship titles including three Mid-Amateurs, turned 50 on Sept. 3. Later that same week, his wife, Stacey, had scheduled him for a physical exam — both because it made sense to get a checkup at age 50 and because Jon’s company would deposit several hundred dollars into the family’s health savings account at the beginning of the year if he underwent a physical in September or October.

The general checkup included a blood test. Lindstrom recalls thinking “the doctor was going to call me back (a few days later) and say my cholesterol was too high and to stop eating pizza.”

The doctor did indeed call, but the message wasn’t quite so predictable.

Lindstrom’s results from a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test were alarmingly high. PSA levels above 4.0 often draw the attention of doctors, and Lindstrom’s figure was over 15. Such elevated levels can be an indication of prostate cancer, though follow-up tests are the norm to be sure.

Lindstrom initially wasn’t sure what to make of it, but his doctor explained the PSA test and gave him some websites to gather further information. He recommended that Lindstrom undergo a colonoscopy, which subsequently came back clean.

The doctor also referred Lindstrom to a Boulder-area urologist, who did an exam and an ultrasound of his bladder. Based on those two things and the PSA number, he recommended a biopsy of the prostate, which was done on Nov. 1, just three weeks after Lindstrom had made match play while competing in his fifth U.S. Mid-Amateur.

The result, which Lindstrom learned on Nov. 15, hit him like a ton of bricks. The biopsy showed he had a very aggressive cancer in his prostate in two locations.

“Your heart falls into your stomach,” he said of his initial reaction. “You start thinking about mortality and the kids (Jon and Stacey have two children, Jake, 13, and Mia, 11). Do I have life insurance in place? And what’s going to happen? Your mind goes straight to the worst possible thing and it kind of puts a timeline to your life, which forever you really don’t think about.”

Lindstrom and his doctor discussed the options and in short order he decided to undergo surgery to remove the prostate — and, hopefully, all the cancer in his body.

After the irritation caused to the prostate by the biopsy was fully healed, Lindstrom underwent the surgery in mid-January. Though such operations can last at little as two hours, he was in the O.R. for six.

And, in retrospect, it sounds as if Lindstrom and his doctors — thanks to what was found through that physical set up by wife Stacey — acted with not much time to spare.

“It was an aggressive cancer,” Lindstrom said. “My prostate was pretty close to fully engulfed with cancer; it was kind of a nasty ball of cancer. There’s always the worry that even if a handful of cancer cells get outside the prostate, then they can go anywhere in your system and cause issues. But there was no signs that it had spread. That was a good sign.

“Prior to the surgery, (the doctor) did feel like I had some time to make a decision, but once I knew the options I wanted to do it sooner rather than later. Once it was removed, the point he made was that now that I see really how bad it was — because you can’t really tell through an MRI or an ultrasound — we probably didn’t have much time before it would pierce the prostate and then the cancer could have spread. So without a doubt it was a good thing (it was discovered no later than it was).”

Since the surgery, Lindstrom has had two blood tests, both of which have indicated his PSA levels are now 0. He said he will continue to take such blood tests every three months for two years, after which he’ll have annual tests.

“There’s no signs of prostate cancer, at least in my blood system or the things they test,” Lindstrom said. “The prognosis looks great. … I’ll probably always have some doubt, so the real goal now is to make sure those blood tests every three months for two years are clean. It’s something that you have to monitor, but the signs are good that we got it out in time.”

And Lindstrom said he’s experienced no residual issues from the surgical removal of his prostate.

“I joke that all my plumbing is working,” he said. “There’s a couple issues — it can affect sexual function; the other is urinary tract, incontinence and so forth. But I felt like I had a great surgeon. I was very cautious about recovery — I did everything he told me to do. A combination of those things plays into the fact that I really don’t have any issues at all now.”

Lindstrom came forward to share his health-care roller-coaster ride over the last seven months in hopes that his story can keep other men from facing the same situation — or worse — by not getting tested. Arnold Palmer famously did the same thing after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, going on a public-awareness campaign on the subject and urging people to get screened.

“It wasn’t on my radar at all, then all of a sudden it went from 0 to 100 with a (mortality) scare,” Lindstrom said of prostate cancer. “I was telling everyone I golf with who are over 40 to go get the blood test at the very least during your next physical because you never know. I had no symptoms or family history of this.

“Now that I’m a prostate cancer expert (he said with a bit of a laugh) … Obviously I had cancer before I was 50 because it didn’t just happen overnight, so I’d recommend at least having the discussion of the blood test starting at 40. Obviously I had it at some point in my 40s. The earlier you get it, the more options you have. That’s the biggest thing. There’s several different routes you can go, but the sooner you know, the more options you have.”

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second-most-common form of cancer in American men, behind skin cancer. About one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among American men; lung cancer is first. But early diagnosis turns the odds solidly in favor of the men involved.

“Prostate cancer can be a serious disease, but most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it,” the ACS reports. “In fact, more than 2.9 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today.”

While Lindstrom spent two nights in the hospital following his surgery, then two weeks of home rest while a catheter was in, he fully recovered in the expected six weeks.

In fact, while he wasn’t allowed to swing a golf club during that recovery period, he scheduled a Tucson golf trip six weeks to the day after his surgery. The first round he played marked the first day he had taken a full swing since the operation.

“I did go and played three rounds, and I actually played pretty good surprisingly,” he said. “Surgery is stressful and it’s all in your abdomen, so your stomach muscles are all torn up. It takes a while for those to heel, but six weeks later I had no problem playing golf. I played three days in a row (at the very end of February).

“The first nine I played, I shot 2 under, and I ended up shooting even-par the first day, 3 over the second and 2 under the last day. It really surprised me (how quickly his game returned to form given the layoff and the surgery). Granted, I was able to putt a little at home in the meantime. I was fearful of taking a full swing because I didn’t want to pull any of the sutures out. I hit a handful of chip shots the week before, but nothing more than 40 yards. So that was really the first time of making a full swing at it. I was shocked.”

Lindstrom played his first competitive round in mid-March in St. George, Utah, where he and fellow Lakewood Country Club member Brooks Ferring shot 67 but failed to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. “It wasn’t an ideal outcome but it wasn’t like I said I need another two or three months to recover,” Lindstrom said. “I felt like I could have shot that score whether I had the surgery or not.”

Looking ahead, Lindstrom doesn’t anticipate cutting back on his tournament schedule this year in the wake of the surgery. Quite the contrary. With him becoming eligible for many senior events, his calendar may be even more full. He plans on playing in the senior division of the Twin Peaks Invitational this weekend, then will defend his title in the CGA Four-Ball May 4-6. Also in May, he’ll compete in a tournament at Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, and will go to Tucson to try to qualify for his first U.S. Senior Open. Of course, that national championship is being held at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, where Lindstrom and teammate Tom Lawrence won The Broadmoor Invitation scratch four-ball title last year.

All in all, things seem pretty much back to normal for Lindstrom after an anything-but-normal last seven months.
      

The Sportswomen of Colorado announced its annual award winners earlier this month, and Schalk (high school) and Weinstein (college) earned the honors for golf. It will be the second straight year Weinstein has landed a Sportswomen award. She and Schalk will be among 57 winners in an array of sports who will be honored at the 44th annual awards celebration, set for March 11 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center.

Schalk had a stellar year as a 15-year-old last in 2017. The Holy Family golfer was the first freshman to win a girls state high school individual title since 2002 when she captured the 3A championship. She became the first Coloradan — female or male — to claim victory at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. In addition, she won both of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in which she competed — the Colorado Junior PGA Championship and the JGAC Tour Championship — giving her three JGAC major wins overall for her junior career.

Not surprisingly, those performances earned Schalk 2017 JGAC Girls Player of the Year honors. She later was named a “Future Famer” honoree by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

Weinstein was the CWGA’s Player of the Year for 2017 as Jennifer Kupcho earned the association’s highest honor, the President’s Award.
 
Weinstein, who transferred to the University of Denver in July after a season at Regis University, didn’t compete in a lot of tournaments last summer, but she was a factor most of the time when she did tee it up.

Weinstein earned a spot in her first U.S. Women’s Amateur, becoming the first Colorado resident since 2015 to qualify in the state for the national tournament. In CWGA championships, she finished fourth in the Stroke Play and made the semifinals at the Match Play. She also made the cut and placed 35th in the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, finishing fourth among amateurs.

After being named the women’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and placing 22nd in the Women’s NCAA Division II Championship Finals last spring, Weinstein made the transition to D-I at DU. The sophomore helped the Pioneers win two team titles in 11 days in the fall and posted three top-15 showings individually. And on Wednesday, Weinstein was named the Summit League Women’s Golfer of the Week.

On March 11, six athletes will be inducted into the Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of Fame by earning an award in the same category three times. Kupcho was inducted last year.

The new Sportswomen Hall of Famers will be Maya Evans (track & field), Lindsey Horan (soccer), Samantha Martinelli (tennis), Michaela Onyenwere (basketball), Carson Saaybe (shooting-air pistol) and Bridget Sutter (lacrosse).

The Sportswoman of the Year will be announced at the banquet on March 11.

When it comes to top high school athletes often choosing to stay close to home to play college sports, a couple of reasons are among those often cited.

The athletes usually enjoy staying in the area where they grew up, and family and friends have more opportunity to watch their loved ones compete when college is nearby.

And it doesn’t hurt when some local college programs are highly regarded and competitive.

With that as a backdrop, some of the best junior golfers from Colorado and/or members of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado are making their college choices official during the National Letter of Intent early-signing period, which started on Wednesday and continues for eight days.

At least 15 Coloradans or JGAC members are expected to play college golf for NCAA Division I programs starting next fall. Eight of those 14 are heading to Colorado-based programs, with another two bound for the nearby University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Here’s the rundown of the Colorado/JGAC Class of 2018 commitments (the list of signees/commitments here will be updated throughout the school year. Additions to the list can be emailed to golfjournal@coloradogolf.org):

Boys
Davis Bryant (Eaglecrest HS) — Colorado State
Jack Castiglia (Lakewood HS) — Northern Colorado
Kirby Coe-Kirkham (JGAC member from Sheridan, Wyo.) — Wyoming
Spencer Daake (Monarch HS) — Hastings (Neb.) College 
Freddie Gluck (Boulder HS) — Rochester in New York
Gabe Goodman (Green Mountain HS) — Concordia in New York
Oliver Jack (Kent Denver HS) — University of Colorado
Barrett Jones (Eagle Valley HS) — Northern Colorado
Brayden Lambrecht (Sterling HS) — Colorado Mesa
Cal McCoy (Regis Jesuit HS) — University of Denver
Thomas Messner (Colorado Academy) — Army in West Point, N.Y.
Sam Ostravich (ThunderRidge HS) — Northeastern Junior College in Sterling
Ryan Pierce (Doherty HS) — Bethany College in Kansas
Micah Ramirez (Resurrection Christian HS) — Doane University in Nebraska
Kailer Rundiks (Denver East HS) — Western New Mexico
Andrew Rush (Palmer HS) — Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa
Tyler Severin (Roosevelt HS) — Wyoming
Ian Thorpe (Peak to Peak HS) — Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Luke Trujillo (Discovery Canyon HS) — Air Force Academy
Jackson Zinn (Ralston Valley HS) — New Mexico Military Institute

Girls
Anna Branscome (Bear Creek HS) — Chadron State in Chadron, Neb.
Payton Canon (Cherry Creek HS) — Oregon Tech
Kyree Conaway (Vista Peak HS) — Wagner College in New York
Kayla Elder (Fort Collins HS) — Chadron State in Nebraska
Gabriella Esquibel (Heritage HS) — Regis University
Callie Jones (Glenwood Springs HS) — Winona State in Winona, Minn.
Arielle Keating (former Colorado Springs resident) — Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton
Brandy McClain (Rock Canyon HS) — Colorado Mesa
Kieran McMullen (Rock Canyon HS) — Concordia College in N.Y.
Lauren Murphy (Colorado Rocky Mountain School; plays for Glenwood Springs HS) — Oregon State
Shelby Poynter (JGAC member from Scottsbluff, Neb.) — Northern Colorado
Kelsey Webster (Fairview HS) — University of Colorado

(In addition, Jessica Zapf of Windsor has committed to the University of Wyoming as part of the incoming college class of 2019.)

Bryant (CSU; pictured above) was the 2017 boys JGAC Player of the Year, and Jack (CU) and Trujillo (Air Force Academy) join him in having won state high school individual titles. Bryant and McCoy (DU) were both members of Colorado’s Junior America’s Cup team this year.

On the girls side, Webster (left) was the 2016 girls JGAC Most Improved Player and she won the girls AJGA Preview title this year in Wisconsin. She’s headed to CU — her dad’s alma mater — in her hometown of Boulder. Keating (Florida Atlantic) moved from Colorado Springs to Stuart, Fla., shortly after winning the girls Colorado Junior Amateur championship this year. And Poynter (UNC) qualified for this year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior.

In addition, here are the players — both from in-state and elsewhere — who have signed or committed to play at Colorado-based NCAA Division I schools from the Class of 2018:

University of Colorado Women
Malak Bouraeda, Southlake, Texas
Kelsey Webster, Fairview HS in Boulder

Colorado State University Women
Sydney Smith, Las Vegas, Nev.
Saga Traustadottir, Iceland

University of Denver Women
Alyson Beach, Murrieta, Calif.
Trussy Li, Diamond Bar, Calif.

Air Force Academy Men
Jonathan Farmer, San Diego
Luke Trujillo, Discovery Canyon HS in Colorado Springs

University of Colorado Men
Oliver Jack, Kent Denver HS
Adam Matteson, San Diego
Kristoffer Max, Denmark
John Paterson, Scotland

Colorado State University Men
Davis Bryant, Eaglecrest HS in Aurora
Akedanai Ponghathaikul, Thailand
Oscar Teiffel, Sweden

University of Denver Men
Carson Griggs, Sand Springs, Okla.
Cal McCoy, Regis Jesuit HS in Aurora
Esteban Missura, Ecuador

University of Northern Colorado Men
Jack Castiglia, Lakewood HS
Barrett Jones, Eagle Valley HS in Gypsum

And FYI, looking ahead to next year’s signings, CU has garnered a commitment from Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction as part of the Class of 2019. Olkowski is the brother of current CU player Trevor Olkowski.
 

Dr. Homer McClintock, a former member of the CGA Board of Governors who played a key role in the acquisition of the Evans Scholars house for caddies at the University of Colorado in the late 1960s, passed away on Thursday. He was 11 days shy of his 100th birthday.

Just last year at his home club of Cherry Hills Country Club, McClintock received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

McClintock played an important role behind the scenes in the CGA’s Eisenhower Scholarship linking up with the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship in the 1960s. And he was one of three CGA officials on hand back in March 1969 when the E.S. house at 1029 Broadway in Boulder was first dedicated after being purchased from the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity the previous November.

Back in the ’60s, McClintock served as scholarship chairman of the CGA, and he and then-CGA president Dick Campbell and chapter house committee chairman Sonny Brinkerhoff played pivotal roles in finding and acquiring the house and getting it ready for the group that was then known as the Eisenhower-Evans Scholars. With the CU E.S. house having undergone a $6 million renovation and expansion in recent years, McClintock’s grandson, Keane, is an Evans Scholar there after caddying at Cherry Hills.

“The Evans Scholars program is really good, and it was run in the best way possible,” McClintock told coloradogolf.org last year. “The selection meetings (in which scholarship finalists are interviewed) are always very interesting, understanding what some of these kinds have gone through to get the scholarship. It’s fascinating and unbelievable.

“It’s such a great opportunity (for caddies). They don’t just get tuition, but they become part of a program that’s great.”

McClintock served on the CGA board of governors from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, a time when the association was greatly expanding its reach and services.”¨”¨In addition, McClintock was the club president at Cherry Hills in 1963 and ’64, and in 1977 leading up to the 1978 U.S. Open. He also played a key role in the hiring of Warren Smith as PGA head golf professional at the club. In 2005, Smith was inducted into the national PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame.

McClintock received a lifetime membership in the Colorado PGA in 1977. Homer’s son, Rich, served as chairman for the 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 1990 U.S. Amateur, both at Cherry Hills.

At one of the most historic clubs in Colorado, McClintock had been a member about 65 years and was the oldest living member at Cherry Hills, according to current PGA head golf professional John Ogden.ӬӬ

“He’s probably one of the most respected members in the history of that club,” Ogden said last year before McClintock received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. “He’s the most inspirational guy you’ll ever see — 98 years old (at the time), plays golf whenever he can, hits balls, works out every day, still goes to medical conferences. He was one of the first neurologists in Denver. He’s a neat guy. I love Homer. He’s just the best.”¨”¨

“If I’m that sharp (as McClintock was) in 10 years I’ll be happy. He’s a treasure at Cherry Hills, a true treasure. There’s not one person in that club who will speak anything but great (things) about Homer McClintock.””¨

McClintock was a Navy physician in the Pacific during World War II — he served with amphibious forces — before going on to become a neurosurgeon. A resident of Colorado since the early 1950s, McClintock was a very good golfer for most of his long life. He played on the University of Pittsburgh golf team in the late 1930s and was good enough to compete in the British Amateur in 1960.

McClintock first shot his age (or lower) when he was 79 years old as he carded a 74 in a member-guest. Last year, he said he’s managed the feat “over 25 times”.

“My lowest handicap was about a 3,” McClintock said then. “I was never a great golfer, but I enjoyed it.

“Golf is a great game. You play it in great locations and you meet nice people. It’s a great game for everybody.”

The McClintock family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations in Homer McClintock’s memory be made to the Evans Scholarship program in care of the CGA (5990 Greenwood Plaza Blvd #102, Greenwood Village, CO 80111).

(Updated Oct. 18: A celebration of life for McClintock is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. at Cherry Hills Community Church, 3900 Grace Blvd., Highlands Ranch. A reception will follow at Cherry Hills Country Club.)
 

The big change this year is that, instead of the RMO being conducted at multiple courses, as has been the case in the recent past, this year it’s all based at Tiara Rado Golf Course for the first time.

From 2010 through ’15, Bookcliff co-hosted the event with Tiara Rado, and last year the Golf Club at Redlands Mesa joined Tiara Rado.

The 79th annual tournament will be conducted Friday through Sunday (Aug. 18-20), with a pro-am set for Thursday. The event will feature a $75,000 purse, with $10,000 going to the winner — or low professional.

Among the pros in the field this year are two-time CoBank Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan, 2017 Wyoming State Open winner David Oraee, 2007 RMO champ Scott Petersen, three-time RMO winner Monte Montgomery, and Nathaniel Goddard, who finished third last year.

Among the amateurs entered are 2017 CGA Amateur champion Glenn Workman, this year’s CGA Match Play winner Chris Korte, and Josh Seiple, who advanced to the round of 32 at this summer’s British Amateur.

For Friday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

The former University of Colorado golfer, who won the Colorado Open in 1996, has competed in three Web.com Tour events this year, with a best finish of 33rd in the United Leasing & Finance Championship in April.

Last year at the Colorado Open, Kaye (pictured) finished at 20-under-par 268, three strokes behind champion Neil Johnson of River Falls, Wis.

Also in the field this week at Green Valley Ranch are Steven Fox of Hendersonville, Tenn., who won the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club south of Denver.

Michael Weaver of Fresno, Calif., who lost to Fox in the title match of the U.S. Am at Cherry Hills, also is competing in the Colorado Open. The two will be paired together for the first two rounds — along with Cherry Hills PGA head professional John Ogden — and will tee off at 1:05 p.m. on No. 1 on Thursday and at 8 a.m. on No. 10 on Friday.

This will mark the second year that the Colorado Open has featured a $250,000 purse, with $100,000 going to the winner — or low professional. In 2015, the purse was $100,000, with the winner receiving $23,000.

This week’s 156-person field will include seven former champions, including Coloradans Zahkai Brown of Arvada (2013), Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (2009 and ’12), Ben Portie of Westminster (2011), Scott Petersen of Parker (2000) and Kaye.

Among the other players entered are Nick Karavites of Cherry Hills Village, who won the PNC Father/Son Challenge with stepfather David Duval in December; former CU golfer David Oraee, who just won the Wyoming State Open; father and son Doug and Tristan Rohrbaugh; 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle; 2016 Colorado PGA Professional champion Geoff Keffer; Nick Mason of Denver, who’s competed in five PGA Tour events since 2010; and 2017 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion Jeff Gallagher.

3 Coloradans Qualify for Open Monday at Legacy Ridge; Medalists Shoot 62: The fourth and final qualifier for the CoBank Colorado Open was held on Monday at Legacy Ridge Golf Course in Westminster, and among the 15 players who earned spots in the field at GVR were three Colorado amateurs.

Dylan Wonnacott of Longmont shot a 7-under-par 64 to advance, while Cole Nygren of Longmont and Neil Tillman of Arvada each posted a 68.

Bryan Fox of Roswell, Ga., and Eric Kline of Ponca City, Okla., each fired a sizzling bogey-free 9-under-par 62 to share medalist honors on Monday.

For all the qualifying scores from Legacy Ridge on Monday, CLICK HERE.

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Here are the essentials regarding the 2017 CoBank Colorado Open:

What — 53rd CoBank Colorado Open.

Where — Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver (4900 Himalaya Road).

When — Thursday through Sunday (July 20-23).

Live Scoring — CLICK HERE. 

Admission — Free.

Field — 156 players, with a cut to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes.

Purse — $250,000, with $100,000 going to the champion (or top professional). The purse has more than doubled from 2015, with first place more than quadrupling, from $23,000 two years ago.

PGA Tour Winner Entered — Former University of Colorado golfer Jonathan Kaye (2 victories).

Former Champions in Field — Neil Johnson of River Falls, Wis. (2016), Ian Davis of Edmond, Okla. (2014), Zahkai Brown of Arvada (2013), Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (2009 and ’12), Ben Portie of Westminster (2011), Scott Petersen of Parker (2000), Jonathan Kaye of Boulder (1996).

Thursday Tee Times — CLICK HERE.  “¨

“¨For More Information — Visit the CoBank Colorado Open website (CLICK HERE).