Edwards has won five times on the PGA Tour and Clearwater three. Rinker’s best Tour showings were two runner-up finishes.
Clearwater (pictured) placed third at least year’s CSO, three strokes behind champion John Ross of Bramwell, W.Va., who will defend his title.
Ten past champions are entered into the Senior Open, including Coloradans Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale (2013), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock (2009), Dave Arbuckle of Colorado Springs (2007), Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West (2005). Rohrbaugh, a three-time winner of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, was the last Coloradan to win the tournament.
Also scheduled to play at GVR are two-time champion Greg Bruckner of Phoenix; Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, fresh off competing in the Senior PGA Championship; Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore, who just won the CGA Super-Senior Match Play; Utahn Steve Schneiter, winner of the national Senior PGA Professional Championship in November; Dale Smigelsky, the Colorado PGA Senior Player of the Year in 2015; and 2016 U.S. Senior Open qualifier Ron Vlosich of Lakewood.
One player who won’t be in the field is Denver Broncos general manager John Elway, who has competed three Colorado Senior Opens, including last year’s, and the Colorado Open.
The tournament will feature a $50,000 purse, with $8,500 going to the winner. The champion will also get a spot in the $250,000 CoBank Colorado Open.
For more information on the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
Consider this an “on” year.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (pictured) is scheduled to be in the field for next week’s CoBank Colorado Senior Open, set for June 1-3 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver (4900 Himalaya Road).
It will be Elway’s third appearance in the Colorado Senior Open as he finished 52nd in 2010 and 19th (and second among amateurs) in 2014. He’s also competed in the now-CoBank Colorado Open four times.
But this time, of course, he’ll be coming off helping build the Broncos team that won the Super Bowl in February.
Elway, who will turn 56 next month, is certainly no stranger to competitive golf, having played in all 26 nationally televised American Century Championships held in Stateline, Nev. He’s finished in the top 10 there 13 times.
Elway will tee off at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1 and at 8:40 a.m. on Thursday, June 2.
Also signed up to play in the 17th Colorado Senior Open are five-time PGA Tour winner Danny Edwards, four-time PGA Tour Champions winner R.W. Eaks, a Colorado Springs native who won the Senior Open in 2011, and PGA Tour vetern Larry Rinker.
Likewise in the field are defending and two-time champion Greg Bruckner of Phoenix and 2013 CSO winner Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, the only Colorado resident to claim the title since 2009.
The Senior Open will feature a $50,000 purse, with $8,500 going to the winner (or the low pro). Admission to the tournament is free.
For tee times for the Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
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Coming into this week, Greg Bruckner had won two state opens or state senior opens in four different states — California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. The one state out of the norm was none other than Colorado, where he had just one victory.
“All of a sudden this was the one I hadn’t won twice,” he said.
But the Phoenix resident took care of that on Friday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.
The 55-year-old became the first two-time winner of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, adding to the title he captured in 2012.
Bruckner (pictured above and below) backed up his 64 on Thursday — which matched an all-time tournament-best — with a 2-under-par 70 on Friday to cruise to a five-stroke victory. His 13-under-par 203 total tied for the second-best in tournament history, behind only his friend R.W. Eaks’ 201 in 2011.
“Always when you can win something for the second time, it’s so much better,” said Bruckner, who earned $8,500 on Friday. “It’s not a fluke. I’m honored. I didn’t know (I was the first) but it’s great.”
Bruckner went into the final round with a six-stroke lead, and the closest things got on Friday was three, when former PGA Tour and Champions Tour player John Ross of Bramwell, W.Va., birdied No. 12 from 10 feet. But Bruckner responded with a 15-foot birdie on the par-3 13th, while Ross three-putted for bogey, and the margin was back to five. A three-putt bogey by Bruckner at No. 16 returned the lead to three, but Ross bogeyed 17 and Bruckner closed things out with a 9-foot birdie on 18.
“I knew (a comeback) could be done, but I figured it would take 64 or better,” said Ross (below), who like Bruckner recently qualified for the U.S. Senior Open. “I’ve known Greg for years. I know how consistent and solid a player he is. I know it’s never over until it’s over, but Greg is just not going to beat himself. He knows how to play with the lead.”
Ross’ final-round 69 left him at 208 and in solo second in his first Colorado Senior Open — and in first place in the super-senior division as he’s 63 years old. Mike Northern of Colorado Springs tied for third with Chris Starkjohann of Oceanside, Calif., at 210.
For Northern, a four-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year, it was his second straight top-3 finish in the Colorado Senior Open as he was runner-up last year. This time, he rebounded from a first-round 76 to shoot 66-68.
“After the first round I’m looking at, ‘Am I going to make the cut?’, then things went well yesterday and I played pretty good today too,” Northern said. “It feels good. And if I get that putter figured out, who knows what will happen?”
After taking a six-shot lead into Friday, Bruckner seemed to show a little chink in the armor when he double bogeyed No. 1. He hit the green in regulation, but had to pitch the ball because there was rough between himself and the hole. He ended up taking four shots from the front of the green to find the cup.
“This might sound funny, but thank goodness I made double on the first hole because it kind of woke me up,” said Bruckner, who has conditional status on the Champions Tour this year. “There’s no more nerves. That double was a really good wake-up call. It was so frazzling that it almost put me into a nice focus.”
Indeed, Bruckner rebounded from the poor start to birdie the next three holes — from 3 feet, 15 feet, and gimme range, respectively. From there, he had a nice cushion for the rest of the day.
Mercier Outduels Bradbury for Low-Am Honors: Michael Mercier from Jupiter, Fla., edged Robin Bradbury of Superior to take low amateur honors on Friday.
Mercier (left), the No. 3-ranked senior amateur in the country according to amateurgolf.com, closed with a 1-over-par 73 to post a 4-over 220 total. Bradbury likewise carded a 73 on Friday to end up at 221.
It was Mercier’s third “victory” in three weeks as he won tournaments in Gainesville, Fla., and Chattanooga, Tenn., leading up to this.
“It was a goal of mine, obviously, to win it,” said the 57-year-old, who placed 20th overall. “This is probably the strongest field of players overall — with the pros — that I’ll play in all year. I look forward to that.”
High Praise: Ross, who has played a combined five years on the PGA and Champions Tour, raved about the Colorado Senior Open following his first time playing the tournament.
“Everything they’ve done here is far beyond what I was told it was going to be like,” Ross said. “I think they should have a representative from every state — from their golf associations — to be here and witness what goes on here. They put on a first-class event. It’s the little extras that they do that make you feel wanted and appreciated — on top of having a golf course groomed and maintained the way it is, and the caliber of the field.”
Chip Shots: Longtime PGA Tour player Larry Rinker finished 45th this week after rounds of 76-75-78 for a 229 total. … Vance Pollock of Westminster, who made a hole-in-one at No. 5 on Thursday, tied Rinker for 45th. … Contestants played lift, clean and place on Friday after heavy overnight rains soaked the course and left some areas near the wetlands under standing water (left). … Jenny Siegle, an associate producer at Altitude Sports & Entertainment, on Friday received the Ralph Moore Golf Journalism Award from the Colorado Open Golf Foundation Board of Trustees.
For scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
David Delich earned low-amateur honors Friday in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, but suffice it to say he had bigger things in mind during the final round at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
The Colorado Springs resident won the amateur competition by a whopping 11 strokes, and he played so well that he had a legitimate chance at the overall title.
No amateur has won the Colorado Senior Open championship since John Olive — a Broadmoor Golf Club member like Delich — captured the inaugural title in 1999.
On Friday, Delich (pictured above) was in position to match Olive’s feat, having moved into a tie for the lead after draining a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th. But in the end, he couldn’t keep up with a birdie binge by Phoenix-based professional Greg Bruckner, and Delich had to settle for a runner-up finish.
“I’m chasing John Olive,” the 55-year-old Delich said. “I’ll get a little teasing from John that I couldn’t get it done.”
Since Olive won, no amateur has finished as high in the Colorado Senior Open as Delich did on Friday.
“I have no regrets,” said Delich, who won the Southern California Senior Amateur this summer to go along with his two CGA Senior Match Play titles. “Finishing second is great, I guess. But I’m not sure I’ll get back in this position so when you do get in position you like to try to win it.”
Bruckner, a 52-year-old who has won five senior state opens in the last three years (Arizona, Texas, Nevada, California and Colorado), played holes 9 through 15 in 5 under par Friday to go ahead for good. He shot the only final round in the 60s — a 4-under-par 68, in windy conditions — to win by three strokes with a 7-under 209 total. The victory was worth $8,500.
Despite bogeying Nos. 15 and 16 to fall out of contention, Delich carded a final-round 71 to come in at 212. Another Coloradan, PGA professional Perry Holmes of Denver, finished third for the second consecutive year, this time with a 213 total after closing with a 70. He earned $5,000.
Jim Carson of Anaheim Hills, Calif., who led after each of the first two days, shot a final-round 77 to tie Barry Conser of Scottsdale, Ariz., for fourth at 214.
Coming from four behind in the final round to win “feels fantastic,” said Bruckner (pictured at left), a winner on the Web.com Tour in 1992. “I came up here with my good friend R.W. Eaks. He won last year and that was my first time here; I finished fifth. I kept it in my mind: ‘Just have a good time like R.W. did.’ It turned out fantastic.”
After three-putting from 7 feet for bogey on No. 8, Bruckner hit the pin with a 5-iron on the par-5 ninth and made a 4-foot eagle for a share of the lead. On No. 10, he caught a bad break by ending up in a divot for his second shot, but he holed a 25-foot par putt. Then he made three birdies from inside of 8 feet on Nos. 12, 14 and 15.
But Delich was on quite a role of his own on the back nine. After a 2-foot birdie on No. 12, he canned the 30-footer on 13 that briefly tied him with Bruckner for the lead. But the Colorado amateur missed a 5-foot birdie attempt at No. 14, and had a 2-foot par putt do a 180-degree lipout on 15.
Bruckner, playing in the second-to-last group, said he didn’t know exactly how he stood until the 17th or 18th holes. And he said that worked out just fine.
“It was hard to (accurately) keep track of what was going on, so I said, ‘Forget it. I’m not even going to keep track.'” Bruckner said. “So there wasn’t as much pressure. It was much easier.”
As for Delich, he thought the overall title was within his grasp on Friday, despite having started the day four out of the lead.
“There was only one guy in front of me” most of the day, he said. “It wasn’t like I had to pass six or seven guys. And when you get yourself in that position, you want to close it. And you kind of put out of your mind who you’re playing against (top mini-tour professionals). They’re just golfers at this point. They’re pretty seasoned and tough to beat, but you just go out and play.”
And though he didn’t win the overall title, Delich did capture low-amateur honors by 11 strokes over Kelly Crone of Littleton.
“That’s certainly something you like to check off the box,” the former Colorado College hockey standout said. “Being low amateur is great. Being second place is real special too. It’s a boost for the year.”
Meanwhile, 61-year-old Scott Masingill pf Payette, Idaho (75 Friday for a 221 total) captured super-senior honors for players 60 and older.
For scores, CLICK HERE.
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