Perhaps it was a sign that great things were in store for the team from The Club at Rolling Hills when a player with a 20.4 Handicap Index made two natural birdies during Monday’s CGA Women’s Club Team Championship.
That defies the laws of probability, but nevertheless, Bev Conklin made it happen, which led to Rolling Hills capturing its first title ever at the event.
With its two highest handicappers — Conklin and Debra Rooney — shooting their best scores ever (85 and 102, respectively), Rolling Hills prevailed by four strokes out of 32 teams on Monday at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood.
In a tournament that features an ABCD stroke-play format in which the scores of four players of significantly varying abilities are added up for a gross aggregate team total, Rolling Hills posted an 82-over-par 362 tally.
Besides Conklin’s 85 and Rooney’s 102, A player Andrea Grilli carded an 86 and B player Terry Reed an 89. (The winners are pictured, from left: Grilli, Reed, Conklin and Rooney.)
“This is the first time we’ve ever won (the Club Team title) at our club,” said Grilli, who along with Reed has represented Rolling Hills at this event on multiple occasions. “Absolutely bragging rights. We’re pretty excited.”
Tying for second at 366 in the final CGA women’s championship of 2018 were Kissing Camels and Fox Hollow. Denise Cohen paced Kissing Camels with a 78, while Kelly Chapin shot 79 for Fox Hollow, making three 2s in the process. Also breaking 370 were Broken Tee (367), Foothills (368) and the Country Club at Woodmoor (368).
Defending champion Colorado Golf Club tied for 16th at 383.
As for Rolling Hills, what was the key to Conklin draining birdie putts of 10 and 18 feet and leading the way for the team with a career-best 85?
“I just really wanted to make my captain happy,” she said of Grilli. “I practiced all weekend long. I have blisters (on her hand) because I didn’t want to disappoint. We came out here Friday to play (at Inverness). Then I played Saturday and Sunday and practiced.”
With Grilli not having her best day and Reed playing about average by her standards, Reed said the key for the victory was the play of Club Team rookies Conklin and Rooney.
“This was the first time playing in this for our C and D players, and they were lights out,” Reed said. “I think that made all the difference — our C and D players playing so well.”
But Conklin and Rooney noted they couldn’t have done what they did without help from Grilli and Reed.
“Our A and B players really helped us through,” Conklin said. “It was all their encouragement, (saying) we’re just out here for fun and they really didn’t put any pressure at all on us. I am not a good green reader. They helped me where to putt. It was truly a team effort.”
Added Rooney: “I totally agree with that. Our A and B players were awesome.”
Rolling Hills finished seventh in the Women’s Club Team last year after tying for second in 2016.
On Monday, “When we did have one or two blow-up holes, then we’d get right back on track,” Reed said. “The greens were really running true and were in great shape. We really felt comfortable putting and chipping.”
For all the scores from Monday’s CGA Women’s Club Team Championship, CLICK HERE.
]]>In the final CGA women’s championship of 2018, Inverness Golf Club in Englewood will host as 32 teams compete on Monday (Sept. 24).
In a tournament that features an ABCD stroke-play format in which the scores of four players of significantly varying abilities are added up for a gross aggregate team total, Colorado Golf Club will defend its title. In fact, two of the four players that helped win the championship in 2017 — Leigh Ann Post and Robin Thorsen — will compete again for Colorado Golf Club.
Other recent former champions entered include Patty Jewett (2016), South Suburban (the only two-time champion in the history of the event, in 2014 and ’15), Blackstone/Black Bear (2013), Saddle Rock (2011) and Glenmoor (2010), along with Columbine (2006).
For Monday’s tee times for the Women’s Club Team, CLICK HERE.
Connell (left) carded seven birdies and a bogey on Wednesday.
Other Coloradans who earned spots in the Colorado Open, which is set for July 21-24 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, were Alex Gutesha of Greenwood Village (65), Andrew Romano of Lone Tree (70), San Juan Open champion Jim Knous of Englewood (70), Brendan Connolly of Castle Rock (70) and David Packer of Greenwood Village (70).
Joining them in qualifying were Derek Barron of Tacoma, Wash. (65), Andre Metzger of Norman, Okla. (68), Bill Allcorn of Waco, Texas (69), Jesse Schutte of Florence, Ore. (70), former Colorado State golfer Dominic Kieffer of Byron, Minn. (70), Jordan Rodgers of Salt Lake City (70), Brandon Crick of McCook, Neb. (71) and Thane Ringler of Hutchinson, Kan. (71).
Wednesday was the first of four qualfiers for the 52nd Colorado Open.
For all of Wednesday’s scores, CLICK HERE.
In fact, what happened in Daytona Beach had a major impact on the field of one of the bigger golf tournaments that will be held in the Centennial State in 2015.
Colorado — specifically, Boulder Country Club — will host the Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championships April 20-22. And considering four of the top six women’s golf teams in the Golfweek national rankings are from the Pac-12, suffice it to say that quite a few of the best women’s amateurs in the world will be coming to Boulder to compete in the spring.
But after what happened in Florida on Sunday, the field will be somewhat less stellar.
Golf is one of the rare college sports where it’s not particularly unusual for some of the best competitors to leave programs in the middle of the season. It happened two years ago when Jordan Spieth exited the University of Texas during the winter break. Closer to home, Sue Kim left the University of Denver women’s program in mid-season several years ago to go pro and eventually made it to the LPGA Tour.
And on Sunday at the LPGA Q-school finals, three Pac-12 women’s players — all among the best in women’s amateur golf — qualified for the LPGA Tour. All three immediately turned professional, thereby hastily ending their college careers. And, of course, that means that the Pac-12 Championships Boulder Country Club is hosting suddenly lost three of its top competitors.
And these certainly weren’t just any players. They include the No. 1 and No. 2 women’s college golfers in the country, according to Golfweek — senior SooBin Kim of Washington and sophomore Alison Lee of UCLA — along with No. 19 Jing Yan, Kim’s freshman teammate at Washington.
Lee, who played on the U.S. team for the Junior Solheim Cup at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood during the summer of 2013 (pictured above), shared medalist honors in the 90-hole LPGA qualifying finals on Sunday with Australian Minjee Lee.
“I don’t have any words to express how I feel right now,” Alison Lee said. “On the green when I made my putt for par and when I realized I got my LPGA card, I was just filled with joy. Then I got off, and I just thought about what it meant to be pro and I thought about my team and my school and my coach and it kind of did make me sad.”
Kim, meanwhile, tied for 11th place, also earning her LPGA card, while Yan placed 34th and gained conditional LPGA status.
No doubt the departures of those players will take a toll on Washington — the No. 1-ranked women’s program in the nation — and No. 3 UCLA. Lee won the Pac-12 Preview tournament last month — in her final college event, as it turned out. Kim finished a stroke behind Lee there, and won one fall tournament, while Yan won another.
Not having those players at Boulder Country Club in April certainly is a blow, but that doesn’t mean the field won’t still be packed with top players. Barring the unforeseen, the defending NCAA Division I champion (Doris Chen of Southern California) will be on hand, along with three other top-seven finishers from the 2014 national finals (Lauren Kim of Stanford, Manon Gidali of Arizona and Louise Ridderstrom of UCLA).
In fact, after the fall portion of the college schedule, eight of the top 18 ranked women’s college golfers in the country — not counting Lee, SooBin Kim and Yan — come from Pac-12 schools.
University of Denver golfer Andy Yang has watched as his sister, Jennifer, qualified for four USGA championships, including the upcoming U.S. Women’s Amateur. And, quite frankly, he was a little envious.
“My sister is a good player and she has made a lot of USGA tournaments,” Yang said. “I was always kind of jealous how she gets to always travel and stuff. And finally now I get a chance to be in a national championship, and it makes me feel really happy.”
Just four days after his sister qualified at The Pinery Country Club in Parker for the U.S. Women’s Am, Yang punched his ticket to next month’s U.S. Amateur in Colorado.
With Jennifer caddying for him in Monday’s Sectional Qualifying at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood, Andy Yang not only advanced to the national championship, but he earned medalist honors out of a field of 78.
The DU sophomore-to-be joined Denver residents Ryan Axlund and Jeff Chapman in each qualifying for his first U.S. Amateur, and the tournament will be at a nearby venue for all of them. The championship will be held Aug. 13-19 at Cherry Hills Country Club, with CommonGround Golf Course serving as the second stroke-play course Aug. 13-14.
Yang posted rounds of 70-68 for a 2-under-par 138 total Monday at Inverness Golf Club. Axlund, a former golf professional who just got his amateur status back earlier this year, landed the second spot by carding scores of 68-71–139. (Yang, left, and Axlund are pictured above.) And Chapman nailed down the third and final U.S. Amateur berth in a playoff after using a 36th-hole birdie to go 67-73 for a 140 total.
Chapman, one of three players to finish at 140, birdied the first playoff hole — No. 10 at Inverness — by draining a 5-foot putt. Gus Lundquist of Parker, the 2011 5A state high school champion, two-putted from 20 feet for par for the first alternate spot, while former professional golfer Alex Buecking of Littleton three-putted from 12 feet, relegating himself to the second alternate position.
In the playoff, Chapman (pictured at left) was fortunate to have a clear approach shot to the green after hitting his tee shot well left of the putting surface. And he took advantage by bouncing his wedge shot close to the flag.
After playing in about 25 USGA qualifiers in his life, this is just the second time Chapman has hit pay-dirt for a non-team USGA championship. And for this national tournament to be at Cherry Hills, it’s just a cherry on the sundae.
“To have it in Denver is pretty special,” the 36-year-old salesman said.
Axlund feels equally as fortunate.
“I’m in shock right now,” the 31-year-old network engineer said. “I’ve been playing for a long time and this is the first time I’ve qualified for a USGA championship. It’s nice to be able to do it in my hometown. It was a pleasant surprise.
“Today is my biggest golf accomplishment. To qualify for a USGA event on a course I love and to have it in my hometown, that’s a great feeling.”
Meanwhile, Yang got to share that feeling with his sister, a University of Washington golfer.
“She caddied for me today and it really helped a lot,” the 19-year-old Korean-born golfer said. “It was really fun. To have a caddie like her is really a special thing. She’s also a competitor. The conversation we had on the course really helped me to focus on the shots that I had to hit. That’s probably one of the reasons I played steady.”
To qualify for his first USGA championship after having quit the game for a year just before college was special for Yang. He came to DU to study business, but contacted coach Eric Hoos and ended up successfully walking on the golf team.
Accomplishing so much in the last year “is really cool,” he said. “It means a lot. The U.S. Amateur is where a lot of the best players in the world compete. Just by having my name in there means I can play with them and I can be one of the best players in the world. … I can see how far away I am from reaching my dream.”
Monday marked the second U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifier held in Colorado this year. Last week, Matt Schovee of Englewood, former longtime Colorado Springs resident Justin Spray and Eric Hallberg of Castle Rock punched their U.S. Amateur tickets at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifying
At Par-70 Inverness GC in Englewood
ADVANCE TO U.S. AMATEUR
Andy Yang, Denver, Colo., 70-68–138
Ryan Axlund, Denver, Colo., 68-71–139
Jeff Chapman, Denver, Colo., 67-73–140
ALTERNATES (In order)
Gus Lundquist, Parker, Colo., 68-72–140
Alex Buecking, Littleton, Colo., 73-67–140
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Jason Burstyn, Miami, Fla., 69-72–141
Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield, Colo., 68-73–141
Ben McConahey, Denver, Colo., 72-70–142
Derek Fribbs, Boulder, Colo., 73-69–142
Rob Clever, Firestone, Colo., 70-72–142
Danny Riskam, Broomfield, Colo., 69-73–142
Connor Klein, Lone Tree, Colo., 74-69–143
Jeffrey Gravina, Littleton, Colo., 74-69–143
Ted Jorgensen, Denver, Colo., 67-76–143
John Ahern, Morrison, Colo., 72-72–144
Cameron Brown, Edwards, Colo., 73-71–144
Jeffrey Allen, Denver, Colo., 70-75–145
Minkyu Jeon, Littleton, Colo., 72-73–145
Stu Allen, Lakewood, Colo., 72-73–145
Cole Nygren, Niwot, Colo., 71-75–146
Charles Santaularia, Denver, Colo., 77-70–147
Matt Roberts, Denver, Colo., 75-72–147
Robert M Yurglich Jr, Lone Tree, Colo., 74-73–147
Christopher Good, Denver, Colo., 74-73–147
Nick Burns, Denver, Colo., 74-74–148
Kolton Kyne, Ridgway, Colo., 75-73–148
Tom Krystyn, Denver, Colo., 73-75–148
Spencer Sheets, Centennial, Colo., 72-77–149
Michael Glaesel, Arvada, Colo., 75-74–149
Brian Richmeier, Aurora, Colo., 75-74–149
Christopher Korte, Littleton, Colo., 78-72–150
Justin Headrick, Aurora, Colo., 79-71–150
Peter Horstman, Castle Rock, Colo., 76-74–150
Clint Miller, Englewood, Colo., 73-77–150
Josh Mclaughlin, Fort Collins, Colo., 78-73–151
Damon Dageenakis, Erie, Colo., 75-76–151
Nick Berry, Littleton, Colo., 75-76–151
Matt Strong, Castle Rock, Colo., 76-75–151
Kevin Wohlfarth, Thornton, Colo., 71-81–152
Cole Cunningham, Centennial, Colo., 77-75–152
Chris Beabout, Centennial, Colo., 74-78–152
Mark Brown, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 72-80–152
David Lysaught, Denver, Colo., 81-72–153
Braden Baer, Westminster, Colo., 76-77–153
Cody Vance, Lakewood, Colo., 71-82–153
Oliver Lewis, Denver, Colo., 76-77–153
Kyle Burns, Denver, Colo., 74-81–155
Jonathan Dresnick, Miami, Fla., 77-78–155
Kade Sessions, Aurora, Colo., 80-75–155
Dan Huff, Castle Rock, Colo., 73-83–156
George Bollinger III, Golden, Colo., 78-78–156
Charles Castellano, Denver, Colorado, 76-80–156
Andrew Vance, Lakewood, Colo., 77-79–156
Steve Sullivan, Castle Rock, Colo., 75-81–156
Grant Javernick, Aurora, Colo., 75-82–157
Michael Larson, Longmont, Colo., 78-79–157
John Frey, Denver, Colo., 75-82–157
Robert Polk, Parker, Colo., 76-81–157
Joey Muckler, Centennial, Colo., 79-79–158
Christopher Dillon, Littleton, Colo., 80-79–159
Marc Biagiotti, Greenwood Village, Colo., 83-76–159
Gabe Grant, Denver, Colo., 78-81–159
Wlad Colmenares, Aurora, Colo., 81-78–159
Ryan Burke, Longmont, Colo., 77-83–160
Brian Smith, Aurora, Colo., 75-86–161
Bill Parker, Aurora, Colo., 81-81–162
Alexander Leonida, Centennial, Colo., 85-77–162
Kevin Klatman, Boulder, Colo., 81-81–162
Jeffrey Bullock, Littleton, Colo., 80-83–163
Gary Driber, Castle Pines, Colo., 83-80–163
Brent Landen, Virginia Beach, Va., 83-80–163
Ken Weiss, Centennial, Colo., 86-83–169
Cassius Klaess, Denver, Colo., 85-88–173
Ryan Schmitz, Greenwood Village, Colo., 79-WD
Chun-Ji Kim, Chandler, Ariz., 81-WD