With a strong finish on Sunday afternoon, Glenn Workman made a little history.

The golfer from Desert Hawk at Pueblo West, who soon will start his senior season at the University of Wyoming, played his final three holes in 2 under par to capture the CGA Amateur Championship at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards.

That made Workman the winner of both the Wyoming State Amateur and the CGA Amateur in 2017, marking the first time the same player has won both titles in a single year.

In addition, Workman joins a stellar group of champions at Sonnenalp. Brandt Jobe won the CGA Amateur the last time it was played at the course, in 1985, when the layout was known as Singletree Golf Club. And Kevin Stadler captured the Colorado Open title at the course in 2002. Each of those players went on to earn more than $9 million on the PGA Tour.

“What a rich history this course has,” Workman noted. “Hosting Colorado Opens, hosting this tournament before. It’s a golf course that you have to hit it well. It’s not something where you can just overpower it. That was my advantage today because I don’t hit it long off the tee. This course, you’ve got to hit it well off the tee and putt it good.”

Only time will tell if Workman further follows in the footsteps of Jobe or Stadler and becomes a PGA Tour player and is successful at that level. For now, he’s proven himself to be one of the better amateurs in the region by winning the two aforementioned state amateur titles this summer, in addition to being low-amateur in the Wyoming State Open and finishing runner-up in the Wyoming State Match Play.

“This is incredible,” Workman (pictured left and above) said of Sunday’s victory. “It’s a huge win for me. It is my biggest. This is the highlight of my summer for sure. There’s so many good players in this, so to win this means so much.

“I felt the heat from all the good players all day.”

At Sonnenalp, the 21-year-old led after each of the last three rounds. On Sunday, he closed with a 2-under-par 69 to finish at 6-under 278, which was good for a two-stroke victory.

After being just a shot in front of Colorado State University golfer Jake Staiano and University of Denver player Isaac Petersilie, Workman gave himself some cushion. On No. 16, he sank a 4 1/2-foot birdie putt. He pushed his tee shot into a bunker on the par-3 17th, leaving himself a 36-yard sand shot. But he nestled the ball up inside of a foot for a tap-in par.

“That was the shot of the tournament,” Workman said. “Sometimes coming down the stretch you’ve got to hit shots like that. I honestly didn’t think much about it — just got up there and hit it. It worked out. It was really close. I was happy.”

Then on the par-5 18th, Workman got home in two and two-putted for birdie, earning him the N.C. “Tub” Morris Trophy. He had told himself he needed a birdie down the stretch, and he made two.

“Approaching the home stretch like that is so hard because there’s so much pressure,” Workman said. “Hitting good golf shots is difficult sometimes. I told myself, ‘Be patient, there’s a lot of golf to play.’ I had to make a lot of good shots and I’m really happy with the way I played.”

All in all, he didn’t falter. If one of his challengers were to overtake him on Sunday, it was going to take a stellar round. The way it turned out, even a 4-under-par 67 by Staiano (left) left him two shots short of a playoff.

“You don’t wish anybody to play bad. I’m glad he played well,” said Petersilie, a past Junior Amateur and state high school champion. “I’ve just got to play better (to win).”

The victory was Workman’s first in a CGA championship, though he won a Junior Tournament of Champions title in 2012.

Staiano, who finished eighth in the CoBank Colorado Open last month, made a 15-foot birdie on the final hole to shoot his 67 and finish second alone at 4-under 280. Next up for the golfer from Glenmoor Country Club is his second trip to the U.S. Amateur, where fellow Coloradan Sam Marley will caddie for him. The two were paired for Sunday’s final round, with Marley tying for sixth place.

“Honestly it’s a great builder for next week,” Staiano said of his performance at Sonnenalp. “That’s what I took it as. I sort of came in struggling and I was able to work through it the last four or five days and get my swing to something I could take to California for sure. I played better today. I finally hit the ball better. I finally putted a little better. I wish I could have done that earlier, then I would have definitely been in contention a little more. But I’m excited for next week. It’s something to build off of for sure.”

Petersilie (left), who plays out of Colorado Springs Country Club, posted a top-three finish for the second straight year at the CGA Amateur. After being runner-up in 2016, he placed third on Sunday after shooting 68-68 on the weekend for a 281 total. Petersilie one-putted six of his first seven greens on the back nine Sunday.

“It was fun,” said Petersilie, who made 11 birdies combined on Saturday and Sunday. “The course is in great shape. It was real easy to putt on those greens. It was fun to kind of feed off of Glenn because he hit some good shots.”

Tying for fourth place at 283 were CSU golfer AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club and Cole Nygren of Colorado National Golf Club, who was competing in his final CGA amateur tournament before turning pro later this month. Nygren, who finished fifth in this event last year, closed with a 71, while Ott carded a bogey-free 69.

DU golfer Chris Korte, looking for a sweep of the CGA Match Play and Amateur titles in the same year, was among those who shared sixth place at 284.

For the final results from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

Glenn Workman has already put together a stellar summer, golf-wise, but when it comes to success, the more the merrier.

The University of Wyoming golfer, who plays out of Desert Hawk at Pueblo West, has put himself in position to add the CGA Amateur Championship title to his list of accomplishments this year as he will take a three-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round at the Sonnenalp Club in Edwards.

On a day in which just one player — Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs Country Club — shot in the 60s — Workman finished Saturday’s round where he started it, up by three. The 21-year-old two-putted for birdie on the final hole to shoot a 1-over-par 72, which left him with a 4-under-par 209 total.

So far this summer, Workman (left) has won the Wyoming State Amateur, finished low amateur in the Wyoming State Open and runner-up in the Wyoming State Match Play, won the Springer tournament in Colorado Springs and placed second in the Pueblo city championship.

“My game, I feel like, has always been there, but I’ve approached the game differently this summer,” Workman said. “I’ve stuck to a mental process I have, focused on working hard, putting golf first and being competitive every time I play — every time I practice, even. It’s made a big difference in my game. I’ve stayed more focused than I ever have on golf. My game is good because I’ve been working harder at it.

“I’ve been treating golf like a job this summer.”

And the approach seems to be paying off again this week. Through 54 holes, Workman has made two eagles and 11 birdies.

“It’s been good to see how I’ve been playing this summer. I’ve been solid,” he said. “I’ve just got to keep up the streak — just keep playing like I know how to play.

“Three shots is nothing in golf; it’s really not. So much can happen tomorrow. I’m going to play hard and focus on what I’ve been doing, like the last few days.”

Only one player besides Workman is under par through 54 holes at Sonnenalp. Cole Nygren (left) of Colorado National Golf Club, who finished fifth in the CGA Amateur last year, overcame a lost-ball double bogey on the 11th hole to shoot an even-par 71 on Saturday. The recent Cal Poly graduate, who is playing in one of his final amateur tournaments, stands at 1-under 212 after a day which included four birdies, two bogeys and a double.

“I’m playing pretty conservatively,” the 23-year-old said. “I can be a little more aggressive. I hit a lot of drivers during the practice round and it’s a very scoreable golf course if you can hit driver accurately. You have a lot of short shots in. But I haven’t hit a single driver so far in the tournament. I’ve hit 2-iron, 3-iron or 4-iron off pretty much every tee. If I need to push a little (on Sunday), especially on the par-5s, I’m going to pull the driver out. We’ll just have to see how everyone is playing.”

As far as catching Workman on Sunday, “Obviously it depends on how Glenn plays,” Nygren said. “If he goes out with a three-shot lead and shoots at least a few under, it’s going to take something pretty special to catch up to him. But each one of my rounds could have easily been 3 or 4 under par.”

Three local college players checked in at even-par 213 through three rounds: Colorado State University’s Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, the University of Denver’s Petersilie, and the University of Northern Colorado’s Sam Marley, who plays out of South Suburban Golf Course.

Petersilie carded six birdies and three bogeys in his 3-under-par 68, while Staiano had a 71 and Marley a 72.

The Sonnenalp course has proven relatively difficult all week, but Saturday moreso than the previous days. The greens were so fast on a couple of holes that more than one player putted his ball off a green.

“If you don’t put it in the right spot on this course, these greens are going to kick your butt,” Staino said. “If you’re above the hole at all, good luck.”

A couple of weeks ago, Staiano (left) finished eighth overall at the CoBank Colorado Open, earning low-amateur honors by seven strokes. But he said his game hasn’t been quite as sharp this week.

“I’ve been sort of battling all week,” the two-time U.S. Amateur qualifier said. “I just don’t have my best stuff out there. … Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but it could have been super low (on Saturday). My putting and chipping let me down. I know 71 doesn’t look bad, but it could have been better for sure.

“To see that I can have my ‘C’ game and still be able to shoot (71) on a course where everybody seems to be struggling a little bit, there’s definitely positives to take from it. Obviously I’m not anywhere out of the tournament, for sure.”

In all, eight players will go into the final round within five strokes of Workman.

The lead group of Workman, Nygren and Petersilie will tee off for Sunday’s final round at 9:10 a.m., while Staiano, Marley and Trevor Glen of Legacy Ridge Golf Course will tee it up at 9 a.m.

For scores from the Sonnenalp Club, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.

It’s been a long time since Ross Macdonald tasted victory in a golf tournament, but a trip out west worked wonders.

The University of Colorado golfer ended the drought on Sunday with a three-shot win in the 35th CGA Western Chapter Championship at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction. It was the first victory in almost three years for the golfer from the Country Club at Castle Pines — since he claimed two significant Colorado junior titles in 2014.

“It’s been a while,” said the 21-year-old, who won the 2013 and ’14 Colorado Junior Amateur. “So this means everything. It’s awesome to be able to finally get it done. That feeling of winning a tournament is really cool.”

This weekend marked Macdonald’s first time competing in the Western Chapter Championship.

“I know I’ve been close to winning a tournament,” he said. “That’s actually why I went out here. I wanted to get a win. Obviously I got that done, so it feels good. That gets the confidence up.”

Macdonald, who redshirted last season at CU, put together two very strong rounds at Tiara Rado, going 67-66 for a 9-under-par 133 total. Only one other player — University of Denver golfer Isaac Petersilie from Colorado Springs Country Club — finished under par for two rounds.

Macdonald made a dozen birdies over 36 holes and his 66 on Sunday matches his low tournament score ever.

“I was hitting the ball in really good spots off the tee,” he said. “My wedges were really dialed in and I was making some solid putts. I didn’t ever do anything erratic the whole week(end), so I think that helped out a lot.”

Petersilie, who followed up Macdonald’s Junior Amateur wins with a victory in that event in 2015, matched Macdonald’s 66 on Sunday to check in at 136. Petersilie also had a seven-birdie, two-bogey day in round 2.

Petersilie, a former state high school champion, started round 2 three back of Macdonald, but he caught the CU golfer with his seventh birdie of the day, at No. 14. Macdonald pulled back in front — for good — with a birdie on No. 15, then a Petersilie bogey on 16 and a Macdonald birdie on 18 accounted for the three-shot margin of victory.

Claiming third place on Sunday was Chris Carlson of Highlands Ranch Golf Club, who carded back-to-back 71s for a 142 total. Barrett Jones of Eagle Ranch Golf Course, runner-up in the CGA Junior Am earlier this week, ended up fourth at 143 after a closing 73.

In the senior division, Brian Woody (left) of the Ridge at Castle Pines North went wire-to-wire for the title. He shot a 4-over-par 75 on Sunday, giving him a 5-over 147 total and a two-stroke victory. Woody’s second round was highlighted by an eagle on the 455-yard par-5 second hole.

Keith Atkins of Highland Meadows Golf Course placed second at 149 after posting a 73 on Sunday. Former CGA Senior Player of the Year Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch tied for third at 151, along with Owen Ellis of Flatirons Golf Course, Thomas Roos of Spring Valley Golf Club, Shane Unfred of Highland Meadows and Gary Driber of the Ridge at Castle Pines North.

For scores from the Western Chapter Championship, CLICK HERE.

The 36-hole event will include open and senior flights, with gross and net divisions.

Coloradan Kyler Dunkle won’t defend his title as he’ll be competing in U.S. Amateur qualifying on Monday in Highland, Utah. Dunkle advanced to the round of 16 at the 2016 U.S. Am.

But the Western Chapter field will include Tristan Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, who won the championship in 2015 and was runner-up to Dunkle last year. Rohrbaugh, a former 3A state high school champion who plays his college golf at Boise State, qualified for last year’s U.S. Am.

Also scheduled to compete this weekend are Ross Macdonald and Isaac Petersilie, winners of every Colorado Junior Amateur from 2013 to ’15, with Macdonald capturing two of those three. Macdonald is a University of Colorado golfer, while Petersilie plays at the University of Denver.

The Western Chapter senior division field includes David Delich and Harry Johnson, both former CGA Senior Players of the Year.

Jake Kelley (pictured) of Columbine Country Club earned medalist honors and established a course record for the gold/black tees by shooting an 8-under-par 63 at Ravenna. The DU senior-to-be made two eagles — including one on the 346-yard par-4 seventh hole — to go along with five birdies and one bogey.

Chris Korte of Lone Tree Golf Club, a high school (Regis Jesuit) and college (DU) teammate of Kelley, landed the No. 2 seed in match play by firing a 65. Korte, the 2015 CGA Amateur champion, made seven birdies and one bogey on the day.

And Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs Country Club, also a DU golfer, managed a 67 Monday to share third place with Tristan Rohrbaugh of Ironbridge Golf Club, a Boise State golfer. Petersilie carded an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys on Monday. Rohrbaugh, like Petersilie a former Colorado state high school champion, posted an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys.

Colorado State University teammates Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club and AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club recorded 68s on Monday to tie for fifth place.

All told on Monday, 10 players carded sub-par rounds at Ravenna, which is hosting the CGA’s oldest championship for the first time.

The top 64 players out of the original field of 84 — those who shot 79 or better on Monday — will advance to match play, which begins on Tuesday and continues through Friday’s 36-hole final. Among those 64 are 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle of the Club at Pradera (71), 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club (72) and 2015 Match Play winner Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course (76).

For Monday’s scores, CLICK HERE.
 

And all season, he’s lived up to his billing.

On Tuesday at the Bandon Dunes Championship in Bandon, Ore., the 2010 CGA Amateur champion almost pulled off his third individual victory of the spring portion of the University of Oregon’s schedule. But after being tied for the lead in the wake of making birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th holes, one of his few missteps — a final-hole bogey — left him settling for a share of second place individually. He ended up two strokes behind champion Hannes Ronneblad of Texas Tech, who closed with a birdie and went 4 under par in his last seven holes.

The showing kept Clark (pictured), who sits atop Golfstat’s national rankings, perfect on the season as far as top-10 finishes go. As a fifth-year senior for the defending national champion Ducks after transferring from Oklahoma State last summer, Clark owns two wins, two seconds, a third, a sixth and a 10th in seven tournaments.

This time around, the two-time Colorado high school champion fired a 4-under-par 68 in Tuesday’s final round and posted an 8-under-par 208 total to tie teammate Edwin Yi. Over three rounds, Clark made an eagle and 16 birdies.

Team-wise, Clark’s Oregon squad ran away with the title as the Ducks’ 28-under-par 836 total was 21 shots better than runner-up Texas Tech and 22 better than Oregon State.

The University of Colorado, like Oregon and Oregon State a Pac-12 squad, took fourth place at 860. CU, ranked No. 21 in the nation, has finished in the top five in all of its stroke-play tournaments this season.

Buffs senior Jeremy Paul notched his fifth top-10 showing of the season by tying for sixth place on Tuesday. He went 71-68-72 for a 211 total.

The University of Denver, which finished eighth in the 16-team field at 878, was led by Isaac Petersilie, a freshman from Colorado Springs who tied for 13th individually at 213.

Meanwhile, Clark and Petersilie weren’t the only Coloradans to post top-20 individual finishes in a Division I tournament on Tuesday.

Jake Staiano, a Colorado State University golfer from Cherry Hills Village, tied for 11th individually on Tuesday at the Lamkin Grips SD Classic in Chula Vista, Calif. Staiano carded rounds of 68-73-72 for a 3-under-par 213 total. As a team, CSU placed 10th in the 15-school event at 8-over-par 872.

And Coloradan Josh Seiple, who plays for Mississippi, finished 18th in Chula Vista at 215 after closing with a 69.

Bandon Dunes Championship
March 12-14, 2017 (final) in Bandon, Ore.
4. (out of 16 teams) Colorado 283-292-285–860
6. Jeremy Paul 71-68-72–211
14. Yannik Paul 70-76-69–215
26. Ethan Freeman 73-75-71–219
42. John Souza 76-73-73–222
50. Spencer Painton 69-80-75–224

8. Denver 289-291-298–878
13. Isaac Petersilie 74-69-70–213
20. Petter Mikalsen 67-75-76–218
36. Troy Dangler 75-72-74–221
56. Jake Kelley 73-75-78–226
77. Chris Korte 76-77-80–233

Also
2. Coloradan Wyndham Clark, Oregon 66-74-68–208
69. Coloradan Tristan Rohrbaugh, Boise State 74-76-78–230

Lamkin Grips SD Classic
March 13-14, 2017 (final) in Chula Vista, Calif.
10. (out of 15 teams) Colorado State 292-283-297–872
11. Jake Staiano 68-73-72–213
39. Blake Cannon 75-70-75–220
43. Colton Yates 74-69-78–221
43. AJ Ott 75-71-75–221
69. Max Oelfke 75-78-75–228

Also
18. Coloradan Josh Seiple, Mississippi 72-74-69–215
 

Petersilie, winner of both the 2015 CGA Junior Amateur and the 2013 4A state high school title, posted a sixth-place finish out of 78 players in just his fourth college tournament as a University of Denver freshman.

The same month he placed 12th in DU’s Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club, Petersilie ended up just four strokes behind winner Patrick Fishburn of BYU at the Visit Stockton (Calif.) Pacific Invitational, which concluded on Saturday.

Petersilie shot rounds of 68-71-69 for a 5-under-par 208 total. He made an eagle and 10 birdies over the three rounds.

“The swing felt dialed in this week,” Petersilie told DenverPioneers.com. “My short game felt good as well which enabled me to keep up the momentum. The course was playing soft, which allowed for lots of pin-hunting.”

As a team in its fall finale, DU placed eighth out of 13 teams in Stockton.

Visit Stockton Pacific Invite
Oct. 27-29, 2016 (final) in Stockton, Calif.
8. (out of 13 teams) Denver 289-288-289–866
6. Isaac Petersilie 68-71-69–208
28. Jake Kelley 75-70-71–216
51. Petter Mikalsen 75-71-76–222
57. Chris Korte 71-78-75–224
74. Eric Hagen 82-76-74–232
Competing Only as Individuals
41. Roy Kang 70-76-74–220
57. Michael Boylan 78-75-71–224
 

Nick Mason (pictured) of Denver ended that streak on Sunday — with an exclamation point. And it didn’t stop with Mason claiming the title. The second- and third-place professional finishers — Jim Knous of Englewood and Nathaniel Goddard of Fort Collins, respectively — were also Coloradans.

Six years after Ben Portie of Westminster won the RMO, Mason prevailed by seven strokes in the 78th edtion of the tournament.

Mason, who has played in five PGA Tour events over the years — including the 2014 U.S. Open, shot 65-64-65 at the event held at both Tiara Rado Golf Course and the Golf Club at Redlands Mesa. That left him at 20-under-par 194 overall. He posted 20 birdies and one eagle (on the 13th hole Sunday), while making just two bogeys in 54 holes. The victory was worth $10,000.

Knous, who finished third last year in the RMO, moved up a spot this time, closing with a 68 for a 201 total.

Goddard, the 2016 CGA Match Play champion who just turned pro, checked in third at 203 after a final-round 67. Also at that figure was low-amateur Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs, the University of Denver-bound golfer who carded a 68 on Sunday. He prevailed by five over Taylor Montgomery in the amateur competiton.

Robin Bradbury of Superior, who just qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur, claimed the title in the senior amateur division. After he tied Scott Sullivan and Owen Ellis with a three-day total of 6-over-par 220, Bradbury prevailed in a playoff.

This year marked the first time that Redlands Mesa was part of the RMO’s championship rotation.

For scores from the RMO, CLICK HERE.