The Buffs, winner of two major team titles this season (including its own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational), were seeded 11th out of 13 teams for the Tuscaloosa, Ala., Regional that will be contested May 16-18 at the Ol’ Colony Golf Complex. It marked the third time in the last four years that Colorado has been sent to a regional in the southern U.S. (Fayetteville, Ark., in 2013 and Auburn, Ala., in 2014).

In all, the fields for six 54-hole regionals were revealed Thursday morning on Golf Channel.

It’s the fourth consecutive season that CU has earned a regional berth — and the 20th time since 1989. But the Buffs, with coach Roy Edwards at the helm, are looking to qualify a team for the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time since 2002.

The top five team finishers, and the low individual not on those teams, from each regional will advance to the NCAA finals, set for May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Colorado, the only Colorado-based school to earn a team (or individual) berth in the men’s NCAA regionals in 2016, is ranked 66th nationally by Golfstat and 67th by Golfweek, meaning CU landed one of the final NCAA regional at-large berths. Individually, the Buffs are led by junior Jeremy Paul, who has two individual wins to his credit this season, one in a large-scale tournament. The German has seven top-10s all told this season — including a seventh at the recent Pac-12 Championships — and owns a 70.46 stroke average. In the national individual college rankings, Paul is 41st according to Golfstat, while Golfweek has him 64th. This week, he was named a second-team All-Pac-12 selection. (Paul is pictured above with Edwards.)

Georgia is the top-seeded team in the Southeastern Conference-heavy Tuscaloosa Regional, having just won the SEC title. Host Alabama is seeded fourth. Kansas, coached by former Colorado State University coach Jamie Bermel, is the seventh seed in Tuscaloosa after a four-win season.

Meanwhile, Coloradan Wyndham Clark’s Oklahoma State team was seeded first in the Stillwater, Okla., Regional that the Cowboys will be hosting at Karsten Creek. Clark, who won the 2010 CGA Stroke Play title when he was 16, has two top-six individual finishes — and six top-12s — to his credit this season. Also competing in the Stillwater Regional will be Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Crabtree’s University of Louisville squad. The Cardinals are seeded 10th in the region.

For the complete fields for the men’s NCAA Regionals, CLICK HERE.

“Proud to announce that I signed to play Golf for CU in the fall. Very excited to represent my home state and be a Buff!” Painton said on Twitter and Instagram.

The former 5A state high school champion from Regis Jesuit was part of the Hale Irwin Elite Player program at CommonGround Golf Course. Last summer, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur.

Painton will be a junior at CU in the fall. He played his first two college seasons at KU under former Colorado State coach Jamie Bermel. Painton competed in six tournaments in all for Kansas, with a scoring average of 74.8.
 

With the year drawing to a close, it’s time to play one final 18. In this case, we’ll run down the top 18 Colorado golf stories of 2012, then throw in some honorable-mention selections at the end.

And just for the sake of a little suspense, we’ll start with the 18th-biggest story.

18. Woodard Inducted into National Black Golf Hall of Fame, Voted into Colorado Golf Hall of Fame: 2012 was a big year for longtime Coloradan Tom Woodard, now the director of golf for the Foothills Park & Recreation District. In March, he was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame, then in October he was voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, along with fellow Colorado PGA professional Alan Abrams and Jimmy Vickers. COLORADO GOLF HALL OF FAME FULL STORY, NATIONAL BLACK GOLF HALL OF FAME FULL STORY

17. Tourney Routs by Eaton, Humerickhouse: There were a couple of lopsided state tournament victories that went beyond the norm. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton prevailed by 16 shots in the CWGA Senior Stroke Play at the course on which she grew up, Greeley Country Club. STORY And in winning his third straight CGA Mid-Amateur, Keith Humerickhouse was a dozen shots ahead of the runner-up, marking the biggest margin in the event since 1991. STORY Then Humerickhouse put an exclamation mark on the year by proposing to his girlfriend in the midst of his acceptance speech for the CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year award.

16. A Lucky Seven Straight for Kent Denver: Kent Denver, coached by Bob Austin, set a Colorado record by winning its seventh consecutive state high school boys team championship, this time in Class 3A. STORY 

15. Bertsch, Jacques, Huffer ‘Open’ the Door: Three Coloradans qualified for the top USGA championship for their respective gender. Shane Bertsch of Parker earned a U.S. Open berth for the first time since 1998. STORY And Becca Huffer and Kelly Jacques made it through qualifying at the Broadmoor to punch their tickets to their first U.S. Women’s Open. STORY Then in December, Jacques joined former University of Denver golfer Stephanie Sherlock in earning LPGA Tour status in 2013. STORY

14. Jones Joining Nicholson in Colorado Sports Hall of Fame: Former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in April. STORY And after being voted in in October, 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones, a former University of Colorado golfer, will follow suit in the spring of 2013. STORY

13. Ringsby Hits the National Stage: Calli Ringsby of Cherry Hills Village had a memorable 2012 tournament season. She swept both the CWGA Junior Stroke Play STORY and Junior Match Play titles. Then she was one of just four American girls selected to compete in the USA-China Youth Golf Match. STORY

12. Lee Adds Still More Variety to Her Accomplishments: With a nine-shot victory in the CWGA Stroke Play, Somin Lee became just the second player in history to win the CWGA Junior Stroke Play, Junior Match Play, Stroke Play and Match Play. Lee joined Wendy Werley as the only golfers to capture all four of those titles during their careers. STORY

11. Colorado PGA Keeps its Streak Going: For the sixth and seventh time in six years, the Colorado PGA earned national awards from the PGA of America. Dale Smigelsky, the director of golf at Collindale Golf Club in Fort Collins, was named PGA Merchandiser of the Year for Public Facilities, while George Kahrhoff, head professional at The Country Club at Castle Pines in Castle Rock, earned the Merchandiser award for private facilities. STORY The Colorado PGA also was among the national leaders in the “Get Golf Ready” initiative in which PGA and LPGA professionals teach people everything they’ll need to know to play golf with confidence — in five lessons, usually for $99 total. The idea is to bring new and former golfers into the game as seamlessly as possible in a no-pressure environment.

10. Tolan Doubles Up in Colorado Open: Coloradan Derek Tolan won his second HealthOne Colorado Open in the last four years, this time rallying after trailing by four strokes with six holes to play. STORY

9. Bermel Departs CSU After 13 Years: After 13 successful years at the helm of the Colorado State University men’s team, Jamie Bermel resigned to take the same job at the University of Kansas. Bermel’s teams went to the NCAA regional tournament in 12 of his 13 years, and in 2011 the Rams earned a berth in the NCAA Finals for just the second time in program history. Overall, the Rams won 18 multi-team tournaments in Bermel’s tenure, including two conference titles. Former national assistant coach of the year Christian Newton succeeded Bermel at CSU. STORY

8. Near Miss in College Finale for Knous: Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous finished up his college career with a flourish. After leading most of the final round of the NCAA Division II national finals, Knous finished second, losing in a playoff. STORY

7. Mallon, Neumann Will Lead the Way at Colorado Golf Club: The leadership of the competing teams for the 2013 Solheim Cup matches that will be played at Colorado Golf Club in Parker was set early this year. Meg Mallon, winner of 18 LPGA Tour events in her career, will captain the U.S. squad, while 1988 U.S. Women’s Open champion Liselotte Neumann will be her European counterpart. STORY 

6. CU Women Score NCAA Breakthrough in Colorado: An NCAA women’s regional golf tournament was held in Colorado for the first time, and the University of Colorado took advantage of its host role at Colorado National by advancing to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history. STORY

5. Kupcho Rallies from 9 Down in Final Round to Win CGA Stroke Play: After starting the final round nine strokes out of the lead and in 16th place, Steven Kupcho posted one of the biggest final-round rallies ever by a winner of the CGA Stroke Play. His final-round 66 at Fort Collins Country Club gave him the title as a 19-year-old. STORY

4. Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy Debuts: The CGA and CWGA launched a unique initiative to promote the use of caddies and foster candidates for the Evans Caddie Scholarship at the University of Colorado. The Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course — which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA — provides a powerful incentive to use caddies by paying all of their base fees. The program’s mission is to use caddying and the game of golf to help kids learn how to succeed in life. STORY

3. Stacy Gains Spots in World Golf Hall of Fame: Part-time Colorado resident Hollis Stacy earned one of golf’s biggest honors by being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Stacy, who lives in Lakewood during the summer, won 18 times on the LPGA Tour, but particularly excelled in USGA events. She won three U.S. Women’s Opens and three U.S. Girls’ Juniors. STORY

2. Austin Departing Powerful USGA Executive Committee: Not many women preceded Coloradan Christie Austin as a member of the USGA Executive Committee, one of golf’s most powerful governing bodies. But after six years in that role, Austin will be stepping down in February. STORY 

1. U.S. Amateur a Hit in Colorado: The U.S. Amateur was held in Colorado for just the fourth time, with Cherry Hills hosting and CommonGround being the second stroke-play course. The week started with Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 major championships and two U.S. Amateurs, playing the role of spectator as son Gary competed. It continued with two players with strong Colorado ties — Michael Schoolcraft and Justin Spray — qualifying for match play. And it ended with largely unheralded and 63rd-seeded Tennesseean Steven Fox winning a final in 37 holes after being 2 down with two holes left. Fox (pictured above with his dad Alan) was the the highest-seeded player to win the U.S. Amateur since the USGA began the seeding process in 1985. About 4,500 fans attended the final day, one of the largest totals in recent U.S. Amateurs. STORY

Honorable Mention: Former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin followed the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in receiving the Nicholson Award given for a lifetime of commitment and dedication to the game of golf. Later in the year, the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program was launched, with the initiative designed to nurture the budding careers of exceptional young golfers in the state. … After Ray Makloski won the CGA Senior Match Play in May, son Jimmy claimed a CGA title of his own (the Junior Stroke Play) in June. Later in the year, University of Denver golfer Andy Yang qualified for the U.S. Amateur shortly after sister Jennifer advanced to the U.S. Women’s Amateur. … Former college hockey standout David Delich won the CGA Senior Stroke Play the week after placing second in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, which marked the best finish by an amateur in that event since 1999. … Despite dozens and dozens of entrants both years, Lone Tree Golf Club repeated as champion in the season-long CGA Team InterClub Championship. … Nicole Zhang made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur after qualifying for the event in Colorado. … At age 14, Jordan Sahm of Centennial qualified for U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship. … Cherry Creek’s Mackenzie Cohen, who shot 93 in the first round of the 5A state tourney in 2011, posted a score 26 strokes better in the final round of this year’s meet en route to an improbable victory. … Six-time CGA Player of the Year Rick DeWitt, who had never before competed in an event on the PGA, Champions or Web.com Tours, qualified for the U.S. Senior Open.
 

Which brings us to something that took place last month. Jamie Bermel, Colorado State’s highly regarded men’s head golf coach for the last 13 seasons, left the Rams to take the same position at the University of Kansas. However, Bermel’s departure has drawn very little attention in the Denver-area mainstream media.

Anyone who has followed college golf in Colorado knows the significance of Bermel’s exit, and that there will be big golf shoes to fill in the coming weeks as CSU hires his replacement.

Bermel (pictured), who took over the Colorado State program in 1999, has proven his adeptness at recruiting and coaching in the Division I college ranks. Twelve of his 13 teams at CSU qualified for NCAA regionals, and in 2011 Bermel took a Ram squad to the NCAA finals for just the second time in program history. That marks the only time since 2002 that a Colorado-based school has qualified for the men’s NCAA Division I finals.

Two of Bermel’s recruits during his coaching career — Martin Laird at CSU and Zach Johnson at Drake — are ranked among the top 25 money winners on the 2012 PGA Tour, with Johnson currently third and Laird 25th. Johnson has won nine times in his Tour career, including the 2007 Masters, while Laird has collected two victories.

“He’s a great guy,” Laird said of Bermel. “The fact that I still count him as one of my good friends and still talk to him a lot as a past player — and I know Zach Johnson is the same — says a lot about a coach. I’ve been gone eight years now (from CSU) and still call him one of my good friends.

“He always looked out for his players. They were his No. 1 concern. It’s a huge thing to know as a college athlete that your coach has your back.”

Whatever the reason, Bermel’s coaching led to considerable success at CSU. During his 13 seasons in Fort Collins, the Rams won 18 multi-team tournaments, including conference titles in 2008 and 2010. And Bermel was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year three times.

“The one thing I’d say that stands out about him is that he’s a winner,” Laird noted. “He’s not someone that accepts mediocrity. He’s going to try to get the best out of his team that he can, and he’s going to work as hard as he can to do that.”

Bermel, 48, takes over a Kansas team that finished last in the Big 12 Championships this year. Previous coach Kit Grove was subsequently fired. KU’s 2011-12 roster had two Coloradans on it: Alex Gutesha of Greenwood Village and Clay LaBrec of Westminster.

“I’m excited to see if we can’t turn them into something there (at Kansas),” Bermel told the (Fort Collins) Coloradoan. “We’re certainly sad to leave CSU and Fort Collins. It’s been a great 13 years, going on 14, but it’s time for a new chapter. … At the end of the day, I felt like it was the right move to make, both personally and professionally. It’s just a new challenge and a new opportunity.”