There was a nice bit of centennial symmetry at work on Wednesday.

One hundred years ago this month — in September, 1916 — the CWGA held its first championship. Twenty-eight women competed at Colorado Springs Golf Club (now known as Patty Jewett Golf Course) in the debut of the event we now call the CWGA Match Play.

Almost exactly a century later, the CWGA put the other 100-year bookend in place on Wednesday by hosting a Centennial Celebration Tournament at Hiwan Golf Club Club in Evergreen.

The association capped off its yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary with, appropriately, a fun round of golf at a course that is about as Colorado as can be.

Eighty-eight players enjoyed the mountain setting — elk bugling and all — in the final major festivities marking the CWGA’s centennial.

“This was the culmination of our centennial,” said CWGA president Juliet Miner. “We couldn’t have asked for a better day, weather-wise; better turnout; better food; better hospitality. We’re so fortunate to have it here. And it gives us a chance to reflect what a good year it’s been and how grateful we are for the participation and volunteers. We’ve had great support.”

Among those participating in the golf and/or lunch that followed on Wednesday were past CWGA presidents Jan Ford, who chaired the association’s 75th-anniversary celebration, and Kathryn Davis; current president Miner; Colorado PGA president Leslie Core-Drevecky; CGA executive director Ed Mate; Colorado Open Golf Foundation board member Melissa Hubbard, mother of PGA Tour player Mark Hubbard; and a host of other CWGA supporters and volunteers and board members.

In other words, it was quite a cross section of the Colorado golf community, especially on the women’s side.

The CWGA started the year with three major centennial-related events on the agenda. In February at the CWGA annual meeting at The Inverness Hotel & Golf Club, exceptional players, volunteers and friends of the CWGA from over the years were recognized and a video history of the association was shown. Last month, Denver Country Club hosted the CWGA Stroke Play Championship, and a celebratory 100th anniversary luncheon and awards ceremony followed the final round. Then there was Wednesday’s Centennial Celebration Tournament in which CWGA tournament/flight winners, volunteers and board members from the last couple of years, among others, were invited for a fun round of golf and lunch.

“I think this is a really special day because this is the first time this year (non-tournament players) got to do what we love, which is play golf,” said Laura Robinson, executive director of the CWGA. “Every other time, we got to watch or celebrate with a luncheon, but this time we got everyone out there playing golf. It was a lot of fun.”

Robinson and CWGA vice president Kathy Malpass are both members at Hiwan Golf Club and helped facilitate this third leg of the centennial celebration. Malpass returned home to Evergreen just in time for the event as she has been on the road the last two weeks — first at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in Erie, Pa., as a member of the USGA Women’s Mid-Am Committee, then competing at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in Wellesley, Mass., where she made match play and competed in the round of 64 on Monday.

But making it back for the Centennial Celebration Tournament was a priority for Malpass both because she’s a CWGA board member and as a member at Hiwan.

“This (event), I fought hard for it,” she said. “I think we need to give back to the people that spend countless hours trying to make things happen for us: the rules officials, the tournament people and the grinders — the ones that play in our events and they win their flight, but you don’t ever see their name in the headline. So I’m really pleased with how we’ve done that.”

Two women who made all the centennial-related events come together and run smoothly were CWGA board members Nancy Wilson and Phyllis Jensen (together at left), who have co-chaired the Centennial Committee. They also made sure the events complemented one another and drew a variety of “constituents”, if you will.

“What we (at the CWGA) tried to do, we were successful with, which was to involve and engage all of our members,” Malpass said. “The annual meeting (draws) a lot of presidents of clubs, some of whom don’t play in our events, and they don’t know a lot about us, so we reached out to them and got them involved. The Stroke Play, what a field! Oh my gosh. It gives me chills just thinking about caliber of player that was there. And for Jennifer (Kupcho, the 2015 and ’16 champion) to play so well and break the (Denver Country Club women’s course) record set eons ago by Babe (Zaharias) … that engages the younger player and the higher-caliber player. And then this.”

In essence, the centennial celebrations have been both a look back and to the future.

“I feel like this has been a really special year because we focused on how far we’ve come — on the history, on the amazing women who contributed to supporting golf in Colorado,” Robinson said. “We hope it continues just as successfully for another 100 years.”

Added Miner: “We don’t plan to rest on a laurels. We’re ready for the next 100 years.”

As part of Wednesday’s festivities, money was raised through merchandise sales and other means for the 2018 Girls Junior America’s Cup, which will be played at Hiwan Golf Club. For instance, for $20 (with Westerra Credit Union matching the donation), players could utilize one of the “long hitters” from the CWGA staff — Kate Moore (left) or Aaron Guereca, depending on the hole — to hit potentially imposing shots for them.

Meanwhile, since this was a tournament, there was a contest involved — in this case a variable best-ball, with each group counting one ball on par-5s, two balls on par-4s and three balls on par-3s.

Here are the top three finishers in the gross and net divisions:

Gross: 1. Jo Ann Higgins, Darlene Evans, Harlene Bowman and Constance Brodt 152; 2. Linda Loveland, Lucille Moreno-Peacock and Lourdes Swanson 153; 3. Marie Schriefer, Debbie Mills, Dana Rinderknecht and Hee Chung 153.

Net: 1. Janine Lowe, Katherine Rojas, Ellen Thomas and Mary Jo Turner 121; 2. Kirk Huggins, Jeanne Surbrugg, Jennifer Cassell and Melissa Hubbard 124; 3. Carol Iwata, Maureen Fujiki and Anne Mursch 125.

As birthday bashes go, this was one to be remembered. It marked a major milestone, plenty of people were in attendance, and some of the biggest names in the history of Colorado women’s golf took part. And, for good measure, there were some oversized birthdays cards and, of course, a cake commemorating the occasion.

Such was the scene at the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center on Saturday as the CWGA kicked off its centennial celebration as the centerpiece of its annual meeting.

More than 230 people attended the event, with at least 125 clubs around the state represented. Those on hand included at least eight current or past presidents of the CWGA (pictured below, from left: Juliet Miner, Jan Ford, Robin Bartlett, Joanne Braucht, Kathryn Davis, Pat Kuntz, Joanie Ott and Mary Lee Browne), one Colorado Sports Hall of Famer (Joan Birkland), several Colorado Golf Hall of Famers (Birkland, Kim Eaton and Maggie Giesenhagen), and the first two CWGA executive directors (Giesenhagen and Robin Jervey). Also in attendance were leadership from the CGA, Colorado PGA and the Colorado Open Golf Foundation.

“It was so much fun,” said Miner, the current president of the CWGA, which serves about 17,000 members. “We were so happy to have everyone here. The best part was watching the past (CWGA) presidents sit together and talk about old times, even though many of them didn’t serve that long ago. And the people who couldn’t be here like Judy Bell and Lynn Zmistowski, they were in our videos, so that was so great. People were inspired by the presentation. I think everyone enjoyed reflecting” on the last 100 years.

That reflection took the form of a 10-minute video that was shown publicly for the first time at the annual meeting. Besides featuring some historical highlights of the CWGA and noting what the association does to fulfill its mission, the video included some thoughts by women who have played major leadership roles over the years. Most notable was World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Bell of Colorado Springs, the first female president of the USGA.

“The CWGA is one of the most respected women’s golf associations in the United States,” Bell noted. “Its reputation has grown over the years right along with its membership. In all my years with the USGA, I was always very proud of the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.

“Happy birthday, CWGA. I wish I was there to blow out the candles.”

One of the centerpieces of Saturday’s centennial celebration was honoring key volunteers, outstanding players and other exceptionally “valued friends”. Receiving the highest awards were Lynn Zmistowski (volunteer of the century), Carol Flenniken (golfer of the century), and Bell, Giesenhagen and Jervey (centennial honorees). (Jervey and Giesenhagen are pictured at left.)

Zmistowski has served more than 30 years on the Course Rating Committee and in 2009 she received the USGA’s Ike Grainger Award for more than 25 years of volunteer work on USGA committees. “Lynn Z”, as she is known, represented Colorado on the USGA Handicap Procedure Committee for 25 years. She was the first captain of the Colorado’s Girls Junior Americas Cup teams, serving in that capacity in the late 1970s and early ’80s. In addition, she’s been an outstanding player, having captured five major individual CWGA championships. She’s been inducted into both the Colorado and Minnesota Golf Halls of Fame.

Flenniken has won more major CWGA individual championships than anyone (15), with eight Stroke Plays, four Match Plays and three Senior Stroke Plays. Before becoming a mainstay in Colorado, she won the 1960 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 1962 Women’s Western Amateur and the 1964 British Ladies Amateur.

“Thank you to the CWGA for this great honor,” Flenniken said via messenger to annual meeting attendees. “Golfer of the Century, Wow!. … I have fond members of playing in CWGA championships over the years and I cherish the many friendships I have made along the way.”

Bell was the first female president in the history of the USGA (1996-97), was selected the Colorado golf Woman of the Century, and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. She competed in 38 USGA championships and shot a then-record 67 in the 1964 U.S. Women’s Open. She both played on and captained U.S. Curtis Cup teams. And in June, Bell will receive the USGA’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award.

Giesenhagen served as the first executive director of the CWGA (1988-92) before spending 19 years working for the USGA. A U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up and the 1965 Big Ten champion, she played in three U.S. Women’s Opens and nine U.S. Women’s Amateurs and claimed the 1974 CWGA Match Play title. She was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

“I had the pleasure of following the incomparable Maggie Giesenhagen (as CWGA executive director),” Jervey said. “She was an outstanding golfer, a pioneer for women’s golf. She was a Rules expert and basically phenomenal at everything she did. I just want to commend Maggie for the influence she had on golf in the state — and for what everyone around the country tried to copy.”

Jervey was the executive director of the CWGA for 22 years (1992-2014), was a rules official at the Masters, U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and other USGA national championships, and served as president of the International Association of Golf Administrators before taking a job as director of event management for JBC Golf — and the Legends Tour, the 45-and-over LPGA senior circuit. Jervey, who served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

“The CWGA has been a fabulous organization and Robin took it to new heights,” Giesenhagen said. “She came in at the right time for the CWGA. She took the CWGA right into the 21st century.”

In addition to Zmistowski, the CWGA recognized longtime stellar volunteers (pictured above, from left) Jan Ford, Georgene McConagle, Juna Orr, Jan Fincher, Ouida Neil, Karla Harding and Braucht. Volunteer honorees not pictured are Joan Scholes, Sally Lou Schultz and Zmistowski.

Besides Flenniken, outstanding players who were honored Saturday included Eaton, Lynn Larson, Birkland, Marcia Bailey, Phyllis Buchanan, Zmistowski, Janet Moore and Sally Hardwick. (Pictured at left are, from left, Birkland, Eaton and Larson.)

All in all, the centennial event “was very impressive,” Jervey said. “It was a great celebration. I loved the video they put together. It was nice to hear from people who are still involved and those who have been involved in the past.”

Jervey, who oversaw 23 annual meetings in her time as executive director, admitted it was an unusual feeling to return to the event. It was the same for the former CWGA staffers and interns who were on hand Saturday: (pictured with Jervey from left, Dawn McConkey, Ginger Washco, Kim Schwartz, former USGA P.J. Boatwright intern Bridget Coulton, Jennifer Cassell and Edie Bell.)

“I was telling the (old) staff, ‘Did you guys have deja vu on your drive into Inverness this morning?'” Jervey said. “I’m not wearing a (CWGA) blazer and I didn’t have to be here in the dark setting up, so that part was nice. But it definitely felt like old times.”

The annual meeting was the first of three events during the year in which the CWGA will celebrate its centennial. Others will come during the CWGA Stroke Play at Denver Country Club in early August, and a centennial celebration tournament Sept. 21 at Hiwan Golf Club.

Handing Out Accolades: In addition to its centennial activities, the CWGA on Saturday gave out several annual awards.

The volunteer of the year honors went to CWGA board members Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson, who are heading up the association’s centennial-year activities this year. (The two are pictured at left.)

The previously announced CWGA players of the year for 2015 were Jennifer Kupcho (Player of the Year), Kim Eaton (Senior Player of the Year) and Mary Weinstein (Junior Player of the Year). For more on their accomplishments last year, CLICK HERE.

Receiving the President’s Award on Saturday was Chad Leverenz, who’s played a key informaton technology role as the CWGA set up its new offices at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015.

Also, the CWGA noted the contributions of retiring board of director members Joanie Ott, Patricia Latta and Patrish Bergamo.

In addition, the association recognized the Raccoon Creek Golf Course’s women’s nine-hole group for selling more than $1,000 worth of Evans Scholars bag tags, helping caddies receive college scholarships. That amount was the highest for any women’s golf club in Colorado. Overall, CWGA clubs raised in excess of $4,000 for the Evans Scholars in 2015, almost $1,000 more than in 2014. Among the Evans Scholar chapter houses is one at the University of Colorado.

Auction Raises $7,171 for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf: The silent auction that was held in conjunction with the CWGA annual meeting on Saturday raised $7,171 for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. That total was about $1,000 more than at the same event last year.