Coleman (pictured) shot a 2-under-par 70 to leave herself at 2-under 142 with three rounds remaining in Daytona Beach, Fla. She trails co-leaders Mel Reid and Nasa Hataoka by nine strokes.

The top 20 finishers — out of the 156-player field — after Sunday’s final round will earn full LPGA Tour cards for 2017, while the next 25 players and ties will have conditional status. After four rounds, the field will be cut to the top 70 players and ties.

Coleman made four birdies and two bogeys on Thursday to move up the scoreboard.

Meanwhile, Becca Huffer of Denver dropped into 80th place after a second round 75 left her at 147. The 2013 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open champion carded six bogeys and three birdies in round 2.

Here are the scores of all the players with strong Colorado ties competing at the LPGA Q-school finals, which is the final stage of a three-stage qualifying process:

18. Former CU golfer Jenny Coleman 72-70–142
80. Becca Huffer of Denver 72-75–147
121. Former DU golfer Eleanor Givens 78-72–150

For all the scores from the finals, CLICK HERE.

Coloradan Hallberg Posts 73 at Champions Q-School: Gary Hallberg, the lone Coloradan competing in the final stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-school, won’t be earning fully-exempt status in 2017 through his performance this week in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The three-time PGA Tour winner fired a 1-over-par 73 on Thursday, leaving him at 8-over 224 (81-70-73) with one round remaining. He stands in 58th place, with the top five finishers following Friday’s final round earning full cards on the 2017 Champions circuit. The fifth-place player through 54 holes, Brian Henninger, is at 7-under-par 209.

Hallberg has had conditional status on the PGA Tour Champions circuit in recent years. A winner of one Champions event — in 2010 — Hallberg ended up 66th on the 2016 money list.

For all the results from Q-school, CLICK HERE.
 

The top 20 finishers — out of the 156-player field — after Sunday’s final round will earn full LPGA Tour cards for 2017, while the next 25 players and ties will have conditional status. After four rounds, the field will be cut to the top 70 players and ties.

Huffer, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open champion, played her last four holes in 2 under par on Wednesday, while Coleman likewise birdied her final hole. Huffer finished the day with three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey. Coleman had two birdies and two bogeys.

The two trail co-leaders Katelyn Dambaugh and Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras by five strokes.

One players who had a spot in the Q-school finals but elected not to compete was Jessica Wallace, a former CU teammate of Coleman’s. Wallace finished 19th on the 2016 Symetra Tour money list, but has chosen to no longer compete professionally. The native of Canada hopes to become a certified public accountant.

“It’s something that has been in the back of my mind for a couple of years,” Wallace told British Columbia Golf. “I have always been someone who has had a backup plan in my head even through I had my primary goal. I have always been thinking what would I like to do outside of golf.”

Here are the scores of all the players with strong Colorado ties competing at the LPGA Q-school finals, which is the final stage of a three-stage qualifying process:

38. Becca Huffer of Denver 72
38. Former CU golfer Jenny Coleman 72
141. Former DU golfer Eleanor Givens 78

For all the scores from the finals, CLICK HERE.

Hallberg Rebounds With 70 at Champions Q-School Finals: Meanwhile, the PGA Tour Champions Q-school finals are also being held this week, and reached the midway point on Wednesday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

A year after Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe won the Q-school finals en route to finishing 23rd on the 2016 Charles Schwab Cup money list, Gary Hallberg is the only Colorado resident competing in the final stage of Q-school.

After struggling to a first-round 81, the three-time PGA Tour winner shot a 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday, leaving him in 60th place at 7-over-par 151. Hallberg has had conditional status on the PGA Tour Champions circuit in recent years. A winner of one Champions event — in 2010 — Hallberg finished 66th on the 2016 money list with $214,003.

The top five finishers following Friday’s final round will earn fully-exempt status on the 2017 Champions circuit.

For all the results from Q-school, CLICK HERE.

Wallace (pictured) posted scores of 67-69-70 for a 10-under-par 206 total, which left her in third place, three strokes behind champion Christine Song. Wallace earned $7,051.

Coleman came in sixth at 209 after going 68-72-69, winning $3,353.

Saturday marked Coleman’s second straight Symetra top-10 finish as she was ninth in last week’s event, also in Garden City.

Wallace, meanwhile, has notched four top-20 finishes in her last five Symetra events.

With their finishes, Wallace moved up to 18th on the 2016 Symetra money list with $40,963, while Coleman jumped up to 30th at $26,290.

Three tournaments remain in the Symetra Tour season.

Schoolcraft posted rounds of 71-67-64-71 for a 15-under-par 273 total, which left him three strokes behind champion — and fellow American — Dan McCarthy.

The finish moved Schoolcraft up to eighth place on the PGA Tour Canada money list for 2016, with $39,531 (Canadian) in 10 events. The 24-year-old Denver native has three top-10 showings in Canada this year going into the final two events of the season.

Elsewhere on major tours:

— Tom Whitney of Fort Collins recorded his best finish ever on PGA Tour Latinoamerica — and his second top-10 finish of the year on that circuit by placing fourth Sunday in the Flor de Cana Open in Nicaragua.

The former Air Force Academy golfer went 66-68-63-65 for a 22-under-par 262 total. He ended up three strokes behind champion Augusto Nunez.

(Updated Sept. 11) Whitney notched a second straight top-10 on Sept. 11 at the San Luis Championship in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. There, his rounds of 70-70-70-73 for a 5-under-par 283 total left him two strokes behind champion Nathan Lashley, a former Colorado Open winner. 

— Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird saw his run end in the PGA Tour FedExCup Playoffs as he missed the cut in the second of the four postseason events, the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass.

Laird, who shot rounds of 75-68 in the Deutsche Bank, fell from 63rd to 77th in the standings, and only the top 70 advance to the BMW Championship.

— Former University of Colorado golfer Jessica Wallace finished seventh in the Symetra Tour’s Sioux Falls (S.D.) Greatlife Challenge, earning $4,852.

Wallace carded scores of 68-70-69-71 for a 6-under-par 278 total, which left her eight strokes behind winner Nelly Korda.
 

Kofstad (pictured), a Norwegian who competes regularly on the European Challenge Tour, shot back-to-back rounds of 2-under-par 69 on the weekend in Rio de Janeiro, making five birdies in Sunday’s final round.

Kofstad’s 2-over-par 286 total left him 18 strokes behind gold medalist Justin Rose of Great Britain. Henrik Stenson of Sweden (270) took the silver and American Matt Kuchar (271) the bronze.

DU alum Gil Hanse, who with Amy Alcott designed the Olympic course, was one of the torch-bearers in the days leading up to the Games’ opening  ceremonies. Hanse carried the torch about 250 yards on Aug. 4 as part of the torch relay. He will keep the torch he carried as a souvenir.

For complete Olympic scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Denver’s Huffer notches top-5 in Symetra event: Becca Huffer of Denver posted her second-best finish ever on the Symetra Tour on Sunday, placing fourth in the Decatur-Forsyth Classic in Decatur, Ill.

The former CoBank Colorado Women’s Open champion shot rounds of 68-71-70 for a 7-under-par 209 total. She ended up three strokes behind champion Clariss Guce.

Three former University of Colorado teammates also finished in the top 20 on Sunday, with Jenny Coleman (211) being 11th, and her sister Kristin Coleman and Jessica Wallace tying for 16th at 212.

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

(Updated Aug. 15) U.S. Senior Open wraps up Monday: Meanwhile, Sunday’s scheduled final round of the U.S. Senior Open was postponed by more than 2 inches of rain that fell in Columbus, Ohio. The final 18 holes were played on Monday, with Gene Sauers winning with a 3-under-par 277 total.

Here are the final scores and positions for the competitors with strong Colorado ties:

48. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe 71-70-79-72–292
60. Colorado resident Gary Hallberg 71-75-76-78–300

Missed 36-Hole Cut
Former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo 74-74–148
Colorado Sports Hall of Famer and former CU Golfer Hale Irwin 76-77–153
Ron Vlosich of Lakewood 77-77–154
Mark Wiebe of Aurora 74-WD

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Former University of Colorado golfer Jessica Wallace was in position for the victory, sharing the lead in the IOA Championship heading into the final hole in Beaumont, Calif. But a long three-putt from the fringe left her with a runner-up finish, one stroke behind champion Erynne Lee, a former UCLA golfer who won in her Symetra Tour debut. Lee eagled the 16th hole to give herself the opportunity to win. She closed with a 65.

Wallace (pictured) carded rounds of 69-67-70 for a 10-under-par 206 total. She earned $9,649 for her runner-up showing.

A former CU teammate of hers, Jenny Coleman, tied for third place at 207 (68-71-68), picking up $6,243. And former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim placed fifth at 208 (72-69-67), receiving $4,413 in prize money.
 

This week, eight golfers with significant Colorado ties hope to take the next step on the path to fulfilling their LPGA Tour dreams. The second of three stages of Tour qualifying will take place Tuesday through Friday (Oct. 9-12) in Venice, Fla.

A total of 157 players are in the stage II field, and the top 70 and ties after four rounds — with no cut — will advance to the final stage. That final qualifying tournament, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 2 in Daytona Beach, Fla., will determine the players who earn LPGA Tour cards for 2013.

The number of exemptions available hasn’t been set, but last year the top 40 finishers and ties in stage III earned some status on the LPGA Tour.

The eight local players vying to advance to the final stage are Kelly Jacques (pictured) of Longmont, Dawn Shockley of Denver, Ashley Tait of Littleton and Kristin Walla of Aspen, along with former University of Denver golfers Katie Kempter and Sue Kim (Shockley is also a former Pioneer), and ex-University of Colorado players Emily Talley and Jessica Wallace.

The group includes two 2012 U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers (Kim, who made the cut, and Jacques), three top-10 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open finishers this year (Jacques, Kempter and Tait; champion Joy Trotter of Chino Hills, Calif., is also entered), and two former CWGA Stroke or Match Play champs (Tait and Walla). In addition, Kempter earned a spot on the 2010 LPGA Tour, but lost her card after that year.

Jacques and Talley have already survived one stage of LPGA Tour qualifying this year, finishing 18th and 30th, respectively, last month to advance. Jacques has posted three top-20 finishes on the Symetra Tour since Aug. 1, while Talley won the California Women’s (Amateur) Championship over the summer just before turning pro.

Kim, who played golf at DU for just one semester before going pro, recorded four top-10 finishes on the Symetra Tour this year. And Kempter recently placed a season-best fourth in the Symetra Tour’s 2012 finale.

Shockley was exempt this year on both the Ladies European Tour and the Symetra Tour. She had a fourth-place showing in the spring in a Symetra event, but she’s made only two cuts on the LET this year.
 

But this week could very well be the piece de resistance for women’s competitive golf in Colorado for 2012.

Two significant events are on the agenda.

The HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, with a total purse of $73,000, will be held Wednesday through Friday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. Then on Sunday, the West Course at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs will host the 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying.

Many of the top female players with strong Colorado ties will compete in both events. That list includes former University of Denver golfer Katie Kempter, who competed on the LPGA Tour in 2010; recent CWGA Players of the Year Becca Huffer (2008) and Somin Lee (2011); and Jessica Wallace (pictured), who just completed her University of Colorado golf career.

Here’s a look at what’s in store in each of this week’s events:

— Colorado Women’s Open: Cindy Figg-Currier, who won a tournament on the LPGA Tour in 1997 and finished third at last year’s Women’s Open, is among the headliners in this year’s field.

Meanwhile, four players who just wrapped up their college careers will be making their pro debuts at Green Valley Ranch: Huffer (Notre Dame), Wallace (CU), Kayla Mortellaro (Idaho) and Brittany Penny (Grand Canyon).

Huffer, a two-time Colorado state high school champion at Littleton, won her first college tournament as a senior at Notre Dame. She finished second in the Colorado Women’s Open as an amateur in 2008 and ninth in 2010.

Wallace spent only her junior and senior seasons at CU after transferring from Pepperdine, but that didn’t keep her from tying the program record for college victories, with two, including one as a senior.

Meanwhile, Mortellaro won an impressive three times as a senior, including her second consecutive Western Athletic Conference championship.

Lee, who just completed her freshman season at Pepperdine, placed sixth in the Colorado Women’s Open last spring. She also finished sixth earlier this month at the NCAA West Regional that was hosted by Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.

Also playing in the Colorado Women’s Open is Anya Sarai Alvarez, who made the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open that was held at the Broadmoor last year.

Between the championship and pro-am competitions, the pros will be playing for $64,000 in prize money at the Colorado Women’s Open, while there will be another $9,000 of prizes available for the amateurs.

Last year’s Colorado Women’s Open proved memorable as 2010 PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer caddied for his girlfriend Allison Micheletti, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Jody Conradt made a hole-in-one.

— U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying: For the third consecutive year, the Broadmoor will host one of the Sectional qualifiers for the most prestigious event in women’s golf, the U.S. Women’s Open. Of course, the Broadmoor’s East Course was the site of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open itself. But Sunday’s 36-hole qualifier will be held on the West Course.

Besides Kempter, Huffer, Lee and Wallace, among the 76 competitors vying for three spots in the national championship are Alvarez, last year’s qualifying co-medalist at the Broadmoor, and CU golfer Alex Stewart. Stewart, who just completed her sophomore season, is No. 36 in the World Amateur Golf Women’s Rankings.

In all, the USGA received a record 1,364 entries for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played July 5-8 in Kohler, Wis. The Broadmoor is one of 19 sites for Sectional qualifiers this year.

————

2012 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open

When: Wednesday through Friday (May 30-June 1). Tee times Wednesday and Thursday run from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Where: Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver (4900 Himalaya Road).

Format: 54 holes of stroke play. Most of the professionals will play with amateur partners, competing simultaneously in the championship and in a best-ball pro-am team event. A cut will be made after round 2.

Purse: $73,000 total — including the pro-am — with $64,000 going to the pros and $9,000 in prizes to the amateurs.

Field: Approximately 116 players for the championship, 150 overall.

LPGA Champion in Field: Among those entered is Cindy Figg-Currier, winner of an LPGA event in 1997 and more than $1.9 million in her LPGA career.

Tee Times: CLICK HERE. 

Fan Information: The tournament is open to spectators free of charge. 

Conference tournaments, the lead-ins to possible NCAA regional meets and cherished berths in the NCAA Championship finals, will be held over the next three weeks for Colorado-based schools. The University of Denver women, and men’s teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference — which includes a couple of nationally ranked Division II programs — will kick things off on Monday (April 16).

The various conference meets feature several notable storylines for local teams. The DU women, for instance, are seeking their ninth consecutive Sun Belt Conference title, and the DU men are looking for their third Sun Belt championship in five years.

Meanwhile, the University of Colorado women, ranked among the top dozen Division I female teams in the nation, will face a formidable test in the Pac-12, arguably the toughest women’s golf conference in the nation. That league meet will set the table for the Buffs hosting the NCAA West Regional May 10-12 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. (CU sophomore Alex Stewart, winner of a tournament in late February, is pictured above.)

Here’s a rundown of all the Division I conference championships featuring Colorado teams, plus the RMAC men’s meet, which includes the top local non-Division I programs the state has to offer. (The tournaments are listed in chronological order.)

— Sun Belt Conference Women, April 16-18 in Muscle Shoals, Ala. — Colorado team competing: Denver. … The Pioneers, winners of the last eight Sun Belt championships, are ranked 34th in the nation by the coaches and 44th by Golfstat. … DU’s only top-five team finish of the season was a second in Dick McGuire Invitational in late September. … Denver’s best individual showings of the season are eighths by Kelly Drack and Tonje Daffinrud. Drack is ranked 98th in the nation by Golfweek.

— RMAC Men, April 16-17 in Litchfield Park, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Adams State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Regis and CU-Colorado Springs. … Colorado School of Mines, winner of five team titles this season, owns the league’s best stroke average and is ranked 30th nationally in the Division II coaches’ poll. … CU-Colorado Springs, twice a team champion this season, checks in even higher, at No. 21 in the coaches’ rankings. … CSU-Pueblo is the defending conference tournament champion but hasn’t won a team title this season. … Mines senior Jim Knous is the highest-ranked male golfer from a Colorado school — regardless of classification — standing 155th in the country, according to Golfstat. Knous has won three individual titles this season.

— Mountain West Conference Women, April 20-22 in Phoenix — Colorado team competing: Colorado State. … CSU is coming off its best team finish of the season, a runner-up showing at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. … CSU senior Brianna Espinoza won the individual title at the Cowgirl Classic. … Rams teammate Betsy Kelly was second in 2011 MWC tournament.

— Big Sky Conference Women, April 22-24 in Chandler, Ariz. — Colorado team competing: Northern Colorado. … UNC’s best team finish of the season was a third in October. … The Bears’ top individual finish was also a third, by Carleigh Silvers in the Santa Clara Colby Invitational in late October.

— Sun Belt Conference Men, April 23-25 in Muscle Shoals, Ala. — Colorado team competing: Denver. … The Pioneers will be defending their team title after prevailing in the weather-shortened conference tournament in 2011. … DU’s two third-place team finishes are their best of the season. … Individually, a fifth-place showing by Oskar Arvidsson has been tops by a Pioneer.

— Pac-12 Conference Women, April 27-29 in Pullman, Wash. — Colorado team competing: Colorado. … The Buffs are ranked the highest they’ve ever been nationally, sitting 11th according to the coaches and Golfweek, and 12th in Golfstat. … The Buffs will face one of their biggest challenges of the season as three fellow Pac-12 teams — UCLA, USC and Arizona State — are ranked in the top four in the country. UCLA is the only team in the top 25 to have won more tournaments (five) than CU this season. … The Buffs have claimed a program-record three team titles this season, including back-to-back championships in their last two invitationals. They’ve also been runner-up twice. But CU will be competing in a multi-team event for the first time in a month. … CU’s Stewart and senior Jessica Wallace have posted individual victories this season. … Stewart is ranked as high as 36th nationally among female college players, while Emily Talley is 47th and Wallace 74th.

— Pac-12 Conference Men, April 27-29 in Corvallis, Ore. — Colorado team competing: Colorado. … The Buffs won their first tournament of the season, then tied for first and lost in a playoff in their second meet. CU’s only top-five showing since then came in its last event, the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, where the Buffs placed second. … Junior Beau Schoolcraft has recorded first- and third-place finishes individually this season. … CU was hurt in midseason by the loss of Sebastian Heisele, who turned pro in December. Heisele had one of the team’s top scoring averages in the fall (72.08). … The Buffs face a tall task at their first Pac-12 Championships as six of the top 14 teams in the nation are from the conference, according to Golfstat. CU is currently ranked 72nd.

— America Sky Conference Men, April 30-May 2 in North Stonington, Conn. — Colorado team competing: Northern Colorado. … Earlier this month, UNC had its most impressive performance of the season. The Bears tied for first and lost in playoff to Seton Hall at the Fireline Towson Invitational. UNC freshman Steven Kupcho placed second individually at the Towson Invite. … The Bears finished third at the America Sky Championship in 2011.

— Mountain West Conference Men, May 4-6 in Tucson, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Air Force Academy and Colorado State. … CSU senior Mike Wuertz shared the individual title in his last event, the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. Zahkai Brown, Kirby Pettitt and Cameron Harrell have joined Wuertz in posting top-five individual finishes during the course of this season. … CSU’s best team performances of the season have been two third-place showings, both in the fall. The Rams are ranked 64th in the nation, according to Golfstat. … Air Force won the Service Academy Golf Classic in the fall. The Falcons’ Kyle Westmoreland claimed the individual title in the Service Academy Classic. … Both CSU and Air Force will compete in the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah April 27-28 before playing in the conference tournament.
 

The head coach and her players are set to embark on the spring portion of their schedule, which begins Sunday at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. And a perfect convergence of events could make it the most memorable semester in the 18 years the CU women’s program has existed.

What’s in store for the Buffs?

First, a 5,700-square-foot indoor practice facility, complete with five heated hitting bays, is tentatively scheduled to open later this month at Colorado National Golf Club, the Buffs’ home course in Erie. The CU women will share the George Boedecker Jr. Golf Practice Facility with the Buff men.

Second, the CU women will be the host team when an NCAA Championship tournament is played in Colorado for the first time ever. The women’s NCAA West Regional is scheduled for May 10-12 at Colorado National.

Third, in a matter of ideal timing for the Buffs, Kelly believes she has the best team in the history of the CU women’s program. After a fall schedule in which the Buffs posted one team victory, they’re ranked 20th in the nation by Golfweek, 23rd by Golfstat and 24th by the coaches.

“It’s a very exciting semester,” said Kelly, CU’s women’s head coach since 1997. “To see this all come true — getting the golf course a couple of years ago, the (practice) facility about to be completed, and hosting this big tournament — it’s great for CU golf, but it’s also great for women’s golf in general.”

If ever there was a semester where the Buffs can make inroads nationally, it’s this one. They have two seniors (Emily Talley, pictured, and Jessica Wallace) who were first-team All-Big 12 Conference players last season. And sophomore Alex Stewart, a transfer from Purdue, is currently the No. 7-ranked women’s amateur in the world, according to Golfweek/amateurgolf.com.

Last month, Stewart was a contender in two prestigious women’s amateur tournaments in Florida, finishing fourth in the South Atlantic Amateur and making it to the match play semifinals of the Jones/Doherty Women’s Amateur. Last year, Stewart was runner-up in the Women’s Trans National.

“Quite honestly, this is probably the best team that’s been here (at CU) so far,” Kelly said. “They’re committed to the team and to their games. They’d like nothing more than to see the team go as far as it can. To have players like that is pretty nice. All of them are excited to play an (NCAA) regional at our home course.”

In addition to Wallace, Talley and Stewart, the Coleman twins — sophomores Jenny and Kristin — make up CU’s normal travel squad.

Twenty-four teams will qualify for the women’s NCAA West Regional, one of three regional tournaments overall. If other Colorado-based teams earn regional berths, they’ll also play at Colorado National in May. Given how highly it’s ranked, CU shouldn’t have a problem earning a regional berth. But the Buffs have bigger things in mind, namely gaining a spot in the NCAA Finals.

The Buffs have qualified for NCAA regionals twice, but have never made it to the Finals.

“Our goal is not to make it to regionals, but to make it to the Championship (finals),” Kelly said. “We definitely have talented players that are capable of that.”

While CU has high expectations given the significant stakes this semester, Kelly has been careful to keep things on an even keel for her team.

“Any extra pressure in golf is not beneficial,” she said. “If we keep doing what we’re doing and play the way we’re capable, I think we’ll be fine.

“I have high hopes and I know what kind of players they are. We have depth and are committed. But golf is such a fickle game. You don’t want to get ahead of yourself. You play your best golf when you stay in the present.”

This will be the second consecutive May that Colorado National has hosted an NCAA regional. Last year, a men’s regional was held there, though the host CU men’s team didn’t qualify. Colorado State not only made it in, but advanced to the NCAA Finals.