Parker Edens (pictured) of Greeley, who won a Dreamchasers Tour event last month, racked up his third top-10 in six Dreamchasters tournaments in 2016 by tying for fifth Thursday in the Club West Classic in Phoenix.

The two-time CGA Match Play runner-up posted rounds of 69-70-67 for a 7-under-par 206 total that left him three shots back of champion Ty Travis of Boise, Idaho. Edens made $1,081.

Meanwhile, at the OnCore Gateway Tour’s Moon Valley Open, also in Phoenix, Zahkai Brown of Arvada finished eighth on Thursday. The former CoBank Colorado Open champion went 65-71-71 for a 9-under-par 207 total, making two eagles and 13 birdies in three rounds. Brown earned $1,800.

Jimmy Gunn, winner of last year’s Colorado Open, tied for second at 202, making $3,800.

And former University of Colorado golfer Jenny Coleman placed ninth in a Cactus Tour tournament that ended Wednesday in Sun City, Ariz. Coleman, who placed third in a Symetra Tour event last month, posted rounds of 78-71-73 for a 6-over-par 222, earning $625.
 

It was like a Gunn went off — twice.

Two eagles by Jimmy Gunn in the course of three holes Sunday afternoon propelled the native of Scotland — now a resident of Phoenix — to the title in the HealthOne Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

And, at the same time, they shot down the hopes of Arvada’s Zahkai Brown for his second Colorado Open championship in three years.

Gunn, a former Web.com Tour player who finished 27th last month at the U.S. Open, teamed up with Keegan Bradley’s regular caddie, Coloradan Steve “Pepsi” Hale, and took home the $23,000 first prize in his first time playing the Coloradan Open. (Hale congratulated Gunn above.)

Gunn trailed Brown by one stroke at the turn on Sunday despite making a 5-foot birdie at No. 9. But after draining a 35-foot birdie on No. 10 and getting up and down for par on 11, the Scot sunk a 25-foot eagle putt on No. 12 and pitched in from 35 feet for another eagle at No. 14 (below).

That stretch put Gunn ahead for good and he held on for a one-stroke victory over Brown, who eagled 12 and birdied 14 but still lost a shot to Gunn on those two holes.

“When I chipped in for eagle on 14, that was like a dagger toward him,” Gunn said. “He made birdie, but you could tell the momentum swung in my favor.”

Brown, who held the 54-hole lead for the third time in the last four years, crept back within one when he holed a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 15 (below). But the former Colorado State University golfer bogeyed 17 when he missed the green and couldn’t coax in a 7-foot par putt.

“I had a perfect read on 17 because Ian (Davis) made his putt (on a similar line),” Brown said. “But I didn’t trust it broke that hard and hit it right through the break.”

So trailing by two and heading straight into the wind on the tough par-5 18th hole, Brown very nearly hit it onto the green in two, ending up just short of the putting surface. And Gunn’s 8-iron third shot ballooned in the wind and dropped into the front bunker.

Brown pitched to 10 feet from the cup, while Gunn blasted to 8 feet. But Brown couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity as his birdie putt missed right. And Gunn, now needing just a two-putt for the victory, did indeed two-putt for his only bogey of the day.

“The chip on 18 came off squirrelly and kicked right, but it was still a good chip and I had an opportunity for a birdie,” Brown said. “I figured he was going to just try and make a bogey. But I didn’t make the putt.”

Gunn, who started the day two behind Brown and Davis, ended up shooting a stellar 7-under-par 65 to post a 19-under 269 total. Brown closed with a 68 to come in at 270, earning $13,500.

Davis, the defending champ, couldn’t recover from a two-hole stretch (Nos. 8 and 9) where thinned bunker shots led to a triple bogey and a bogey. The former Oklahoma State golfer posted a 71 Sunday to place third at 273.

Joining Brown (left) as Coloradans placing in the top 10 were two-time champion Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (275, seventh place) and fellow former champion Shane Bertsch of Parker (277, 10th place).

Gunn only found out on the way to the golf course for Thursday’s first round that Hale was available for caddie duties at GVR — and that he didn’t even want to be paid.

“It’s so funny how everything worked out,” Gunn said. “I actually played a practice round at the U.S. Open with Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner and one of the amateurs, and Pepsi was there so I actually kind of knew him. So (on Thursday) it was like, ‘perfect.’ We were off and running.

“He was awesome. He knows what to say at the right time. He knows how to calm me down. His player’s results speak for themselves, but he’s a great caddie and Keegan (Bradley) is very luck to have him.”

Because Hale wouldn’t take payment for caddying, Gunn decided instead to make a $1,000 donation to The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch.

On Sunday, after Gunn had gotten off to a nondescript start, Gunn and Hale decided the Scot should change out balls to get a little better mojo working.

“I couldn’t make a putt, so we changed balls after four or five holes, and things started to go well,” Gunn said.

All in all, Gunn called the Colorado Open win “probably the biggest” of his career.

“To shoot 7 under the last day to win any tournament — it doesn’t matter where you are — but especially a tournament like this, obviously is good,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brown was left thinking back on where he could have picked up the stroke by which he lost. And the place he pointed to was No. 10 (left), where his tee shot ended up a foot inside the hazard line to the left of the fairway. And with tournament officials and fellow competitors not thinking that Brown’s ball had ever crossed the margin of the hazard, he had to take a stroke-and-distance penalty and re-tee. He managed to salvage a bogey on the par-4 by making a 5-foot putt, but with Gunn’s birdie, the two-shot swing put the Scot ahead for good.

“I think it crossed (the margin of the hazard), but it was just a bad shot,” Brown said. “I didn’t think through the wind going left and I hit it into the hazard. The bogey there was a good bogey, but it was a bad mistake.

“I made a couple of errors, but Jimmy Gunn played really well. Sixty-five, that’s tough to beat. It was fun. I like intense battles like that. It was a lot of fun even though I got second.”

Said Gunn: “Zahkai played great as well. He gave it his all. He was unfortunate. He was like yard short on 17. If it didn’t get caught in the rough, his ball is like in the leather. And that was a tough up and down.

“I was very lucky to get the win there at the end.”

Despite missing the cut last year, Brown has now earned $50,000 at the Colorado Open since 2012. During that span, he’s won once and finished second twice.

Former CU Golfer Oraee Takes Low-Amateur Honors: David Oraee (left) didn’t expect it, given that he wasn’t by any means playing his best, but he earned low-amateur honors in the Colorado Open on Sunday.

The former University of Colorado golfer, winner of two Colorado state amateurs since 2013, shot a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday to post a two-stroke victory in the amateur competition. The Greeley resident’s 7-under 281 total was two better than current CU golfer Ethan Freeman of Denver and Colorado State’s Blake Cannon, of Mesa, Ariz.

“I wasn’t really going for low am,” said Oraee, who recently qualified for the U.S. Amateur. “To start the week, I was trying to win the tournament obviously. But it feels good. … It’s kind of bittersweet because I didn’t play the way I wanted to. I missed a lot of opportunities, but to still get it done is pretty cool.”

Oraee finished 21st overall.

For scores and payouts from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

This is becoming old hat for Arvada’s Zahkai Brown — in a good way, mind you.

Three times in the last four HealthOne Colorado Opens, the former Colorado State University golfer has been either the outright leader or a co-leader after 54 holes.

Brown finished second in the 2012 tournament, then won in 2013, so he’s handled the pressure pretty well, which should bode well for Sunday.

The 2011 CGA Player of the Year (left) shot a 5-under-par 67 Saturday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club to move into a share of the lead with defending champion Ian Davis of Edmond, Okla. They and the other players on the leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round will be battling it out for a $23,000 first prize.

“I’m going to still play aggressive,” the 25-year-old Brown said about his plan for Sunday. “The year that I ended up finishing second (one behind Derek Tolan), I played conservative and ended up losing. The year after that I won and played aggressive (firing a 64 on Sunday and prevailing by five). I think I’m going to stick with that approach. It seems to (result in) a lot of birdies.”

Davis (left), who bogeyed the 18th hole on Saturday after hitting his ball into two greenside bunkers, and Brown stand at 14-under-par 202 through three rounds. Davis, the former Oklahoma State golfer who’s bidding to become the first back-to-back Colorado Open champion since Dave Hill in 1976 and ’77, carded a 69 on Saturday but played his final eight holes in 1 over par.

As for Brown, Saturday marked the sixth time in the last four Colorado Opens that he’s shot 67 or lower. He capped his third round with a 2-putt birdie on No. 18 from 80 feet.

“For me (this course) sets up for a cut,” he said, explaining his success at GVR. “If you miss and have a cut, you’re OK. So that seems to fit my game well because if I do miss it’s going to be a little cut. So I do feel comfortable. And growing up 25 minutes from here, it’s nice. And I know how far the ball goes too (at a mile high in elevation).”

But Brown and Davis will have plenty of company in having a realistic shot at the title on Sunday. In fact, there’s 10 players either in the lead or within four strokes of it.

That includes Jimmy Gunn, who finished 27th at this year’s U.S. Open, and who has Keegan Bradley’s regular caddie, Coloradan Steve Hale, looping for him this week; and five former champions: Brown, Davis, Nathan Lashley, Tolan and Wil Collins. (Gunn and Hale are pictured at left.)

A 66 by Gunn left the Scot two out of the lead and in third place. Lashley is in fourth place at 205 with Kurt Kitayama of Chico, Calif. And Tolan and Collins share sixth place at 206 with Riley Arp of Fort Collins, former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland and Chris Ward of McKinney, Texas.

Tolan, bidding to join Bill Bisdorf, Dave Hill and Bill Loeffler as winner of at least three Colorado Opens, came from five back going into the final round to win at GVR in 2012.

“I’m glad I’m kind of lurking,” Tolan (left) said Saturday after firing a 67. “I made up some ground (with a final-round 65 in 2012). It’s doable. It’s more feasible when there’s just one guy leading by three or four rather than it being bunched up. It’ll take a low number but you can do it.”

Of course, Davis also is very familar with being on the leaderboard at the Colorado Open. He prevailed by five strokes last year in his first time playing the tournament. And he’s led or shared the lead after rounds 2 and 3 this year.

“I’m going to go out there and try to be as aggressive as I can — kind of like yesterday (when he shot 64),” said the 23-year-old. “I’ll try to keep the pedal down tomorrow and hopefully do the same thing I did yesterday.

“I’m going to try not to go out and worry about what Zahkai or anyone else is doing. It’s like last year. I just tried to make as many birdies as I could. I know if I go out and play as well as I can, I can get it done tomorrow.”

Notable: Like the overall tournament leaderboard, the low-am leaderboard is bunched. Colorado State University golfer Jimmy Makloski of Pueblo will go into Sunday with a one-stroke advantage over three players: former University of Colorado golfer David Oraee of Greeley, Connor Klein of Lone Tree and Blake Cannon of Mesa, Ariz. Klein, the CGA Match Play runner-up, would have actually been leading by one if not for the two-stroke penalty he received for being late for his tee time. Makloski shot his second consecutive 3-under-par 69 and stands at 7-under 209 overall. … Sunday’s final-round tee times will run from 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m., off both the first and tenth tees. The leading threesome after 54 holes — Zahkai Brown, Ian Davis and Jimmy Gunn — will tee off on No. 1 at 9:25 a.m.

For scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
 

For Sunday tee times, CLICK HERE.