The past champion of the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open stands at 2-over-par 218 in stage II of LPGA Q-school in Venice, Fla. The top 80 finishers and ties — out of the original field of 193 — after Sunday’s final round will advance to the final stage of qualifying, set for Nov. 30-Dec. 4 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Huffer (pictured), the 2008 CWGA Player of the Year, made three birdies and three bogeys in Saturday’s third round. She’s one of five players with strong Colorado ties who are in the top 80 going into the final round.

Former University of Colorado golfer Jenny Coleman is in 17th place at 1-over 217, while former University of Denver golfer Ellie Givens and former Buff Emily Childs are 54th at 222, and ex-DU golfer Katie Kempter is 75th at 224.

Here are the scores and positions for all the players with strong Colorado connections:

17. Former DU golfer Jenny Coleman 71-71-75–217
22. Becca Huffer of Denver 74-72-72–218
54. Former DU golfer Ellie Givens 68-75-79–222
54. Former CU golfer Emily Childs 71-76-75–222
75. Former DU golfer Katie Kempter 73-72-79–224
103. Former DU golfer Tonje Daffinrud 74-75-78–227
103. Former CU golfer Kristin Coleman 77-77-73–227
120. Former CU golfer Alexis Keating 72-76-81–229
164. Former UNC golfer Carleigh Silvers 74-81-78–233
192. Former DU golfer Kimberly Kim 81-80-82–243

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Former University of Colorado golfer Jenny Coleman (pictured), who finished 31st on the Symetra Tour money list in 2016, shot her second straight round of 71, leaving her at 2-under-par 142, six strokes behind leader Maia Schechter. She shares 10th place.

The top 80 finishers and ties — out of the original field of 193 — after Sunday’s final round will advance to the third and final stage of LPGA qualifying, set for Nov. 30-Dec. 4 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Also in the top 80 with two rounds remaining are former University of Denver golfers Ellie Givens (143, 14th place) and Katie Kempter (145, 30th place), Becca Huffer of Denver (146, 50th place), former CU golfers Emily Childs (147, 62nd place) and Alexis Keating (148, 73rd place), and former DU Pioneer Tonje Daffinrud (149, 79th place).

Here are the scores and positions for all the players with strong Colorado connections:

10. Former DU golfer Jenny Coleman 71-71–142
14. Former DU golfer Ellie Givens 68-75–143
30. Former DU golfer Katie Kempter 73-72–145
50. Becca Huffer of Denver 74-72–146
62. Former CU golfer Emily Childs 71-76–147
73. Former CU golfer Alexis Keating 72-76–148
79. Former DU golfer Tonje Daffinrud 74-75–149
149. Former CU golfer Kristin Coleman 77-77–154
154. Former UNC golfer Carleigh Silvers 74-81–155
188. Former DU golfer Kimberly Kim 81-80–161

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

The Ladies European Tour golfer made five birdies and a bogey in the opening round of the 72-hole event. She trails co-leaders Kathleen Ekey, Hannah Green and Beth Allen by one stroke.

The top 80 finishers and ties after Sunday’s final round will advance to the third and final stage of LPGA qualifying.

Joining Givens in the top 80 after day 1 were former University of Colorado golfers Jenny Coleman and Emily Childs (71, 25th place), fellow former Buff Alexis Keating (72, 43rd place), and former DU golfer Katie Kempter (73, 58th place).

Here are the scores and positions for all the players with strong Colorado connections:

4. Former DU golfer Ellie Givens 68
25. Former DU golfer Jenny Coleman 71
25. Former CU golfer Emily Childs 71
43. Former CU golfer Alexis Keating 72
58. Former DU golfer Katie Kempter 73
82. Becca Huffer of Denver 74
82. Former DU golfer Tonje Daffinrud 74
82. Former UNC golfer Carleigh Silvers 74
146. Former CU golfer Kristin Coleman 77
186. Former DU golfer Kimberly Kim 81

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

The first stage of LPGA (and Symetra) Tour Q-school begins Thursday and continues through Sunday (Aug. 6-9) as the process of determining the most worthy golfers gets underway.

Qualifying for the LPGA is the first on the docket for the world’s major tours. With there no longer being a direct route to the PGA Tour through Q-school, the Web.com Tour is now the immediate goal of men’s Q-school participants in the U.S.

The four-stage Web.com qualifying process begins on Sept. 2. There are six “pre-qualifying” tournaments in September, 11 first-stage events in October, five second-stage tourneys in November, and the qualifying finals set for Dec. 10-15 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Making it to that final stage guarantees some Web.com Tour status for 2016, but considerable priority is given to players who finish in the top 45.

The Champions Tour holds regional qualifying in November and the finals Dec. 1-4 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The European Tour conducts three stages of qualifying, beginning Sept. 15 and concluding with the finals Nov. 14-19 in Girona, Span.

While the competitors with strong Colorado ties who are entered in Web.com, Champions and European qualifying won’t be finalized until later dates, many of the locals who will be competing in LPGA/Symetra Tour Q-school are coming into focus.

The first of three stages of LPGA qualifying will be held in Rancho Mirago, Calif., this week. A total of 288 players are entered for stage 1, and the top 60 and ties will advance to stage 2.

Among the players with major Colorado connections in the field in Rancho Mirage are former University of Denver golfer and former Pueblo resident Kimberly Kim, who won the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 14; two-time CWGA Player of the Year Somin Lee, of Denver; former state high school champion Lindsay McGetrick; Colorado Springs resident Paige Crawford; and former University of Colorado golfer Kristin Coleman.

Kim (pictured) is trying to revive a career which also included playing on the LPGA Tour in 2011, and being runner-up in three USGA championships: the 2006 and 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

The second stage of LPGA qualifying will take place Oct. 22-25 in Venice, Fla. Assuming they don’t earn 2016 LPGA cards by finishing in the top 10 on the 2015 Symetra Tour money list, here are the players with strong Colorado ties currently exempt into stage 2: former CU golfers Jenny Coleman (who competed in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open) and Emily Childs; former CWGA Player of the Year Becca Huffer; former DU golfer Katie Kempter, who held an LPGA Tour card in 2010 and who won a Symetra Tour event this year; and Carleigh Silvers of Greeley.

The top 80 finishers and ties from stage 2 will advance to the Q-school finals, set for Dec. 2-6 in Daytota Beach, Fla. The number of LPGA Tour cards awarded there hasn’t been finalized, but last year 45 players earned some LPGA status.

In 2014, five local players made it to the LPGA Q-school finals — former CU golfer Emily Talley, former DU golfer Sue Kim, Huffer, Childs and Silvers — with Talley just missing earning her LPGA card by finishing 58th.
 

But that’s not to say that golfers from Norway haven’t made their mark. For instance, Norwegian Suzann Pettersen is among the top 10 players in the Rolex women’s world golf rankings.

And, locally speaking, the top college golfer for a Colorado-based team this season hails from Norway.

University of Denver junior Tonje (pronounced Tonya) Daffinrud is ranked one of the top 50 women’s college golfers in the country by both Golfstat (43rd) and Golfweek (38th).

Though Daffinrud hasn’t won an individual title this season — she did claim a victory as a freshman — she’s been a model of top-level consistency. In the six college tournaments she’s played this season, the 21-year-old has posted a remarkable five top-10 finishes.

“We’ve had many great players at DU in recent years, but Tonje is something,” said coach Lindsay Hulwick, the new head coach at DU, where she served as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2012. “I don’t know if any player has had (a run of top-10s like that). She’s quite impressive, but I’m not at all surprised by what she’s doing.”

Just last week, Daffinrud (pictured in a DU photo) made her way into the Pioneer record book alongside two of the best players the program has produced. In firing a 7-under-par 65 at the Anuenue Spring Break Classic in Kapalua, Hawaii, the junior tied the lowest round in DU women’s golf history. Current LPGA Tour player Stephanie Sherlock and former LPGA Tour competitor Katie Kempter previously shot 65 at tournaments for DU, both during the 2007-08 season.

“It’s fun to have records and have that in my resume,” Daffinrud said this week. “But for me it’s not about that. It’s a nice bonus.”

If nothing else, it confirms that Daffinrud may also have what it takes to make it to the LPGA Tour, like Sherlock and Kempter have done.

“It kind of confirms how far I’ve come,” Daffinrud said. “For a long time, I’ve had the goal of going professional. Shooting rounds like that inspire and motivate me to work toward that.”

After tying the course record with the 65, Daffinrud finished second in the tournament, behind only Pepperdine’s Grace Na, one of the top 10 women’s college players in the country.

In addition to that runner-up showing, Daffinrud has one third place, a fifth, a seventh and a 10th this season. Only once has she finished outside the top 10: a 33rd-place showing at the Bruin Wave Invitational a month ago.

Daffinrud, who owns a 73.2 stroke average this season, was named the Western Athletic Conference’s Women’s Golfer of the Month for October, and the Women’s Golfer of the Week for last week.

Daffinrud actually missed the season opener for DU, but she had a good reason: She was playing for her homeland of Norway in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey in late September. Individually, Daffinrud had a solid showing at that worldwide amateur event, finishing 32nd out of 157 competitors.

Daffinrud has been playing on national teams for Norway since age 13. In 2008 as a junior golfer, she won every tournament in which she competed. But given Norway’s climate, she’s been a big fish in a small golf pond, relatively speaking.

“The season (in Norway) is pretty short; it starts in May and ends in September,” she said. “And golf is not as big a sport (as it is in some other countries). The weather and courses are not as good everywhere. But the Norwegian Golf Federation has put a lot of resources into building junior golf.”

The NGF’s support has helped Daffinrud develop as a player over the years. In fact, one of the keys she cites as a reason for her good play this season is due in part to the federation’s help. Since last summer, Daffinrud has been working on the mental side of the game with Dr. Joseph Parent, author of the popular “Zen Golf”. In fact, Daffinrud had some in-person sessions with Parent before going to Hawaii for last week’s tournament.

Daffinrud came onto DU’s radar four years ago in Illinois at the Junior Solheim Cup. Among Daffinrud’s matches that week was one against Lexi Thompson, who would go on in 2011 to become then the youngest winner ever of an LPGA Tour event, at age 16. Thompson barely defeated Daffinrud, 1 up, in singles.

Hulwick, then a DU assistant under Sammie Chergo, was at the Junior Solheim Cup recruiting.

“(Daffinrud) really caught my eye,” Hulwick recalled. “She’s very athletic, tall, and has a great swing. Her game and maturity were already at a high level. I knew we had to get her.”

And the timing was right. Though Daffinrud was also being recruited by some of the top college programs in the country, DU was coming off its best finish ever at the NCAA Championship Finals, a fifth place.

And why did Daffinrud choose Denver?

“At the end it came down to the coaches,” she said. “I’m pretty independent in how I practice and play golf. Of course, we have a team structure, but the coaches let me do it my way. I want to follow my own path, and at DU I found that (opportunity). And being from Norway, the cold doesn’t really affect me. The eduction is very impressive as well.”

Daffinrud is double majoring in international business and economics, and she said there’s no question she’ll return to DU for her senior season.

But the most important part of this college season remains ahead, and that’s what Daffinrud is concentrating on now. The Pioneers have a maximum of four tournaments remaining, starting with this weekend’s SMU Invitational in Dallas. Then there’s the team’s one and only Western Athletic Conference Championship, where the Pioneers will try to win their 10th straight conference title, the last nine coming in the Sun Belt. Then DU hopes to earn a spot in the NCAA regionals, and the NCAA Championship Finals.

“We’re in a new conference, and our goal for sure is to win and keep our streak going,” Daffinrud said. “Regionals are our most important tournament; we want to make it to nationals.

“Individually, my goal is to win the last four tournaments. I play to win. I’ve come close (this season), but I’m not satisfied. Hopefully, I’ll make it to nationals regardless of how the team does. And a top 10 at nationals would be something I would be happy about. I want to get after it.”

Hulwick said big goals are within reach for Daffinrud.

“She’s very disciplined and committed,” the coach said. “She sets goals and she achieves them. She’s very independent, and she wants to be the best. She puts in the extra time before and after practice. You don’t see her kind of drive very often.”

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.