The 1982 Masters champion, who competed in his final Masters in 2014, tied for second place despite lipping out a 3-foot birdie attempt on the ninth and final hole of the par-3 course. That gave the Walrus a 5-under-par 22 total, the same as Keegan Bradley.

Jimmy Walker not only won the Par-3, but set a record in the tournament that was first played in 1960. Walker shot an 8-under-par 19 that included a hole-in-one, one of nine aces made during the contest.

Stadler, who won an event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit as recently as 2013, made five birdies and no bogeys on Wednesday.

Stadler will be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame next month.

For all the scores from the Par-3 Contest, CLICK HERE.
 

John Ogden couldn’t resist.

Cherry Hills Country Club’s head professional, the starter on the first tee for Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship, saw Morgan Hoffmann come to No. 1 having already played the back nine in 6-under-par 30.

And with low scores possible on the front nine with its two driveable par-4s, Ogden knew Hoffmann (left) had a chance at something really low.

So the head pro decided to follow Hoffmann, and he caught up to him at the par-3 sixth hole. Sure enough, after Hoffmann had been 8 under par through 12 holes, the former Oklahoma State golfer made his first bogey of the day after pulling his tee shot into the bunker.

“I jinx him and he makes bogey on 6,” Ogden said. “So I went back up the hill, then he birdied 7.”

And with that and two pars to finish up, Hoffmann shot the lowest competitive round in the 92-year history of Cherry Hills, an 8-under-par 62.

About 18 years ago, PGA Tour player Mike Reid fired a 60 from the back tees in a casual round at Cherry Hills. And Gunner Wiebe posted a 61 a few years ago. But Hoffmann’s score, having come in competition, will go down as the official course record.

“It was a great round,” Ogden said. “After the rain on Thursday (evening), I thought we would see that (kind of score). Today, it’s perfect and I thought we’d see something. The greens are so soft right now. The players are not having to think as much as they were (on Thursday).”

Hoffmann, who played in the Palmer Cup college matches between the U.S. and Europe that Cherry Hills hosted in 2009, finished Saturday with nine birdies and the lone bogey on No. 6. The 62 pushed him past 43 players on the scoreboard, up into 10th place with a 4-under 206 total.

But setting the course record is a more lasting accomplishment.

“It’s really cool,” the 25-year-old said. “It’s such an honor, especially with all the history here and the great championships that have been played here.”

When he was 8 under through 12, Hoffmann admits he was entertaining thoughts of PGA Tour grandeur — a 59. But though it was a possibility — he needed to go 3 under his final six holes — he never seriously threatened the mark and the bogey on 6 realistically ended the hopes.

“My goal is to go as low as possible; I don’t think you should be out here if you’re scared to go low,” said Hoffmann, who matched his low competitive round ever, a 10-under 62 he shot in college at Southern Highlands in Las Vegas. “After I was 8 under through 12 or 13, that 59 number was a big goal for me. … Hopefully I can pull it off tomorrow.”

Hoffmann said he still distinctly remembers competing in the 2009 Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills. Coincidentally, in one of his matches, he was paired with Cameron Tringale, who is also in the BMW Championship field this week (he’s in 34th place at 1-over-par 211).

“Cameron Tringale and I played alternate shot (at the Palmer Cup), and ever since then my dad calls him ‘even man’ because he played the even holes,” Hoffmann said. “We got to play aggressive golf then, so it kind of set us up for this week.”

Hoffman’s 62 on Saturday came on the heels of consecutive 72s at Cherry Hills.

“I was just going out there kind of carefree,” he said. “I don’t have anything to lose, so I was just trying to have some fun.”

Hoffmann’s threesome on Saturday put on quite a show, with Hoffmann’s 62, and the 66s by both Jerry Kelly and Freddie Jacobson. “We were feeding off each other a bunch,” Hoffmann said.

Mickelson, Bradley Pull Out After Two Rounds: Two fan favorites who have won major championships withdrew before Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills.

Phil Mickelson (left), who won his U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in 1990, ended his 2013-14 PGA Tour season when he pulled out of the BMW following a second-round 76.

“My primary goal is to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup” later this month in Scotland, Mickelson said in a statement. “Without a chance to contend at the Tour Championship, the most important thing for me now is to prepare for the Ryder Cup.”

The upshot is that two streaks come to an end for Mickelson. After 10 consecutive PGA Tour seasons with at least one victory — which was the longest active streak on Tour — he went winless in the 2013-14 wraparound season. And for the first time since the FedExCup Playoffs were launched in 2007, he failed to qualify for the Tour Championship.

After his 76 on Friday at Cherry Hills, Mickelson stood in 63rd place at the BMW Championship at 6-over 146. He needed a very high finish — fourth or better — at Cherry Hills to have a chance to advance to the season finale.

Hunter Mahan is now the only player to have qualified for the Tour Championship in each year of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Also withdrawing from the BMW Championship Saturday morning was Keegan Bradley, winner of the 2011 PGA Championship. Bradley, who had never before withdrawn from a PGA Tour event, stood at 3-over-par 143, 11 out of the lead, after Friday’s round.

 Bradley pulled out after having lingering doubts about an embedded-ball ruling he received on the 18th hole of his opening round on Thursday.

“I just feel withdrawing is the right thing to do to protect the field in the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship next week,” Bradley said in a press release. “It’s eating me alive. I didn’t call my fellow competitors for help in the first place and that bothers me. I know the official approved the drop but I just can’t be absolutely sure it was the right spot.”

On the ruling in question, Bradley’s third shot on No. 18 embedded in the grass face just above the left greenside bunker. He took relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch mark, then chipped on and two-putted for a double bogey.

After the round, a fan told Bradley he had seen the ball bounce before coming to rest. As he was unsettled about his handling of the situation, Bradley conferred with PGA Tour vice president of rules and competitions Slugger White, who absolved Bradley of any potential violation after the two talked and examined the pitch mark at No. 18. Nevertheless, Bradley opted to withdraw on Saturday.

Bradley’s withdrawal could cost him a spot in next week’s Tour Championship as only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings qualifying, and going into Sunday he’s 33rd.

 On Friday, another top player, Jason Day, pulled out of the BMW Championship in the middle of his second round with back problems.

Parking Back for Normal for Sunday: After two days of many BMW Championship fans parking at Sports Authority Field at Mile High because Thursday evening rains caused problems at various grass parking lots, the parking plan will revert to original locations for Sunday.

For more information, check the web site at BMWChampionshipUSA.com (CLICK HERE) or follow updates on Twitter: @bmwchamps.

Notable: Kent Denver High School graduate Kevin Stadler has some work to do if he is to qualify for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. The 2002 Colorado Open champion is in 47th place at Cherry Hills, which projects to him being 36th in the FedExCup point standings. Only the top 30 finishers advance to the Tour Championship. … Chesson Hadley made five straight birdies in Saturday’s round (holes 9-13).

For BMW Championship scores, CLICK HERE.
 

For Sunday’s final-round pairings, CLICK HERE.

————————————————————————-

BMW Championship: The Essentials

What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.

Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.

Schedule
Sept. 7: Sunday tee times from 9:35-11:15 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.

Gates Open — 8 a.m. 

TV Coverage — Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).

Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.

Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.

Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concluded on Sept. 1. There was no cut during the BMW Championship.

Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.

Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-inch-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.

Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.

Autographs and Cameras — Not permitted during championship rounds Thursday through Sunday.

Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).

For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.)         

Rory McIlroy noted the distances matter-of-factly. In 27 holes of practice and pro-am play at Cherry Hills Country Club, he’s smacked a 3-wood 370 yards, hit 3-wood more than driver off the tee in taking aim at the 346- and 333-yard first and third holes, and gone 3-wood then 8-iron into a 526-yard hole.

Such is the way it is for the No. 1 golfer in the world — and player No. 3 in the PGA Tour driving distance statistic, averaging 310.4 yards.

“It’s funny: This course doesn’t really allow you to hit it that far,” McIlroy said Wednesday after participating in the pro-am for the BMW Championship, which begins Thursday. “There’s not many opportunities where you can just hit driver and see how far it goes. You really need to place your ball in the fairway here.

“But the fall is going forever (because of the mile-high altitude). Because of my high ball flight, it’s going a good 15 percent further than it usually does.”

Which is a remarkable feat considering how long the Irishman normally hits it.

The winner of the last two major championships, McIlroy is not only the player to beat each time he tees it up these days, but he’s a crowd favorite. At 25 years old, he’s the third-youngest player — behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus — to have won at least four majors as the Grand Slam events are currently configured.

But McIlroy is far from the only 20-something to be excelling these days. In fact, there are a half-dozen players under 30 currently residing in the top 20 in the World Rankings: 1. McIlroy (25 years old); 6. Jason Day (26); 11. Rickie Fowler (25); 12. Martin Kaymer (29); 14. Jordan Spieth (21); and 18. Hideki Matsuyama (22).

“I think (young players consistently being in contention and/or winning), that sort of makes (other young players) believe that they can do the same thing,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s great to see that there’s younger guys winning on Tour, and it only bodes well for the future of this game. I’m glad I’m the leader of that pack, and hopefully I’m the leader of the pack for the next 20 years as well.”

Added Keegan Bradley, another 20-something (28) who’s won a major championship: “We are part of the generation that (grew up) watching Tiger Woods play, and we watched him only talk about winning and coming out on Tour and wanting to win right away. I think you’re seeing now the influence of Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour and my generation of golfers. We didn’t come out on Tour scared of anybody. We were very respectful of the players, but Tiger kind of taught us to come with a mindset of winning.”

And, so far anyway, McIlroy is the most special of the 20-somethings.

Despite his skill and length — and that of other top players — McIlroy doesn’t see Cherry Hills getting ripped-up, score-wise, this week.

“All you need to do for a difficult golf course is get the greens firm and get the rough up — which they have done here,” he said. “You won’t see guys going crazy under par. You’ll still see some pretty low scores out there … but they can make it as tough as they want. There’s still a bit of bite there. … I think you’re going to see maybe 63, 64s, (but) I don’t think you’re going to see much lower than that this week.”

Contest Winners Paired With Holmes in Pro-Am: Andy Harwood and Pete Knutson of Denver, and Mike Stolze of Greenwood Village — winners of a CGA-run contest for BMW Championship pro-am spots (CLICK HERE) — were paired together for Wednesday’s Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am at Cherry Hills with PGA Tour player J.B. Holmes. The pro-am spots the players (left) won were worth $12,000 apiece.

Holmes, winner of three PGA Tour events including the 2014 Wells Fargo Championship, is No. 5 on the Tour in average driving distance at 307.4 yards.

Also among the amateurs playing in the pro-am Wednesday were Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway (paired with fellow former Bronco John Lynch and professional Russell Knox), former Denver Nuggets standout Chauncey Billups (with Ernie Els), and CGA executive director Ed Mate (with three-time 2013-14 PGA Tour winner Jimmy Walker).

With many Evans Scholar alumni caddying in the pro-am and donating their earnings to the scholarship, among the loopers Wednesday was BMW Championship general chairman George Solich. Solich, a 1983 Evans Scholar alum from CU, caddied for Elway. (At left, Elway and Solich chat with contestant Jordan Spieth on Wednesday.)

According to the Western Golf Association, one contestant tipped his caddie $10,000, an amount that was subsequently given to the Evans Scholars Foundation.

Mahan Enthused about Evans Scholars: Hunter Mahan, whose hole-in-one last year in the BMW Championship resulted in a BMW Hole-in-One Scholarship being awarded to Melyzjah Smith, spoke Wednesday about playing a part in a caddie receiving an Evans Scholarship. Smith, from Aurora, is a sophomore at the CU Evans Scholar house (READ MORE HERE). 

“I got to meet the Evans Scholarship winner (Smith) and the fact that she’s going to (CU) and getting four years of college and housing paid for, it’s just amazing,” Mahan said. “It’s just an incredible offering by BMW to do that. The Evans Scholar Foundation, they had a board (on the 18th hole) of all the kids that are in the program and then the alumni, and there are some really outstanding people who are a part of that. So it’s a really neat thing.”

————————————————————————-

BMW Championship: The Essentials

What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.

Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.

Schedule
Sept. 4-7: Championship rounds, with Thursday and Friday tee times from 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. off the first and 10th tees, and Saturday and Sunday tee times from 9-11 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.

Gates Open — 10 a.m. Sept. 4-5; and 8 a.m. Sept. 6-7.

TV Coverage — Sept. 4-5: 2-6 p.m., Golf Channel; Sept. 6: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel and 1-4 p.m., KUSA (9); Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).

Tickets — Tickets will not be sold on site, only online. CLICK HERE. 

Thursday/Friday Tee Times: For Thursday and Friday tee times, CLICK HERE.

Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.

Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.

Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concludes on Sept. 1. There will be no cut during the BMW Championship.

Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.

Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-inch-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.

Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.

Parking — Free parking is available at 1 Highfield Parkway in Englewood, with free shuttle service provided to the main entrance at Cherry Hills CC. Free parking for BMW owners will be provided at 6145 Happy Canyon Road in Denver, with shuttle service to the course. (At Cherry Hills, the BMW owners’ pavilion is located between the seventh and 14th holes; owners need only show their BMW key for access).

Autographs and Cameras — Not permitted during championship rounds Thursday through Sunday.

Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).

For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.)