Bruun (left) finished tied for 27th — out of an original field of 115 — on Thursday at the five-round Q-school tournament in Marrakesh, Morocco. By making the 72-hole cut but placing 26th or lower, she’ll earn category 9b status on the LET next year. Had she ended in the top 25, she’d have received more preferable category 8 membership.

Bruun, a native of Norway who wrapped up her DU career in May 2017, played in two events on the LET in 2018, but missed the cut in both. She finished 37th at the 2017 Q-school finals.

At the Q-school in 2018, Bruun went 71-72-76-70-69 for a 2-under-par 358 total. That left her 24 strokes behind qualifying medalist Bronte Law of England, a former UCLA golfer.

Bruun, who made a hole-in-one on Wednesday, double bogeyed her first hole of Thursday’s round, but went 5 under in her final 14 holes. From her fifth through ninth holes, she went 4 under, culminating with an eagle.

Two other former DU golfers have been regulars on the LET in recent years — Eleanor Givens and Tonje Daffinrud. Daffinrud finished 49th on the 2018 LET money list, while Givens was 72nd.

For all the scores from the final stage of LET Q-school, CLICK HERE.
 

— Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, moved from Fort Collins to Atlantic Beach, Fla., in 2016. Saunders grew up in Florida.

— David Duval moved last year from Cherry Hills Village, also to Atlantic Beach. Duval has lived most of his life in northeast Florida.

— And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Wiebe departed Aurora in 2017 to become the director of instruction at San Jose Country Club. Wiebe played college golf at San Jose State.

— Meanwhile, 1997 British Open champion Justin Leonard moved in, to Aspen from Dallas, in 2015. Leonard, winner of a dozen PGA Tour titles, played in just one PGA Tour event in 2017. He serves on the broadcast team for the Golf Channel.

As the first full-field events of 2018 are held this week on the world’s top golf tours, we’ll continue with that theme and explore what’s new and different with the major tour players who have significant Colorado ties.

On the Mend: Two Colorado golfers who have had plenty of starts on the PGA Tour are on major medical extensions from the Tour.

Kevin Stadler, a part-time Denver resident, hasn’t competed on the world’s top golf circuit since the summer of 2015 due to a stress fracture in his left hand that he suffered late in 2014. Stadler, who withdrew after one round of a Web.com Tour event in July, has 26 starts remaining on his PGA Tour medical extension to earn $717,890, the amount he’ll need to keep his PGA Tour card.

In November, Stadler was among 18 new inductees into the University of Southern California Hall of Fame. Stadler, who counts a Colorado Open and two CGA Match Plays among his victories, won the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour.

Shane Bertsch of Parker, meanwhile, has two events left to earn $597,069 on his PGA Tour medical extension, which was due to a now-healed shoulder injury. The Denver native made two cuts in nine PGA Tour starts in 2017, and four cuts in 10 Web.com tournaments last year. He’s entered in the Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, which begins on Saturday.

New on the Web.com Tour: Wyndham Clark, who lived in Colorado for all of his pre-college years, played in one Web.com Tour event in his first year as a pro in 2017 (along with seven tournaments on the PGA Tour). But in 2018 — starting Saturday in the Bahamas — Clark will be an official Web.com Tour member after finishing 23rd in the final stage of Q-school. After wrapping up his amateur career with three individual college wins in 2017 — including the Pac-12 Conference Championship in Boulder — the former University of Oregon golfer turned pro last June. Since then, he finished as high as 17th on the PGA Tour and 23rd on the Web.com Tour.

Meanwhile, Denver native Mark Hubbard is no stranger to the Web.com Tour, though he’s spent most of the last three seasons on the PGA Tour. But the former Colorado junior player of the year lost his PGA Tour card last year and failed to regain it through Q-school, so he’s back to the Web circuit in 2017, starting this weekend in the Bahamas. Hubbard has played in 34 Web events, posting seven top-10 finishes.

Also in the Bahamas field this week is Jim Knous of Englewood, who is back for his second year on the Web circuit, along with Bertsch and former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda.

U.S. Senior Open in Colorado Awaits: The 2018 PGA Tour Champions season begins Jan. 18 with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii. That’s the first official event of a 2018 schedule that is highlighted by the U.S. Senior Open that The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs will host June 28-July 1.

World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, the Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate who has won a record 45 times on PGA Tour Champions, is among a half-dozen PGA Tour Champions players with major Colorado ties. But the one who figures to make the most noise at The Broadmoor, based on recent seasons, is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe. Jobe (pictured) won on PGA Tour Champions for the first time in 2017 and finished third in the U.S. Senior Open after a third-round 62. He ended up seventh on the 2017 PGA Tour Champions money list with almost $1.4 million.

Players with significant Colorado ties entered in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship include Irwin, Jobe, Craig Stadler, Esteban Toledo and Wiebe.

LPGA Tour Absence: No Colorado locals will compete regularly on the LPGA Tour this season as former CU golfer Jenny Coleman lost her card in 2017 after making just one cut in 10 events. Coleman and her twin sister, Kristin, will likely play mainly on the Symetra Tour in 2018.

In Europe: On the European Tour, former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele has returned for his second straight season after improving his status by finishing 18th in the final stage of Q-school. He posted third- and fourth-place finishes last season on the top European circuit. And former University of Denver golfer Espen Kofstad has returned to action after missing 10 months following wrist surgery. He’s missed his first two cuts this wraparound season.

On the Ladies European Tour, returning are former DU golfers Eleanor Givens and Tonje Daffinrud, who finished 70th and 73rd, respectively, on the 2017 LET money list.
  

Bruun, a Norwegian who completed her DU career in May, finished 37th after Wednesday’s fifth and last round of the final stage of Q-school in Morocco.

With that showing, Bruun will have conditional status on the LET next year as a rookie. The top 25 finishers earned fully exempt status, while those who made the 72-hole cut but placed 26th or lower will have less desirable category 9B membership in 2018.

Bruun (pictured in a DU athletics photo) posted a five-round total of 1-under-par 359 after recording scores of 71-72-74-72-70. The golfers at 356 played off to get top-25 status.

Bruun carded five birdies and three bogeys in Wednesday’s final round. She played her final six holes in 3 under par. Bruun had advanced through the first stage of Q-school with a 15th-place finish.

American Casey Danielson defeated Carmen Alonso and amateur Manon Mossel in a playoff to land medalist honors on Wednesday. All three players finished at 14-under 346.

Other former DU players who have LET status moving forward are Ellie Givens and Tonje Daffinrud. Givens finished 70th on the 2017 money list, while Daffinrud was 73rd.

For scores from the final stage of LET Q-school, CLICK HERE.