It’s been a year since our last distribution of gifts — Colorado golf-style — and we’re back in the holiday mood.

We’ve studied our naughty and nice lists, and taken time to pick out that perfect something for deserving souls. Of course, given who we are, we’ll stick with a golf theme.

Time’s a wastin’, so without further ado …

To: John Ogden, head professional at Cherry Hills Country Club. Gift: Credit where credit is due after you predicted in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship that the winning score would be 264 to 268. Billy Horschel won with a 266 total.

To: Rory McIlroy. Gift: That no hole ever treats you as badly as the par-3 12th at Cherry Hills did during the BMW Championship. (He four-putted the hole twice in the final two rounds, including from 4 feet on Saturday. The result: triple bogey, double bogey).

To: Phil Mickelson. Gift: The ability to think of a better excuse for withdrawing from a tournament after pulling out of the no-cut BMW Championship before the weekend at Cherry Hills, citing a need “to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup” — which took place three weeks later.

To: The CGA. Gift: In 2015, an unforgettable 100-year anniversary year worthy of an organization with such a rich history.

To: The CWGA. Gift: See above, except in 2016 in your case.

To: Hale Irwin. Gift: Just as your competitive career winds down, an ever-expanding impact on Colorado kids through the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, and hopefully other things to come.

To: Former Coloradan Brandt Jobe, who has finished second four times — but has never won — on the PGA Tour. Gift: That 2015 brings a victory — either on the PGA Tour or the Champions circuit, for which you become eligible in August.

To: Colorado-based Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe, who battled injuries this year. Gift: That 2015 more resemble 2013 (two wins) than 2014 (0 top-25s).

To: New CGA managing director of operations Dustin Jensen, who is moving back to Colorado from North Dakota. Gift: A touch of winter warmth, Colorado style.

To: Officials from Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville. Gift: A banner season in the summer of 2015 after then being closed for more than 18 months by the September 2013 flooding.

To: George Solich. Gift: A stress-free summer in 2015 after anything but in 2014 as general chairman of the BMW Championship.

To: Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale. Gift: After having so much success in Colorado in recent years — including winning titles in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (one) and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship (two) — a top-10 finish as a member of the Champions Tour.

To: The University of Colorado women’s golf program. Gift: A top-three finish at the Pac-12 Conference Championship that you’re hosting in April at Boulder Country Club.

To: Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State. Gift: After a lot of close calls, an individual college victory.

To: Jack Vickers. Gift: In receiving the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, satisfaction in the impact you made in graciously hosting a PGA Tour event in Colorado for 21 years, The International.

To: Ross Macdonald (left). Gift: A third consecutive CGA Junior Stroke Play title to match Scott Petersen’s remarkable feat from the late 1980s.

To: CSU-Pueblo golfer Leina Kim. Gift: An NCAA women’s Division II title in 2015 after leading the nation in stroke average so far this season.

To: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster. Gift: A win in a national event leading into your freshman season at Wake Forest beginning in the fall.

To: Former CU golfer Emily Talley. Gift: After knocking on the door so many times as a professional, an answer in the form of an individual title.

To: Connie Gallagher of Denver, who in October aced a par-4 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Gift: A return trip to Pebble to relive the moment.

To: Kent and Janet Moore, both Colorado Golf Hall of Famers. Gift: That you both win state senior titles in the same year.

To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton. Gift: That you don’t miss a beat in competitive golf next year despite those two recent knee replacements.

To: John Elway. Gift: A shot at winning both a Super Bowl (as Broncos general manager) and a HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (as a competitor) in the same year.

To: The late Jim Moore, former Western Golf Association educational director. Gift: That your ever-present upbeat spirit will live on in the Evans Scholarship program for caddies, including those at the University of Colorado.

To: Sherry Andonian-Smith (left), who almost made the cut in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, and who went 3-0 for the Colorado PGA in the Taylor Cup matches. Gift: Colorado PGA Senior Player of the Year honors in 2015.

To: The guy who eagerly volunteered to caddie for a competitor in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, only to quit mid-round, saying he had phone calls to make. Gift: That your services are required elsewhere during the 2015 tournament.

To: Leslie Core-Drevecky, the first female president of the Colorado PGA. Gift: A marked increase in play by women and girls golfers in Colorado.

To: Eric Hoos, who got struck in the head by a competitor’s golf ball while picking his ball out of the cup at the 2014 CGA Senior Stroke Play. Gift: A military-style helmet for the 2015 tournament.

To: Part-time Colorado resident Jonathan Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Gift: After competing very little since 2010, some success on the Web.com Tour in 2015.

To: Priscilla Lind, who recently passed away. Lind was the wife of Babe Lind, who was in the first class of inductees for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Gift: Many thanks for sharing some of Babe’s historic golf trophies and memorabilia with the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and the University of Denver.

To: Golf courses such as Broadlands, Saddleback, Park Hill, Springs Ranch and Eagle Vail which have opened part of their facilities to “footgolf”, an activity in which participants essentially play golf with their feet, using a soccer ball, much shorter holes and large cups. Gift: An “A” for effort in thinking outside the box to generate additional revenue for their golf courses.

To: The golden oldies who play golf at Heather Gardens. Gift: Good health, good friends and great fun hitting the links well into your 90s.

To: All Colorado golfers. Gift: Happy holidays.
 

Let’s take a break.

Very few NCAA sports have full-blown split seasons, with official competitions in each. But men’s and women’s golf fit into that category.

And, as of last week, all the NCAA Division I golf programs in Colorado have reached intermission, with Act II not officially beginning until February.

That makes this a good time to look at some of the local highlights for the just-completed fall portion of the schedule. And an eventful fall it was. To wit:

— Although we’ll primarily focus here on the nine Division I teams in Colorado, one of the most notable accomplishments came at NCAA Division II Colorado State University-Pueblo. There, Leina Kim (pictured above) leads the nation’s Division II ranks in scoring average, at 71.2.

Winning large-scale college golf tournaments is no easy matter, but Kim won four individual titles in five events in the fall, finishing third the one time she didn’t post a victory. The junior from the west Pacific island of Saipan was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week four times in five weeks.

“I was only hoping to do my best this season and everything just fell into place,” Kim recently told Guampdn.com. “… I don’t usually have a scoring average in mind but I always try to shoot even or under par. If I struggle, I try to ignore what’s behind me and focus on all the shots that are ahead of me.”

— University of Colorado senior David Oraee (left), winner of the 2014 CGA Stroke Play title, notched the first individual victory of his college career at CU’s Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in late September. In a weather-shortened event at Colorado National Golf Club, Oraee posted the best 36-hole total in CU program history (64-67 for a 13-under-par 131) to win by five strokes.

— Erik Billinger took over the University of Denver men’s team in June, and in his first semester as a head coach, the Pioneers performed both very well and consistently. In tournament fields varying in size from 11 to 17 teams, DU posted two second-place finishes and two thirds in four fall events.

— Two Colorado-based Division I programs recorded team victories in the fall — both at tournaments they hosted. The CU men won the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational and the Colorado State men claimed the title at the Ram Masters Invitational, earning their first team victory in a multi-school event since April 2011.

— Perhaps the most remarkable feat of the fall locally happened at that Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club. In the second round, three players made holes-in-one — all at the same hole (the 195-yard ninth), and all within less than an hour of one another. Drawing aces were Drew McCullough of Wyoming, Shane Fontenot of McNeese State and Pierre Tillement of George Washington

— DU’s Petter Mikalsen had arguably the best fall of any male Division I player at a Colorado school. In four tournaments, the sophomore from Norway recorded two runner-up individual finishes, along with fifth- and 16th-place showings.

— Former CWGA Junior Match Play champion Lindsay McGetrick has developed into very good player at North Carolina State. In the Wolfpack’s final two tournaments of the fall, McGetrick finished ninth and eighth individually. She’s ranked 73rd among the nation’s female college players by Golfweek.

— Jeremy and Yannik Paul, sophomore twins playing for CU, are both included in the top 250 in the nation’s men’s college ranks by Golfweek, with Jeremy 102nd and Yannik 235th.

— In her freshman year of NCAA Division I college golf, Hannah Wood of Centennial not only played every round for the University of Oklahoma, but she posted two top-20 finishes, including a 16th place in her first college tournament ever. She’s No. 183 in Golfweek’s women’s college rankings.

In addition to all of the above, here are a few tidbits from the fall season for Colorado-based Division I teams:

Top-3 Team Finishes in the Fall — DU men 4; CU men 2; Colorado State men 2; CU women 2; DU women 1.

Top-5 Individual Finishes in the Fall — Petter Mikalsen, DU, 3; David Oraee, CU, 1; Jeremy Paul, CU, 1; Yannik Paul, CU, 1; Cameron Harrell, CSU, 1; Chris Korte, DU, 1; Alexis Keating, CU, 1; Mariell Bruun, DU, 1.

National Team Rankings for Colorado-Based Division I Schools
Men
39. (Golfstat and Golfweek) Colorado
76. (Golfweek) Denver (79th Golfstat)
79. (Golfweek) Colorado State (80th Golfstat)
218. (Golfweek) Air Force Academy (231st Golfstat)
224. (Golfstat) Northern Colorado (237th Golfweek)

Women
35. (Golfstat) Colorado (48th Golfweek)
49. (Golfstat) Denver (50th Golfweek)
95. (Golfstat) Colorado State (97th Golfweek)
183. (Golfstat) Northern Colorado (186th Golfweek)

Top 250 National Individual Rankings for Coloradans and Colorado-Based Players)
Men
51. (Golfstat) Petter Mikalsen, sophomore, DU (106th Golfweek)
102. (Golfweek) Jeremy Paul, sophomore, CU (105th Golfstat)
125. (Golfweek) Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, sophomore, Oklahoma State
158. (Golfweek) David Oraee, senior, CU (249th Golfstat)
200. (Golfstat) Dominic Kieffer, junior, CSU
222. (Golfstat) Cameron Harrell, senior, CSU
235. (Golfweek) Yannik Paul, sophomore, CU

Women
73. (Golfweek) Former Coloradan Lindsay McGetrick, senior, North Carolina State (81st Golfstat)
99. (Golfweek) Esther Lee, sophomore, CU, (107th Golfstat)
154. (Golfweek) Alexis Keating, junior, CU (162nd Golfstat)
183. (Golfweek) Centennial resident Hannah Wood, freshman, Oklahoma
201 (Golfweek) Jessica Carty, sophomore, DU (239th Golfstat)
212. (Golfweek) Isabel Southard, junior, DU (248th Golfstat)
236. (Golfweek) Elyse Smidinger, junior, DU
240. (Golfweek and Golfstat) Brittany Fan, freshman, CU

Hulwick, who took over the program in February shortly after the resignation of longtime successful coach Sammie Chergo, recently guided the Pioneers to their 10th consecutive conference title, this one in the Western Athletic Conference (pictured).

It was DU’s first tournament victory with Hulwick as head coach, though she was an assistant when the Pioneers finished as high as sixth and fifth in the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Championship finals, respectively. This year’s performance earned Hulwick WAC women’s coach of the year honors.

Denver also claimed the individual conference championship as junior Tonje Daffinrud won by six and was named WAC women’s golfer of the year. Daffinrud has recorded six top-10 finishes this season and ranks among the top 30 women’s college golfers in the country according to Golfweek.

And on Monday night, DU was seeded 11th in the NCAA Division I West Regional in Stanford, Calif. In all, three regionals are on tap, running concurrently May 9-11. The top eight schools from each 24-team regional — along with two individuals from non-advancing programs — will land spots in the NCAA Championship finals, set for May 21-24 in Athens, Ga.

It will be the 12th consecutive NCAA Regionals appearance for DU. In all, 72 teams and 18 individuals will compete in Division I regional tournaments.

“We’ve gotten better and better in each tournament this spring, and that was our goal this winter,” Hulwick said after winning the WAC title. “We’re looking forward to NCAA postseason play next month.”

DU is ranked 32nd among the nation’s women’s teams by Golfstat, and 33rd by Golfweek.

Also headed to the West Regional, but as an individual, is University of Colorado junior Jennifer Coleman, who is coming off a third-place showing in the loaded Pac-12 Conference Championships. Coleman, who’s won one tournament this season, is ranked 92nd individually in the country by Golfweek.

Among the other players with Colorado ties in the NCAA Division I regionals are North Carolina State’s Lindsay McGetrick, San Diego State’s Paige Spiranac and and Texas-San Antonio’s Allie Johnston — all in the Central Regional in Norman, Okla. — and Pepperdine’s Somin Lee at the Stanford site.

While the women’s NCAA regionals have been set, men’s Division I programs are in the final week of their conference championships. Their NCAA regional fields will be announced on May 6.

Meanwhile, here are how the NCAA regional berths have shaped up for Colorado-based Division II programs:

Men’s NCAA Division II Regionals — On Friday, the NCAA announced the 80 teams and 32 additional individuals that earned berths in the men’s NCAA Division II Regional tournaments that will be held May 6-8.

Three Colorado-based teams — Colorado School of Mines, Colorado-Colorado Springs and Colorado State-Pueblo — are headed for the South Central Regional in DuPont, Wash. Mines, who went to the NCAA Div. II finals for the first time last year, is seeded first in the 10-team regional for the second straight season, while Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion UCCS is fifth, and Colorado State-Pueblo eighth.

In addition, Colorado Mesa’s Brandon Bingaman will be competing as an individual.

At the combined 20-team South Central and West Regionals, five schools and the top two individuals not on those teams will advance to the Division II finals, set for May 20-24 in Hershey, Pa.

Women’s NCAA Division II Regionals — Only one Colorado-based NCAA Division II women’s golfer earned a spot in the Division II Regional fields that were announced on Monday and that will be contested May 5-7.

Colorado State-Pueblo freshman Leina Kim is one of four individuals who earned a spot in the West Regional set for Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction. The nine-team field — plus the four individuals — will vie for three team and three individual berths to the Division II finals, set for May 15-18 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Kim was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s women’s golfer of the year this season. She owns six top-five finishes in the 2012-13 school year, including one victory.