There are two brothers from Arvada, two former CGA Players of the Year, the winners of three recent HealthOne Colorado Opens, and a golfer who once shot 60 in the final round of the CGA Stroke Play Championship.

Such is the local contingent that’s embarking on the ever-important second stage of qualifying for the Web.com Tour. At stake for all the competitors is a spot on a tour that boasts more than $17 million in purses over the course of a season. And with Q-school for the PGA Tour having been eliminated a couple of years ago, the Web.com qualifying process has become the key steppingstone to the big time for many elite-level golfers.

Just ask Denver native Mark Hubbard or Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders, both of whom parlayed strong Web.com Tour performances in 2014 into PGA Tour cards for the 2014-15 wraparound season.

The Web.com qualifying includes four steps — pre-qualifying, and the first, second and third stages — just as the PGA Tour’s Q-school did several years ago. The second and third stages are particularly important as those who advance to the final stage are guaranteed at least conditional status on the Web.com Tour. And the final stage determines who will get to play a full schedule, as opposed to the conditional qualifiers (the finishers after the top 45 and ties) who will be relegated to a far smaller number of events.

With that as a backdrop, 11 players with strong Colorado connections will compete in stage 2 of Web.com qualifying either this week or next. The top finishers at each of six 72-hole tournaments — the exact numbers will be announced after the events start — will advance to the final stage. That’s scheduled for Dec. 11-16 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Among those competing are brothers Zahkai and Zen Brown of Arvada, both former Colorado State University golfers. The two are playing at different sites and on separate dates.

Also among the locals in the stage 2 fields is former University of Colorado golfer Derek Tolan (pictured at top) of Highlands Ranch. Tolan, like Zahkai Brown (left), is a Colorado Open champion (in Tolan’s case, twice a champ) and a former CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year.

Another Coloradan in stage 2 is Jim Knous of Basalt, a former Colorado School of Mines golfer who fired a course-record 10-under-par 60 at Boulder Country Club in the final round of the 2010 CGA Stroke Play.

Here are all the local competitors, and the sites and dates in which they’ll compete in stage 2 of Web.com Tour qualifying:

Kingwood, Texas Nov. 11-14 — Nick Hodge of Littleton; former Fort Collins resident Drew Stoltz; Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch.

McKinney, Texas Nov. 11-14 — Zahkai Brown of Arvada; Parker Edens of Greeley; Jim Knous of Basalt.

Panama Beach, Fla. Nov. 18-21 — Former CU golfer Jason Burstyn.

Murrieta, Calif. Nov. 18-21 — Former CU golfer Justin Bardgett; Zen Brown of Arvada; Bryan Kruse of Westminster; Luke Symons of Aurora.
 

For a guy who hasn’t competed in the HealthOne Colorado Open in a while, Brian Guetz certainly seemed to make a major impact on this year’s tournament, the 50th Open ever held.

Guetz, of course, grew up in Littleton and has won two Colorado Opens himself (1994 and 2008), with the former making him one of just two amateurs (along with Gary Longfellow) who has claimed the Open title outright.

Now Guetz is an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State, and he played a big role in OSU product Ian Davis’ preparation for the Colorado Open — and subsequent victory on Sunday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

“I talked to coach Guetz earlier in the week before I started because obviously he’s won it twice and he knows how to go about it around here,” said Davis, who turned pro in late May immediately after Oklahoma State finished second in the NCAA Championships. “He kind of helped me out with the altitude and how that’s going to affect the ball. We went through a couple of holes, what he hit off certain tees. He’s great. He walked with me my whole junior year of college pretty much. He knows my game, so he’s a good one to talk to.”

Interestingly, in 2011 Guetz served as an assistant coach at Colorado State University, working with, among others, 2013 Colorado Open champ Zahkai Brown. Nowadays, Brian’s brother, Bret, is an assistant at CSU. And one of the Ram players Bret Guetz coaches is Cameron Harrell, who just happened to earn low-amateur honors in the Colorado Open on Sunday.

Davis (above celebrating with his caddie, and at left) put Brian Guetz’s advice to good use as he took the lead on Saturday and never relinquished it on Sunday in posting a five-stroke victory. The winning margin matched the second-largest at the Open since 1976.

Davis birdied his final two holes Sunday to post a 4-under-par 67 and a 14-under 270 total and earn his first tournament paycheck as a pro, good for $23,000.

Brandon Hagy, a first-team All-American at Cal last season who likewise is in the initial phase of his pro career, birdied No. 18 Sunday to claim second place outright at 275 after a final-round 69. He earned $13,500.

Nathan Lashley of Scottsdale, Ariz., the 2010 champion, tied for third at 276 with Brock MacKenzie of Yakima, Wash., as both players closed with 70s.

So, looking back, how much did Brian Guetz’s advice about the Open and Green Valley Ranch help Davis come out on top?

“A lot actually,” said the 22-year-old Davis, a former All-American at OSU. “The altitude here makes the ball go so much farther. He gave me a couple of different percentages to factor in when I was getting my yardages. Sometimes it’s hard to trust it when you’ve got 190 (yards) and you’re going to hit a 9-iron over water. I just tried to trust it all week. Fortunately it worked out.”

Davis, from Edmond, Okla., wasn’t challenged to any great extent on Sunday. He started the day at 10 under par and shot a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine in the final round. The only other competitor to reach 10 under par on Sunday was Hagy (left), who was 3 under par for the day through seven holes and again through nine. But Hagy pulled his approach on 10 and made bogey and three-putted from in front of the green on 11 for another bogey.

“I just kind of lost momentum on 10 and 11,” he said. “That sort of threw me out of it. I was feeling really good, then I had those few bad swings on 10 and 11. And (Davis) played really well. I wasn’t able to hit it close enough on the back nine to put pressure on.”

Interestingly, both of the top two finishers Sunday, Davis and Hagy, were playing in their first Colorado Open and had never seen GVR before the week began. By Sunday, Davis especially looked very comfortable on the layout.

“I was focused on getting off to a good start (on Sunday), and I did,” he said. “I parred the first three holes, then I told my caddie Ben it’s time to get going, and I birdied the next couple holes. That felt pretty good. After those two birdies, I felt pretty comfortable all day.

“I’ll tell you what: This is pretty special.”

Low Amateur, Low Coloradan for Harrell: About the only thing Cameron Harrell didn’t do Sunday was win the Colorado Open. The Colorado State University golfer not only captured low-amateur honors — by four strokes — but he tied for fifth overall and was the top Colorado finisher, pro or amateur.

Harrell (left), who grew up in Colorado Springs, also was one of just three players — along with professionals Nathan Lashley and Brock MacKenzie — to record sub-par rounds each day of the tournament. Harrell went 68-70-70-69 for a 7-under-par 277 total.

“I wanted to prove to myself in a pro tournament like this that I can definitely compete because this is what I’m going to be doing in a year (after completing his senior season at CSU),” Harrell said. “I’ll be in stuff like this competing and paying my own way. So it feels really good to finish this well, especially as an amateur right now. And I’ve still got another year to get better and see where I can go from there.”

Harrell, who started the day five behind leader Ian Davis, made an early surge on Sunday. He birdied the first three holes, making putts of 25, 5 and 5 feet, to get within two of Davis. And after a bogey on No. 6, he drained a tough 35-foot birdie putt on No. 8. But when Davis started to pull away, neither Harrell nor anyone else in the field could keep up.
 
“I closed the gap real fast, which I wanted to do early on,” the 20-year-old said. “It was just a bummer I couldn’t put any pressure on (Davis on the back nine). I was trying to do that by posting a 10 or 11 under. It was a little frustrating after such a great start to have a little drop-off. But I’ll take top five.”

Harrell’s finish was the best by an amateur at the Open since Gunner Wiebe was runner-up in 2010.

Cole Nygren of Longmont, who on Friday made a double-eagle at the par-5 ninth hole, took second place in the amateur competition, closing with a 67 for a 281 total.

Award Puts Chenoweth in Good Company: LindaSue Chenoweth, a key figure in the success of the HealthOne Colorado Open since the tournament was revived more than a decade ago, on Sunday received the Robert M. Kirchner Award, which is given to an individual who has contributed greatly to amateur golf, professional golf and/or tournament golf in the state of Colorado.

Chenoweth served executive roles for the Colorado Open from 2004-13, at different times holding the titles of executive director and chief operations officer.

“There’s no one better at the little things than LindaSue,” noted CGA executive director Ed Mate (pictured with Chenoweth), a recipient of the Kirchner Award in 2009.

Having played such an integral role in the tournament over the years, Chenoweth was all smiles in accepting the award.
   
“To be among that list of recipients, that’s about the coolest honor a girl in golf can get, particularly in this golf family,” she said.

Notable: Scott Petersen of Parker, winner of the Colorado Open in 2000, carded Sunday’s best round, a bogey-free 6-under-par 65, to post a 10th-place finish at 279. Another Coloradan cracking the top 10 on Sunday was fellow former University of Colorado golfer Luke Symons of Aurora, who tied for eighth at 278 after a 71. Two other former Buffs, Derek Fribbs and Kevin Kring, shared 11th place. … Speaking of former CU golfers, three of them were paired together in Sunday’s final round, with two-time Open champion Derek Tolan joining Pat Grady and Kane Webber. After all starting the day at 1 under par, Tolan and Webber (284) finished a stroke better than Grady.

Scores: For all the scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

Barring something completely unforeseen, Ian Davis will earn his first paycheck as a professional golfer on Sunday at the 50th HealthOne Colorado Open.

And he’s in position to make it a substantial one.

Davis (left), who turned pro the day after his Oklahoma State team fell to Alabama in the title match at the NCAA Championships in late May, will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

The former All-American could receive a cool $23,000 for his first professional payday if things go well Sunday.

“If you start thinking about the outcome and what it could do for your career to win and stuff, you’re not going to play very well,” Davis said after shooting an even-par 71 on Saturday. “I’m going to try to stay in the moment, keep hitting solid shots and I’ll see what happens.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, another big-time college player who just wrapped up his amateur career likewise will be looking for his biggest financial windfall from a tournament. That would be Brandon Hagy, a first-team All-American from Cal in the just-concluded season. Hagy, a semifinalist in the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, shares third place at the Colorado Open, trailing only Davis and McKinney, Texas-based professional Chris Ward, who played his final 10 holes in 6 under par on Saturday.

Hagy turned pro less than a month ago, and his only check so far came in the Web.com Nova Scotia Open, where he placed 40th.

If Hagy and Davis are experiencing any problems transitioning into the professional ranks, they certainly aren’t showing it this week. Both are competing at the Colorado Open for the first time and each just had one practice round at GVR before their three-round runs to the top of the leaderboard.

“This doesn’t feel a lot different” than playing a high-level amateur event, Hagy said. “I think there was more pressure trying to beat my (Cal) teammates the last four years than playing for money.”

Davis, from Edmond, Okla., stands at 10-under-par 203 through 54 holes. Ward, 27, posted Saturday’s best score, a 5-under-par 66 and trails by one. Hagy, 2010 champion Nathan Lashley of Scottsdale, Ariz., Brock MacKenzie of Yakima, Wash., and Nick Killpack of St. George, Utah share third place at 206.

Former University of Colorado golfer Luke Symons (left), from Aurora, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday to be the top Coloradan through three rounds. His 71 left him in seventh place at 207.

“With a good low score tomorrow, I still might have a chance. Who knows?” said Symons, who has twice shot 64 or under in competition this month.

Devin Schreiner of Durango, who led after each of the first two rounds, followed up scores of 64 and 66 with an 8-over-par 79 on Saturday, putting him in 11th place at 209. Schreiner double-bogeyed his first hole on Saturday and finished the day with two doubles, five bogeys and a birdie on No. 16.

Davis can attribute his lead, in part, to an amazing string of 43 consecutive holes without a bogey or worse. He started the tournament by going bogey, par, double bogey on Thursday, then didn’t make another bogey until No. 11 on Saturday.

“That’s got to be up there (near his personal best),” the 22-year-old said. “That might be the best. I really didn’t notice I wasn’t making any bogeys but I did pretty good there for a while. That’s not bad. It’ll work.”

In Sunday’s final tee time, at 9:36 a.m., Ward will be joined by Davis and Hagy, who not surprisingly have played in the same groups at college tournaments.

Given that at one point early in the back nine on Saturday, Davis led by five strokes, but that he ended up ahead by just one, nothing is near settled yet.

“I’ve played in a lot of tournaments and I’ve seen (advantages of more than three or four shots) vanish quickly,” Hagy said. “It’s obviously in (Davis’) hands. But if I can make a few birdies and play solid, I think I would be right there.”

Harrell 5 Ahead in Amateur Competition: The two previous times Cameron Harrell played in the Colorado Open, he missed the cut, albeit barely. This time around, the Colorado State University golfer is in considerably different position.

Harrell (left), who grew up in Colorado Springs, leads the amateur competition by five strokes heading into Sunday’s final round. After falling just a shot shy on Monday of qualifying for his second consecutive U.S. Amateur, Harrell has posted rounds of 68-70-70 for a 5-under-par 208 total. The next-best amateur after three days is Jacob Holt of Tooele, Utah (213).

Harrell capped his Saturday round in style after making four birdies and five bogeys through 17 holes, hitting a 3-wood from 265 yards on the par-5 18th to 15 feet and draining the eagle putt.

“That helps a lot to finish that way,” he said.

Harrell is one of just three players in the field — along with MacKenzie and Lashley — who have been under par each round this week.

“This is a tournament I’ve always wanted to play well in,” he said. “I’m an amateur, this is a pro tournament. That’s always fun to do.

“The last month or so I’ve been hitting the ball awesome. I’ve been very pleased with everything.”

The low-amateur honor is obviously on Harrell’s mind, but at five strokes out of the overall lead, he still has an outside shot at the championship.

“You never know,” he said. “You could shoot 6, 7, 8 under easily. Anything can happen.

“I’m looking to get the low amateur. That’s the first goal. The second goal is to see what I can do to this top field. I’m really looking up the leaderboard to the guys in front of me. I’m going to try to make as many birdies as I can to see how much I can chase those guys down.”

Hip-Hip Hooray? It’s a collossal understatement to say that former CU golfer Luke Symons has had some hip issues over the years.

After going under the knife in 2009, ’10 and ’11, the Aurora resident recently underwent additional surgeries in October and December of last year. For those keeping count, that makes five hip operations in less than five years — three on the right side, two on the left. Torn labrums are consistently the problem.

“If I knew (the issue) I probably wouldn’t have to keep having them done,” said Symons, who sits in seventh place after three rounds of the Open. “I feel a lot better about the last couple I’ve went through. “

Notable: The run of Colorado Opens with a Colorado winner is in jeopardy of coming to at end at three, with the top Coloradan four out of the lead heading into Sunday. Going back further, seven of the last eight Colorado Open champions have had major Colorado ties: Dustin White of Pueblo West (2006), former CU golfer John Douma (2007), former Coloradan Brian Guetz (2008), Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (2009 and ’12), Ben Portie of Westminster (2011) and Zahkai Brown of Arvada (2013). Only Arizonan Nate Lashley (2010) interrupted the streak. … The top two money winners in Colorado Open history — Jim Blair (5 over par after two rounds) and Bill Loeffler (6 over) — both missed the 36-hole cut. So Blair ($112,859) will remain about $15 ahead of Loeffler ($112,844) for the career money lead. … For Sunday’s final round, tee times will range from 7:30 to 9:36 a.m., with players going off both the first and 10th tees. The leaders will tee off on No. 1 at 9:36 a.m.

Scores: For all the scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

Next year, there will still be a PGA Tour qualifying process, of course, but it will be through a series of four August/September tournaments — dubbed the Web.com Tour Finals — which are limited to the top 75 Web.com Tour players and the 75 PGA Tour competitors who finish 126-200 on the FedEx Cup points list. They’ll battle it out for 25 PGA Tour cards for the following season. Twenty-five more PGA Tour spots will be guaranteed to the top money winners in the Web.com Tour regular season.

No longer will there be a Q-school as a direct route to the PGA Tour. In other words, your basic mini-tour or non-tour player won’t be able to catch lightning in a bottle and make it immediately to the PGA Tour through one fall of Q-school. There will still be a Q-school next year, but Web.com Tour cards — not those for the PGA Tour — will be the highest prizes at stake.

For this year, the set-up for Tour qualifying is the same it’s been in recent years, with pre-qualifying followed by three more stages of Q-school. At the final stage — Nov. 28-Dec. 3 in La Quinta, Calif., the top 25 finishers and ties will earn 2013 PGA Tour cards, and the other competitors will gain some status on the Web.com Tour.

The first step, the 54-hole pre-qualifying, will be held at eight sites. The first of those tournaments starts on Tuesday (Sept. 11), though the Coloradans involved won’t compete until next week. The number of players from each site who will advance has yet to be announced, but typically more than 30 from each tournament gain berths into the “first” stage.

First-stage competitions will be held in mid-to-late October at 13 sites, with many of the players exempt from pre-qualifying beginning Q-school at that point. Then six second-stage tournaments are scheduled in mid-November, when the spots for the Q-school finals will be up for grabs.

Six players with strong Colorado ties have signed up to play in pre-qualifying, most in Nebraska City Sept. 19-21. Among those competing there is Jim Knous (pictured above), the former Colorado School of Mines golfer who finished second in the NCAA-Division II National Championships this year.

On those same dates in Dallas, 2011 CGA Player of the Year Zahkai Brown of Arvada will take his shot.

Here are all the players with strong Colorado ties competing in PGA Tour pre-qualifying this month:

Dallas, Sept. 19-21 — Former CSU golfer Zahkai Brown of Arvada.

Nebraska City, Neb., Sept. 19-21 — Tommy Carpenter of Greenwood Village, Nicholas Hodge of Littleton, Jim Knous of Lakewood, former CSU golfer Ryan Peterson, former CU golfer Luke Symons of Aurora.

As for the other major tours, the LPGA began its qualifying last week, with Kelly Jacques of Longmont and former CU golfer Emily Talley advancing to the second of three stages Oct. 9-12. Champions Tour Regional Qualifying will be held Oct. 16-19 and Oct. 30-Nov. 2. The European Tour begins its first stage of Q-school on Tuesday, while the first stage of Ladies European Tour qualifying is scheduled for Dec. 6-9.