The fall portion of the college golf season wrapped up last week for the Division I programs based in Colorado.

There were plenty of highlights for teams and players with major connections to the Centennial State and, probably not coincidentally, many of those superlatives took place in tournaments held in Colorado.

As we enter intermission for a 2018-19 season that won’t resume in earnest until February in most cases — or late January at least — we’ll revisit some of the top local moments from the fall Division I schedule:

— The University of Colorado men’s squad claimed two team titles in September — at the season-opening Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy, and at their own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in Erie.

— Not to be outdone, the Colorado State University men also won twice team-wise in the fall. The Rams claimed their fifth straight title as they hosted the Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins, then prevailed in winter-like conditions at the Paintbrush Invitational in Parker.

— On the women’s side, CSU accomplished a momentous feat by earning a team victory at a major invitational for the first time in over eight years. It came at the University of Denver’s Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, the Rams’ third tournament under new head coach Laura Cilek.

— At that same event, CSU junior Ellen Secor claimed the first individual victory of her college career. Secor subsequently was named the Mountain West Conference’s Women’s Golfer of the Month for October. And notably, one of the two players who tied for second in Highlands Ranch, a stroke behind Secor, was CSU’s Katrina Prendergast, Secor’s teammate when the two won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball national championship in May. (The two are pictured, with Secor at left.)

— Kyler Dunkle, who grew up in Colorado and won the CGA Amateur in August, had a stellar fall individually as a senior at Utah. Dunkle won the individual title at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational for the second straight year. And this time, it was his second college win in eight days. Dunkle finished the fall with three top-four finishes.

— Also at CU’s Simpson Invitational, Buffs sophomore Trevor Olkowski technically tied for the individual title — and it will go down as a victory — though Dunkle beat him in a playoff by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole. (Below, Olkowski is pictured with Dunkle, in the red shirt.)

— Junior Daniel O’Loughlin, a CU teammate of Olkowski, recorded an outright individual victory at the season opener at the Air Force Academy. O’Loughlin notched four top-10 finishes in five fall tournaments.

— One of the more remarkable performances of the fall was by CSU freshman Oscar Teiffel, from Sweden. In a final round of the Paintbrush Invitational in which temperatures hovered in the mid-30s and it was snowing more than a little, Teiffel carded a stellar 5-under-par 67 at Colorado Golf Club. The three-stroke victory was the first for Teiffel in his young college career.

Add up all of the above, and local schools recorded five team victories in the fall, and local players posted six individual wins — or, in Olkowski’s case, a tie for first.

— Junior Robyn Choi, the top player for the CU women, didn’t manage an individual victory in the fall, but certainly made a few runs at it. In all, she had three top-six finishes in three fall tournaments. And, perhaps most impressively, she earned her LPGA card for 2019 by finishing 45th in the final stage of Q-school, the Q-Series.

— Coby Welch, a junior at the University of Northern Colorado who went to the U.S. Amateur in August, had a strong fall, notching three top-five individual finishes — all coming in Colorado. He was third at both the Gene Miranda and Ram Masters, and fifth at the Paintbrush Invite.

— Freshmen had the top two stroke averages for CSU in the fall: Teiffel (70.77) and Aurora resident Davis Bryant (72.13).

— Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch, a junior at the University of Denver, shot a program-record 8-under-par 64 to close out the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. The stellar final round gave Weinstein her best individual finish — third place — since transferring from Regis to DU in the summer of 2017.

— Luke Trujillo, a freshman from Colorado Springs, leads the Air Force Academy golf team in stroke average after the fall season with a 74.4 norm.

— Beah Cruz, a sophomore from Vacaville, Calif., recorded two top-10 individual finishes for the University of Northern Colorado women in the fall — a sixth and a ninth.

— Meanwhile, in a matter not directly related to performance, this season a DU women’s player is carrying a golf bag at each tournament that honors Danny Dietz, a Navy Seal and former Littleton resident who was killed in combat in 2005 during the war in Afghanistan. Coach Lindsay Kuhle went to Heritage High School with Dietz, knows his family, and came up with the idea to pay tribute to Dietz through the Folds of Honor Foundation program. Dietz’s story was part of the book and movie “Lone Survivor”.

Below are the rankings for the Colorado-based NCAA Division I teams as of the end of the fall season (updated Nov. 14):

Men
Colorado State ( 47th Golfstat, 51st Golfweek)
Colorado (73rd Golfstat, 81st Golfweek)
Northern Colorado (118th Golfstat, 122nd Golfweek)
Denver (137th Golfstat, 149th Golfweek)
Air Force Academy (203rd Golfstat, 204th Golfweek)

Women
Colorado (36th Golfweek, 42nd Golfstat)
Colorado State (69th Golfstat, 74th Golfweek)
Denver (79th Golfweek, 81st Golfstat)
Northern Colorado (149th Golfstat, 150th Golfweek)

And here are the rankings of local players in the top 250 in the nation:

Men
91. Longtime Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (Golfweek)
110. Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (Golfstat)
118. Oscar Teiffel, CSU (Golfweek)
120. Coby Welch, UNC (Golfstat)
189. Davis Bryant, CSU (Golfweek)
238. Trevor Olkowski, CU (Golfstat)

Women
11. Robyn Choi, CU (Golfstat)
57. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest (Golfweek)
72. Kirsty Hodgkins, CU (Golfweek)
87. Mary Weinstein, DU (Golfweek)
97. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, Harvard (Golfweek)
192. Katrina Prendergast, CSU (Golfstat)
 

When it comes to top high school athletes often choosing to stay close to home to play college sports, a couple of reasons are among those often cited.

The athletes usually enjoy staying in the area where they grew up, and family and friends have more opportunity to watch their loved ones compete when college is nearby.

And it doesn’t hurt when some local college programs are highly regarded and competitive.

With that as a backdrop, some of the best junior golfers from Colorado and/or members of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado are making their college choices official during the National Letter of Intent early-signing period, which started on Wednesday and continues for eight days.

At least 15 Coloradans or JGAC members are expected to play college golf for NCAA Division I programs starting next fall. Eight of those 14 are heading to Colorado-based programs, with another two bound for the nearby University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Here’s the rundown of the Colorado/JGAC Class of 2018 commitments (the list of signees/commitments here will be updated throughout the school year. Additions to the list can be emailed to golfjournal@coloradogolf.org):

Boys
Davis Bryant (Eaglecrest HS) — Colorado State
Jack Castiglia (Lakewood HS) — Northern Colorado
Kirby Coe-Kirkham (JGAC member from Sheridan, Wyo.) — Wyoming
Spencer Daake (Monarch HS) — Hastings (Neb.) College 
Freddie Gluck (Boulder HS) — Rochester in New York
Gabe Goodman (Green Mountain HS) — Concordia in New York
Oliver Jack (Kent Denver HS) — University of Colorado
Barrett Jones (Eagle Valley HS) — Northern Colorado
Brayden Lambrecht (Sterling HS) — Colorado Mesa
Cal McCoy (Regis Jesuit HS) — University of Denver
Thomas Messner (Colorado Academy) — Army in West Point, N.Y.
Sam Ostravich (ThunderRidge HS) — Northeastern Junior College in Sterling
Ryan Pierce (Doherty HS) — Bethany College in Kansas
Micah Ramirez (Resurrection Christian HS) — Doane University in Nebraska
Kailer Rundiks (Denver East HS) — Western New Mexico
Andrew Rush (Palmer HS) — Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa
Tyler Severin (Roosevelt HS) — Wyoming
Ian Thorpe (Peak to Peak HS) — Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Luke Trujillo (Discovery Canyon HS) — Air Force Academy
Jackson Zinn (Ralston Valley HS) — New Mexico Military Institute

Girls
Anna Branscome (Bear Creek HS) — Chadron State in Chadron, Neb.
Payton Canon (Cherry Creek HS) — Oregon Tech
Kyree Conaway (Vista Peak HS) — Wagner College in New York
Kayla Elder (Fort Collins HS) — Chadron State in Nebraska
Gabriella Esquibel (Heritage HS) — Regis University
Callie Jones (Glenwood Springs HS) — Winona State in Winona, Minn.
Arielle Keating (former Colorado Springs resident) — Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton
Brandy McClain (Rock Canyon HS) — Colorado Mesa
Kieran McMullen (Rock Canyon HS) — Concordia College in N.Y.
Lauren Murphy (Colorado Rocky Mountain School; plays for Glenwood Springs HS) — Oregon State
Shelby Poynter (JGAC member from Scottsbluff, Neb.) — Northern Colorado
Kelsey Webster (Fairview HS) — University of Colorado

(In addition, Jessica Zapf of Windsor has committed to the University of Wyoming as part of the incoming college class of 2019.)

Bryant (CSU; pictured above) was the 2017 boys JGAC Player of the Year, and Jack (CU) and Trujillo (Air Force Academy) join him in having won state high school individual titles. Bryant and McCoy (DU) were both members of Colorado’s Junior America’s Cup team this year.

On the girls side, Webster (left) was the 2016 girls JGAC Most Improved Player and she won the girls AJGA Preview title this year in Wisconsin. She’s headed to CU — her dad’s alma mater — in her hometown of Boulder. Keating (Florida Atlantic) moved from Colorado Springs to Stuart, Fla., shortly after winning the girls Colorado Junior Amateur championship this year. And Poynter (UNC) qualified for this year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior.

In addition, here are the players — both from in-state and elsewhere — who have signed or committed to play at Colorado-based NCAA Division I schools from the Class of 2018:

University of Colorado Women
Malak Bouraeda, Southlake, Texas
Kelsey Webster, Fairview HS in Boulder

Colorado State University Women
Sydney Smith, Las Vegas, Nev.
Saga Traustadottir, Iceland

University of Denver Women
Alyson Beach, Murrieta, Calif.
Trussy Li, Diamond Bar, Calif.

Air Force Academy Men
Jonathan Farmer, San Diego
Luke Trujillo, Discovery Canyon HS in Colorado Springs

University of Colorado Men
Oliver Jack, Kent Denver HS
Adam Matteson, San Diego
Kristoffer Max, Denmark
John Paterson, Scotland

Colorado State University Men
Davis Bryant, Eaglecrest HS in Aurora
Akedanai Ponghathaikul, Thailand
Oscar Teiffel, Sweden

University of Denver Men
Carson Griggs, Sand Springs, Okla.
Cal McCoy, Regis Jesuit HS in Aurora
Esteban Missura, Ecuador

University of Northern Colorado Men
Jack Castiglia, Lakewood HS
Barrett Jones, Eagle Valley HS in Gypsum

And FYI, looking ahead to next year’s signings, CU has garnered a commitment from Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction as part of the Class of 2019. Olkowski is the brother of current CU player Trevor Olkowski.
 

Ford, who on Saturday became just the fourth Coloradan ever to qualify for the DC&P Nationals, is a high school golf teammate of defending 4A state individual champion Luke Trujillo, who went to the Nationals at Augusta in the spring of 2016.

That should give Ford some insights.

The high school freshman overcame the DC&P Regional Qualifying hurdle on Saturday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

With just the winner — out of 10 competitors — in each age/gender division of the Regionals advancing to Nationals on April 1, 2018, Ford won the Boys 14-15 competition. He scored 67 points in the drive portion of the contest, 17 in the chipping and 55 in the putting. That gave him 139 points overall, three more than runner-up Carsen Silliman.

The only other Coloradans who have made it to DC&P Nationals in the first five years of the competition are Trujillo, Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin, all of whom went in April of 2016. The Nationals are televised from Augusta by the Golf Channel.

Ford had to survive Local, Sub-Regional and Regional Qualifying to advance. In the Sub-Regional at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora last month, he finished second to Joshua Gallegos of Belen, N.M.

Ford was one of 20 Colorado residents who were competing in the Regionals at Southern Hills. None of the others advanced to Nationals, but here’s how all 20 fared on Saturday, with their scores and placing (Note: The top finisher in each division advances to Nationals. Points are for Drive-Chip-Putt–Total):

Boys 14-15
1. (out of 10 competitors) Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs 67-17-55–139
4. Hunter Khan of Highlands Ranch 42-13-65–120
8. Joshua Stouder of Grand Junction 42-13-36–91

Girls 14-15
3. (out of 10 competitors) Emma Bryant of Aurora 56-17-31–104
4. Alyssa Chin of Greenwood Village 36-26-41–103
5. Sofia Choi of Littleton 36-13-51–100
10. Rachel Penzenstadler of Centennial 34-3-31–68

Boys 12-13
4. (out of 10 competitors)Yusuke Ogi of Arvada 58-5-31–94
5. Wesley Erling of Arvada 18-30-41–89

Girls 12-13
3. (out of 10 competitors) Abigail Aeschleman of Highlands Ranch 47-27-41–115
4. Kaylee Chen of Highlands Ranch 39-17-45–101

Boys 10-11
3. (out of 10 competitors) Kaden Devenport of Windsor 46-3-50–99
7. Matai Naqica of Centennial 19-16-45–80
10. Tucker Jaffe of Vail 0-3-21–24

Girls 10-11
10. (out of 10 competitors) Macy Kleve of Windsor 30-4-17–51

Boys 7-9
2. (out of 10 competitors) Max Riley of Fort Collins 35-7-50–92
8. Ashton Edwards of Boulder 15-12-27–54
9. Collen Todd of Golden 20-3-27–50

Girls 7-9
4. (out of 10 competitors) Adrielle Miller of Highlands Ranch 15-18-36–69
6. Allie Smith of Aurora 8-22-35–65

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the Nationals of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.

Each participant in the DCP is awarded points for each skill based on his or her performance, with the points added together for an overall score.
 

Also on the schedule are the national Boys Junior PGA Championship in Missouri, the Girls Junior America’s Cup near Las Vegas, and tourneys for the oldest boys and girls age divisions at the Optimist International Junior in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

With that as a backdrop, there will be both boys and girls tournaments at the Colorado Junior Match Play, which will run Monday through Wednesday (July 31-Aug. 2) at Black Bear GC (pictured). Round of 32 matches are set for Monday, with the round of 16 and the quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday, and the semifinals and the finals on Wednesday.

With neither 2016 champion in the field — Griffin Barela nor Hailey Schalk — other state high school tournament winners will take center stage at Black Bear. Two of the three reigning boys state champs are in the field — Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch (5A) and Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs (4A). Pearson finished runner-up in the CGA Match Play last month. And on the girls side, 5A champion Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora is the top seed.

Sofia Choi of Littleton, who finished 13th this week in the Optimist International Junior girls 13-14 tournament, is likewise in the girls bracket, along with fellow top-25 Optimist finishers Eva Pett of Denver (17th) and Emma Bryant of Aurora (23rd).

As for the boys, Davis Bryant of Aurora, who won the first two JGAC majors of 2017, isn’t competing at Black Bear because he’ll be at the Junior PGA. And the winners of the first two majors on the girls side — Schalk and Arielle Keating — likewise will be elsewhere, with Schalk competing for the Colorado team in the Girls Junior America’s Cup and Keating having moved to Florida.
 

And the run will continue next week as the first major of the 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado season takes place Monday through Wednesday (June 12-14) at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Academy just north of Colorado Springs.

About 90 players — boys and girls combined — are expected to compete in the 54-hole Colorado Junior PGA Championship, one of four JGAC majors.

Arguably the state’s hottest junior player this spring, 15-year-old Hailey Schalk of Erie, is entered. In the last three weeks, she’s won the 3A state high school title as a freshman, she qualified for the Junior Worlds, and she became the first Coloradan to win the AJGA Hale Irwin.

Also entered in the girls field at Eisenhower are Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village, runner-up to Schalk in both the 3A tourney and the AJGA event, and winner of the 2016 JGAC Tour Championship; 4A champ Lauren Lehigh of Loveland; and Caroline Jordaan of Denver, winner of the North American Junior Amateur in January.

On the boys side, all three reigning state high school champions are in the field: Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch (5A), Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs (4A) and Oliver Jack of Denver (3A). Also entered are Davis Bryant of Aurora, a 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier and 2016 Colorado Junior America’s Cup team member; and Daniel Pearson of Longmont, who recently competed in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.

The top two finishers in both the boys and girls fields will qualify for the national Junior PGA Championships at the the Country Club of St. Albans near St. Louis, set for July 18-21 (girls) and July 31-Aug. 3 (boys).

For the not-yet-finalized pairings for Monday at Eisenhower, CLICK HERE.
 

The historic Cherry Hills Country Club will host the Junior Tour Championship for both boys and girls Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 8-9). The by-invitation-only-event will feature 40 boys and 20 girls.

Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch, who won the 5A state high school individual title last week, and 4A champion Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs are scheduled to compete in the boys tournament, along with 2015 4A state high school winner Jackson Solem of Longmont.

Also entered are Griffin Barela of Lakewood (winner of a previous major this year, the Junior Match Play); Davis Bryant of Aurora (5A runner-up this year); Cole Krantz of Windsor (third place in 4A, one shot out of the playoff between Trujillo and Solem); and Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction (a 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier along with Barela).

In the girls tournament at Cherry Hills, entrants include the runners-up in both the 5A (Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora) and 4A (Caroline Jordaan of Cherry Hills Village) girls state high school meets, along with Arielle Keating of Colorado Springs, who finished sixth in the girls 14-15 division at the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National in the spring.

Some of the top junior performers from this past summer aren’t in the fields as they’re now playing college golf, including AJ Ott of Fort Collins (Colorado State) and Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch (Regis University).

The JGAC will hold its 2016 awards banquet at Cherry Hills almost immediately following Sunday’s final round.

For Saturday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.

Also taking place this weekend will be an event featuring many of the top 13-and-under players in the state — the Junior Ryder Cup at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. Scheduled are nine-hole four-ball and foursomes matches on Saturday and 18-hole singles on Sunday.

For Saturday’s Junior Ryder Cup pairings, CLICK HERE.

Bob Austin helped put the Cherry Creek boys golf team in the record books, and he had a hand in removing the Bruins as well.

Austin played on two of Creek’s state title-winning teams — in 1970 and ’71 — as the Bruins went on to set the record for the most boys golf state team titles in Colorado, with eight.

But on Tuesday in the 3A state meet at Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora, with Austin serving as the head coach of the host Kent Denver squad, the Sun Devils took sole possession of the aforementioned record, moving out of a tie with Cherry Creek.

Kent Denver (pictured celebrating) has now won state crowns nine times since 1999, and Austin has been the coach for eight of those nine — two in Class 4A and six in 3A. (With its sixth win in the last seven years in 5A on Tuesday, Regis Jesuit joined Creek with eight state championships.)

And to double the fun for Kent on Tuesday, Sun Devils junior Oliver Jack (left) won a playoff to claim the 3A individual championship.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Austin said. “I’m really choked up. I really wanted this for these kids. We finished second the last two years. I wanted to get over that hump. The kids, I couldn’t be prouder of them. They played awesome. It was really fun. This might be the sweetest (state title) of all.”

And that was just one of the three state tournaments that concluded on Tuesday around the state. The others were just as notable:

— In the 4A meet at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale, the individual title also was settled in a playoff, this one denying defending champion Jackson Solem of Silver Creek from becoming just the fifth two-time Colorado boys state high school champion since 1995. The first-round leader, junior Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon, parred the second playoff hole to defeat Solem and claim the title. And Trujillo helped Discovery Canyon win a boys state golf team championship for the first time. Three-time defending champ Valor Christian was third.

— In the 5A tournament at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction, senior Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch put on a clinic as rounds of 66-67 gave him a 9-under-par 133 total and a six-stroke victory over Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest. Moreover, Pearson made a hole-in-one Tuesday en route to the title, acing the 136-yard 15th hole with a gap wedge. And, as noted earlier, Regis made it six 5A team titles in seven years. And perhaps the most remarkable thing about that is that each of the last two victories have come by one-stroke margins.

Back at 3A, the two players who finished tied for second in the state tournament last year were the ones in a playoff on Tuesday: Jack and Ivan Richmond of Estes Park. Richmond birdied the 17th hole in regulation to pull even, and both players bogeyed No. 18, with Jack three-putting.

But on the par-5 556-yard playoff hole, Jack hit his drive 30 yards beyond where his ball traveled on the same hole earlier Tuesday, and he had just a 7-iron for his approach into the green. Richmond, meanwhile, pulled his tee shot into a hazard and needed four shots to get to the front fringe. He three-putted from there for a double bogey. Jack, meanwhile, sank a 4-foot birdie for the victory.

“This means a lot,” said Jack, a 16-year-old who has already verbally committed to play his college golf at the University of Colorado. “A state championship is something I always wanted to win. Words can’t describe the feeling. Nothing means more to me than winning this. And it’s great for the team (too).”

Richmond (left), meanwhile, was thinking of what might have been.

“Obviously the tee shot (in the playoff) wasn’t the greatest,” he said. “Nerves and all that stuff were just going through my brain. It was bad.

“Obviously I wanted to win here. It would have been pretty special.”

Jack shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday — not counting his playoff birdie — and finished at even-par 144. Richmond closed with a 71 to get to that same total.

“I was really excited for Oliver,” Austin said. “I thought Oliver was the best player coming in, and I told him that. And I thought if we were going to win, the best player needs to win individually — and he did. He’s such an unbelievable talent and such a great kid

“(Winning both titles) was a huge thrill. The last two hours, I’m probably more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life.”

Joining Jack in the top 10 individually for Kent Denver on Tuesday were sophomore Jackson Klutznick (148, fourth place) and freshman Ben Zimmerman (153, 10th place). Rounding out the Sun Devil team was senior Jack Friedman (162, 25th place).

Placing third individually on Tuesday was Peak to Peak’s Ethan Tartaglia, who posted a 72 for a 146 total. Yale Kim of the Dawson School, the 2014 champion, shared fourth place with Klutznick at 148.

Kent Denver, which finished at 13-over-par 445, had a battle to win its eighth team title since 2006. Defending champion Peak to Peak took second place at 448.

In the 5A tournament, the team race was even closer as Regis Jesuit’s 10-over-par 436 total just edged Highlands Ranch by one.

Individually, Pearson was the only player to post two rounds in the 60s at Bookcliff. Besides his hole-in-one eagle, he made four birdies and two bogeys on Tuesday. For the two days, he racked up 10 birdies plus the eagle.

Bryant, a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier last year, was very much in contention through 10 holes Tuesday as he had made a birdie and nine pars and stood 6 under overall. But he went 3 over par the rest of the way, shot 73, and had to settle for runner-up with a 3-under 139 total.

First-round leader Nick Caldwell of Rock Canyon was the only other player to finish under-par for two rounds, in his case at 140, good for third place. He made an eagle and a birdie on Tuesday, but also seven bogeys in a round of 75.

In 4A, Solem rallied from four behind going into the day to force a playoff in his bid for two straight individual championships. But after both players parred the first extra hole, Trujillo made a par on the second playoff hole to prevail as Solem missed his 6-foot par attempt. Both players finished at 4-under-par 140 overall, with Solem closing with a bogey-free 69 (though his blemish-free day ended on the second playoff hole) and Trujillo a 73.

Trujillo led by three strokes with four holes left in regulation, but a double bogey on 15 and a bogey on 18 forced the playoff.

Cole Krantz of Windsor was also in the thick of the title race, but back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16 led to a third-place finish, one out of the playoff. Krantz played his first seven holes in 4 under par on Tuesday, making an eagle on the 325-yard seventh hole.

Discovery Canyon ran away with the 4A team title. Its 6-over-par 438 total was 15 strokes better than runner-up Montrose.

For scores from the state tournaments, click on the following: 5A, 4A, 3A.

Let it not be said that Monday’s first rounds of the three boys state high school golf tournaments lacked for pizzazz.

Let’s count the ways they filled the bill:

— Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon had perhaps the best start in the history of Colorado boys state high school tournaments as he played his first five holes in 6 under par at the 4A state meet at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale. He shot a 6-under-par 30 on his first nine holes and was 8 under after making eagle on his 11th hole. But he finished double bogey-bogey to settle for a 5-under-par 67, which was still good for a three-stroke lead.

— At the 5A tournament at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction, three players — Nick Caldwell of Rock Canyon, Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest and Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch — shot 66 or better. Caldwell fired a 6-under-par 65 to lead the way.

— In the 3A tournament at Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora, senior Yale Kim of the Dawson School put himself in position to become just the fifth two-time Colorado boys state high school champion since 1995. Kim, who won as a sophomore in 2014, shares second place, one out of the lead, after round 1. For the record, the other two-time champs over the last 21 years are Tom Glissmeyer of Cheyenne Mountain (2003 and ’04), Steve Ziegler of Legacy (2005 and ’06), Wyndham Clark of Valor Christian (2009 and ’11), and Ethan Freeman of Kent Denver (2010 and ’11). Jackson Solem of Silver Creek, who trails by four strokes in 4A, also has a chance to repeat as champion.

“I’m really excited,” said Kim (left), who’s been seventh and sixth in his other two trips to state. “I already have one (state win) in my bag. I’m just trying to play the best golf I can. I’m still going for the No. 1 spot.”

Notably, Kim is in contention for a state title despite not winning a tournament so far this high school season.

“I was busy for the whole summer, visiting my family in Korea, and my swing wasn’t that great.,” he said. “But I got my game together in time for state.”

— Also at the 3A tournament, Oliver Jack of Kent Denver birdied four of the last six holes to close out his round, including draining a 30-footer on No. 18, to grab the lead with an even-par 72. The junior finished with six birdies on the day.

Here are brief roundups on each of the state high school tournaments:

5A at Bookcliff: Caldwell, Bryant and Pearson separated themselves from the field in Monday’s opening round.

In his 65, Caldwell eagled the 553-yard 12th hole and added five birdies, while making just one bogey.

Bryant, a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier last year, likewise made just one bogey on Monday, while he notched a half-dozen birdies in his round of 66. Starting on No. 14 (his fifth hole), he ran off four in a row, part of an eight-hole stretch which he played in 6 under par.

Pearson also carded six birdies an a bogey on Monday.

The only other player under par in round 1 was Tommy Packer of Arapahoe, who posted a 1-under-70, leaving him five out of the lead.

Regis Jesuit, winner of five of the last six 5A state team titles, leads after round 1 at 7-over-par 220. But four schools are within seven strokes heading into the final round: Rock Canyon (222), Fossil Ridge (225), Highlands Ranch (225) and Lakewood (227).

4A at River Valley Ranch: After his impressive round, Trujillo (67) was the only player to finish with a score in the 60s on Monday.

But five other players posted subpar totals on Monday: 2015 Colorado Junior PGA champion Cole Krantz of Windsor (70), Reice Hendricks of Air Academy (71), Owen Pasvogel of Discovery Canyon (71), Micah Stangebye of Montrose (71) and defending champion Solem of Silver Creek (71).

Discovery Canyon, with a stellar 4-under-par 212 total, holds a healthy 13-stroke lead over second place Montrose. Evergreen (231) is third, while three-time defending champ Valor Christian (232) is fourth.

3A at Saddle Rock: Jack, who tied for second place at state last year as a sophomore, was 4 over par through 12 holes on Monday. Then his round turned on a dime as he went birdie, par, birdie, par, birdie, birdie.

“I was struggling a little with my putting, but I finally got some to drop,” he said. “That was a nice confidence booster.

“I knew they had to drop at some point because I was getting close. I was waiting for the first one to go, then I knew (more would follow).”

Kim, who was 3 under par through 10 holes before going bogey-double bogey on 11 and 12, sits a stroke behind Jack along with Ivan Richmond of Estes Park and Jacob Mason of Jefferson Academy. Richmond tied Jack for second place at state last year.

Host Kent Denver, winner of a record-tying eight state team titles in boys golf, shares the team lead with Peak to Peak at 9-over-par 225. Aspen is third at 234.

For scores from the tournaments, click on the following: 5A, 4A, 3A.

Though this was the third national finals of the DCP, it was the first year a Coloradan qualified. In all, 80 golfers — 40 boys and 40 girls from across the U.S. and Canada — competed on Sunday at Augusta. The event was broken up into four age groups each for boys and girls, age 7-15.

Luke Trujillo, 15, of Colorado Springs finished sixth out of 10 players overall in the boys 14-15 age group with 15.5 points, 7.5 fewer than champion Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass. Trujillo ended up third in putting — thanks to draining his second putt — sixth in chipping, and tied for seventh in the drive. The Golf Channel showed one of Trujillo’s drives and both of his chips and putts on Sunday, including the one that he holed to close his day.

Arielle Keating, 15, of Colorado Springs finished sixth in the girls 14-15 division with 16.5 points, 10 behind champion Alyssa Montgomery of Knoxville, Tenn. Keating tied for third in the chip (her second chip finished a foot from the cup), and placed fifth in the putt and eighth in the drive. Golf Channel showed her stroke one of her putts on Sunday.

Caitlyn Chin, 8, of suburban Denver finished 10th in the girls 7-9 division with five points, leaving her 19 points back of champion Emerson Blair of West Point, Miss. Chin placed eighth in the drive, and 10th in both the chip and the putt. Golf Channel showed both of Chin’s putts on Sunday.

(The Coloradans — from left, Trujillo, Chin and Keating — are pictured above.)

After competing in the Drive, Chip and Putt on Sunday, Trujillo, Keating and Chin — and their families — will have a chance to watch a Masters practice round Monday at Augusta National.

Among those on hand for Sunday’s DCP national finals were Masters champions Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Nick Faldo, Ben Crenshaw and Mark O’Meara, other PGA Tour players Jason Day, Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar, new USGA president Diana Murphy, PGA of America president Derek Sprague, Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and U.S. Amateur and NCAA champion Bryson DeChambeau. On Saturday on the eve of the event, the DCP finalists rubbed elbows with entertainers Justin Timberlake and Niall Horan, and PGA Tour player Justin Rose.

“This is special,” Watson said Sunday on Golf Channel. “It jerks at my heart a lot, watching this. There are other things these kids are learning (besides displaying their skills). They’re learning etiquette, dedication, and the drive (necessary to achieve at a high level).”

Only six states were better represented in the DCP national finals this spring than Colorado — California (8 finalists), Texas (7), Ohio (5), and New York, Illinois and Michigan (4 each).

The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is a joint initiative of the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America designed to help grow the game.

Each competitor is scored based on the longest of two drives (provided it’s inbounds), and the cumulative proximity to the hole of two chips and of two putts from different distances. The driving and chipping were held at Augusta National’s tournament practice area, with the putting set for ANGC’s 18th green. Golfers competed within eight groups based on gender and age, with the kids with the highest combined scores in driving, chipping and putting winning the overall titles.

All 80 of the finalists who vied at Augusta National on Sunday qualified by virtue of advancing through local, sub-regional and regional competitions.

Trujillo, Keating and Chin all took the same sub-regional and regional paths to the finals, advancing at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, Calif., respectively. Each won his or her divisions at the regionals at Torrey Pines.

For all the results of Sunday’s Drive, Chip and Putt national finals, CLICK HERE.

Registration for the 2016-17 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is open. The website can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.  

No Coloradans qualified for the national finals of the DC&P event held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia in the first two years of the competition, culminating in 2014 and ’15. But there’s no such issue this time around.

In fact, three junior golfers from Colorado will be among the 80 competitors — 40 boys and 40 girls from across the U.S. and Canada — who will be vying in the third annual Drive, Chip and Putt finals, set for Sunday (April 3) at Augusta National on the eve of Masters week.

That makes Colorado one of the most well-represented states in this year’s finals. In fact, only six states have more finalists this spring — California (8), Texas (7), Ohio (5), and New York, Illinois and Michigan (4 each).

The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, for youngsters age 7-15, is a joint initiative of the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America designed to help grow the game.

Each competitor is scored based on the longest of two drives (provided it’s inbounds), and the cumulative proximity to the hole of two chips and of two putts. The driving and chipping will be held at Augusta National’s tournament practice area, with the putting set for ANGC’s 18th green. Golfers vie within eight groups based on gender and age, with the kids with the highest combined scores in driving, chipping and putting winning the overall titles.

All 80 of the finalists who will vie at Augusta National on Sunday qualified by virtue of advancing through local, sub-regional and regional competitions.

The Coloradans who made the finals are Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs (boys 14-15 age group), fellow Colorado Springs resident Arielle Keating (girls 14-15) and Caitlyn Chin of suburban Denver (girls 7-9). Trujillo and Keating are children of PGA professionals John Trujillo of Eisenhower Golf Club and Brad Keating of Springs Ranch Golf Club, respectively.

Trujillo, Keating and Chin all took the same sub-regional and regional paths to the finals, advancing at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, Calif., respectively. Each won his or her division at the regionals at Torrey Pines.

Trujillo, who owns a 0.8 handicap index, remembers watching last year’s DC&P finals on TV.

“I saw all these kids doing what they love to do and having a lot of fun and I wanted to have the chance to be in that moment,” he told drivechipandputt.com.

Trujillo plays out of the Golf Club at Flying Horse, while Keating is from the Country Club of Colorado and Chin hails from Meridian Golf Club.

Golf Channel will be devoting five hours of TV coverage to the Drive, Chip and Putt finals on Sunday, with an hour-long “pre-game” (6-7 a.m. MT) followed by four hours of live action (7-11 a.m.).