On Wednesday on a national selection show televised by the Golf Channel, the University of Colorado, Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado punched their tickets to Regionals, which will be held May 14-16.
It will be CSU’s first trip as a team to Regionals since 2012 and UNC’s first since 2014. Meanwhile, CU will be going for the sixth straight year.
The Buffs — who finished second in the Pac-12 tournament, their best showing at a conference meet since 2009 — landed the seventh seed out of 13 teams in the Stockton, Calif., Regional. CU is led by senior Yannik Paul, who’s garnered first-team All-Pac-12 honors, a first for the program since it joined the conference in 2011.
The CSU Rams, runners-up in the Mountain West Conference for the second straight year, are seeded eighth out of 14 teams in the Kissimmee, Fla. Regional. CSU coach Christian Newton recently was named the Mountain West Conference’s Men’s Golf Coach of the Year.
And the UNC Bears, who won a conference team title (the Big Sky in this case) for the first time since 2014, are seeded 12th out of 13 teams in the Bryan, Texas Regional.
In addition, University of Denver senior and Colorado resident Chris Korte landed a berth as an individual at the Norman, Okla., Regional. Korte has won both the CGA Amateur and CGA Match Play. Another Coloradan competing in NCAA Regionals will be Josh Seiple, whose Ole Miss team is seeded sixth in Bryan, Texas.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Crabtree, the coach at Louisville (and formerly at CSU), saw his Cardinals draw the No. 9 seed in Columbus, Ohio.
The top five team finishers — and the top individual not on one of those teams — from each Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, set for May 25-30 in Stillwater, Okla.
In all, there are six NCAA Division I Men’s Regional sites, and a total of 81 teams and 45 individuals will compete there.
During Golf Channel’s hour-long selection show, selection show watch parties hosted by both CSU and UNC were among those that drew TV drop-ins from the network.
For all the complete NCAA Regional fields, CLICK HERE.
CU shot even-par 288 as a team on Wednesday and finished tied for eighth place out of 13 teams at the regional with a 26-over-par 890 total. Only the top five teams advance to the NCAA Finals in Eugene, Ore., and the Buffs ended up 23 strokes out of fifth place. SEC champion Georgia claimed the title at 848.
Colorado last qualified a full team for the NCAA Finals in 2002.
CU junior Jeremy Paul, who shared the individual lead after round 1, led the Buffs with a 21st-place showing. He shot a 2-over-par 74 on Wednesday to post a 3-over 219 total. Though Paul saw his 54-round streak of having his score count toward the team total end, he still set the program record for single-season stroke average, at 70.6.
(May 30 Update: Paul later was named to the Ping All-West Region Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.)
Georgia’s Greyson Sigg was the regional champion at 9-under 207.
Meanwhile, at the NCAA Stillwater (Okla.) Regional, Louisville coach Mark Crabtree (pictured) — a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, former CU golfer and former Colorado State coach — guided the Cardinals to a fourth-place finish and an NCAA Finals team berth. It was the third time Louisville has advanced to the NCAA Finals under Crabtree.
(May 30 Update: Louisville went on to finish 14th in the NCAA Finals.)
Host Oklahoma State easily won the Stillwater Regional, though Coloradan Wyndham Clark didn’t compete for the Cowboys this week.
NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional
May 16-18, 2016 (final) in Tucscaloosa, Ala.
8. Colorado 296-306-288–890
21. Jeremy Paul 68-77-74–219; 34. Ethan Freeman 75-74-73–222; 46. Philip Juel-Berg 74-80-72–226; 53. John Souza 80-75-73–228; 56. Wilson Belk 79-83-70–232.
For all the scores from the Tuscaloosa Regional, CLICK HERE.
The Buffs, winner of two major team titles this season (including its own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational), were seeded 11th out of 13 teams for the Tuscaloosa, Ala., Regional that will be contested May 16-18 at the Ol’ Colony Golf Complex. It marked the third time in the last four years that Colorado has been sent to a regional in the southern U.S. (Fayetteville, Ark., in 2013 and Auburn, Ala., in 2014).
In all, the fields for six 54-hole regionals were revealed Thursday morning on Golf Channel.
It’s the fourth consecutive season that CU has earned a regional berth — and the 20th time since 1989. But the Buffs, with coach Roy Edwards at the helm, are looking to qualify a team for the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time since 2002.
The top five team finishers, and the low individual not on those teams, from each regional will advance to the NCAA finals, set for May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.
Colorado, the only Colorado-based school to earn a team (or individual) berth in the men’s NCAA regionals in 2016, is ranked 66th nationally by Golfstat and 67th by Golfweek, meaning CU landed one of the final NCAA regional at-large berths. Individually, the Buffs are led by junior Jeremy Paul, who has two individual wins to his credit this season, one in a large-scale tournament. The German has seven top-10s all told this season — including a seventh at the recent Pac-12 Championships — and owns a 70.46 stroke average. In the national individual college rankings, Paul is 41st according to Golfstat, while Golfweek has him 64th. This week, he was named a second-team All-Pac-12 selection. (Paul is pictured above with Edwards.)
Georgia is the top-seeded team in the Southeastern Conference-heavy Tuscaloosa Regional, having just won the SEC title. Host Alabama is seeded fourth. Kansas, coached by former Colorado State University coach Jamie Bermel, is the seventh seed in Tuscaloosa after a four-win season.
Meanwhile, Coloradan Wyndham Clark’s Oklahoma State team was seeded first in the Stillwater, Okla., Regional that the Cowboys will be hosting at Karsten Creek. Clark, who won the 2010 CGA Stroke Play title when he was 16, has two top-six individual finishes — and six top-12s — to his credit this season. Also competing in the Stillwater Regional will be Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Crabtree’s University of Louisville squad. The Cardinals are seeded 10th in the region.
For the complete fields for the men’s NCAA Regionals, CLICK HERE.
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It was fist-pump mania this week for Nick Nosewicz, and Friday was certainly no exception.
The golfer from Meadow Hills didn’t hesitate to celebrate key shots at the 115th CGA Match Play — and not just when he drained crucial putts.
“I don’t think I ever fist-pumped in my life on a tee box, and I did it like nine times this week, which tells you how bad I wanted this,” he said. “I wanted it maybe more than anybody has wanted this trophy before. It infuenced every shot — not only the putts I made, but the tee balls that I hit.”
And apparently, all the fist-pumping self-motivation paid off in the end as Nosewicz claimed the Match Play title Friday at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.
Besides making him very happy, the victory gave the golfer from Aurora an interesting distinction. He struck a blow for mid-amateur golfers by becoming the oldest winner of the CGA Match Play since 1994.
Nosewicz, 31, never trailed in the 36-hole final, defeating Connor Klein of Lone Tree Golf Club 4 and 3 for the title.
The last golfer older than Nosewicz when he won the CGA Match Play was Mark Crabtree, who was 38 when he prevailed in the event for the fourth time in 1994. Crabtree has since been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
“This win is probably bigger than anything I’ve ever won before,” said Nosewicz (pictured left and above), a former pro. “This was quite a treat. To be part of it and be against all these great college players is something special, and it elevates my game to another level.”
Nosewicz comes from a well-known golfing family largely based in Colorado. Most notably, his grandfather, Ed Nosewicz Sr., won four CGA Senior Match Play titles and was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2005.
On Friday, Nick Nosewicz dedicated his victory in one of the state’s most prestigious championships to Ed Sr., who will turn 91 later this month.
“Last year I played really well all week (in the CGA Stroke Play, finishing second) — and he was in the hospital on kidney dialysis at that time — so to get another chance this year …,” said Nosewicz, general manager at Lenny’s Ski and Golf, which is named for his dad. “This trophy is going straight to his (grandfather’s) house and he’s going to have it for at least a good week. He’ll be 91 July 21 and he probably still knows more about the game than I ever will.”
On Friday, Nosewicz won his fifth match in three days by beating the 21-year-old Klein (left), the reigning national Division II junior college individual champion.
Nosewicz, who started playing state tournaments again in 2013 after regaining his amateur status, built a huge lead in the finals and then held Klein at bay. Nosewicz was an amazing 7 up through 16 holes. Through 17, Klein was 4 over par, which was out of character after winning five straight matches this week.
“It was definitely a struggle this morning,” Klein said. “I didn’t hit any of the shots I would have liked, and my putting was pretty bad. My speed control was horrible.
“(After the first 16 holes) I was so far down I couldn’t think that far ahead. I just had to start somewhere because obviously I hadn’t been getting anything done. I just had to start small and work from there. But I wasn’t really able to get too much going. I’d find parts of it here and there, then I’d lose it for a few more holes and he’d win a few back so it was hard to get back into it.”
Klein (left) did throw a bit of a scare into Nosewicz by winning four straight holes in the middle of the match (Nos. 18 through 21) — three of them with birdies — to cut the deficit to a manageable 3 down.
“That definitely helped,” said Klein, who will continue to play college golf for at least part of next season at South Mountain Community College in Arizona. “I figured if I got off to a good start, anything could happen.”
Suffice it to say the rally got Nosewicz’s attention.
“I was absolutely concerned. I was scared,” he said. “There’s no second-guessing that. I felt like I was against the ropes a little bit. But I didn’t want it to slip. I remembered it’s not over until it’s over, and I hit a couple of good shots.
“The guy (Klein) played good. He had the eye of the tiger. But … I know what it feels like to finish runner-up. I hate losing and I didn’t want to go home without that trophy.”
Klein wouldn’t cut his deficit any more during the second 18, but did get back to 3 down with a par on the 30th hole and then again with a 16-foot birdie on the 32nd hole.
But Nosewicz (left) closed out the match with a 3 1/2-foot par putt on the next hole as Klein had to blast out of a fairway bunker and missed a 9-foot par putt that would have prolonged the contest.
Less than a minute after the walking off the green, Nosewicz was still in a bit of disbelief, saying, “Did I just win this thing?”
Indeed, he had. The medalist in stroke-play qualifying to start the week, Nosewicz finished the final day 1 under par for 33 holes. Klein was 2 over.
“I’m obviously a little bit disappointed but it was fun,” Klein said. “It was definitely a long grind of a day but it was nice to make it to the finals. I haven’t done that before.”
As for Nosewicz, he was happy to be the golfer to prevail out of a formidable field that included many outstanding college players — the kind who usually win the Match Play.
“I feel strong for 31,” he said. “I reminded myself that I work hard and I’m strong. I can kind of hang with some of these young kids.”
But early this year, Nosewicz wondered if he really would be able to hang with the kids moving forward. That’s after he tore a labrum in his left shoulder while moving snowboards at Lenny’s Ski and Golf. He spent eight weeks in a sling.
“I was wondering if I’d ever be able to play at the level I did last year, where I had a chance (to win state championships),” he said. But Nosewicz did fully recover, and on Friday he did himself, his friends and his family proud.
“I know (family members) have won a lot so it’s a big shadow to kind of come up from underneath them all,” he said. “I have some big roots in my genes. I think they’re all going to be pretty happy. The competition here this week is just as good as any mini tour. At 31 to feel like I can prevail is pretty awesome.”
CGA Match Play Championship
At CommonGround GC in Aurora
36-HOLE FINAL
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC (2) def. Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC (16), 4 and 3
SEMIFINALS
Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC (16) def. Colin Prater, Broadmoor GC (12), 2 up
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC (2) def. Nathaniel Goddard, Ptarmigan CC (35), 1 up
QUARTERFINALS
Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC (16) def. Gus Lundquist, Colorado GC (56), 2 and 1
Colin Prater, Broadmoor GC (12) def. Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera (13), 5 and 4
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC (2) def. Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC (7), 4 and 3
Nathaniel Goddard, Ptarmigan CC (35) def. Jacob Allenback, Walking Stick GC (6), 1 up
ROUND OF 16
Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC (16) def. Cody Kent, The Club at Ravenna (1), 3 and 2
Gus Lundquist, Colorado GC (56) def. Steven Irwin, Lakewood CC (8), 3 and 1
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera (13) def. Neil Tillman, Heritage at Westmoor (36), 6 and 4
Colin Prater, Broadmoor GC (12) def. Spencer Painton, Green Valley Ranch (5), 1 up
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC (2) def. Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines (18), 2 and 1
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC (7) def. Adam Griffith, Thorncreek GC (42), 2 up
Nathaniel Goddard, Ptarmigan CC (35) def. Tyler Bricker, Ptarmigan CC (51), 2 and 1
Jacob Allenback, Walking Stick GC (6) def. Jake Kelley, Columbine CC (22), 2 up
ROUND OF 32
Cody Kent, The Club at Ravenna (1) def. Cole Cunningham, Valley CC (33), 21 holes
Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC (16) def. Hayden Nicholaides, South Suburban FS (48), 6 and 5
Steven Irwin, Lakewood CC (8) def. Tanner Jenson, Ridge at Castle Pines N. (25), 3 and 2
Gus Lundquist, Colorado GC (56) def. Matt Robertson, Foothills GC (24), 3 and 2
Neil Tillman, Heritage at Westmoor (36) def. Braden Baer, Legacy Ridge GC (4), 3 and 2
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera (13) def. Wilson Belk, CC of Colorado (20), 2 and 1
Spencer Painton, Green Valley Ranch (5) def. Christopher Wilson, Eisenhower GC (28), 4 and 3
Colin Prater, Broadmoor GC (12) def. Pierce Aichinger, CJGA Club (21), 3 and 2
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC (2) def. Evan Buchalski, CJGA Club (34), 2 and 1
Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines (18) def. Josh Gardella, Highlands Ranch GC (50), 4 and 2
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC (7) def. Steven Kupcho, Heritage at Westmoor (39), 3 and 2
Adam Griffith, Thorncreek GC (42) def. Christopher Thayer, Bear Creek GC (10), 5 and 4
Nathaniel Goddard, Ptarmigan CC (35) def. Alex Kephart, Eisenhower GC (3), 1 up
Tyler Bricker, Ptarmigan CC (51) def. Drew Vance, Fox Hollow GC (19), 19 holes
Jacob Allenback, Walking Stick GC (6) def. Tristan Rohrbaugh, Ironbridge GC (27), 2 and 1
Jake Kelley, Columbine CC (22) def. Dillon McDonald, Red Sky GC (54), 2 and 1
ROUND OF 64
Cody Kent, The Club at Ravenna (1) def. Jeffrey Leavitt, Omni Interlocken Resort (64), 3 and 1
Cole Cunningham, Valley CC (33) def. Blake Young, Trinidad GC (32), 5 and 4
Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC (16) def. Adam Pladson, Green Valley Ranch GC (49), 3 and 2
Hayden Nicholaides, South Suburban FS (48) def. Zach Tripp, Foothills GC (17), 5 and 4
Steven Irwin, Lakewood CC (8) def. Garrett Harrison, Bookcliff Country Club (57), 1 up
Tanner Jenson, Ridge at Castle Pines N. (25) def. Dylan Wonnacott, Fox Hill Club (40), 2 up
Gus Lundquist, Colorado GC (56) def. Andrew Tapia, Elmwood GC (9), 3 and 2
Matt Robertson, Foothills GC (24) def. Erik Young, CommonGround GC (41), 19 holes
Braden Baer, Legacy Ridge GC (4) def. Dylan Mitchell, Lakewood CC (61), 3 and 2
Neil Tillman, Heritage at Westmoor (36) def. Jake Staiano, CJGA Club (29), 4 and 3
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera (13) def. Ethan Freeman, Glenmoor CC (52), 3 and 2
Wilson Belk, CC of Colorado (20) def. Behrod Keshtavar, Colorado Natl. GC (45), 3 and 1
Spencer Painton, Green Valley Ranch (5) def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC (60), 2 up
Christopher Wilson, Eisenhower GC (28) def. Brian Craig, CommonGround GC (37), 4 and 3
Colin Prater, Broadmoor GC (12) def. Joel Perez, Colorado National GC (53), 3 and 2
Pierce Aichinger, CJGA Club (21) def. Trevor Glen, CJGA Tournament Club (44), 5 and 3
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC (2) def. David Lindquist, CommonGround GC (63), 6 and 5
Evan Buchalski, CJGA Club (34) def. Trevor McKune, Pinehurst CC (31), 3 and 2
Josh Gardella, Highlands Ranch GC (50) def. Lamar Carlile, City Park GC (15), 4 and 3
Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines (18) def. Clint Miller, Meadow Hills Golf Course (47), 5 and 4
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC (7) def. Zach Fowlds, Colorado GC (58), 6 and 5
Steven Kupcho, Heritage at Westmoor (39) def. Sean Griswold, Hillcrest GC (26), 2 and 1
Christopher Thayer, Bear Creek GC (10) def. Glenn Workman, Desert Hawk GC (55), 3 and 2
Adam Griffith, Thorncreek GC (42) def. Chris Dillon, CommonGround GC (23), 1 up
Alex Kephart, Eisenhower GC (3) def. Andy Wilson, CommonGround Golf Course (62), 1 up
Nathaniel Goddard, Ptarmigan CC (35) def. Sean Kato, Highland Hills Golf Course (30), 3 and 2
Tyler Bricker, Ptarmigan CC (51) def. Kolton Kyne, Divide Ranch & Club (14), 2 and 1
Drew Vance, Fox Hollow GC (19) def. Jonathan Kuzava, Columbine CC (46), 3 and 2
Jacob Allenback, Walking Stick GC (6) def. Quade Mitchell, Highlands Ranch GC (59), 5 and 4
Tristan Rohrbaugh, Ironbridge GC (27) def. Dallas Perrault, Heritage at Westmoor (38), 4 and 3
Dillon McDonald, Red Sky GC (54) def. Sam Marley, South Suburban GC (11), 3 and 2
Jake Kelley, Columbine CC (22) def. John Gorell, Patty Jewett GC (43), 3 and 2
STROKE-PLAY QUALIFYING
Qualified for Match Play
Nick Nosewicz, Meadow Hills GC, 32-34–66
Alex Kephart, Eisenhower GC, 37-30–67
Braden Baer, Legacy Ridge GC, 33-35–68
Spencer Painton, Green Valley Ranch, 36-32–68
Chris Korte, Lone Tree GC, 32-37–69
Jacob Allenback, Walking Stick GC, 35-34–69
Steven Irwin, Lakewood CC, 35-35–70
Andrew Tapia, Elmwood GC, 35-35–70
Christopher Thayer, Bear Creek GC, 35-35–70
Lamar Carlile, City Park GC, 34-37–71
Kyler Dunkle, Club at Pradera, 37-34–71
Colin Prater, Broadmoor GC, 36-35–71
Kolton Kyne, Divide Ranch & Club, 33-38–71
Sam Marley, South Suburban GC, 36-35–71
Connor Klein, Lone Tree GC, 39-33–72
Drew Vance, Fox Hollow GC, 37-35–72
Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines, 37-35–72
Zach Tripp, Foothills GC, 35-37–72
Pierce Aichinger, CJGA Club, 37-35–72
Jake Kelley, Columbine CC, 36-36–72
Wilson Belk, CC of Colorado, 36-36–72
Chris Dillon, CommonGround GC, 35-38–73
Sean Kato, Highland Hills Golf Course, 33-40–73
Tanner Jenson, Ridge at Castle Pines N., 35-38–73
Sean Griswold, Hillcrest GC, 34-39–73
Jake Staiano, CJGA Club, 36-37–73
Christopher Wilson, Eisenhower GC, 35-38–73
Tristan Rohrbaugh, Ironbridge GC, 38-35–73
Matt Robertson, Foothills GC, 34-39–73
Blake Young, Trinidad GC, 37-37–74
Cole Cunningham, Valley CC, 36-38–74
Trevor McKune, Pinehurst CC, 36-38–74
Evan Buchalski, CJGA Club, 38-36–74
Nathaniel Goddard, Ptarmigan CC, 35-39–74
Neil Tillman, Heritage at Westmoor, 37-37–74
Brian Craig, CommonGround GC, 39-35–74
Steven Kupcho, Heritage at Westmoor, 34-41–75
Dylan Wonnacott, Fox Hill Club, 39-36–75
Dallas Perrault, Heritage at Westmoor, 37-38–75
Adam Griffith, Thorncreek GC, 36-39–75
Erik Young, CommonGround GC, 36-39–75
John Gorell, Patty Jewett GC, 39-36–75
Trevor Glen, CJGA Tournament Club, 35-40–75
Adam Pladson, Green Valley Ranch GC, 38-38–76
Josh Gardella, Highlands Ranch GC, 37-39–76
Clint Miller, Meadow Hills GC, 36-40–76
Hayden Nicholaides, South Suburban FS, 38-38–76
Behrod Keshtavar, Colorado Natl. GC, 38-38–76
Jonathan Kuzava, Columbine CC, 37-39–76
Dillon McDonald, Red Sky GC, 39-38–77
Gus Lundquist, Colorado GC, 36-41–77
Ethan Freeman, Glenmoor CC, 38-39–77
Zach Fowlds, Colorado GC, 41-36–77
Glenn Workman, Desert Hawk GC, 41-36–77
Tyler Bricker, Ptarmigan CC, 40-37–77
Garrett Harrison, Bookcliff Country Club, 37-40–77
Joel Perez, Colorado National GC, 37-40–77
Quade Mitchell, Highlands Ranch GC, 37-41–78
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, 39-40–79
David Lindquist, CommonGround GC, 41-38–79
Dylan Mitchell, Lakewood CC, 37-42–79
Jeffrey Leavitt, Omni Interlocken Resort, 33-46–79
Andy Wilson, CommonGround Golf Course, 40-39–79
Failed to Qualify
Marc Shirazi, Greeley CC, 40-39–79
Steve Connell, Riverdale GC, 39-40–79
Bretton Krantz, Ptarmigan CC, 41-38–79
Tyler Winslow, Ute Creek GC, 36-44–80
Matthew Goddard, Ptarmigan CC, 37-43–80
Jack Cummings, Omni Interlocken, 37-43–80
Michael Passananti, Southridge GC, 41-39–80
Alex Neumyer, CommonGround GC, 40-40–80
Jackson Vacek, Harmony Club, 42-39–81
Eric Mccreesh, Saddle Rock Golf Course, 42-39–81
David Delich, Broadmoor GC, 43-39–82
Matt Weiss, Spring Valley GC, 40-42–82
Bridger Ryan, Broadlands GC, 40-42–82
Richard Brown, South Suburban GC, 45-37–82
Christopher Raap, CJGA Club, 38-44–82
Grant Dinkel, Flatirons GC, 45-37–82
Collin Tedesco, Plum Creek GC, 41-41–82
Patrick Horvath, CommonGround Golf Course, 39-44–83
Will Fowler, Club at Rolling Hills, 44-40–84
Justin Allenback, Walking Stick GC, 41-44–85
The year it was first held, William McKinley was president of the U.S., Butch Cassidy allegedly was in on a train robbery in Montana, and Queen Victoria passed away.
The 113th CGA Match Play will be held next week — July 8-12 — at Bear Creek Golf Club in west Denver.
The championship has been contested every year since 1901. That not only makes it the oldest continuously held statewide golf tournament in Colorado, but one of the oldest in the nation.
While the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, Masters and PGA Championship — along with the British Open — all weren’t held various years because of World War I and/or II, the CGA Match Play has never missed a beat. It’s been contested each year without fail since Frank Woodward defeated H.K.B. Davis Sr., 3 and 2 in the finals in 1901.
The Match Play actually predates the CGA by 14 years, but the association’s first official function when it was founded in 1915 was becoming the administrator of the event.
Over the first 112 years, the champions have included the very famous and the obscure.
Four members of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame have their names on the Richard C. Campbell CGA Match Play trophy — N.C. “Tub” Morris (1924 and ’27), Charles “Babe” Lind (1946), Hale Irwin (1966) and Steve Jones (1980). Between them, Irwin and Jones went on to win the U.S. Open four times.
“I look back at all those (Colorado amateur) events I was fortunate enough to play and have some success in as really the groundwork that got me started into the golf scene,” Irwin said last year. “Colorado golf is where it all started.”
Other current PGA Tour players who have won the CGA Match Play are Brandt Jobe (1984, ’85, ’88) and fellow Kent Denver High School alum Kevin Stadler (1999 and 2002).
The championship has seen everything from a couple of 12-and-11 routs in the 36-hole final match, to one finale that lasted more than 40 holes, as Sam Valuck needed 42 to overcome future state senator Les Fowler in the 1961 title match at Cherry Hills.
Dr. Larry Bromfield has been by far the most successful player in CGA Match Play history, having won an amazing eight times from 1912-28. Next best are Mark Crabtree, Larry McAtee and Walter Fairbanks, with four titles each.
This year’s Match Play will be contested at Bear Creek, which has hosted the championship 13 previous times since 1986.
Former Georgetown University golfer Brian Dorfman of Cherry Creek Country Club will defend his 2012 title, and last year’s runner-up, Colorado State University golfer Parker Edens, is also back. (Dorfman is pictured above in front of the Match Play trophy.)
Likewise in the field are former University of Colorado golfer Derek Fribbs, who last month won the CGA Public Links Championship after shooting a final-round 62; 2012 CGA Stroke Play champion and 2013 Publinks runner-up Steven Kupcho; 2012 U.S. Amateur match play qualifier Mike Schoolcraft; and 2004 Match Play winner Steve Irwin.
As the defending champ, Dorfman will be the No. 1 seed, with a single round of stroke play on Monday setting up the rest of the 64-man match play bracket.
After all, he’ll go down as the final champion of the tournament.
Four months after the USGA announced it will discontinue its men’s and women’s Amateur Public Links Championships after 2014, CGA leadership has decided to make a similar move.
This week’s CGA Public Links Championship — set for Friday through Sunday (June 21-23) at Twin Peaks Golf Course in Longmont — will be the last played, concluding a run of 31 tournaments since the event’s inception in 1983. (Eric Parish, pictured hitting above, will defend his title this weekend.)
As was the case with the USGA, CGA officials believe the Publinks no longer serves its original purpose.
“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” CGA executive director Ed Mate said. “At the time the tournament was created, there was a need to have distinction between public and private. Now the line between public and private is blurry — which is good — and there’s no need” for that distinction.
“There was a feeling as long as the USGA conducted a national Publinks, we should do a state Publinks. Now that rationale is gone.”
Mate said the CGA plans to add a new championship in 2014, though what form that tournament might take hasn’t been decided. But he added that whatever replaces the Publinks will be an open-field event, meaning any CGA member will be able to compete, aside from the possible restriction of age.
“In no other tournament that we run do we say, ‘You can play and you can’t’, except for age purposes,” Mate continued. “It got to be really silly, with people having a range membership at a private club not being able to play (in the Publinks), while a college player who has access to a private club could play.”
Currently, the CGA Public Links Championship is limited to “active CGA members who, since January 1st of the current year, are bona-fide public course players who have not held privileges of any course which does not extend playing privileges to the general public or privileges of any private club maintaining its own course.”
Gary Potter, now a CGA governor emeritus, was one of the driving forces in creating the Public Links Championship in the early 1980s. But he supports the decision to discontinue the event.
“I was urging for it to be done away with,” he said. “At the time we started it, we were looking to create more events for more people. It was just one more thing to be meaningful at a time when we didn’t have a lot of activity on the tournament front.
“It served its purpose. The true Publinks player doesn’t really exist anymore. Anyone can enter the U.S. Amateur. We probably started (the Publinks) in Colorado too late; we were already well into the mode of everyone being able to play in every tournament.”
Ninety years ago, the Amateur Public Links gave public golfers a national championship as they couldn’t compete in the U.S. Amateur, which was limited to players from USGA member clubs. But that restriction ended for both the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1979. Nowadays the Publinks events are dominated by college players — or younger.
Every champion of the CGA Publinks since 2000 has won the title the same year he competed as a college golfer. The last non-college player to win was Rick DeWitt in 1999.
Terry Byrnes won the inaugural CGA Publinks in 1983 at Gleneagle Golf Club in Colorado Springs.
“I’m not surprised the state Publinks is scheduled to join the persimmon driver as part of golf’s past,” Byrnes noted this week. “Much has changed in 30 years regarding how and where people choose to play their golf and the CGA offers a handsome slate of competitive opportunities each year anyway.
“I do remember feeling a great sense of pride in winning the inaugural event just outside of Colorado Springs back in 1983. If I had known sooner, I would have tried to arrange to compete in the last event as the Colorado Public Links does hold a special place for me.”
Among the other champions of the tournament are two-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Kaye (1992), two-time HealthOne Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan (2008) and current Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Mark Crabtree (1990) and DeWitt (1999). Also champions are brothers Zen and Zahkai Brown (2005 and 2009, respectively).
Three players have won the CGA Public Links twice each: Tom McGraw (1987 and ’93), Ben Portie (2000 and ’01) and Nolan Martin (2002 and ’04).
“The tournament (helped) Rick DeWitt and others rise to the top,” Potter said. “That’s kind of neat, being a true Publinks player.”
While the CGA Public Links Championship is going by the wayside, the association holds public players closer to its heart than ever, especially given that the CGA has so much invested in an inner-city public course. The CGA and CWGA have owned and operated CommonGround Golf Course since 2009.
“The whole idea with that is to be affordable and be accessible,” Mate said. “With all the rounds that are played there, that more than makes up for the (84) people who play annually in this (Public Links) tournament. And we are replacing that with another tournament.”
The CGA and CWGA will continue to conduct qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links through 2014. The men’s APL is the USGA’s fourth-oldest championship, having debuted in 1922. The WAPL was first played in 1977.
But even with those credentials, moving up to the college ranks — and having success there — was far from a sure thing.
Indeed, the number of Colorado high school golf coaches who have gone on to be a head coach at an NCAA Division I golf program in the state can be counted on one hand. The most notable in recent decades who has made that transition was Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Crabtree, who went from coaching the Fort Collins High School boys to leading the Colorado State University men’s program.
Despite the odds, two years after concluding her high school coaching career at Skyline in Longmont, Jennings was named interim head coach of the CSU women’s team in August. Following a two-year stint as assistant coach, Jennings took over the program after longtime head coach Angie (Hopkins) Collier went on maternity leave. Collier then moved to Houston with her husband, Jeff Collier, who is a new associate athletic director at the University of Houston.
And, if things go well this season, Jennings may be able to remove the “interim” tag from her title later this year.
“I hope the (prospects) are really good,” Jennings said this week. “I’m keeping a positive attitude and I definitely want to stay. I’m doing everything I can.”
The Rams’ fall results show there’s plenty of work to be done. The CSU women finished in the lower half of the team standings in four of five tournaments, with the best showing being a fourth-place performance in a 13-team field at the Price’s “Give ‘Em Five” Intercollegiate in New Mexico.
CSU, with a roster that includes one of Jennings’ former Skyline players (Mikayla Tatman), begins practice for the spring semester in a couple of weeks, and spring tournaments begin next month.
“We struggled a little in the fall; there was a lot of change for everyone,” Jennings said. “But I was able to hire an assistant (Rachel McClintock) , and I’m trying to change the culture to be more positive. I think we have a pretty good outlook going into the spring.
“There was definitely a big learning curve (as a first-year college head coach). It took a while to get my feet under me. It was not so much coaching the team; it was more administrative stuff. I’d done some of it, but I didn’t have a good grasp on all I had to do.”
Asked if she views this year as interim head coach as a season-long audition for the permanent position, Jennings said, “That’s a good way to put it. … I feel very fortunate” to have this opportunity.
Besides a stellar coaching resume in the high school ranks — 5A state titles at Skyline from 2002 through 2005, then 2009, and thrice being named the state’s girls golf coach of the year — Jennings has the added advantage of bleeding green and gold, figuratively speaking.
Then known as Susan Knox, she played golf for the fledgling CSU women’s program from 1978 to ’82, winning a Division II AIAW national title. Her record at the school was impressive enough that Jennings was inducted into the CSU Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
After graduating, Knox was a top amateur in the state. Among the titles she won was the 1984 CWGA Stroke Play Championship. Jennings worked for two decades at Fox Hill Country Club — where her husband, PGA Master Professional Barry Jennings, was the longtime head professional until 2011 — though Susan kept her amateur status throughout.
Before becoming a CSU assistant coach under Hopkins in 2010, Jennings was a candidate for several other college coaching jobs. She said she previously applied for openings at CSU, the University of Colorado and the University of Northern Colorado.
“I always enjoyed the high school level, but one of the parents (at Skyline) encouraged me to look into” college opportunities, said Jennings, who now lives in Johnstown. “And everything ended up falling into place.”