It was quite a diverse and accomplished group of inductees and award winners that were celebrated Sunday night at the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s 46th annual induction dinner, held at Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia:

— Inducted was a person (Jim Bunch) who has served at some of the highest levels of volunteer golf administration, including on the USGA Executive Committee and as chairman of the Western Golf Association, the USGA Rules of Golf Committee and of the Evans Scholars Foundation that awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means.

Helping salute Bunch on Sunday — via video — were USGA CEO Mike Davis and WGA president and CEO John Kaczkowski.

“Jim always gave back (to the game) more than he received,” Davis noted.

Bunch’s foundation in golf was laid when he caddied in the Chicago area beginning as a 12-year-old. “I got more education in the caddie yard than I did in the rest of my life,” he said.

— Also inducted was a PGA Master Professional (Danny Harvanek) whose instruction work with junior golfers earned him the PGA of America’s national Junior Golf Leader award and who planted the seeds that led to the highly successful Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program.

Noted Harvanek, who was the first PGA head professional at Bear Creek Golf Club, earned the Colorado PGA Golf Professional of the Year honor three times, received an award from the CGA for outstanding contributions to amateur golf, and authored eight golf books: It’s been “a Walter Mitty life.”

(The two inductees are pictured above, with Harvanek at left.)

— Honored for distinguished service was an organization (the CWGA) which drew accolades for more than a century of work in women’s golf and which continues to be a cornerstone of the game in Colorado after joining forces with the CGA at the beginning of the year.

“In the past, we worked hard to become the best damn women’s golf association around — and we did it,” said Juliet Miner, the final president of the CWGA, and now co-president of the CGA with Joe McCleary.

— Likewise honored was the the first class of “Future Famers” — teenagers who have shown all the makings of stellar careers in Colorado golf: Davis Bryant of Aurora and Hailey Schalk of Erie. Schalk will defend her 3A girls state high school title starting Monday in Pueblo.

Noting the name of the award presented to Bryant and Schalk, longtime CGHOF master of ceremonies Tom Green quipped, “No pressure there.”

— Also receiving an award (Golf Person of the Year) was a PGA golf professional (Mark Pfingston of the Golf Club at Bear Dance) who last year earned the PGA of America’s top honor for merchandising at a public facility.

— And there was the man CGHOF president Scott Radcliffe called “kind of a background guy” (Rich Billings), who has provided the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame all manner of support over the last several decades. Billings received a lifetime achievement honor.

“It’s a tremendous organization,” Billings said of the Hall of Fame. “And I feel tremendous kinship with the board.”

A crowd of about 180 attended Sunday’s banquet, including many CGHOF inductees, among them 1958 PGA Championship winner Dow Finsterwald and the Century of Golf Gala’s Colorado Golf Professional of the Century, Vic Kline.

For an earlier story about some of the accomplishments of Sunday’s honorees, CLICK HERE.

The Colorado Golf Hall of Fame will return to Sanctuary on Aug. 22 to host its annual golf tournament. For more information on that event, email CGHOF executive director Jennifer Lyons at jennifer@cghof.org

Below are some additional photos from Sunday’s fesitivites: From top: Miner and former CWGA executive director Laura Robinson; Pfingston; and Billings. 

It’s the year-ending holiday season, which means different things to different people.

One of the things that comes with this time of year here at coloradogolf.org and coloradowomensgolf.org is a reflection on the past 12 months and compilation of the top stories of the year in Colorado golf. We’ve been doing it annually since 2009, and we’re not about to stop now.

There’s no lack of worthwhile candidates, so in recent years we’ve broken up the list into a two-part series. We go in reverse order, for the sake of preserving some suspense, and add an honorable-mention list that will be included with Part II, which will be published in the coming days.

Today, we’ll cover Nos. 25-13, so without further ado …:

25. Year 2 for Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado: The JGAC, which made quite a splash upon debuting in 2016, continued a significant upward trajectory in 2017. The Alliance — a joint effort of the CGA, Colorado PGA and CWGA — further expanded its reach by creating more tournaments, including several in western Colorado, and adding services. Junior players of all abilities can benefit from JGAC-related programs, including anything from the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy to Colorado PGA Golf in Schools to the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program to Drive Chip & Putt and PGA Junior League competitions.

24. Three Victories by DU Women’s Team: The University of Denver women’s golf team has compiled quite a record from late last season to early this one. In late April, the Pioneers won their 14th straight conference championship, an eye-opening run even if their conference isn’t particularly strong in women’s golf. Then this fall, DU won two tournaments in 11 days — both in Colorado, at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott and the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch. For the record, that made for three wins in the course of five tournaments spanning two seasons. Denver, ranked among the top 25 women’s teams in the nation to complete the fall (along with the University of Colorado), was given a boost in the offseason when 2017 CWGA Player of the Year Mary Weinstein transferred in from the Regis University.

23. Eaton’s March Toward CWGA Record: This year, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton reached 24 CWGA championship victories by sweeping the Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play titles. That leaves her just one shy of Carol Flenniken’s career-record total of 25. After her third sweep of the Senior Match and Senior Stroke in the same year, Eaton earned the CWGA Senior Player of the Year honor for the eighth time. She’s also been the overall CWGA Player of the Year four times since 2004.

22. Variety is Spice of Life for Moore: Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Kent Moore, added to a rather remarkable feat that likely will never be matched. With his victory in the Super-Senior Match Play, Moore (pictured above) now has claimed titles in eight different CGA individual championships. Over the last 44 years, he’s won the 1973 Junior Match Play, the 1986 Amateur, the 1989 Match Play, the 1995 Mid-Amateur, the 2006 Senior Match Play, the 2014 Senior Stroke Play, the 2016 Super-Senior Stroke Play and the 2017 Super-Senior Match Play. READ MORE

21. Longmont’s Nygren Inaugural Putting Champ: Longmont’s Cole Nygren, a pro for just a couple of months, earned a nice paycheck ($15,000) and plenty of publicity with his Halloween victory in the All Pro Championship at the inaugural Major Series of Putting in Las Vegas. The most eye-catching part of the win was the fact that it came against a field that featured PGA Tour veterans Brad Faxon, John Cook, Tommy Armour III and Colt Knost. Nygren, who placed fourth in the CGA Amateur in August to conclude his amateur career, beat Knost, the 2007 U.S. Amateur champion, 3 and 2 in the match-play finale. READ MORE

20. Major Changes for Colorado Cup Matches: The Colorado Cup Matches, a Ryder Cup-style competition between CGA/CWGA amateurs and Colorado PGA professionals, have been held annually since 1971. But there were many significant changes implemented in 2017, which will be the last time the matches are conducted until 2019. With no college golfers playing for the amateur team for the first time, the Colorado PGA (left) prevailed 26-14 in the event, which now features open, senior and women players competing for a single Cup. That result came a year after the pros were swept by the ams. READ MORE

19. More National Recognition for Colorado PGA: Mark Pfingston, the PGA head professional at The Golf Club at Bear Dance, this year was named the PGA of America’s national Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities. With Pfingston’s accomplishment, Colorado PGA members continued their roll of the last decade-plus in receiving national recogntion for their work. In the last 11 years (2007 through ’17), CPGA members — or the Section as a whole — have earned nine national awards from the PGA of America. READ MORE

18. Chalk Up Another Honor for Keffer: In the last decade, Geoff Keffer has become one of the most awarded players from the Colorado PGA in the Section’s history. This year, the Lakewood resident received the Section’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year Award for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in six years. To put that into perspective, only one player has been the Colorado PGA’s Finsterwald Player of the Year more times than Keffer, with two others matching his total. And all of the other three members of the five-timers club have all been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Bob Hold owns the record for most CPGA Finsterwald Player of the Year Awards, with seven earned between 1966 and ’74, including six straight starting in ’66. Other five-time Players of the Year, in addition to Keffer, are Vic Kline (1975 to 1981) and Ron Vlosich (1986 to ’91). READ MORE

17. Back to North Dakota for CGA’s Jensen: Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s highly regarded and well-liked managing director of operations, recently accepted a job as associate dean of student engagement at his alma mater, the University of Jamestown in his hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota. Jensen was a key administrator in Colorado golf, particularly playing a pivotal role in the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado getting up and running during its initial years. READ MORE

16. Age No Problem for Schalk: Hailey Schalk (left) of Erie was only 15 years old during the 2017 golf season, but that didn’t keep her from becoming the girls Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Player of the Year. In 2017, Schalk was the first Coloradan to win a title at the prestigious AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. And in May, she was the first freshman since 2002 to win a girls state high school individual championship in Colorado. In addition, she captured the titles at both of the JGAC majors in which she competed. She also placed 14th individually while playing for Colorado at the Girls Junior America’s Cup. She and Davis Bryant were recently named “Future Famers” by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

15. Seniors Rule at CPGA Professional Championship: The Colorado PGA Professional Championship is the top tournament of the year for the Section. But this year’s event, held at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, turned into a showcase for the 50-and-over set as 50-year-old John Ogden prevailed in a playoff over 64-year-old Rick Cole, who was ever so close to becoming the oldest winner of this event — by far. As it was, Ogden earned the $8,000 first prize, then promptly donated half of that total to the Colorado PGA REACH Foundation. READ MORE


14. Timely 59 for Sam Saunders: Former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders picked a good time for his career round. Saunders, grandson of the late Arnold Palmer, opened the Web.com Tour Championship with a 12-under-par 59 in Atlantic Beach, Fla., where he moved from Fort Collins last year. It was just the seventh round under 60 in the history of the Web.com circuit. More importantly, it led to a second-place finish in the Web Tour Championship, which secured Saunders’ fully-exempt PGA Tour card for 2017-18 after he had lost that status late in the summer.


13. Bunch, Harvanek Voted into Colorado Golf Hall of Fame: Two Coloradans whose service in golf has made an indelible impact were voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Jim Bunch of Denver and Danny Harvanek of Littleton will make up the 46th class of the Hall of Fame and will be inducted on May 20 at Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia. Bunch has served in high-powered volunteer roles at the USGA and with the Western Golf Association, including as the chairman of the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, of the WGA and of the Evans Scholars Foundation that awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means. Harvanek, a longtime PGA Master Professional in Colorado, has long been touted for his highly-effective instruction work with junior golfers, which helped lay the groundwork for the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program. READ MORE
   

Two Coloradans whose service in golf has made an indelible impact were voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Jim Bunch of Denver and Danny Harvanek of Littleton will make up the 46th class of the Hall of Fame and will be inducted on May 20 at Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia.

Bunch has served in high-powered volunteer roles at the USGA and with the Western Golf Association, including as the chairman of the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, of the WGA and of the Evans Scholars Foundation that awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means.

“Considering who’s been inducted (into the Hall of Fame), it’s a great honor,” Bunch said on Wednesday. “It’s quite a surprise — and still sinking in. It wasn’t something I was expecting.”

Harvanek, a longtime PGA Master Professional in Colorado, has long been touted for his highly-effective instruction work with junior golfers, which helped lay the groundwork for the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program.

“To be recognized by the collective body of golf in Colorado is pretty humbling,” Havanek said. “It’s hard to put into words.”

Bunch and Harvanek will become the 140th and 141st inductees into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, an organization which honored its first class in 1973, when Babe Zaharias, Dave Hill and Babe Lind were inducted.

In addition to Bunch and Harvanek being voted into the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, several people/organizations were selected to receive CGHOF awards at the banquet in May: the CWGA (Distinguished Service Award), Mark Pfingston (Golf Person of the Year), Rich Billings (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Davis Bryant and Hailey Schalk (Future Famers). See details about those honorees below.

Bunch was a member of the USGA’s Executive Committee, one of the most powerful ruling bodies in golf, from 2003-10. At various times during that span, he chaired the USGA’s Rules of Golf, Finance, Grants and Bob Jones Award Committees. During his time chairing the Rules of Golf Committee, Bunch spent more than 150 nights on the road on USGA-related business — often largely at his own expense.

Two years after leaving the USGA Executive Committee, Bunch became the first chairman of the WGA from Colorado during a time when Western Golf was awarding more Evans Scholarships than ever before. Then in 2014, he moved on to be chairman of the board of trustees for the Evans Scholars Foundation. In both cases, it was a labor of love for Bunch, who caddied as a 12-year-old in the Chicago area. The WGA administers the Evans Scholarship for caddies, including the chapter at the University of Colorado, and oversees the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, which benefits the Evans Scholarship. Bunch first joined the WGA board of directors in 1992, and still serves as an Evans Scholars Foundation trustee. (Bunch is pictured in a WGA photo alongside TV broadcaster Dottie Pepper.)

“The Evans Scholars program is one of the great things golf has done,” said Bunch, a Denver resident since 1970. “It changes lives for families. When you’re touching lives, I can’t think of anything more worthwhile as a golfer.

“As for the USGA, it has international scope, so to be involved with such an organization is an honor. And as chair of the Rules Committee, I had the privilege of walking with the final groups at national and international championships.

“When you’re dealing with non-profits, you might think about what you’re putting into it (as a volunteer), but you never think what you get out of it. And you get a lot more out of it than you put it. And the people you meet working for these organizations, they’re very good people and many become friends.”

Bunch, who will soon turn 75, is a member at Denver Country Club and The Club at Cordillera in Colorado, as well as at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and Prestwick in Scotland.

Like Bunch, Harvanek has been a longtime fixture in Colorado. After growing up in western Kansas where he took up the game at age 15 and won a state high school title as a senior, Harvanek moved to the Centennial State in 1979 to take a job on Warren Smith’s staff at Cherry Hills Country Club. Then in 1984, he became the first PGA head professional at Bear Creek Golf Club, remaining in that position through ’92.

Three consecutive years beginning in 1990, Harvanek received the Colorado PGA’s top honor as Golf Professional of the Year. In 1990, he was also given an award from the CGA for outstanding contributions to amateur golf.

But it was as an instructor — particularly working with junior golfers (pictured) — that Harvanek particularly made an impact in the new millennium. Using a concise, simple way of communicating while teaching paid off for him. After being the Colorado PGA’s Teacher of the Year in 2003 and the Junior Golf Leader in 2006, Harvanek earned a very prestigious PGA of America award in 2007 as the national Junior Golf Leader.

In the early 2000s, Harvanek wrote eight golf books, many particularly effective in teaching the game to youngsters.

“I’ve always had strong passion for kids and the growth and development of children,” said Harvanek, the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s 2008 Golf Person of the Year. “I want them to have a positive energy in their life to pursue their hopes and dreams.”

While working as an instructor at Broken Tee Golf Course and The Golf Club at Bear Dance, Harvanek developed a program for exposing kids to golf through their P.E. classes at school. When he approached Denver Public Schools officials with the idea, the result was 22 schools signing up in just two days.

Over a period of about 10 years working at schools in the Denver metro area, Harvanek said he personally taught over 13,000 kids. “It started growing legs,” he noted. “I created a model so I could pass it on.”

That and similar seedlings planted by others in the Colorado golf community led to the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools Program, which has reached roughly 70,000 students over the last seven years.

“Because of Danny’s leadership in our Section, many of us have had a roadmap to follow in our own junior programming,” instructor Ann Finke, another national PGA Junior Golf Leader award winner, noted in supporting Harvanek’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

“Danny Harvanek has done more for junior golf in Colorado than anyone I know,” added Clayton Cole, like Finke a member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

Harvanek, 68, now resides in Littleton.

As for the CGHOF award winners:

— The CWGA will be given the Distinguished Service Award for its long history of serving female golfers in Colorado and promoting the game. The CWGA, a non-profit which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, long has been viewed as one of the most highly regarded women’s golf associations in the region. Currently, it’s in the process of joining forces with the CGA in an effort to better serve all golfers in the Centennial State. The unified association, which will move forward with volunteer and staff leadership from both the CGA and CWGA, will be known as the Colorado Golf Association. Current presidents Joe McCleary from the CGA and Juliet Miner from the CWGA will serve as co-presidents in 2018.

The CWGA currently features a membership of almost 17,000 from approximately 250 member clubs.

— Mark Pfingston, the PGA head professional at The Golf Club at Bear Dance in Larkspur, was named Golf Person of the Year after earning the PGA of America’s national 2017 Merchandiser of the Year Award for public facilities. Pfingston. the head pro at Bear Dance since 2006 after previously being an assistant for three years at the club where the Colorado PGA is based, is scheduled to receive the national award next week in Austin, Texas at the PGA of America’s annual meeting. Pfingston was the Colorado PGA’s Public Merchandiser of the Year in 2005, ’15 and ‘16.

This marks the sixth time a Colorado PGA professional has received a PGA of America national honor for merchandising — and the fourth time since 2012. Overall, CPGA members or the Section itself have received national PGA of America awards nine times in the last 11 years.

— Rich Billings, who has a long history of supporting the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Billings once served on the CGHOF board of directors and has heartily backed the Hall of Fame’s endeavors over the years, both in spirit and financially.

— And Davis Bryant of Aurora and Hailey Schalk of Erie earned “Future Famer” honors, given to Colorado players under 20 who have had particularly outstanding years. Bryant and Schalk recently were named the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2017 Players of the Year.

Bryant won three of the four boys JGAC major championships in 2017 — every one in which he competed. The 17-year-old future Colorado State University golfer also captured the 5A boys state high school title. On a larger scale, Bryant finished ninth individually while playing for Colorado at the Junior America’s Cup and 14th at the national Boys Junior PGA Championship. He also advanced to the match play round of 64 at his second U.S. Junior Amateur.

Schalk became the first Coloradan to claim a girls or boys title at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. The 15-year-old won both of the JGAC majors in which she participated. With her victory in the 3A girls state high school tournament, she became the first freshman to win a girls state prep title since 2002. Schalk also finished 14th individually while competing for Colorado at the Girls Junior America’s Cup. 

On Monday, Mark Pfingston, the PGA head professional at The Golf Club at Bear Dance in Larkspur, was named the PGA of America’s national 2017 Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities. Pfingston will formally receive the award on Nov. 1 in Austin, Texas at the PGA of America’s annual meeting.

This marks the sixth time a Colorado PGA professional has received a PGA of America national honor for merchandising — and the fourth time since 2012.

Coloradans previously honored nationally for merchandising by the PGA of America:

— Keith Schneider, 1990 Private Merchandiser of the Year
— Russ Miller, 2003 Resort Merchandiser of the Year
— George Kahrhoff, 2012 Private Merchandiser of the Year
— Dale Smigelsky, 2012 Public Merchandiser of the Year
— Jim Hajek, 2015 Public Merdhandiser of the Year

Pfingston has been the head pro at Bear Dance since 2006 after previously being an assistant for three years at the club where the Colorado PGA is based. (Pfingston is pictured in a Section photo.)

As the PGA of America noted in its story announcing national award winners, “During Pfingston’s time as head golf professional, golf shop sales have skyrocketed, and they continue to grow. Pfingston, who values creativity in the shop as a way of maintaining an appealing environment and increasing sales, has redefined the shop experience for his customers. In running an aesthetically pleasing, true ‘mountain style’ course, he and his staff seek to create raving fans by exceeding customer expectations every day.”

Pfingston was the Colorado PGA’s Public Merchandiser of the Year in 2005, ’15 and “˜16.

With Pfingston’s accomplishment, Colorado PGA members continued their roll of the last decade-plus in receiving national recogntion for their work. In the last 11 years (2007 through ’17), CPGA members — or the Section as a whole — have earned nine national awards from the PGA of America.

Dating back to 1958 — when Dow Finsterwald won the PGA Championship and took home the PGA of America’s Player of the Year honor — the Colorado PGA have received 18 national PGA annual awards.

Here are all the PGA of America national award winners from the Colorado PGA:

— Dow Finsterwald, 1958 Player of the Year
— Warren Smith, 1973 Golf Professional of the Year
— Jim Bailey, 1976 Horton Smith Award
— Paul Runyan, 1977 Horton Smith Award
— Keith Schneider, 1990 Private Merchandiser of the Year
— Alan Abrams, 1997 Junior Golf Leader
— Mike McGetrick, 1999 Teacher of the Year
— Vic Kline, 2000 Golf Professional of the Year
— Russ Miller, 2003 Resort Merchandiser of the Year
— Danny Harvanek, 2007 Junior Golf Leader
— Clayton Cole, 2008 Bill Strausbaugh Award
— Kyle Heyen, 2009 Presidents Plaque Award
— Ann Finke, 2010 Junior Golf Leader
— Colorado Section PGA, 2011 Herb Graffis Award
— George Kahrhoff, 2012 Private Merchandiser of the Year
— Dale Smigelsky, 2012 Public Merchandiser of the Year
— Jim Hajek, 2015 Public Merdhandiser of the Year
— Mark Pfingston, 2017 Public Merdhandiser of the Year