The Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational has proven to be a college tournament where teams and individuals from the Centennial State have thrived over the years.

From 2010 through ’17, a Colorado-based school won or tied for the team title six times, while a Colorado resident claimed the individual championship on five occasions.

The ninth edition of the event, which wrapped up Tuesday at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, took that to another level.

Let’s count the way:

— The host University of Colorado won the team title — for the seventh time, but the fourth time outright. The Buffs have tied for the top spot three times, including last year, which is technically considered a shared title though Utah won a team playoff. But on Tuesday, it was CU who edged the Utes by two strokes.

— And for the second straight year, the top two individual finishers were golfers who grew up in Colorado. University of Utah senior Kyler Dunkle, who lived in Colorado until his parents moved to San Francisco just after Kyler won the CGA Amateur last month, captured the Simpson title for the second straight year, becoming the first two-time individual champion at the event.

“This is a golf course that sets up really well for me,” said the 22-year-old senior. “I’ve played here a lot over the years, including in high school when they let some high school players come compete out here (against one another on the Simpson tournament setup). I love this place and I’ve had success here. So it’s an incredible feeling.”

Dunkle and CU sophomore Trevor Olkowski, who grew up in Grand Junction, were tied for the top spot at the end of regulation. And technically, each will be able to claim the individual victory, though Dunkle sank a 6-foot birdie to win the playoff over Olkowski, who lipped out a 7-foot birdie attempt. (The two are pictured above, with Dunkle in red.)

It’s the first time Olkowski has a first-place showing on his college golf resume.

— And while all that is impressive enough from a Colorado angle, Tuesday marked CU’s second team title in three tournaments to start the season as the Buffs also won the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy. It’s the first time in Roy Edwards’ 13 seasons as CU’s head coach that the Buffs have recorded two outright team victories in the same month, though in 2011 CU tied for first at Air Force, losing in a playoff, and won the Simpson Invite outright. (Edwards is pictured at left with his team.)

— As for Dunkle, he’s not only won this event for two straight seasons, but he’s claimed individual titles two weeks in a row. On Sept. 18, he prevailed at the Showdown in the Rockies tournament in Driggs, Idaho. Dunkle, who transferred to Utah from Colorado State, now owns three individual college victories for his career.

In the team race, CU came into the final round with a three-stroke lead and shot a 6-under-par 282 on Tuesday, leaving the Buffs at 14-under 850 for the three rounds. That was two strokes better than fellow Pac-12 team Utah,
which had beaten CU by 38 strokes in Idaho last week.

“We’re really pleased,” Edwards said. “We played poorly, especially the second round, last Monday (in Idaho), but the guys responded really well (this week). It’s a pretty young team, so to see them do that was what we were hoping. The credit goes to those (CU players).

“It’s not easy playing at home a lot of times. Utah has a really good team, so to beat them and beat a lot of the other teams by quite a bit was really satisfying and hopefully a good springboard to finish off the fall.”

The team victory was CU’s 15th in major Division I tournaments in Edwards’ 13 seasons at the program’s helm. Mark Simpson, his predecessor for whom this week’s tournament is named, won 16 team titles in his 29 years as CU’s coach. (The victorious Buffs are pictured at left.)

Victories “don’t happen very often, so you enjoy them as a team,” Edwards said.

“It was a good month for us,” said Olkowski, whose family recently moved from Grand Junction to Las Vegas. “We have momentum going into the rest of the fall season and hopefully we’ll keep it up through the spring, even though that’s a long time from now.”

The only other Colorado-based team that fielded a team for the Simpson Invite, Northern Colorado, placed ninth out of the 16 teams at Colorado National. UNC had the third-lowest score of the final round, a 9-under-par 279, leaving the Bears at 889 overall.

Individually, several local players besides Dunkle and Olkowski — who finished at 9-under-par 207 — placed in the top 10 on Tuesday. That includes CU’s Daniel O’Loughlin (third at 211), Ross Macdonald (sixth at 214) and Andre Leveque (10th at 216); UNC’s Joshua Matz (sixth at 214); and Colorado State’s Oscar Teiffel (10th at 216).

But it came down to Dunkle and Olkowski for the individual title. They both shot 4-under-par 68s on Tuesday. Dunkle almost aced the 180-yard 16th with a 9-iron as his ball hit the pin and finished 5 feet away for a birdie. And he backed that up with another birdie by hitting it 30 feet past the flag with a 3-wood on the 345-yard, par-4 17th hole, then two-putting. Dunkle, who made six birdies on Tuesday, called the 3-wood he hit on 17 his best shot of the tournament.

As for Olkowski, he also made a half-dozen birdies on Tuesday, with the last come on 17, where he pitched to 3 feet.

Then in the playoff on the 18th hole, Dunkle added one more birdie, while Olkowski slightly misread his putt and his ball lipped out on the right side of the cup.

And with that, Dunkle (at left with Edwards) had his second college victory in a week.

“You can’t foresee those kinds of things because every time you show up at one of these tournaments, you’ve got to play some really good golf to beat all the good players out here,” he said.

Dunkle has been on quite a roll since his junior season at Utah ended. He won the CGA Amateur, finished second in the Utah State Amateur, qualified for the U.S. Amateur and earned low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open by placing ninth. And since starting up his senior season of college golf, he’s racked up two victories in three tournaments.

“I would definitely say my game is in a groove,” he said. “My swing feels great. Last spring I didn’t feel that comfortable with my game because I was battling some (back) injuries and trying to get over that. During the summer, I started worrying less about what my body felt like and more about enjoying the game. When I did that, I stopped paying attention to bad rounds and focused on the good rounds and the good shots. I built that memory bank of things going positively. It’s put me in a position where I am — where if I step on a golf course and stick to my game plan and stay confident, most of the time I’m going to play pretty good. Then it’s a matter of if it’s good enough that week.”

As for Olkowski, despite the playoff loss, he notched his best individual finish ever in a college tournament.

“I’m still happy,” he said. “I lost the trophy, but I still get a tie for first. Being a competitive guy, I hate losing like that. But I’m happy with the way I played all week. I fought hard and it was a good week.”

Said Edwards of Olkowski: “To me, he didn’t make any mistakes that cost him. When he does that, he hits it good enough that he’s going to be in the hunt. He’s just become a really, really solid player. And he’s a smart kid. We’re happy for him.”

Elsewhere in Local College Golf — The University of Denver women remained in fourth place in its title defense at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

With one round remaining, DU sits at 12 over par, 27 strokes behind leader UCLA.

Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch continues to lead the Pioneers as she sits in sixth place individually at 2-under-par 142, which leaves her four shots out of the lead. …

Meanwhile, at the Coeur d’Alene Collegiate in Idaho, Colorado State University sophomore Haley Greb finished a college career best fifth individually. Greg posted a 1-over-par 214 total (75-69-70) to end up three strokes behind champion Abegail Arevalo of San Jose State. As a team, CSU placed seventh in the 18-school field.

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
Sept. 24-25, 2018 (final) at Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie
1. (out of 16 teams) Colorado 279-289-282–850
T1. Trevor Olkowski 68-71-68–207
3. Daniel O’Loughlin 68-71-72–211
6. Ross Macdonald 72-73-69–214
18. John Paterson 71-74-73–218
75. Cole Krantz 73-80-77–230
Competing Only As Individuals
10. Andre Leveque 70-78-69–216
14. Kristoffer Max 74-73-70–217
31. Victor Bjorlow 70-77-74–221
35. Wilson Belk 73-75-74–222

9. Northern Colorado 296-314-279–889
6. Joshua Matz 70-75-69–214
18. Coby Welch 74-77-67–218
64. Jack Castiglia 79-79-70–228
83. Marcus Tait 75-85-73–233
87. Li Chen 77-83-75–235

Also
T1. (won playoff with a birdie) Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 66-73-68–207
Competing Only As Individuals
10. Oscar Teiffel, CSU 74-73-69–216
31. Cullen Plousha, CSU 74-75-72–221
75. Coloradan Tyler Severin, Wyoming 73-80-77–230
83. Colter Baca, Air Force 78-81-74–233
86. Luke Trujillo, Air Force 82-76-76–234

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge
At Par-72 Fazio Course at Red Sky GC in Wolcott
4. (out of 18 teams) Denver 293-295–588
6. Mary Weinstein 68-74–142
19. Sophie Newlove 70-76–146
32. Alyson Bean 78-72–150
40. Camille Enright 79-73–152
82. Alison Armstrong 77-85–162
Competing Only As Individual
28. Trussy Li 77-72–149

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Coeur D’Alene Collegiate
Sept. 24-25, 2018 (final) at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
7. (out of 18 teams) Colorado State 294-288-300–882
5. Haley Greb 75-69-70–214
25. Katrina Prendergast 72-72-75–219
58. Sydney Smith 73-77-77–227
63. Jessica Sloot 74-75-79–228
68. Ellen Secor 79-72-78–229

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

The host Buffaloes stand at 8-under-par 568 for the first two rounds. Utah, which won last year’s playoff with the Buffs, trails by three going into the last day at CNGC (pictured in a CU photo).

Northern Colorado, the only other school from the Centennial State fielding a full team for this year’s event, sits in 13th place in the 16-team field, at 610.

Several local players are in contention for the individual title with one round remaining. Kyler Dunkle of Utah, a longtime Coloradan until moving away after winning last month’s CGA Amateur, shares the lead with CU’s Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction and Daniel O’Loughlin. The three are at 5-under-par 139. Dunkle won the individual title at Colorado National last year.

Tee times for Tuesday’s final round will run 7:55 to 8:35 a.m.

For scores from the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, CLICK HERE.
 

DU’s Weinstein Tied for Lead at Red Sky: In another NCAA Division I tournament being held in Colorado, the defending champion University of Denver women are in fourth place after Monday’s first round of the 54-hole Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

The Pioneers opened with a 5-over-par 293 and trail leader UCLA by 16 strokes.

DU’s Mary Weinstein, from Highlands Ranch, shares the individual lead after making six birdies in a round of 4-under-par 68.

Also at that figure are UCLA’s Clare Legaspi and Patty Tavatanakit, and Campbell’s Stacey White.

For all the scores from the Golfweek Conference Challenge, CLICK HERE.
 

Coloradans Kyler Dunkle and Spencer Painton have battled it out on the golf course more times than either can probably remember over the years — from junior golf to high school and now in the open-age-division amateur ranks and in college.

But Tuesday was really special for the golfers who won consecutive 5A Colorado state high school individual titles in 2012 (Dunkle beat Painton by one) and ’13 (Painton).

Not only did they go head-to-head for the individual title at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, but the team championship was also on the line between Painton’s University of Colorado Buffs and Dunkle’s Utah Utes.

Basically, it doesn’t get much better than this for two young golfers from Colorado — except that only one of them could win.

On Tuesday, that someone was Dunkle, who shot an 8-under-par 64 in the final round to overtake Painton and claim the individual title — his first as a college player. He then birdied the first hole of a team playoff to help give the Utes the team championship — though for statistical and rankings purposes it goes down as a tie for the top spot with Colorado. (Dunkle is pictured with host coach Roy Edwards from CU.)

When Dunkle emerged with the victory individually and Painton placed second, it was the best college showing for both players. Dunkle tied the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational tournament record for both 54-hole and 18-hole scoring, while Painton tied CU’s all-time 54-hole scoring record — matching the marks of current CU assistant coach Pat Grady, John Lindberg and Philip Juel-Berg.

“It was really fun to compete against Spencer,” Dunkle said after his final round, which included 10 birdies. “Him and I have a long history of competing. It was really fun for us to go back and forth. We were kind of joking about it, but it was fun to be able to compete and play as well as I did.”

When both players birdied the 11th hole on Tuesday — with Painton pitching in from 26 yards and Dunkle sinking a 12-foot putt — the two savored the moment.

“It was fun to be a part of,” Painton said. “After I chipped in on 11 and he made birdie on 11, we kind of reminisced how much fun we had a few years ago in high school when were doing this with each other too. We both firmly believe this is where we belong and this is what we should be doing more often against each other.”

With his stellar final round — when he played his final 14 holes in 9 under par, including the playoff — Dunkle (left) finished with a 14-under-par 202 total, which matched the tournament best in this event, established by Colorado State’s Kirby Pettitt in 2012.

“It feels great to play some really good golf for three rounds in a row,” said Dunkle, a junior who’s in his second season at Utah after transferring from CSU. “Collectively, that was probably some of the best golf I’ve played this year. It felt good. I was hitting the ball well and I was making the putts.”

Dunkle’s previous best individual showing in a college tournament was at the 2015 Ram Masters Invitational, where he placed fourth after an opening-round 63 at Fort Collins Country Club.

“This is probably one of the best (rounds) I’ve ever played,” the 2016 CGA Player of the Year said of Tuesday’s 64. “I didn’t make a lot of mistakes. Something clicked (after five holes, when he was even-par for the day) and I never really looked back. It ended up being pretty good.”

As for notching his first college victory, “It feels really good,” he said. “Hopefully there’s more to come. If I can keep playing like this, I’ll give myself a chance. It kind of solidies for me that what I’ve been working hard on in Salt Lake is starting to pay off.”

As for Painton (left), he was denied his first individual college victory, but he went 65-70-69 to finish at 204, two back of Dunkle. Certainly plenty was going right for him to post a college career-best runner-up finish.

“Yesterday was the first time I’ve shot 65 (as a college player) and it’s the first tournament I’ve been double digits under par,” Painton said. “So a lot of things are going in the right direction and I’m very happy with that.”

Said CU coach Edwards: “Spencer played really well this week, and he handled basically being in the lead for the entire tournament. He’s a guy who works really hard and is a great team guy. He’s playing the best golf of his life. It’s awesome to see that from such a good young man.”

And while Painton certainly wanted to win, he can take some consolation that he was beaten by a guy who shot a final-round 64.

“What Kyler (below) did today was unbelievable — with both his long game and the putter,” Painton said. “He deserves every ounce of that. It was fun to watch.”

Meanwhile, also posting top-10 finishes from Colorado-based schools on Tuesday were Bryant Falconello of the Air Force Academy (fourth at 207) and fellow Falcon Joseph Crisostomo (fifth at 209).

In the team playoff, CU was trying to win its Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational for the fifth consecutive year, but it wasn’t to be — statistical college technicalities aside. With the best four scores out of five counting toward the team total, CU and Utah each sent its five players out for sudden death on the 18th hole at Colorado National.

With two fivesomes playing the hole, Utah finished with two birdies and three pars, while CU had three pars and two bogeys.

“Officially in the rankings and everything, it goes in as a tie,” Edwards said. “But we wanted to do a playoff if we could. It’s rare to have that opportunity. Even though we lost, it’s a great opportunity to have the guys feel that pressure and accountability. You can’t recreate those in practice.

“Obviously, we wanted to win, but I felt good about the day, especially the way we competed. We shot the second-low round of the day (7-under-par 283, behind only Utah’s 277). I probably don’t think we played our best, but I felt good about how we went about it.”

Colorado — which played without one of its top golfers, senior Yannik Paul, who was battling back issues — and Utah finished with three-round scores of 22-under-par 842. Victor Bjorlow, told just before Monday’s first round that he was replacing Paul, finished 14th individually Tuesday with a 212 total. Also placing in the top 15 for the Buffs was sophomore Daniel O’Loughlin (211, 12th place). Out of its five players, the Buffs only made one bogey in the final 12 holes on Tuesday.

“I’m slightly disappointed considering this is our home turf,” Painton said of CU losing in a playoff. “You never want to lose in your home event, on your home turf. We were in a tough situation. We came straight from a tough tournament last week (Friday and Saturday in Albuquerque). And Yannik has a little bit of a back injury. Overall, we fought hard and did what we could, but it wasn’t quite good enough. The Utes deserve it. To be completely honest, I think all of us are a little bit tired and ready for a nice little break. But we gave it our best.”

Wyoming placed third at 846, while Air Force was sixth at 861 and Northern Colorado ninth at 866. A second CU squad, led by freshman Trevor Olkowski’s 18th-place individual finish, checked in 18th as a team at 885.

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
At Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie

2. (out of 20 teams) Colorado 275-286-281–842
2. Spencer Painton 65-70-69–204
12. Daniel O’Loughlin 68-72-71–211
14. Victor Bjorlow 70-73-69–212
24. John Souza 72-71-72–215
99. Ross Macdonald 77-78-77–232

6. Air Force Academy 283-287–291–861
4. Bryant Falconello 69-68-70–207
5. Joseph Crisostomo 71-68-70–209
51. Tate Tatom 71-75-73–219
87. Andy Germann 73-76-78–227
107. Dane Hankamer 72-79-90–241
24. Turner Howe (competing only as individual) 74-70-71–215
95. Anson Kuznik (competing only as individual) 73-81-75–229
99. Joshua Wu (competing only as individual) 77-75-80–232

9. Northern Colorado 288-289-289–866
18. Andrew Romano 69-74-70–213
30. Coby Welch 73-69-74–216
43. Joshua Matz 75-74-69–218
57. Li Chen 71-72-77–220
96. Sam Marley 76-79-76–231
105. Marcus Tait (competing only as individual) 77-77-82–236

18. Colorado B Team 295-287-303–885
18. Trevor Olkowski 68-72-73–213
64. Cole Krantz 73-71-77–221
78. Kade Crossland 77-73-75–225
82. Wilson Belk 77-71-78–226

Also
1. Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 70-68-64–202
30. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 73-71-72–216
34. Jack Ainscough, Colorado State 73-72-72–217
 

Spencer Painton (pictured), who won a 5A state high school title at Regis Jesuit, is in good position to capture an individual college title for the first time. The senior shot rounds of 65-70 on Monday at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie to grab a two-stroke lead with a 9-under-par 135 total.

Painton made 13 birdies on Monday.

Joining Painton in the individual top 10 after two rounds are CU teammates Trevor Olkowski (ninth at 140 while competing for a second Buff team) and Daniel O’Loughlin (also ninth at 140).

Other local players in the top 10 individually after 36 holes are Air Force’s Bryant Falconello (second at 137), Coloradan Kyler Dunkle of Utah (third at 138),and Air Force’s Joseph Crisostomo (sixth at 139),

As for the team competition, CU will take a two-shot lead into Tuesday’s final round of the tourney which features 18 schools plus CU’s two squads. The Buffs’ top team recorded scores of 275-286 for a 15-under-par 561 total.

Wyoming is second at 563 and Utah third at 565.

Locally, Air Force is fourth at 570, Northern Colorado eighth at 577 and the second CU team 12th at 582.

The final group — featuring Painton, Dunkle, Falconello and Wyoming’s Quintin Pope — will tee off for Tuesday’s final round at 8:35 a.m.

For scores from the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite, CLICK HERE.
 

And, just four tournaments into his college career, University of Northern Colorado freshman Coby Welch claimed the individual title in a 108-man field.

Welch, the CGA’s Junior Player of the Year in 2015, closed with a 6-under-par 66 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie and earned a one-stroke win individually. The former member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program finished at 11-under-par 205, just ahead of Ryan Wallen of Wyoming.

Welch (pictured), a Valor Christian High School graduate, eagled the 364-yard, par-4 17th hole (his eighth) on Tuesday and added five birdies and one bogey.

Meanwhile, CU won the Simpson team championship for the fourth consecutive year, though the Buffs have shared the title two of those occasions. This time around, CU edged Wyoming by a mere one stroke, with Colorado finishing at 20-under-par 844 for three rounds.

As for other Colorado-based schools, UNC (860) finished fifth, Air Force (861) sixth, and Colorado’s B team (876) 17th.

CU put two players in the top 10 individually, with freshman Morten Toft Hansen (7-under-par 209) tying for fourth and senior Ethan Freeman (210) sharing seventh place.

(Sept. 30 Update) Hansen was subsequently named the Pac-12 Men’s Golfer of the Month, while CU’s Esther Lee earned Pac-12 Women’s Golfer of the Month honors after shooting an NCAA women’s record-tying 61 earlier in September en route to a victory. Those were the first such Pac-12 honors for each CU program.

Also finishing in the top 10 Tuesday were Sunwoo Choi of the Air Force Academy (209, fourth place), and Coloradans Kyler Dunkle of Utah and Tanner Jenson of Utah State (both 211, ninth place).

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
Sept. 26-27, 2016 at Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie
1. Colorado 282-276-286–844
4. Morten Toft Hansen 71-65-73–209
7. Ethan Freeman 69-69-72–210
13. Yannik Paul 74-68-70–212
36. Jeremy Paul 69-76-72–217
44. Spencer Painton 73-74-72–219

5. Northern Colorado 295-285-280–860
1. Coby Welch 70-69-66–205
36. Sam Marley 74-70-73–217
50. Joshua Matz 77-72-71–220
71. Andrew Romano 74-74-75–223
82. Li Chen 78-77-70–225

6. Air Force Academy 291-285-285–861
4. Sunwoo Choi 69-68-72–209
24. Brenden Bone 76-70-69–215
41. Tate Tatom 73-74-71–218
60. Joshua Wu 73-74-74–221
76. Todd Millard 78-73-73–224

17. Colorado B 287-287-302–876
19. John Souza 70-69-75–214
36. Wilson Belk 73-72-72–217
76. Ryan Schmitz 73-73-78–224
76. Victor Bjorlow 74-73-77–224
99. Kade Crossland 71-83-79–233

Also
9. Coloradan Kyler Dunkle of Utah 67-73-71–211
9. Coloradan Tanner Jenson of Utah State 70-69-72–211
13. Logan Iverson of CSU 72-67-73–212
16. Coloradan Glenn Workman of Wyoming 68-76-69–213
41. Joseph Crisostomo of Air Force 71-76-74–218
44. Coloradan Tristan Rohrbaugh of Boise State 71-73-75–219
50. Kyle Kidd of CSU 70-73-77–220
60. Alec Bone of CSU 71-76-74–221
82. Dane Hankamer of Air Force 76-74-75–225
93. Turner Howe of Air Force 75-77-76–228
96. Philip Lee of UNC 76-76-77–229
104. Anson Kuznik of Air Force 83-76-80–239
108. Jack Li of CU 81-NS-NS
 

The Buffs, shot a stellar 12-under-par round of 276 Monday afternoon and finished day 1 at 18-under-par 558. But Utah (563), Wyoming (565), Campbell (565) and Houston Baptist (565) are well within striking distance with 18 holes left.

A second CU team (574) is in sixth place, while Air Force (576) is 10th and Northern Colorado (580) 12th in the 19-team field.

Two CU players are in the top five individually after Monday’s two rounds. Freshman Morten Toft Hansen leads by one at 8-under-par 136 after posting scores of 71-65, with the 65 being bogey-free. And senior Ethan Freeman (pictured), a Colorado resident who went 69-69–138, shares fourth place.

Also in the top 10 are Air Force’s Sunwoo Choi (137, second), UNC’s Coby Welch (139, eighth), CU’s John Souza (139, eighth), Colorado State’s Logan Iverson (139, eighth) and Coloradan Tanner Jenson of Utah State (139, eighth).

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
Sept. 26-27, 2016 at Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie
1. Colorado 282-276–558
1. Morten Toft Hansen 71-65–136
4. Ethan Freeman 69-69–138
23. Yannik Paul 74-68–142
47. Jeremy Paul 69-76–145
60. Spencer Painton 73-74–147

6. Colorado B 287-287–574
8. John Souza 70-69–139
47. Wilson Belk 73-72–145
54. Ryan Schmitz 73-73–146
60. Victor Bjorlow 74-73–147
94. Kade Crossland 71-83–154

10. Air Force Academy 291-285–576
2. Sunwoo Choi 69-68–137
54. Brenden Bone 76-70–146
60. Joshua Wu 73-74–147
60. Tate Tatom 73-74–147
84. Todd Millard 78-73–151

12. Northern Colorado 295-285–580
8. Coby Welch 70-69–139
37. Sam Marley 74-70–144
70. Andrew Romano 74-74–148
75. Joshua Matz 77-72–149
97. Li Chen 78-77–155

Also
8. Coloradan Tanner Jenson of Utah State 70-69–139
8. Logan Iverson of CSU 72-67–139
15. Coloradan Kyler Dunkle of Utah 67-73–140
29. Kyle Kidd of CSU 70-73–143
37. Coloradan Glenn Workman of Wyoming 68-76–144
37. Coloradan Tristan Rohrbaugh of Boise State 71-73–144
37. Joseph Crisostomo of Air Force 71-76–147
60. Alec Bone of CSU 71-76–147
82. Dane Hankamer of Air Force 76-74–150
87. Philip Lee of UNC 76-76–152
87. Turner Howe of Air Force 75-77–152
103. Anson Kuznik of Air Force 83-76–159
108. Jack Li of CU 81-NS
 

With the University of Colorado men’s golf team having lost two of its top three players from last season — David Oraee and Yannik Paul — the opportunity to help fill a void is certainly at hand this fall.

And several home-grown players — all graduates of Colorado high schools — are doing their best to address the issue.

That was apparent the last two days at CU’s own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Boulder Country Club.

Three Coloradans finished in the top 11 out of a field of 74, including freshmen Ross Macdonald and Wilson Belk. And junior Ethan Freeman and Macdonald, who established and tied their best college finishes, respectively, on Tuesday by sharing fifth place, played major roles in helping the Buffs tie for the team title.

For the third consecutive year — and fourth overall — CU earned a least part of the team championship at the Simpson Invite. Against all odds, they’ve tied for the title two of the last three years, this time with Missouri-Kansas City.

The Buffs (left) rallied from five strokes behind entering last round to shoot a Tuesday-best 1-under-par 279. That left them and the Roos at 7-over-par 847 for three rounds.

And besides their overall solid play, Macdonald and Freeman helped seal the deal for CU on the final hole.

Macdonald drained a very fast downhill 5-foot putt for bogey. Then junior Jeremy Paul, Yannik’s twin brother, chipped in for birdie on that same hole from 30 feet. And Freeman made an impressive up and down from a greenside bunker, sinking a challenging sidehill 4-footer for par. (Freeman is pictured at top getting congratulated by CU head coach Roy Edwards.)

And the Buffs needed all three of those things to happen to earn a tie for the title.

“The whole team is riding on you,” said Freeman, who was in the final group. “You’re the last guy in. I had to make that putt or we wouldn’t have tied for the win, so I definitely felt the nerves. I knew I had to pull it out for my team.

“That was huge for me. We’re at our home event and this is the one we want to win every year. That putt definitely meant a lot. It was just (4) feet, but that felt like a really long putt. I was real excited to make that.”

As for two-time CGA Junior Stroke Play champion Macdonald (at left preparing to fist-bump with CU assistant coach Pat Grady), CU coach Roy Edwards was likewise impressed by his play, especially given that he’s in his first month of college golf.

“That’s one big thing for Ross Macdonald,” Edwards said. “He’s come right in and been a huge part of our success early in the season. We’ve got some good talented young players. It’s always a developmental process. They’re in the middle of it and sometimes it doesn’t feel as good as other days. They’re doing a lot of really good things. There are some growing pains, but I actually enjoy it because you get to see guys (make strides, and) the fruition is guys like Philip (Juel-Berg, a senior) and Jeremy and Ethan. That’s what those young guys are going to be in a couple of years. They’re thrown right into the fire right now.”

All told, CU put five individuals in the top 11 Tuesday, with Jeremy Paul (210) finishing third — marking the 12th top-10 of his career — Macdonald and Freeman (212) sharing fifth, and Juel-Berg (213) tying for 11th. Belk, competing solely as an individual, also shared 11th place.

Freeman, a two-time state high school champion from Kent Denver, has recorded three fifth-place individual finishes so far this season.

While the Coloradans certainly made their contributions on Tuesday, Paul had the most impressive moment of the day. With CU trailing UMKC by a stroke, he spun his approach shot off the front of the final green, then proceeded to hole out his chip (left) for birdie, tying things up.

“I was trying to make it because I knew we needed to make up one shot,” said the native of Germany. “Usually it never goes in (under those circumstances), but this time it did so it was really emotional. It’s just important for us as a team to at least share the victory. I was just super excited about it.”

UMKC’s Antoine Rozner, No. 53 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, claimed the individual title Tuesday, though he missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on No. 18 that would have given the Roos the outright team championship. He shot a 1-under-par 69 Tuesday for a 2-under 208 total.

While the Buffs notched their second team victory of the season — the first came in a three-team field at Ballyneal — Air Force (878) placed seventh on Tuesday and Northern Colorado (885) was 10th.

A small junior-golf event was held in conjunction with the Simpson Invitational. Fairview High School golfer Daniel Pearson, from Longmont, posted the low 54-hole total for the group, a 17-over-par 227. Here are the scores of all the junior players who competed:

Daniel Pearson 73-76-78–227
Cole Krantz 80-75-73–228
Timothy Amundson 80-80-76–236
Jackson Solem 81-77-80–238
Austin Burgess 82-82-80–244

Boulder Country Club will host the men’s Pac-12 Conference Championships in the spring of 2017.

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
At Par-70 Boulder CC

T1. (out of 12 teams) Colorado 275-293-279–847
3. Jeremy Paul 67-75-68–210
T5. Ethan Freeman 69-72-71–212
T5. Ross Macdonald 67-75-70–212
11. Philip Juel-Berg 72-71-70–213
47. Kade Crossland 74-76-74–224
CU Players Competing Only as Individuals
11. Wilson Belk 73-69-71–213
53. Drew Trujillo 77-72-77–226
58. Pierce Aichinger 76-76-76–228

7. Air Force 289-293-296–878
16. Brenden Bone 71-73-72–216
27. Sunwoo Choi 71-74-74–219
41. Bryant Falconello 76-72-74–222
58. Kyle Fuller 71-81-76–228
61. Michael Fan 77-74-78–229
Competing as Individuals
45. Tate Tatom, Air Force 72-74-77–223
64. Dan Hankamer 78-75-75–230
66. Troy Berglund 74-79-79–232

10. Northern Colorado 293-288-304–885
16. Conner Barr 74-68-74–216
35. Steven Kupcho 70-70-81–221
35. Joshua Matz 75-74-72–221
61. Sam Marley 75-76-78–229
68. Julian Woodfork 74-79-80–233
Competing as Individual
47. Li Chen 74-77-73–224

Also
27. Colton Yates, Colorado State 73-71-75–219
27. Blake Cannon, Colorado State 73-72-74–219
47. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 75-76-73–224
 

The college golf season is almost upon us, and for Coloradans that means an abundance of in-state tournaments in a monthlong span from mid-September to mid-October.

And this season, with the men’s and women’s NCAA Division II national championships coming to the Denver metro area in the spring, that’s adding to the busy fall calendar as well.

National Division II “preview” tournaments will be held this month at both CommonGround Golf Course (left) and Green Valley Ranch Golf Club (below), which will be hosting the women’s and men’s national championships, respectively, in May.

The men’s preview tournament at GVR is set for Sept. 21-22, while the women’s at CommonGround is scheduled for Sept. 28-29.

Those events will set the stage for the first Colorado-hosted NCAA men’s or women’s DII golf national championships. (The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs was the site of five NCAA Division I men’s national championships between 1953 and ’69.)

The DII national championship finals are scheduled for May 17-21 for the men at GVR and May 18-21 for the women at CommonGround. Both are part of the 2016 DII Spring Championships Festival that brings national finals in several sports to a single venue over a six-day period. In the case of May 2016, Metropolitan State University of Denver will host DII nationals for men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s lacrosse and softball.

Getting back to this fall’s portion of the schedule, the DII previews this month are in addition to six full-fledged Division I college tournaments that will be contested in Colorado between now and mid-October. There are three each on the men’s and women’s side, starting Sept. 12-13 with the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Acacemy (men) and the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic Sept. 14-15 at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins (women).

The only major change in the Division I tournament lineup in Colorado is that the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational will be played at Boulder Country Club this year after Colorado National Golf Club hosted the event every previous year since its debut in 2010.

Here’s the rundown of Division I and selected other tournaments that are on the schedule this season for Colorado venues:

Men

Sept. 12-13 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC Blue Course, hosted by Air Force Academy. Other Div. I Colorado schools competing: CU, CSU, UNC.

Sept. 21-22 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC, hosted by CSU. Other Div. I Colorado schools competing: DU, Air Force, UNC.

Sept. 21-22 — Div. II National Preview Fall Intercollegiate, Green Valley Ranch GC, hosted by Colorado School of Mines.

Sept. 28-29 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC, hosted by CU. Other Div. I Colorado school competing: UNC, Air Force.

May 17-21 — NCAA Div. II National Championships, Green Valley Ranch GC, hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

Women

Sept. 14-15 — Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC, hosted by CSU. Other Div. I Colorado school competing: UNC.

Sept. 21-23: Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott. Div. I Colorado school competing: DU.

Sept. 28-29: Div. II National Championship Preview, CommonGround GC, hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

Oct. 9-11 — Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC, hosted by DU. Other Div. I Colorado schools competing: CU, CSU, UNC.

May 18-21 — NCAA Div. II Women’s National Championships, CommonGround GC, hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

And here’s a look at the season openers and tournaments in Colorado for each of the NCAA Division I programs in the state:

CU Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Sept. 28-29: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC.

CU Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis.

Tournament in Colorado — Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

CSU Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.

CSU Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

DU Men

First Tournament — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.

Other Tournaments in Colorado — None.

DU Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: New Mexico Dick McGuire Invitational, Albuquerque.

Tournaments in Colorado — Sept. 21-23: Golfweek Women’s Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott; Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

UNC Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournaments in Colorado — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC; Sept. 28-29: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC.

UNC Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

Air Force Academy Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournaments in Colorado — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC; Sept. 28-29: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC.

Speaking of the Eisenhower GC’s Blue Course, it was recently ranked 25th in the nation among campus courses by Golfweek magazine.
 

In fact, there will be five such events held in Colorado next month. We’ll give a rundown on those later in this story, but first let’s note the two new or reinstated tournaments on the local schedule — both set for after the September rush.

First, as has been previously reported, the University of Denver women’s program will bring back the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate Oct. 10-12 at Highlands Ranch Golf Club. The tournament was last held in 2009. Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, was a major supporter of DU athletics, and in 2011, the Moore family donated Highlands Ranch Golf Club to the university.

But the real eye-catching college tournament that will be conducted in Colorado during the 2014-15 season will be the Pac-12 Conference Women’s Championships, set for April 20-22 at Boulder Country Club.

The University of Colorado, of course, switched to the Pac-12 three years ago, but this is the golf program’s first chance to host the conference championships. And what a conference it is from a women’s golf perspective.

Barring the unforeseen, the field at Boulder Country Club in the spring will include the defending NCAA Division I champion (Doris Chen of Southern California) and three other top-seven finishers from the 2014 national finals (Lauren Kim of Stanford, Manon Gidali of Arizona and Louise Ridderstrom of UCLA). Also expected to be on hand at BCC are Alison Lee of UCLA, currently the No. 3-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world, and Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State, presently No. 9 among the world’s top women’s amateurs.

The Pac-12 field in Boulder will feature four of the top seven team finishers from the 2014 NCAA finals — Southern California (second), UCLA (third), Arizona State (fifth) and Arizona (seventh) — along with seven of the top 22.

And besides CU hosting and competing in the event, adding local flavor will be the presence of former longtime University of Denver coach Sammie Chergo, who is just beginning her first season as head coach at Oregon State.

As for the men’s golfers from Colorado-based Division I programs, four of the five local teams (Air Force, Colorado, Colorado State and Northern Colorado) will begin their seasons at Air Force’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational Sept. 6-7 at Eisenhower Golf Club. Other Division I tournaments set for Colorado are CSU’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club Sept. 15-16, and the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie Sept. 29-30.

On the women’s side, September tournaments in Colorado include CSU’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins Sept. 8-9, and the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott Sept. 22-24.

Here’s a rundown of all this season’s NCAA Division I tournaments scheduled in Colorado, with the local participating teams:

MEN

Sept. 6-7 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy (Air Force, CU, CSU, UNC).

Sept. 15-16 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC (CSU, DU, Air Force, UNC).

Sept. 29-30 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie (CU, DU, Air Force, UNC).

WOMEN

Sept. 8-9 — Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins (CU, CSU, UNC)

Sept. 22-24 — Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott (CU, DU)

Oct. 10-12 — Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, Highlands Ranch GC (DU, UNC)

April 20-22 — Pac-12 Conference Women’s Championships, Boulder CC (CU)
   

For the second time in the last three years, the host University of Colorado men claimed the team title — or at least a part of it. The Buffs, who entered Tuesday’s final round at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie with a six-stroke lead, settled for a share of the championship with fellow Pac-12 school Washington State.

The Cougars shot a 2-under-par 286 on Tuesday, making up seven strokes on the Buffs. Both teams finished at 18-over-par 882, with another Pac-12 school, Oregon State, a stroke back in the 16-team event. As for other Colorado-based teams, Air Force was sixth, CU’s B squad was 10th, Denver was 12th and Northern Colorado was 14th.

“Obviously we’re excited to win,” CU coach Roy Edwards said.  “We’re definitely disappointed in how we played today, but the fact that we still won is a testament to our team and some resiliency displayed out there by those guys.  With three freshmen in the lineup, any time you win in that scenario makes it especially sweet.”

CU also claimed the team title in 2011, while Denver resident Mark Hubbard, competing for San Jose State, landed the individual championship in 2010, while CU’s Beau Schoolcraft prevailed (with San Diego’s Alex Ching) in 2011, and Colorado State’s Kirby Pettitt came out on top last year.

In this year’s individual competition, Preston Stanley of Houston Baptist kept the lead he held after the first day and emerged with a five-stroke victory. His final-round 69 gave him at 6-under 210 total.

Five players from Colorado schools finished in the top 10: CU’s Philip Juel-Berg (fourth, 216), Air Force’s Kyle Westmoreland (fifth, 217), Air Force’s Matthew Dunn (eighth, 219), Northern Colorado’s Ben Krueger (eighth, 219 after a final-round 67) and CU’s David Oraee (eighth, 219).

Westmoreland has placed in the top five in both of his first two tournaments of the season.

1. Colorado 299-290-293–882
4. Philip Juel-Berg 73-71-72–216; 8. David Oraee 75-73-71–219; 20. Jeremy Paul 74-75-75–224; 27. Ethan Freeman 77-71-77–225; 36. Andrew Bonner 77-75-75–227.

6. Air Force 313-290-286–889
5. Kyle Westmoreland 72-72-73–217; 8. Matthew Dunn 79-70-70–219; 42. Jack Howard 78-79-71–228; 49. Philip Colwell 84-73-72–229; 82. Todd Berglund 87-75-80–241. Competing Only as Individuals: 42. Blake Edwards 82-76-70–228; 69. Miguel Macias 77-74-84–235.

10. Colorado B 319-292-296–907

11. John Hayes 75-71-74–220; 17. Kraig McLeod 82-70-71–223; 30. Yannik Paul 79-74-73–226; 78. Drew Trujillo 83-77-78–238.

12. Denver 312-298-299–909
30. Victor Doka 74-76-76–226; 36. Ole Ramsnes 82-72-73–227; 49. Oskar Arvidsson 78-76-75–229; 54. Patrick Frodigh 81-74-75–230; 64. Arthy Edelman 79-78-76–233. Competing Only as an Individual: 49. Petter Mikalsen 79-76-74–229.

14. Northern Colorado 320-307-287–914

8. Ben Krueger 80-72-67–219; 20. Steven Kupcho 74-78-72–224; 72. Conner Barr 81-77-78–236; 79. Jack Cummings 85-80-74–239; 84. Steve Connell 90-82-74–246.

CJGA Collegiate High School Invitational
1. Spencer Painton 82-71-69–222; 2. Josh Seiple 77-73-75–225; 3. Jake Staiano 76-77-74–227; 4. Glenn Workman 84-75-70–229; 5. Chris Korte 77-75-78–230; 6. (tie) Coby Welch 81-76-79–236; Kyler Dunkle 82-77-77–236; 8. Ross Macdonald 80-79-79–238.