A sellout crowd of 190 people attended the 45th annual Colorado Golf Hall of Fame induction and awards dinner, held Sunday night at Sanctuary in Sedalia.

Included was a veritable who’s who of Colorado golf, past and present. Among the many CGHOF inductees on hand were Judy Bell, the first female president of the USGA; and longtime PGA Tour players Dale Douglass, Dow Finsterwald and Mark Wiebe, who have combined to win 17 events on the PGA Tour, 16 more on PGA Tour Champions, one major championship and two senior majors.

Inducted on Sunday was M.J. Mastalir (pictured), a former CGA president and USGA Executive Committee member, while annual awards went to the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado (Distinguished Service), Rick Polmear (Lifetime Achievement) and Jennifer Kupcho (Golf Person of the Year).

In his speech, Mastalir noted a personal bond to golf that no doubt was shared by just about everyone in the room.

“The game has provided me with a multitude of fond memories, a heck of a lot of good stories and many good friends,” he said.

For a story on some of the accomplishments of Sunday’s honorees, CLICK HERE.

Tom Green, who just wrapped up a 15-year-plus run as an anchor of Channel 2’s “Daybreak” show, served as master of ceremonies on Sunday.

Below are some photos from Sunday’s festivities: from top, representatives of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado; From left, Hall of Famers Maggie Giesenhagen, Tish Preuss, Joan Birkland and Judy Bell; Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Rick Polmear; and a look at Sunday’s setting at Sanctuary.

The 1998 Colorado Open champion spent much of last year recovering from a shoulder injury. Ironically, in his last PGA Tour event before the long layoff, Bertsch posted his best finish on that circuit since January 2013 by placing 35th in the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

This year, Bertsch (pictured) has been playing on the Web.com Tour, where he’s a three-time winner. He’s made one cut in five tournaments, finishing 20th on April 23 at the United Leasing & Finance Championship.

Bertsch, 47, is on a medical extension from the PGA Tour and has 11 events to earn at least $612,397 in order to keep his PGA Tour playing privileges.

(May 6 Update: Bertsch shot 75-75 for a 6-over-par 150 total and missed the cut by five strokes in Wilmington.)

Another Coloradan, Mark Wiebe of Aurora, also will return to major golf action this week as he’s competing in the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational starting Friday in The Woodlands, Texas. Wiebe has won five times on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, including the 2013 Senior British Open.
 

It’s been a unique week at the CoBank Colorado Open.

Through three days at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club …

— Twice the course record of 62 has been matched, including Saturday by Alex Kim (left) of Fullerton, Calif., who used a hole-in-one to vault into the 54-hole lead. It was the second ace of tournament week.

— Also on Saturday, the very rare “albatross” made an appearance at GVR, with James Back of La Palma, Calif., recording a double eagle on the 531-yard par-5 12th hole, flying a 229-yard approach into the cup with a 5-iron.

— With little wind and pure greens, the scores are so low this year that the 36-hole cut of 3 under par was a tournament record by three strokes. And Kim’s 18-under-par total is a 54-hole tourney record, also by three.

— And this year’s tournament also featured a female competitor, Sherry Andonian-Smith of Denver, for the first time ever.

Now, though, things will really take on a different look. In the first 51 Colorado Opens, the highest first-prize payout has been $38,800, in 1997. But on Sunday, $100,000 will go to the winner, more than quadrupling last year’s $23,000 winner’s check.

Suffice it to say that many of those in the running for the title this year have never truly been in contention going into the final round of a tournament in which the winner would receive a six-figure check.

Indeed, aside from for the two players on the leaderboard who have won PGA Tour events — Jonathan Kaye of Boulder and Parker McLachlin of Honolulu — Sunday will be novel experience for just about everyone who’s in contention.

And making it even more unique is the huge money difference between first and second place, $100,000 and $20,000.

“The purse is huge, especially for guys playing the mini tours,” said Kim, a former UCLA golfer who played in the 2015 U.S. Open. “We don’t play for this kind of purse ($250,000).”

As noted, Kaye (left) is an exception. The former University of Colorado golfer earned $900,000 for winning the 2003 Buick Open and $936,000 for his victory at the 2004 FBR Open on the PGA Tour.

“I always looked at it that they were giving away money and I was there to get it,” Kaye said Saturday. “I was like, ‘I’m going to go as low as I can.’ I wasn’t really thinking about the consequences at that point. I was trying to go as low as I could to make money.’

“My rookie year (on the PGA Tour), that was how I kept my card. I had the No. 1 scoring average on tour on Saturday, but I only made eight cuts. I played good when I had to.

“But the young kids now, they aren’t scared. They look at it as a (cash) giveaway, I think. They think they can win right away. I think these guys (in contention at the Colorado Open) are all pretty good. (But) hopefully they all get nervous and crumble and I can slide in there. I’ll still take the money. A hundred grand is a hundred grand.”

With Saturday’s 62 and an 18-under-par 198 total, Kim will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday. The previous 54-hole tournament record, in relation to par, was Derek Tolan’s 15 under mark in 2009. That year, the former CU golfer went on to finish a record 22 under par.

Wil Collins (left) of Albuquerque, N.M., the 2005 Open champion, played his final five holes in 3 under par on Saturday and his bogey-free 67 left him a stroke behind Kim heading into the final round.

Colorado native Nick Hodge of Littleton and Neil Johnson of Phoenix share third place at 201, with Hodge carding a 66 that featured a 30 on the front nine, and Johnson posting a 68.

“This is the biggest event we play during the year as mini-tour players,” said Hodge (below). “There’s a little extra on there. I’ve been playing really well all week. It’s definitely a big event. It would be important to me to win (having grown) up here and everything.”

The group four out of the lead — at 14-under-par 202 — features two former champions (Kaye and Zahkai Brown of Arvada) and, as noted, two players who have won on the PGA Tour (Kaye and McLachlin), along with Martin Trainer of Palo Alto, Calif.

Brown is in the hunt for his fourth top-2 Colorado Open finish in the last five years, while Kaye is playing his first tournament in two years. Both shot 70 after sharing the 36-hole lead with Collins.

“I’d much rather be closer, but I am where I am so I guess I’ll have to try to make it up,” said Kaye, who needed a 30-foot chip-in for bogey on No. 16 after hitting a tree and watching his second shot go into a hazard. “It was kind of ugly today. I didn’t play very well all in all. It wasn’t as clean as the other two days. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and we’ll try to make a run at it.”

Kim, meanwhile, put himself atop the leaderboard Saturday thanks to matching the course record of 62 set by Nick Mason in 2013 and matched by Collins on Thursday.

While Kim made nine birdies on the day — including a 7-footer on 18 — it was the ace on the 177-yard eighth hole that especially grabbed the attention. His 9-iron hit about 6 feet short of the flag, took a bounce and rolled in. It was his fourth hole-in-one, but his first in competition.

“I was plugging along at 2 under, and made that hole-in-one and it was just off to the races,” said Kim, who qualified for the Colorado Open on July 12 in Eagle. “I birdied the next hole and turned at 5 under. It easily could have been a 2-under front nine, but it helps when you make a ‘1’.

“One of my playing partners said while (his tee shot on 8) was in the air, ‘Go in’, and sure enough, it one-hopped and just disappeared. I threw my club in the air. That was pretty cool.”

As for the day overall, while Kim has shot 61 before, Saturday’s 62 was his best ever in competition.

“I’m pretty pleased with that,” said the South Korea-born 26-year-old, who’s playing his first Colorado Open.

Mark Me Down for a Deuce: As noted, James Back — whose hometown of La Palma, Calif., is about 10 miles from Kim’s hometown of Fullerton — had his own fireworks on Saturday.

After a good drive on the 531-yard 12th hole — his third hole of the day — he hit a baby draw with his 5-iron from 229 yards and the ball flew straight into the cup for a double eagle, the first of his life.

Only it took Back several minutes to realize his accomplishment.

“I hit it pretty good and I was looking at it,” he said. “I didn’t see any bounce. I went up to the green and I thought it had gone over. The guys were checking all over (for the ball). Finally, the guys checked the hole and it was in the hole. It hit the back of the cup and went in the hole. It was pretty crazy.

“I didn’t expect it to go in, but if it’s in, good for me.”

Back finished with a 7-under-par 65 on Saturday and shares 14th place at 11-under 205.

Ram Tough: The chase for low-amateur honors may come down to what amounts to an intrasquad competition for Colorado State University golfers from last season.

Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village will take a two-stroke lead in the amateur competiton into Sunday’s final round. Staiano, who advanced to match play at last year’s U.S. Amateur, has gone 68-68-69 for an 11-under-par 205 total. He played his last four holes in 3 under par on Saturday.

Two back of Staiano is former Ram Dominic Kieffer of Byron, Minn., who posted a 67 on Saturday. And Jimmy Makloski of Pueblo is another two back after carding a third-round 68.

University of Colorado golfer John Souza trails Staiano by five following a 74 on Saturday.

Sitting Out This Senior British: It might seem a bit unusual to see Mark Wiebe caddying for son Gunner in this week’s Colorado Open, considering the Senior British Open is being contested this week in Scotland. After all, Wiebe won the Senior British just three years ago.

But concerns over physical ailments — most notably neck problems — made the elder Wiebe think better of a trip overseas.

“Something is going on, so it’s been a real drag,” said Wiebe, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and five-time Champions winner who noted that he’s had to withdraw from all the senior majors so far in 2016. “And to go all the way over there, all I’m thinking is, ‘Am I going to get there and be able to play?’

“I’ve tried to play injured for over a year and I suck (at that). I’m no good injured. I need to be 100 percent.”

Gunner Wiebe, playing his first tournament in two months, shares 10th place at 12-under 204 after a 68 on Saturday. (Gunner and Mark are pictured together above.)

Notable: The lead threesome of Alex Kim, Wil Collins and Nick Hodge will tee off for Sunday’s final round at 9:25 a.m. … Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler, winner of the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, shot a 4-under-par 68 on Saturday to move up to 29th place at 8-under 208 in his first tournament in over a year.

For scores from the Colorado Open CLICK HERE.
 

For Sunday tee times, CLICK HERE.
 
 

Many things in life come down to a matter of perspective.

Gunner Wiebe can relate to that much more than he could a couple of months ago.

The Colorado native and Aurora resident shot an 8-under-par 64 on Friday at the CoBank Colorado Open in a round that was all the more amazing considering the backstory.

Wiebe, son of PGA/Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe — who is caddying for Gunner this week at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club — is playing his first tournament in about two months.

The reason for the layoff?

Over Memorial Day weekend just south of Tijuana, Mexico, a “freak accident” that could have been life-threatening turned out to be “only” very serious.

While moving luggage into a vacation home, Wiebe didn’t realize that a sliding glass door had been closed. He walked right through it, and the single-pane, non-tempered glass shattered. In addition to cutting Wiebe’s hand — though not too severely — the underside of his upper right arm was sliced very, very deeply.

“To think, if it’s a little bit deeper cut, it hits my artery and I’m not here …,” Wiebe said Friday.

Instead, the glass cut all through the fat tissue and muscle, and internal and external stitches were required to close the wound.

“You’re in Mexico,” Wiebe noted. “(The person treating him) did the best he could. (But) I felt a little bit like I was a pet at a vet.”

After the stitches were in for 13 days, Wiebe developed a staph infection.

After weeks of rehab and about six weeks without making a full swing with a golf club, Wiebe genuinely missed the game, but is now back playing tournament golf. Friday marked his ninth day of full swings, and after two rounds of the Colorado Open, the former CGA Player of the Year finds himself in contention for the title at 8-under-par 136.

He’s showed pictures of the initial arm wound to doctors and they “remind me of how lucky I am to be alive,” he said. “It’s a good reminder for me. And I think it’s helped me a lot in golf. My game probably isn’t anywhere near where I want it to be, but I scored really well today probably because my perspective has changed.

“You’ve probably seen me out here when I get a little hot. Today I had a couple of times where I could have gotten upset. I just don’t really care about the small stuff anymore, which I think I probably needed.”

As for the golf itself, Wiebe on Friday made eight birdies in a bogey-free round.

“I played pretty good all things considered.,” he said. “I haven’t shot anything that low in a while. It was nice. I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t expect anything.

“My swing still feels weird and my arm is weak. It’s weird to be on the golf course because I haven’t been on the course in two months. It’s fun. I missed it and I’m glad I’m back, but it still feels like I’m trying to find my bearings a little bit.”

But again, it’s all a matter of perspective. Wiebe is just happy to be back on the course and isn’t sweating the small stuff nearly as much.

“It’s been a long couple of months, and I’ve been bored out of my mind,” he said. “My swing is probably worse right now, but I’m alive so I’m OK with everything.”

For scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
 

For the first time in almost a half-century, the Masters field won’t include a single competitor with major Colorado ties.

Each year prior to this since the late 1960s, at least one player with strong Colorado connections was in the field at Augusta National Golf Club. Carrying the torch for the state over that period were the likes of Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate Hale Irwin (21 appearances, including four consecutive top-five finishes from 1974 to ’77); 1982 champion Craig Stadler, a Colorado resident since 1994, whose run of 36 consecutive Masters ended after the 2014 tournament; Fort Morgan and CU product Dale Douglass; former Evergreen resident Dave Hill; part-time Boulder resident and former CU golfer Jonathan Kaye; Yuma High School and former Buff Steve Jones; Cherry Hills Village resident David Duval; Coloradan Gary Hallberg; former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid; Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe; Aurora resident Mark Wiebe; former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird; and part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler. Kevin Stadler competed at the Masters last year after finishing eighth in his debut in 2014.

It’s been a great run, but it will end with this week’s Masters. Past champion Craig Stadler wrapped up his competitive run at Augusta National after competing with his son Kevin in 2014, and no other “local” earned an invitation for 2016.

But just because no one with strong Colorado ties will be playing beginning Thursday in Augusta, Ga., that certainly doesn’t mean that Colorado won’t be represented in other official roles at this year’s Masters.

Here are a few examples:

— Former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo — who won his fourth PGA Tour Champions event in February — will caddie for former Masters champion Sandy Lyle (CLICK HERE). (Toledo and Lyle are pictured together Monday in an Augusta National photo.) Also on the caddie front, Coloradan Steve “Pepsi” Hale will loop for Keegan Bradley.

— CGA executive director Ed Mate will be a rules official at the Masters, thanks to joining the USGA Rules of Golf Committee within the last year.

— Craig Stadler, while not competing, returned for Tuesday evening’s Champions Dinner and for Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest.

— Steamboat Springs resident Verne Lundquist — he of “Yes, Sir!” broadcasting fame — will be back at Augusta National as part of the CBS television crew. Also on that team will be Dottie Pepper, one of the speakers at the G4 Summit held in February at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Pepper will be the first on-course female broadcaster for CBS at Augusta National.

— Duval, who’s lived in Colorado for about a dozen years, is also at Augusta National on TV assignment, serving as an analyst for the Golf Channel. Also working for the Golf Channel at the Masters is Colorado State University product Steve Sands.

— Veteran award-winning golf journalist Kaye Kessler of Littleton will cover the Masters for the 53rd time, a run that started in 1963.

— And, of course, Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Will Nicholson Jr., has been a fixture at the Masters in recent decades, serving as chairman of the Masters Competition Committee from 1992 through 2006, when he was responsible for setting up Augusta National for the Masters. Nicholson also chaired the Masters Rules Committee for 17 years.
 

Last year, Evergreen resident Craig Stadler played in his final Masters after 38 appearances, including his victory in 1982.

This week, Stadler’s son Kevin, a part-time Denver resident, will carry on the tradition of Coloradans competing at Augusta National Golf Club. That is, assuming the stress fracture in his left hand allows it. Kevin Stadler has played a grand total of just two PGA Tour rounds — plus two holes — since mid-October because of the hand injury. He’s in the 2015 Masters field thanks to a top-12 finish in last year’s tournament — eighth place, to be exact — his best showing ever in a major championship.

Stadler said he’s about 70 percent of normal.

“Basically, I figured if my hand wasn’t detached I’d give it a go here,” he said. “I had the time of my life last year and I couldn’t miss it.”

(April 10 Update: Stadler posted rounds of 77-74 and missed the cut by five strokes.)

As has been well-chronicled, Craig Stadler was continuing to play the Masters with the hope that Kevin would earn an invitation and that they could be in the same field at Augusta. With that happening in 2014, the elder Stadler will end his streak of 36 consecutive Masters when the field tees it up on Thursday.

“For five years or so, I’d been saying under my breath to friends that the first year Kevin got in was going to be my last,” Craig Stadler recently told Golf Magazine. “And it worked out perfectly because he played really well. A couple of bogeys down the stretch on Sunday, but otherwise it was awesome to watch.

“I love the place (Augusta National). I always have, other than Thursday or Friday the past five or six years (he missed the cut his last seven times competing in the Masters). Last year, I had a blast watching Kevin over the weekend. He played well, and I loved every minute of it.”

(The Stadlers are pictured together at last year’s Masters.)

With this passing of the torch, it seems a good opportunity to look back on how players with strong Colorado ties who have played multiple times at the Masters have fared over the years:

Evergreen resident Craig Stadler — Masters appearances: 38. First Masters: 1974. Best finish: Won in 1982, beating Dan Pohl in a playoff. Top 10s: 5.

Boulder High School and CU graduate Hale Irwin — Masters appearances: 21. First Masters: 1971. Best finishes: Fourth in 1974 and ’75. Top 10s: 7. Notable: Irwin, now a three-time U.S. Open champion, finished in the top five at Augusta every year from 1974 through ’77.

Former Broadmoor director of golf Dow Finsterwald — Masters appearances: 14. First Masters: 1951. Best finishes: Third in 1960 and ’62. Top-10s: 5. Notable: Just months after being hired by the Broadmoor, Finsterwald posted his final top-10 at Augusta National, a ninth in 1964.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Dave Hill — Masters appearances: 12. First Masters: 1968. Best finish: fifth in 1970. Top-10s: 2.

Cherry Hills Village resident David Duval — Masters appearances: 11. First Masters: 1996. Best finish: second in 1998 and 2001. Top-10s: 4. Notable: Enjoyed his Masters success before moving to Colorado 11 years ago.

Former Yuma High School and CU golfer Steve Jones — Masters appearances: 9. First Masters: 1988. Best finish by 1996 U.S. Open champ: 20th in 1990.

Castle Rock resident Gary Hallberg — Masters appearances: 6. First Masters: 1978. Best finish: sixth in 1985.

Former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid — Masters appearances: 4. First Masters: 1981. Best finish: His only made cut was a sixth-place showing in 1989.

Former CU golfer Jonathan Kaye — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 2001. Best finishes: 43rd in 2001 and 2005.

Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Dale Douglass — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 1969. Best finish: 19th in 1969.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 1999. Best finish: 14th in 1999.

Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird — Masters appearances: 3. First Masters: 2011. Best finish: 20th in 2011.

Aurora resident Mark Wiebe — Masters appearances: 2. First Masters: 1986. Best finish: 35th in 1987.

Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler — Masters appearances: 2nd will be this week. First Masters: 2014. Best finish: Eighth in 2014. Notable: Stadler’s showing last year was his best performance in any major championship.
 

The Champions Tour season begins on Friday, and never before have there been so many players with strong Colorado connections competing on the circuit as there will be in 2015.

Up first on the schedule is the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii, where the 40-player field will include Centennial State locals Hale Irwin, Craig Stadler, Mark Wiebe and Esteban Toledo.

All told, there’s a good chance that 10 competitors with major ties to Colorado will play at some point during the Champions Tour season, which ends in November. That number has been — or will be — bolstered by Doug Rohrbaugh (pictured above) of Carbondale earning conditional status through Q-school and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe becoming eligible for the tour on Aug. 1 when he turns 50.

The 10 locals account for a remarkable 68 Champions wins — with former University of Colorado athlete Irwin holding the tour’s all-time record with 45 — and 48 victories on the PGA Tour.

Here’s an alphabetical rundown on the “locals” on the Champions Tour.

R.W. Eaks (Colorado Springs native and attended UNC, 4 Champions Tour wins and 3 Web.com victories) — Eaks, now 62, only played in one Champions Tour event in 2014, finishing 64th in the Quebec Championship. But the 2011 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open champion has made a nice living on the Champions circuit, having won nearly $4.7 million.

Gary Hallberg (Castle Rock resident, 1 Champions Tour victory, 3 PGA Tour wins and 1 Web.com victory) — Hallberg hasn’t always been exempt on the Champions Tour — and he won’t be in 2015 either — but he’s managed to play in more than 20 events each of the last four years after winning his one and only Champions tournament in 2010. However, the $262,310 he earned in 2014 was his lowest total since 2009.

Hale Irwin (Grew up in Boulder and CU graduate and Colorado Sports Hall of Famer, 20 PGA Tour wins and record 45 Champions Tour victories) — The World Golf Hall of Famer will turn 70 years old in June, but he continues to have his moments on the Champions Tour. While Irwin hasn’t won since he captured the title in the 2007 MasterCard Championship in Hawaii, he’s recorded 15 top-10s in the last six seasons. The last of those came in August, when placed ninth in 3M Championship for his 210th Champions Tour top-10. He bettered his age in all three rounds at that event, marking the first time that’s happened for a Champions Tour player since 2009. (Irwin is pictured above with granddaughter Tatum.)

Brandt Jobe (Kent Denver High School graduate and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, 0 PGA Tour wins) — Jobe hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since 2013 — having undergone shoulder surgery in November of that year — but that will probably change soon as he has 10 events remaining on a medical extension. And the four-time PGA Tour runner-up could get a new career start when he turns 50 on Aug. 1 and becomes eligible for the Champions circuit. Jobe did show he still has some talent by finishing second in a Web.com Tour event in August.

Steve Jones (Grew up in Yuma and former CU golfer and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, 8 PGA Tour wins, 0 Champions Tour victories) — The 56-year-old Jones, who got a late start as a Champions Tour players because of major elbow problems, has yet to score a top-10 on the circuit in 48 starts. Without exempt status, he’s been limited to between 10-15 starts a year as a Champions player. A 40th-place showing was the 1996 U.S. Open champ’s best in 2014.

Mike Reid (former Cherry Creek High School golfer, 2 PGA Tour wins and 2 Champions Tour victories) — The 60-year-old played in 21 events last season, but managed just two top-30 showings in non-team events. Reid hasn’t surpassed $200,000 in season-long earnings since 2010.

Doug Rohrbaugh (Carbondale resident) — Rohrbaugh, the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open champion, will be a Champions Tour rookie in 2015. He earned the final conditional spot at the Q-school finals, meaning he probably won’t get a lot of starts. But it’s nevertheless a step up into the big time for Rohrbaugh, winner of the 2013 and ’14 Colorado PGA Professional Championships.

Craig Stadler (Evergreen resident, 13 PGA Tour wins and 9 Champions Tour victories) — Stadler had a rough season in 2014 after in 2013 winning on the Champions circuit for the first time in almost nine years — a record gap for the tour. His best showing last year in a non-team event as a 25th-place performance. The $156,137 Stadler won in 2014 was the second-lowest total of his 12-year Champions career.

Esteban Toledo (onetime Castle Rock resident, 2 Champions Tour victories and 1 Nationwide Tour win) — Toledo, who once lived in Castle Pines, had a very good 2014 after a stellar 2013, when he won twice as a Champions Tour rookie. He finished 27th on the season-long money list last year after placing 12th — with $1.27 million — in 2013. Toledo notched two top-four finishes in 2014.

Mark Wiebe (Aurora resident and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, 2 PGA Tour wins and 5 Champions Tour victories) — Wiebe’s performance level fell off in a major way in 2014 primarily due to injury/ailments. Wiebe won twice in 2013 — including the Senior British Open — compared to nothing better than 40th place in a non-team event in 2014. He went from $803,025 in earnings in 2013 to $62,189 last year. After having finished in the top 30 on the money list for six straight seasons, he dropped to 98th in 2014.
 

It’s been a year since our last distribution of gifts — Colorado golf-style — and we’re back in the holiday mood.

We’ve studied our naughty and nice lists, and taken time to pick out that perfect something for deserving souls. Of course, given who we are, we’ll stick with a golf theme.

Time’s a wastin’, so without further ado …

To: John Ogden, head professional at Cherry Hills Country Club. Gift: Credit where credit is due after you predicted in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship that the winning score would be 264 to 268. Billy Horschel won with a 266 total.

To: Rory McIlroy. Gift: That no hole ever treats you as badly as the par-3 12th at Cherry Hills did during the BMW Championship. (He four-putted the hole twice in the final two rounds, including from 4 feet on Saturday. The result: triple bogey, double bogey).

To: Phil Mickelson. Gift: The ability to think of a better excuse for withdrawing from a tournament after pulling out of the no-cut BMW Championship before the weekend at Cherry Hills, citing a need “to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup” — which took place three weeks later.

To: The CGA. Gift: In 2015, an unforgettable 100-year anniversary year worthy of an organization with such a rich history.

To: The CWGA. Gift: See above, except in 2016 in your case.

To: Hale Irwin. Gift: Just as your competitive career winds down, an ever-expanding impact on Colorado kids through the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, and hopefully other things to come.

To: Former Coloradan Brandt Jobe, who has finished second four times — but has never won — on the PGA Tour. Gift: That 2015 brings a victory — either on the PGA Tour or the Champions circuit, for which you become eligible in August.

To: Colorado-based Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe, who battled injuries this year. Gift: That 2015 more resemble 2013 (two wins) than 2014 (0 top-25s).

To: New CGA managing director of operations Dustin Jensen, who is moving back to Colorado from North Dakota. Gift: A touch of winter warmth, Colorado style.

To: Officials from Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville. Gift: A banner season in the summer of 2015 after then being closed for more than 18 months by the September 2013 flooding.

To: George Solich. Gift: A stress-free summer in 2015 after anything but in 2014 as general chairman of the BMW Championship.

To: Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale. Gift: After having so much success in Colorado in recent years — including winning titles in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (one) and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship (two) — a top-10 finish as a member of the Champions Tour.

To: The University of Colorado women’s golf program. Gift: A top-three finish at the Pac-12 Conference Championship that you’re hosting in April at Boulder Country Club.

To: Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State. Gift: After a lot of close calls, an individual college victory.

To: Jack Vickers. Gift: In receiving the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, satisfaction in the impact you made in graciously hosting a PGA Tour event in Colorado for 21 years, The International.

To: Ross Macdonald (left). Gift: A third consecutive CGA Junior Stroke Play title to match Scott Petersen’s remarkable feat from the late 1980s.

To: CSU-Pueblo golfer Leina Kim. Gift: An NCAA women’s Division II title in 2015 after leading the nation in stroke average so far this season.

To: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster. Gift: A win in a national event leading into your freshman season at Wake Forest beginning in the fall.

To: Former CU golfer Emily Talley. Gift: After knocking on the door so many times as a professional, an answer in the form of an individual title.

To: Connie Gallagher of Denver, who in October aced a par-4 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Gift: A return trip to Pebble to relive the moment.

To: Kent and Janet Moore, both Colorado Golf Hall of Famers. Gift: That you both win state senior titles in the same year.

To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton. Gift: That you don’t miss a beat in competitive golf next year despite those two recent knee replacements.

To: John Elway. Gift: A shot at winning both a Super Bowl (as Broncos general manager) and a HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (as a competitor) in the same year.

To: The late Jim Moore, former Western Golf Association educational director. Gift: That your ever-present upbeat spirit will live on in the Evans Scholarship program for caddies, including those at the University of Colorado.

To: Sherry Andonian-Smith (left), who almost made the cut in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, and who went 3-0 for the Colorado PGA in the Taylor Cup matches. Gift: Colorado PGA Senior Player of the Year honors in 2015.

To: The guy who eagerly volunteered to caddie for a competitor in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, only to quit mid-round, saying he had phone calls to make. Gift: That your services are required elsewhere during the 2015 tournament.

To: Leslie Core-Drevecky, the first female president of the Colorado PGA. Gift: A marked increase in play by women and girls golfers in Colorado.

To: Eric Hoos, who got struck in the head by a competitor’s golf ball while picking his ball out of the cup at the 2014 CGA Senior Stroke Play. Gift: A military-style helmet for the 2015 tournament.

To: Part-time Colorado resident Jonathan Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Gift: After competing very little since 2010, some success on the Web.com Tour in 2015.

To: Priscilla Lind, who recently passed away. Lind was the wife of Babe Lind, who was in the first class of inductees for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Gift: Many thanks for sharing some of Babe’s historic golf trophies and memorabilia with the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and the University of Denver.

To: Golf courses such as Broadlands, Saddleback, Park Hill, Springs Ranch and Eagle Vail which have opened part of their facilities to “footgolf”, an activity in which participants essentially play golf with their feet, using a soccer ball, much shorter holes and large cups. Gift: An “A” for effort in thinking outside the box to generate additional revenue for their golf courses.

To: The golden oldies who play golf at Heather Gardens. Gift: Good health, good friends and great fun hitting the links well into your 90s.

To: All Colorado golfers. Gift: Happy holidays.
 

But, appropriately, the Aurora resident will reach the major milestone at a major championship.

Wiebe, who last played in a PGA Tour event at the 2005 International at Castle Pines Golf Club, earned one more start by virtue of winning the 2013 Senior British Open in a playoff that lasted five holes against World Golf Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer. (Wiebe is pictured with the trophy in the wake of that victory.)

The winner of the Senior British earns an exemption into the following year’s British Open, which in this case will be played July 17-20 at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England. Then the following weekend, Wiebe will defend his Senior British Open title July 24-27 in Bridgend, Wales.

“I’m excited as hell to play in the British Open,” Wiebe said earlier this year in a phone interview. “That will be my 500th start on the PGA Tour. I’ve been sitting on 499 forever. I’m excited to go over and play in that. I want to make sure my health is good and want to go over and try to defend my title.”

Though Wiebe will be making his 500th PGA Tour start, it’ll be just his third at the British Open, where he missed the cut in 1997 and 2001. (Coincidentally, the 2001 British Open was won by David Duval, now a fellow Cherry Hills Country Club member with Wiebe. Duval is also entered in this year’s Open.)

One of the reasons Wiebe didn’t play in the British Open more is that the two PGA Tour events he won — the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic and the Hardee’s Golf Classic — both were usually scheduled near the middle of July, at roughly the same time as the British Open. But this year, he’s looking forward do his first British/Senior British doubleheader.

“What a fun trip,” the 56-year-old Colorado Golf Hall of Famer said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Wiebe, who moved to Colorado in the mid-1980s, was no stranger to being in contention on the PGA Tour. Besides his two victories, he recorded eight runner-up finishes, five thirds and 47 top-10s overall. He’s won more than $4.3 million.

But it’s on the Champions Tour where Wiebe has enjoyed more success, based on sheer victories. He’s won five times in nearly seven years on the senior circuit, including twice in 2013. He followed up his Senior British Open victory — his first major championship win — with a title last September in the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship, where he outdueled Corey Pavin in another playoff.

Wiebe has not only claimed more than $5.4 million in career earnings on the Champions circuit, but he has been remarkably consistent. In his first six full seasons on the Champions Tour, he’s placed in the top 30 on the final money list every time, including finishing 22nd last year.

So far this year hasn’t been up to Wiebe’s standards, in part due to ailments and injuries. The 1986 Colorado Open champion has yet to post a top-25 finish and currently stands 80th on the season-long money list.

But several big events await this month. Before the British Open and Senior British, Wiebe will compete in next week’s U.S. Senior Open in Edmond, Okla.

Moreover, after the Colorado contingent entered the 2013 season having gone winless in the previous year, the locals begin 2014 after a stellar last 12 months. Players with strong Colorado ties won a remarkable five times on the Champions Tour in 2013.

Mark Wiebe (pictured) of Aurora claimed two titles, including the Senior British Open in a five-hole playoff. Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo won twice as a Champions Tour rookie. And Craig Stadler of Evergreen established the record for the longest time between Champions Tour victories (8 years, 9 months — and 171 starts) when he won the Encompass Championship in June.

Joining Wiebe, Toledo and Stadler in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship field will be former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin and former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid. Also competing are Tom Lehman, who won the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club, and Willie Wood, who captured the 1984 Colorado Open title.

The MEC field is limited to 2012 and 2013 tournament champions, winners of Champions Tour majors from the past five years and special invitees. The tournament runs Friday through Sunday at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Hualalai Course on Hawaii’s Big Island.

While Irwin hasn’t won in seven years, the three-time U.S. Open champion can’t be dismissed as a title contender, even though he’s 68 years old and is beginning his 47th tour season.

One reason is that with just 41 players competing this weekend, there are fewer to beat. In addition, the MEC is where Irwin won the last of his record 45 Champions Tour titles. And the Boulder High School graduate loves the Aloha State. He’s won nine official tour events in Hawaii, including eight Champions Tour tournaments and two MEC titles.

Beside, the World Golf Hall of Famer is already the oldest champion in the history of the event (61 years, 7 months in 2007). This week marks the 19th consecutive year Irwin has competed in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship (or its previous incarnations) — far and away the longest stretch in the field.

Last year, Irwin finished a season-best ninth in the MEC.