After 44 years of competing annually in the boys Junior America’s Cup competition, Colorado’s representatives finally had the pleasure of having the team trophy presented to them on Thursday afternoon.

Colorado, which had never before finished better than third place in the prestigious junior event, won the JAC team championship this week after competing in the event since 1975. The Junior America’s Cup now features 18 teams from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.

And to add icing to the cake for Colorado, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins captured the individual title out of the field of 72 on Thursday.

“When I signed my scorecard, (captain Dustin Jensen) came over said, ‘I think we did it,'” Stewart relayed later by phone. “It just shocked me and we were really excited after that and I gave all the boys hugs.”

Team-wise, the Coloradans overcame a three-stroke deficit entering the final round at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Golf Course in Anaconda, Mont., rallying to overcome Utah and Mexico. The foursome representing the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado posted a 7-under-par 209 on Thursday, giving the team a three-day total of 26-under-par 622. That was one better than Mexico, three better than Utah and four better than fourth-place Arizona.

Joining Stewart on Colorado’s JAC championship team were Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, Davis Bryant of Aurora and Walker Franklin of Broomfield. Bryant was playing on his fourth JAC team, Stewart and McCoy their second and Franklin his first. (The champions are pictured, from left: Franklin, Jensen, Stewart, McCoy and Bryant.)

Prior to Thursday, Colorado’s best showings at the JAC were third places in 2011 (at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen) and in 2015. The JGAC team was fourth last year.

Bryant competed on that team in 2015 — and every year since — so he has some perspective on Thursday’s accomplishment.

“It feels awesome,” said the 18-year-old, who will soon begin his college golf career at Colorado State University.

“We worked well together this week and we didn’t let a bad hole affect us. We hit a shot and forgot about it, which was great. We were able to make a lot of birdies (55 in all, plus two eagles) and take advantage of the shorter holes when we had them. We all made mistakes, but we were able to capitalize on our opportunities. We all helped in some way throughout the week. To bring (the title) back to Colorado, it feels awesome.”

Down the stretch, after Stewart made a double bogey and Franklin a triple bogey early on the back nine on Thursday, the team finished just strongly enough to claim the championship. Stewart played his final seven holes in 3 under and McCoy his final five in 3 under.

Captaining the team once again this year was Jensen, the former CGA managing director of operations, who is now an associate dean at the University of Jamestown (N.D.), his alma mater. Jensen has captained or co-captained every Colorado boys JAC team but three since 2005. Though he’s back in North Dakota full time now, he volunteered for duty in Montana with the CGA and Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado staffs busy with the Girls Junior Americas Cup in Evergreen and the CoBank Colorado Open in Denver.

“It’s crazy. There’s so many years with so many great players. You just never know if and when (winning a title) is going to happen,” Jensen said on Thursday. “These guys were awesome this week. They continued to score constantly. It was just birdie after birdie after birdie. They didn’t complain about anything; they just got in and played.

“We made our par for the course this week 69 and we ended up shooting 1 stroke over par for what we hoped. Twenty-seven under par was the hope and we shot 26 and won by one. I guess we guessed right before the tournament.”

As for Stewart (left), the senior-to-be at Fossil Ridge High School prevailed by two strokes for the individual title. Stewart, who will play his college golf at perennial national power Oklahoma State starting in 2019, carded rounds of 64-68-68 for a 16-under-par 200 total. Last month’s AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior champion finished the week with an eagle, 20 birdies, four bogeys and one double bogey for 54 holes.

Stewart gained the upper hand early in the round when 36-hole leader Zachary Jones of Utah pumped two shots out of bounds and took a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 4.

“That kind of flipped everything,” Stewart said. “But I tried not to think about that too much because there was so much golf left to play. … But I’m just happy we won as a team.”

Stewart placed 13th individually at last year’s JAC. He qualified for this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur, which was contested this month.

The University of Denver-bound McCoy placed 14th on Thursday, closing with a 69 for a 212 total. Bryant, who finished ninth individually in last year’s JAC, tied for 17th this week at 213.

The 16-year-old Franklin shared 27th place at 215.

All in all, you couldn’t get a much better week for the Coloradans, who emerged with both the team and individual titles and had a great time in the process.

“It’s a really fun tournament because we don’t really get to play many team events like this one until we get to college,” Bryant said. “It’s a fun time to spend with your buddies. We jack around and have fun, but also played some pretty good golf while we were at it. It was a really fun week and we’re really glad to finish it off this way.” 
 

1. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 205-208-209–622
1. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 64-68-68–200
14. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 71-72-69–212
17. Davis Bryant, Aurora 70-70-73–213
27. Walker Franklin, Broomfield 73-70-72–215

For all the scores from the JAC, CLICK HERE.

Colorado will go into Thursday’s final day of the JAC just three strokes out of the lead in Anaconda, Mont. The With a 19-under-par 413 total after Wednesday’s second, Coloradans hold third place out of the 18-team field, trailing leader Mexico (410) and second-place Utah (412). The JAC features squads from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Colorado backed up a first-round 205 with a 208 on Wednesday, and every team member is in the top 25 individually out of the 72-player field.

Dillon Stewart (left) of Fort Collins, who shared the individual lead with a first-round 64, is in second place after Wednesday, three back of Utah’s Zachary Jones, who shot a course-record 63 at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Golf Course. Jones made an eagle and eight birdies on Wednesday, offset by one bogey.

Stewart, the 2018 AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior champion, carded a 4-under-par 68 on Wednesday, recording an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.

Davis Bryant of Aurora, a Colorado State University-bound golfer who’s competing in his fourth JAC, moved up to 14th place with his second straight 70. He played his final four holes in 4 under par, with one eagle and two birdies.

And Walker Franklin of Broomfield and Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch share 24th place at 143, with Franklin firing a 70 on Wednesday and McCoy a 72.

3. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 205-208–413
2. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 64-68–132
14. Davis Bryant, Aurora 70-70–140
24. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 71-72–143
24. Walker Franklin, Broomfield 73-70–143
   
For all the scores from the JAC, CLICK HERE.

With the top three scores from each squad counting toward the team total, Colorado shot an 11-under-par 205. The Coloradans — who have never finished better than third in this event for teams from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico — trail only Mexico (202) and are tied with Arizona.

Colorado has been a roll in recent years in this 18-team event as it placed third in 2015, sixth in 2016 and fourth last year.

Leading the way in round 1 of the 54-hole event was Stewart, who last month won the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. The future Oklahoma State golfer made nine birdies and one bogey in his 64 at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Golf Course. That left him tied for the individual lead with Ian Siebers of Washington, who was bogey-free on Tuesday.

Two other Coloradans broke par on Tuesday, four-time JAC participant Davis Bryant of Aurora (2-under-par 70, good for 18th place) and Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch (71, 24th place). Bryant, who made four birdies on Tuesday, will be playing college golf starting this fall at Colorado State University, while McCoy (an eagle and two birdies) is headed to the University of Denver.

Rounding out Colorado’s players was first-time JAC contestant Walker Franklin of Broomfield, who opened with a 73. (Pictured is the Colorado squad, from left: McCoy, captain Dustin Jensen, Stewart, Bryant and Franklin.)

Play will continue through Thursday.

2. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 205
T1. Dillon Stewart (pictured below), Fort Collins 64
18. Davis Bryant, Aurora 70
24. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 71
34. Walker Franklin, Broomfield 73

For all the scores from the JAC, CLICK HERE.