Chin was one of 16 junior golfers who qualified on Saturday at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora for DCP Regionals. Regionals mark the third of four qualifying stages for DCP, and it’s where the winners of each age/gender division earn spots in the Nationals in Augusta, Ga.

Chin competed in the girls 7-9 division at Augusta National in 2016, and now she’s in the 10-11 group. She won that division in Saturday’s Sub-Regional at Murphy Creek and will book a trip to Regionals, which are set for Sept. 29 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, site of this month’s PGA Championship. The winners of each age/gender division there will land a spot in the DCP National Championship, scheduled for April 7 at Augusta National.

Also among those advancing to Regionals on Saturday at Murphy Creek was Matai Naqica of Centennial, who recently won the boys 11-13 Junior Series Championship conducted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. Naqica prevailed for the boys 12-13 Sub-Regional title on Saturday with an impressive point total of 177 — the best of the day in any division.

The qualfiers from Murphy Creek join those from Thorncreek Golf Course in Thornton, who punched their Regional tickets on Aug. 18.

Twelve of those who advanced on Saturday are from Colorado, while 14 from the Thorncreek competition are.

Those who have competed the last two weekends had already advanced from Local Qualifying as eight such events were held in Colorado this year, including one during U.S. Senior Open week at The Broadmoor Golf Club earlier this summer.

Last year, Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs became the fourth Coloradan ever to compete in the nationally-televised DCP National Championship. He finished sixth in the boys 14-15 division.

In DCP competitions, contestants score points in each discipline — driving, chipping and putting — which are added together for a cumulative total.

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the Nationals of the DCP, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.

Here are the Drive Chip & Putt Regional Qualifiers from the Murphy Creek GC Sub-Regional on Saturday:

Score: Drive-Chip-Putt=Total

Boys 7-9
Shea Clanton, Lincoln, Neb. 18-41-50–109
Ryan Fenton, Colorado Springs 17-35-55–107

Boys 10-11
Steven Suges, Grapevine, Texas 37-45-46–128
Miles Kuhl, Boulder 22-45-40–107

Boys 12-13
Matai Naqica, Centennial 52-55-70–177
Trevor Gutschewski, Elkhorn, Neb. 44-50-46–140

Boys 14-15
Maxwell Lange, Golden 61-50-50–161
Ben Harding, Longmont 38-45-65–148

Girls 7-9
Annabel Roy, Denver 8-22-55–85
Adrielle Miller, Highlands Ranch 11-19-41–71

Girls 10-11
Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 34-40-52–126
Taylor Hale, Eagle 36-40-42–118

Girls 12-13
Chunya Boonta, Centennial 33-50-22–105
Madeline Bante, Denver 32-21-41–94

Girls 14-15
Lauren Thiele, Wahoo, Neb. 20-55-60–135
Elle Higgins, Centennial 39-40-36–115

For all the results from Murphy Creek, CLICK HERE.

Here were the qualifiers from last weekend at Thorncreek:

Boys 7-9
“¨Benjamin Pederson, Arvada 20-35-55–110″¨
Grady Ortiz, Colorado Springs 20-31-45–96″¨”¨

Boys 10-11
“¨Gregory White, Centennial 31-40-50–121″¨
Jake Dost, Parker 39-35-47–121

Boys 12-13
“¨Reese Knox, Peyton 45-45-42–132
“¨Carter Surofchek, Colorado Springs 32-40-45–117

Boys 14-15
“¨Jackson Rottschafer, Centennial 47-45-60–152″¨
Matthew Wilkinson, Centennial 47-37-60–144

Girls 7-9
“¨Jadie Wilson, Denver 17-3-60–80″¨
Amalei Lagrimas, Castle Rock 18-26-36–80

Girls 10-11
“¨Emmalee Johnson, Denver 18-18-60–96″¨
Addison Hines, Arvada 21-11-60–92

Girls 12-13
“¨Ali Mulhall, Mesquite Nevada 44-23-55–122″¨
Rylee Salome, Los Lunas, N.M. 36-30-45–111

Girls 14-15
“¨Sofia Choi, Littleton 52-45-60–157
“¨Grace Ha, Greenwood Village 40-31-60–131
 

It was five years ago this month that Ryan Axlund competed in his one and only USGA championship — coincidentally the last such national championship contested in Colorado — the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club.

Suffice it to say he felt he was due for a second go-around.

And on Tuesday, the Aurora resident left no doubt in a U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying tournament at Murphy Creek Golf Course. Playing a course at which he won the 2015 Aurora Amateur, Axlund shot a 7-under-par 65 to earn medalist honors by two strokes.

The 36-year-old went 5 under par in a six-hole stretch starting at No. 12 and ending on No. 17 — where he nearly made a hole-in-one — as he posted a 31 on the back nine. He finished with eight birdies on the day.

“This one is special,” Axlund said. “I made it to the U.S. Am in 2012 when it was at Cherry Hills. The first one is always the hardest. The second one kind of justifies that you actually did it a second time so the first one is not a fluke.

“It felt really good to come out here and be able to do it.”

Four players out of a field that originally numbered 82 earned berths in the U.S. Mid-Am, a tournament limited to players 25 and older which will be held Oct. 7-12 at Capital City Club in Atlanta. Joining Axlund in advancing on Tuesday were Pete Mangold of Denver, who played his college golf at West Point; 2008 CGA Amateur champion Jonathan Marsico of Cherry Hills Village; and Walt Koelbel of Denver. Mangold fired a bogey-free 67, Marsico a 69, and Koelbel a 70. (Pictured above, from left, are Axlund, Mangold and Marsico. Below is Koelbel.)

Koelbel was part of a four-man playoff for the final national berth. He hit a wedge from 130 yards to 7 feet and made the birdie putt on the first hole of sudden death — No. 10 — to advance. Matt Evelyn of Denver earned the first alternate spot and Michael Slutzky of Littleton the second. Scott Crawford, playing at his home course, was the fourth player who shot 70.

It will be the second U.S. Mid-Am for Marsico, and the first for Axlund, Mangold and Koelbel. In fact, it will be the first USGA championship of any sort of Koelbel.

While Axlund had not only played Murphy Creek numerous times before Tuesday but had had won a tournament there, that was in stark contrast to the situation for Mangold and Marsico. Mangold had very little experience at the course before Tuesday, and Marsico had none.

But Marsico did have a secret weapon of sorts — two-time CoBank Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan, who was caddying for the 35-year-old. Tolan owns the second-best competitive score in Murphy Creek history, a 62.

“I had never played the golf course here before today,” Marsico noted. “I told (Tolan on Monday) that I had my buddy caddying for me — he’s like an 8 handicap — and Derek was like, ‘Well I’ll go caddie for you.’ At one point he had the course record here, so I’m like, ‘I’m dumping my buddy the 8 handicap’. And Derek was a huge help with reading the greens and a few lines off the tees with me just not being familiar with the course. If Derek tells me to hit there, I have the confidence to know that’s the right spot to hit. He was a huge help and saved me multiple shots.”

Marsico eagled the par-5 sixth hole from 15 feet, pitched in from 15 yards for par on the next hole after blading a bunker shot, and sank putts of 8, 25 and 10 feet on his final three holes to go birdie-birdie-par down the stretch.

“The putter saved me,” said Marsico, who will be playing in his fourth USGA championship. “It feels great (to qualify). Unfortunately, I don’t get to play much competitive golf anymore. But making the U.S. Mid-Am and competing at a USGA championship is definitely the highlight and the first goal every year. First prize brings an invitation to the Masters. Nothing beats that.”

As for Mangold, because he didn’t know the course well, he teed off with his 3-iron seven times on Tuesday. “There were a lot of times I had no idea (what lurked in the distance), and I just hit 3-iron,” the 37-year-old said.

The conservative strategy paid off, as the 2011 CGA Four-Ball champion hit 16 greens in regulation and barely missed the other two. The result was a five-birdie, no-bogey day.

Qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Am was a nice remedy to cure the sting of three-putting the final hole of the Columbine Country Club club championship and losing by a stroke over the weekend. His competition in that event included two-time Colorado Open champion Brian Guetz and eventual winner Alex Buecking, a former pro who went to the quarterfinals of the 2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

“I didn’t sleep very much for the last two days” after what happened at Columbine, Mangold said. “This is going to make me forget all about last weekend. But they kind of groomed me for today, and it turned out OK.

“I can sleep again. I’m super excited.”

As for Koelbel (left), he might not have been able to sleep had he not made his 7-foot birdie putt in the playoff. After all, he had lipped out birdie putts on his final two holes in regulation, including from 6 feet on his 18th hole. Making either of those putts would have kept him from needing to compete in a playoff. The 31-year-old finished with a not-so-sterling total of 34 putts in regulation.

“That one (in the playoff) felt good, a little redeeming,” said Koelbel, a former Cherry Creek High School and University of Kansas golfer. “I hit 17 greens (in regulation) today and missed a lot of putts early. To get one there at the end to close it out felt good. I thought I was maybe due to make one for how many I hit close.”

Going to the U.S. Mid-Am “is exciting,” he said. “I haven’t played in competition in a while. I played in college. but haven’t had a lot of events since then. I started playing well earlier this year and wanted to give this a shot.”

Certainly, qualifying for the national championship is a highlight for Koelbel, who fondly remembers finishing seventh in the 2007 Big 12 Conference Championships while competing against current PGA Tour players Gary Woodland, Jhonattan Vegas and Robert Streb.

With the four Coloradans qualifying on Tuesday, the state will be represented by at least five competitors at the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield, winner of the last two CGA Mid-Ams, was co-medalist at a qualifying tournament in Carson City, Nev., last week.

U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Murphy Creek GC in Aurora
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ryan Axlund, Aurora 34-31–65
Pete Mangold, Denver 34-33–67
Jonathan Marsico, Cherry Hills Village 34-35–69
Walt Koelbel, Denver 36-34–70
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Matt Evelyn, Denver 33-37–70
Michael Slutzky, Littleton 37-33–70

For all the scores from Tuesday, CLICK HERE.
 

A field of 82 players will be vying for four spots into the national tournament, set for Oct. 7-12 at Capital City Club in Atlanta.

Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield, the winner of the last two CGA Mid-Amateurs and the U.S. Mid-Am Qualifying medalist last year, qualified for the 2017 event earlier this week as a co-medalist in Carson City, Nev.

But among those in the Murphy Creek field are 2016 qualifiers Chris Thayer of Golden and Wes Martin of Denver. Thayer advanced to match play at the national championship, losing in the round of 64.

Among the others scheduled to compete in Aurora are Steve Irwin of Arvada, who recently competed in his third U.S. Amateur; Kyle Danford of Fort Collins, who has qualified for two U.S. Ams in recent years; 2008 CGA Amateur champion Jonathan Marsico; 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz of Aurora; two-time CGA Senior Player of the Year David Delich; and this week’s CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play champion Gary Albrecht.

After next year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur is held at Charlotte, N.C., Colorado Golf Club in Parker will host the national championship in 2019, with the dates set for Sept. 21-26.

The U.S. Mid-Amateur is limited to golfers at least 25 years old.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

Core-Drevecky (pictured) was one of a dozen special award winners announced on Thursday by the Colorado PGA. All will be honored on Nov. 4 during the Section’s Awards Gala at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

The Golf Professional of the Year award goes to a Section member for overall performance, including leadership, service and promotion of the game of golf.

Core-Drevecky has been a PGA member for 23 years, and prior to being elected president she served for six years on the Section’s board of directors, as well as two terms on the PGA of America national Education Committee. She has twice won the Colorado PGA Horton Smith Award for outstanding and continuing contributions in developing and improving educational opportunities for the PGA golf professional. 

During Core-Drevecky’s time as president, the Colorado PGA teamed up with the CGA to form the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which oversees many junior tournaments and events and features Golf in Schools, PGA Junior League, the Drive Chip & Putt Championship and more. Core-Drevecky was also instrumental in the creation of the Colorado PGA Women’s Championship, which debuted this year.

Among the other Colorado PGA award recipients is longtime CGA executive director Ed Mate, who has worked alongside Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth in forging a strong alliance between the two organizations to nurture and grow the game of golf in the state. Most recently, that includes forming the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, which just wrapped up a successful inaugural season. Mate, who worked for the Colorado PGA before being named the head of the CGA staff in 2000, will receive the President’s Award.

(Updated Oct. 6) Here are the Colorado PGA’s special awards recipients for 2016:

— Golf Professional of the Year:  Leslie Core-Drevecky, Murphy Creek Golf Course.

— Teacher of the Year: Steve Patterson, Hiwan Golf Club.

— Assistant Golf Professionals of the Year: Brad Gannaway, Colorado Springs Country Club.

— Bill Strausbaugh Award (mentoring fellow PGA professionals): Dale Smigelsky, Collindale Golf Course.

— Horton Smith Award (exceptional contributions to promote and improve PGA educational programs): Mark Bacheldor, UCCS PGA-PGM.

— Warren Smith Award (special contributions to game of golf, the Colorado PGA, junior golf and their facility): Craig Parzybok, Fox Hollow Golf Course.

— Noble Chalfant Inductee (distinguished service to the Colorado PGA) — Tom Apple, Country Club of the Rockies

— Player Development Award: Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Golf Academy.

— Youth Player Development Award: Katie Milstead, The First Tee at Green Valley Ranch.

— Private Merchandiser of the Year: Greg Bryan, Roaring Fork Club.

— Resort Merchandiser of the Year: Rich Parker, Kissing Camels Club.

— Public Merchandiser of the Year: Mark Pfingston, The Golf Club at Bear Dance.

— President’s Award: Ed Mate, CGA

— Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year — Geoff Keffer, PGA Learning Center at Park Hill

— Senior Player of the Year — Mike Northern, Colorado Springs

— Apprentice Player of the Year — Pat Grady, University of Colorado
 

After all, the National Golf Foundation reports that out of 24.7 million golfers in the U.S., just 5.3 million are females. In other words, a little more than one in five golfers is a female.

Needless to say, encouraging women and girls to take an active role in the game is foundational for organizations committed to growing the game, and that certainly includes the Colorado PGA.

There are certainly programs in place that encourage women and girls to take up golf and stay in it, but it’s important to send the right message as well. Having women in top leadership roles can both send that message and bring new perspective to decision-making.

With that as a backdrop, the Colorado PGA broke some new ground recently when for the first time a woman became president of the board of directors for the Colorado Section. Leslie Core-Drevecky, the only head professional Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora has ever known, was sworn in last month for a two-year term. (Core-Drevecky is pictured in red above at a mother-daughter clinic.)

“I’m excited and humbled, but I don’t want to view it in that light,” Core-Drevecky said this week before departing for the PGA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. “I want to provide encouragement for other females to get involved. Hopefully, we’ll bring more ladies into the game. (Fewer than) 25 percent of golfers are women, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

(Coincidentally, on Nov. 22, Suzy Whaley of Farmington, Conn., was elected the first female officer in PGA of America history, putting her in line to likely become the national organization’s president in 2018.)

Core-Drevecky has served on the Colorado PGA board for six years, and previously she was the Section’s vice president. She’s also a past chairperson of the Section’s Education Committee.

So will Core-Drevecky becoming president help efforts to attract more women and girls into the game?

“I hope it will,” said Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth. “I know she’s definitely tried to do that at her own facility (Murphy Creek) — making the game more inclusive. (Her new role) can only help. Golf is still male-dominated, and we need to try to be more inclusive. The low-hanging fruit is getting more women into the game.”

Core-Drevecky is a former Oklahoma state women’s amateur champion (1984) who lettered one year at the University of Oklahoma before later turning pro in 1985. After four years of competing on the Futures Tour, Core-Drevecky held club professional jobs in Texas and Oklahoma before being hired as Murphy Creek’s first head professional in 2000.

During her years in the Colorado PGA, Core-Drevecky has twice been named the Section’s public course merchandiser of the year (2001 and ’02) and twice the CPGA’s Horton Smith Award winner for developing and improving educational opportunities for PGA professionals (2009 and ’10).

“Leslie does her homework,” Ainsworth noted when asked about Core-Drevecky’s strong points as a Colorado PGA leader. “She’s one of the most prepared people when she comes to the board room. She takes her role very seriously and works hard. And she likes to get all the facts before making a decision.”

While the Colorado PGA is certainly one of the main players in driving growth of the game in the state, working in concert with the other leading golf associations in the state is a priority for Core-Drevecky as she embarks on her two-year stint as CPGA president.

“One thing I’m really looking forward to is working more with the CGA and CWGA in doing things more together,” she said. “We can catch attention and do more as a bigger force.”

The PGA staff at Murphy Creek has certainly made its presence known within the Colorado Section in recent years. Besides Core-Drevecky becoming president, the last three Dow Finsterwald Players of the Year have come from the Aurora course’s staff. Geoff Keffer won the award both in 2012 and this year, while Caine Fitzgerald earned the honor in 2013 after qualifying for the PGA Championship.

“They’re not only fine players but wonderful golf professionals,” Core-Drevecky said of Fitzgerald and Keffer.

Meanwhile, a former Colorado PGA president, Hiwan Golf Club head professional Kyle Heyen, this week becomes the District 9 director for the national PGA board of directors. For the next three years, he’ll represent the Colorado, Utah and Rocky Mountain PGA Sections on the national board.
 

With a 3-and-1 singles victory by Gregory Bishop over Todd Creek’s Ed Rodriguez, Bear Dance clinched the championship in the season-long net match play competition which originally featured 64 team entrants from across the state.

“This was our first year in (the Team Interclub),” noted Dan Brown, one of five Bear Dance players who won both his singles and four-ball matches on Sunday. “We had a lot of guys involved and had a really good time with it. We had a lot of great matches and really enjoyed the camaraderie and being able to see all the players from around the state.”

Bear Dance handed Todd Creek its first loss of the season.

“We were in the finals, but I’m a little disappointed we didn’t win,” said Todd Creek captain Ed Strain, who also went 2-0 on Sunday. “We went 6-0 and this was the only match we lost this year. But all you can do is put a peg in the ground and hit it, and play the game the way it plays. A lot of matches went to 18 today and I’m proud of the guys. We’ll try again next year.”

The finals, like every previous Team Interclub match in a season that started May 5, featured two 12-man teams squaring off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match was worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.

After the first four foursomes — out of six — had completed play Sunday, Bear Dance and Todd Creek were tied at 12 points each. But Andy Maestas and Steve Stroud swept both their singles matches and their four-ball match in the fifth group to give Bear Dance a six-point lead. Then Bishop put the Larkspur-based club over the top with his singles victory.

“I think most of the matches went well,” Strain said. “I think the only group that’s real disappointed is our fifth group off (Chad Powell and John Taylor). They had a good lead and they gave it away. I think they’re a little disappointed they didn’t finish strong.

“The hard part about this match is we don’t get to pair up the guys. Our fifth group had never played together before. I think that (lack of chemistry) kind of hurt them. In my match, (Delfido Rodriguez) and I have played probably 200 or 300 rounds together, so we know each other. So when you’re down, you know how to pick each other up.”

The five Bear Creek players who won both their singles and four-ball matches on Sunday were: Brown and Justin Borzych (pictured at left and below), John Arensberg, Maestas and Stroud. Four had perfect records for Todd Creek: Rodriguez, Strain, Joe Rizzi and Kevin Nicks.

All told, Sunday’s matches featured three pairs of father-sons competing: for Todd Creek, Ed and Kyle Strain, and Ed and Delfido Rodriguez; and for Bear Dance, Chuck and Justin Borzych.

Brown, for one, chalked up Bear Dance’s success in part to camaraderie.

“We accomplished something that we set out to try to do and had a really, really good time doing it,” he said. “We have a great group of guys who have a lot of fun together. And we just carry that over to the golf course.”

Added Twete: “This means quite a bit. This is our first year (competing) in it and we took a lot of pride in it. We put all our accomplishments on email (updates). Guys would play practice rounds, they’d get excited about it and get other guys to play.”

Following the finals of the Team Interclub, which concluded the CGA championship season, the CGA presented the junior golf programs at the courses of the two finalists donations of $500 each.

The CGA Team Interclub “regular season” lasted from May through early August, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs, which ran August through October.

Bear Dance finished the season with 4 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties, while Todd Creek went 6-1.

This year marked the fourth CGA Team Interclub. The Ranch Country Club won the title in 2010 and Lone Tree Golf Club prevailed the last two years.

 

CGA Team Interclub Final
At Murphy Creek GC in Aurora

OVERALL FINAL SCORE: GC at Bear Dance 20, Todd Creek GC 16

Four Ball: Todd Creek 6, Bear Dance 6
  Justin Borzych/Dan Brown, Bear Dance def. Kyle Strain/Scott McTaggert, Todd Creek, 1 up
  John Arensberg/Mark Detert, Bear Dance def. Dustin Snell/Adrian Chavarria, Todd Creek, 1 up
  Delfido Rodriguez/Ed Strain, Todd Creek def. John Carroll/Chuck Borzych, Bear Dance, 3 and 1
  Tom Rowell/Joe Rizzi, Todd Creek def. Hank Urbanowicz/Mark Angelo, Bear Dance, 5 and 3
  Andy Maestas/Steve Stroud, Bear Dance def. Chad Powell/John Taylor, Todd Creek, 2 and 1
  Ed Rodriguez/Kevin Nicks, Todd Creek def. Gregory Bishop/Mike Myers, Bear Dance, 2 and 1

Singles: Bear Dance 14, Todd Creek 10
  Dan Brown, Bear Dance def. Kyle Strain, Todd Creek, 2 and 1
  Justin Borzych, Bear Dance def. Scott McTaggert, Todd Creek, 1 up
  John Arensberg, Bear Dance def. Dustin Snell, Todd Creek, 6 and 4
  Adrian Chavarria, Todd Creek def. Mark Detert, Bear Dance, 1 up
  Delfido Rodriguez, Todd Creek def. John Carroll, Bear Dance, 6 and 4
  Ed Strain, Todd Creek def. Chuck Borzych, Bear Dance, 1 up
  Hank Urbanowicz, Bear Dance def. Tom Rowell, Todd Creek, 2 and 1
  Joe Rizzi, Todd Creek def. Mark Angelo, Bear Dance, 5 and 3
  Andy Maestas, Bear Dance def. Chad Powell, Todd Creek, 2 and 1
  Steve Stroud, Bear Dance def. John Taylor, Todd Creek, 3 and 2
  Gregory Bishop, Bear Dance def. Ed Rodriguez, Todd Creek, 3 and 1
  Kevin Nicks, Todd Creek def. Mike Myers, Bear Dance, 3 and 2
 

Perhaps Bob Cloud was inspired by the jets from nearby Buckley Air Force Base that were flying overhead Tuesday during the second annual CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play Championship.

Those fighters get up to speed very fast and possess a certain “wow” factor.

That’s also a pretty good description of how Cloud performed Tuesday at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora — at least for half of his round.

Cloud, who plays out of Bear Creek Golf Club, birdied his first two holes and shot a spectacular 6-under-par 30 on the front nine to vault past his nearest competition. And despite giving back three shots to par on the back nine — while shooting a personal tournament-best 3-under-par 69 — Cloud won the 60-and-older event by five strokes.

How good was Cloud’s front-nine 30? To the best of his knowledge, the lowest nine-hole score he shot before Tuesday was 34.

“It was a crazy nine holes,” said the 61-year-old Denver resident (pictured at left). “In any sport, sometimes the planets align for you. It was just nutty. On the front nine, I had seven 3s and five in a row. That’s crazy.”

Thanks largely to his eagle and four birdies on the front side, Cloud posted nine 3s on his scorecard overall Tuesday as he finished at 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes. The former USGA Senior Amateur qualifier won a CGA championship for the first time.

“I’ve played in a lot of CGA events, and to win one is kind of a dream come true,” Cloud said. “It’s just a great thrill. I’ve won (club) events before, but it’s just different when you can say you won a state championship.”

Tom Warren of Fossil Trace Golf Club placed second at 148 following a 72 Tuesday, while Mark Runyan of Canongate Colorado was third at 149 after closing with a 71.

In the 70-and-older competition, Joe Morrill of Eagle Ranch Golf Course went birdie-eagle on his 15th and 16th holes Tuesday to earn the title. The 73-year-old shot an even-par 72, leaving him at 8-over 150. That was three strokes better than defending champion Jim Collins of the Country Club at Castle Pines, who closed with a 75.

(The two champions are pictured at top, with Morrill at left in the photo.)

Cloud started out the second round one out of the lead, but he made tap-in birdies on holes 1 and 2 and sank a 40-foot par on No. 3. Then on the par-5 sixth, he hit an 8-iron second shot from 158 yards to 10 feet, then drained the putt for eagle.

Cloud followed that up with a 10-foot birdie on 7 and a 15-footer on 9.

Add it up, and it’s a smooth 30.

“And I lipped out two birdies,” he noted. “I should have shot a 28 or a 29. … And I thought I had a chance to shoot 59 the way I was hitting and putting the ball.”

But he put those ideas out of his mind when he remembered shooting a 71 in the first round of the 2011 CGA Senior Stroke Play — then following it up with an 81.

Cloud (pictured at left) didn’t make any birdies on the back nine, but by then he had opened up a nice lead. He made three bogeys on the back side, and needed to hole 20- and 10-foot putts to avoid double bogeys on Nos. 10 and 15, respectively.

All told on Tuesday, Cloud needed just 29 putts in his round.

Warren, like many of his fellow competitors, was very impressed by Cloud’s front-nine performance. But he sees how a player could get on a roll at Murphy Creek.

“The thing about this course is you have to think on every shot, but every hole can be a birdie hole,” Warren said. “I had 17 birdie putts and made two of them, and one of them was a two-putt. I can’t fault anyone else for winning the tournament when I left myself high and dry.”

Cloud was the only player to break 70 during the Super-Senior Stroke Play.

As for the 70-and-over tournament, Morrill trailed Collins by two after 14 holes Tuesday. But Collins lost a ball and made bogey on his 15th hole, while Morrill birdied his 15th and eagled his 16th, the par-4 seventh hole at Murphy Creek.

For the eagle, Morrill chipped in from about 20 yards. (He’s pictured at left picking the ball out of the hole.)

“It was one of those lucky things,” said the Eagle resident, a regular playing partner of Harry Johnson, winner of the CGA Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play this year. “And that was the turning point of the match.”

Morrill, winner of the super-senior division of a past CGA Senior Stroke Play, finished fourth — behind Collins, among others — in the 70-and-older division last year, but he’s gained considerable confidence since.

“I was a very mediocre to sub-mediocre putter — until this year,” Morrill said. “Don’t ask me why but I don’t yip anymore. I have the same putter, the same grip. … So there’s hope for everybody. That’s really why I’ve been able to compete this year. This is the best year I’ve had in the last five.”

CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play
At Par-72 Murphy Creek GC in Aurora

60 & OVER DIVISION
Bob Cloud, Bear Creek GC 74-69–143
Tom Warren, Fossil Trace GC 76-72–148
Mark Runyan, Canongate Colorado 78-71–149
Sean Forey, Bear Creek GC 78-72–150
Frank Wilkinson, Lincoln Park GC 79-75–154
Jim LeMar, Meadows GC 78-76–154
Bruce Hayes, Heritage at Westmoor 84-71–155
Daniel Dymerski, Columbine CC 73-82–155
Frank Hernandez, Pelican Lakes G & CC 77-79–156
Richard Griggs, Desert Hawk GC 80-76–156
Jim Pierce, Saddle Rock GC 80-77–157
John Sostmann, Raccoon Creek GC 74-83–157
Steve Ivy, Pelican Lakes G & CC 80-77–157
John Leamon, Littleton GC 79-79–158
Robert Espinoza, Riverdale GC 82-76–158
Roger Gunderson, Aurora Hills GC 81-77–158
Richard Barg, Meadow Hills GC 81-78–159
Bill Knobbe, Raccoon Creek GC 82-78–160
Bill Weinman, Canongate Colorado 83-77–160
Bob Rognmoe, Raccoon Creek GC 83-77–160
Dan Birnley, Conquistador GC 81-79–160
Fredrick Steffers, Patty Jewett GC 81-79–160
Alton Marsh, Fossil Trace GC 81-80–161
Steven Hill, Aurora Hills GC 84-78–162
Bob Sims, Canongate Colorado 82-81–163
Dan Grigsby, Legacy Ridge GC 87-76–163
Dave Bell, Hiwan GC 84-79–163
Art Pitman, Denver Amateur Golf Tour 84-80–164
Chuck Fisher, Riverdale GC 89-75–164
Doug Jones, Tiara Rado GC 84-80–164
Jeffrey English, Colorado AvidGolfer Passport Club 85-79–164
Terry Pettit, Mariana Butte GC 85-81–166
David Farabaugh, Broadlands GC 81-86–167
Jeffrey Wagner, Fox Hollow GC 85-82–167
Steven Humphrey, Legacy Ridge GC 88-79–167
John Vanderbloemen, Haymaker GC 83-85–168
Louis Gerig, CommonGround GC 83-86–169
Michael Clark, Heritage at Westmoor 82-87–169
Terry Hymans, Canongate Colorado 85-84–169
Ed Hollister, Omni Interlocken GC 86-85–171
Dennis Hartman, Wellshire GC 88-84–172
Bill Hancock, The Club at Flying Horse 87-86–173
Rick Newberg, Hiwan GC 92-82–174
John Livingston, Colorado AvidGolfer Passport Club 92-85–177
Gary Custer, Patty Jewett GC 91-87–178
Danny Wyrick, Spring Valley GC 90-89–179
Daniel Kinney, SouthRidge GC 97-83–180
Ron Crowder, Broadmoor GC 96-86–182
Charlie Ogren, Collindale GC 95-89–184
Phil Talbott, Buffalo Run GC 96-97–193
Jerry Kidney, Overland Park GC 84-WD
Ken Tai, Perry Park CC 89-WD
Kronin Kelley, Heritage at Westmoor 83-NC
Larry Pate, Fox Hollow GC 95-WD
Rod Walters, Heritage at Westmoor 84-WD

70 & OVER DIVISION
Joe Morrill, Eagle Ranch GC 78-72–150
Jim Collins, CC at Castle Pines 78-75–153
Bruce Kaldenberg, Broken Tee GC 80-77–157
Ken Schweitzer, Eisenhower GC 79-80–159
Richard Sage, Indian Tree GC 81-80–161
Loren Warburg, Fox Hollow GC 84-81–165
Tom Latourrette, Bear Creek GC 83-82–165
Bill Holmes, Boulder CC 87-80–167
Paul Scheidig, Applewood GC 88-80–168
Dave Lawson, Hyland Hills GC 90-80–170
Dick Schmaltz, Elmwood GC 84-86–170
Fred Blanchfield, Spring Valley GC 91-80–171
Bill Bogdanoff, CommonGround GC 90-84–174
Matt Quinn, Estes Park GC 86-89–175
Michael Straud, Aurora Hills GC 89-87–176
Armando Torres, CommonGround GC 89-88–177
Bill Myers, Meadows GC 87-91–178
Alan Cooper, Wellshire GC 85-94–179
Bob Brown, Desert Hawk GC 111-92–203
Jon Burnett, River Valley Ranch GC 94-WD
Richard Langston, Broken Tee GC 91-WD
Wayne Klassen, Littleton GC 98-WD