The regular season has ended for all nine NCAA Division I golf programs based in Colorado (five men’s, four women’s), with the last of the bunch wrapping up play on Sunday. Up next, starting as soon as Monday for some Colorado teams, are conference championships, then — potentially — NCAA regionals and finals.

And while there won’t be any Division I tournaments in Colorado in the coming month and a half, both the men’s and women’s NCAA D-II finals will be held in the Centennial State, with the men May 17-21 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and the women May 18-21 at CommonGround Golf Course. Tickets for those events will be $5 per day or $15 for the week, with the cost good for both sites. For those interested in volunteering for one of the tournaments, CLICK HERE.

As for the local Division I programs, conference championships are scheduled over the coming two weeks. First up are all of the local D-I women’s teams competing Monday through Wednesday at four different sites.

That includes the University of Denver, which will be going for its 13th consecutive conference title, this one at the Summit League tournament in Nebraska City. Also competing those same dates are the University of Colorado women, who are ranked 25th in the nation according to Golfweek and are at the Pac-12 Championships in Pleasantown, Calif.

Here’s a brief rundown on each of the D-I conference championships involving a Colorado team:

— CU women at Pac-12 tournament, April 18-20 in Pleasantown, Calif. Notable: CU hosted the 2015 event at Boulder Country Club, posting its best finish ever in the Pac-12 (fifth). … The 25th-ranked Buffs have recorded four top-four team finishes this season. … Junior Esther Lee leads the Buffs in scoring, at 72.54. She’s posted six top-10 individual finishes this season, including one win in the stroke-play portion of a match-play event. Lee is ranked No. 15 among the nation’s women’s D-I players by both Golfweek and Golfstat.

— DU women at Summit League tournament, April 18-20 in Nebraska City. Notable: In the last dozen years, the Pioneers have won two Summit League titles, plus nine in the Sun Belt Conference, and one in the WAC. DU prevailed by 18 strokes last year. … Denver has two top-four finishes to its credit, both coming in Colorado, including a win in DU’s Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in October. … Freshman Kathi Baratta, a first-team All-Summit League pick, leads DU in stroke average at 76.1.

— Colorado State women at Mountain West Conference tournament, April 18-20 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Notable: The Rams placed sixth at the 2015 conference tourney. … CSU notched two top-four finishes during the regular season. … Freshman Katrina Prendergast leads CSU in stroke average at 73.76. Her best finish is a fifth-place showing.

— Northern Colorado women at Big Sky tournament, April 18-20 in Boulder City, Nev. Notable: 2015: UNC finished sixth in last year’s Big Sky Championships. … The Bears placed in the top three in two of their last three tournaments. … Junior Kala Keltz from Montrose claimed an individual title on Tuesday at the Montana State Bobcat Invitational. Also recently posting a high individual showing was UNC’s Amanda Myers, who was runner-up in a tournament last month.

— CSU and Air Force Academy men at Mountain West Conference tournament, April 22-24 in Tucson, Ariz. Notable: CSU was fifth and Air Force 10th in last year’s MWC meet. … Colorado State has posted five top-four finishes this season, including two victories. … CSU senior Dominic Kieffer leads the Rams in stroke average, at 71.9, having notched four top-six individual finishes. … Air Force posted two top-three team showings this season. … Of golfers who have competed in more than 20 rounds, Sunwoo Choi leads the Falcons in stroke average at 73.9. He has two top-10s to his credit.

— UNC men at Big Sky tournament, April 29-May 1 in Boulder City, Nev. Notable: Last year, UNC placed sixth in the conference tournament. … The Bears’ top team showing this season has been a runner-up. … Coloradan Steven Kupcho, the 2012 CGA Player of the Year, will wrap up his college career this spring. He placed fourth in a tournament in February.

— CU men at the Pac-12 tournament, April 29-May 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Notable: The Buffs will host the 2017 Pac-12 Championships next April 28-30 at Boulder Country Club. … CU, ranked 60th in the nation by Golfstat, has posted five top-four team finishes this season, notching two victories. … Junior Jeremy Paul (70.45) and senior Philip Juel-Berg (71.87) both average under 72 for the Buffs. Each has an individual victory in a large-scale tournament this season. … CU placed 11th in the league tournament last year.

— DU men at Summit League tournament, May 1-3 in Newton, Kan. Notable: The Pioneers’ top team showing of the season was a fifth place at the Pacific Invitational in October. … 2015 CGA Stroke Play champion Chris Korte, a sophomore, leads the Pioneers’ regulars in stroke average at 74.9. … Last year, DU placed fifth in the league championship. … The Pioneers just signed Roy Kang of North Vancouver, B.C., to a national letter of intent. Kang, who tied for third in the 2015 Junior America’s Cup, will join DU in the fall.
 

Consider it a variation of the “drive for show, putt for dough” theme. Both portions of the college golf season are important, but it’s what a team does in the spring — more so than the fall — that really gets remembered.

And though “spring” may seem a long way off for Colorado golfers, the spring season will begin for at least one Colorado-based college team this weekend.

The University of Denver men will tee off their second-half schedule Friday and Saturday at the 54-hole, 17-team Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson. The Pioneer men are one of nine NCAA Division I teams based in Colorado, and all nine will begin their spring seasons before February ends.

And the rubber really meets the road in April, May and early June, when conference championships and NCAA regionals and finals are contested.

Most notable from a Colorado perspective this year are the men’s and women’s NCAA Division II Championship finals, set for May 17-21 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and May 18-21 at CommonGround Golf Course, respectively. It will be the first NCAA golf nationals held in Colorado since The Broadmoor last hosted the NCAA Division I men’s championship, in 1969.

As for the local Division I schedule, the Arizona Intercollegiate in which the DU men are competing this weekend marks the first major tournament of the spring season nationwide. College teams will be resuming competition after a three-to-four-month intermission following the fall season.

Among in-state DI schools, the University of Colorado is the top-ranked women’s squad (24th nationally according to Golfweek), while CU is also tops among the men (Golfweek has the Buffs 68th).

The individuals from Colorado and Colorado schools who are top ranked nationally are, for men:

82. Jeremy Paul (pictured above), Colorado (Golfstat)
91. Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, Oklahoma State (Golfweek)
100. Philip Juel-Berg, Colorado (Golfstat)

And for women:

16. Esther Lee (left), Colorado (Golfweek)
37. Hannah Wood of Highlands Ranch, Oklahoma (Golfstat)
86. Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, Wake Forest (Golfweek)
138. Kathi Baratta, Denver (Golfweek)
143. Alexis Keating, Colorado (Golfweek)

Here’s a team-by-team rundown on the Colorado-based Division I teams going into the spring portion of the season:

Air Force Men

National Ranking — 184th (Golfweek).

Best Fall Team Finish — Second at Bill Ross Intercollegiate.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Brenden Bone (second), Sunwoo Choi (eighth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Brenden Bone 72.6.

Next tournament — Feb. 28-March 1, Snowman Getaway, Goodyear, Ariz.

Conference Championships — Mountain West, April 22-24 in Tucson, Ariz.

Colorado Men

National Ranking — 68th (Golfweek).

Best Fall Team Finishes — Won Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, second at Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Philip Juel-Berg (first, second and eighth), Jeremy Paul (first, third and seventh), Ethan Freeman (fifth three times), Ross Macdonald (fifth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Jeremy Paul 70.6.

Next Tournament — Feb. 4-6, Amer Ali Intercollegiate, Big Island, Hawaii.

Conference Championships — Pac-12, April 29-May 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Colorado Women

National Ranking — 24th (Golfweek).

Best Fall Team Finishes — Second at East & West Match Play Challenge, fourth at Pac-12 Preview.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Esther Lee (first, fourth and ninth), Alexis Keating (third), Brittany Fan (ninth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Esther Lee 72.6.

Next Tournament — Feb. 13-14, Peg Barnard Stanford Invitational, Stanford, Calif.

Conference Championships — Pac-12, April 18-20 in Pleasanton, Calif.

Colorado State Men

National Ranking — 74th (Golfstat).

Best Fall Team Finishes — Won Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational and Ram Masters Invitational, third at Tucker Intercollegiate, fourth at Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Dominic Kieffer (second, third, sixth), Max Oelfke (second, sixth, seventh), Kyler Dunkle (fourth, fifth, seventh), Jimmy Makloski (eighth), Jake Staiano (eighth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Max Oelfke 71.9.

Next Major Tournament — Feb. 28-March 1, National Invitational, Tucson, Ariz.

Conference Championships — Mountain West, April 22-24 in Tucson, Ariz.

Colorado State Women

National Ranking — 68th (Golfstat).

Best Fall Team Finishes — Fourth at Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Allie Andersen (fifth), Sarah Archuleta (eighth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Elizabeth Rau 74.1.

Next Tournament — Feb. 22-23, Gold Rush, Long Beach, Calif.

Conference Championships — Mountain West, April 18-20 in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Denver Men

National Ranking — 207th (Golfstat).

Best Fall Team Finish — Fifth at Pacific Invitational.

Best Fall Individual Finish — Chris Korte (fifth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Chris Korte 73.4.

Next Tournament — Jan. 29-30, Arizona Medalist, Tucson, Ariz.

Conference Championships — Summit League, May 1-3 in Newton, Kan.

Denver Women 

National Ranking — 57th (Golfweek).

Best Fall Team Finishes — Won Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, fourth at Golfweek Conference Challenge.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Kathi Baratta (fifth, eighth).

Best Individual Stroke Average in Fall — Kathi Baratta 72.5.

Next Tournament — Feb. 13-14, Peg Barnard Stanford Invitational, Stanford, Calif.

Conference Championships — Summit League, April 18-20 in Nebraska City

Also Notable — The DU women, who have won 12 consecutive conference championships, are favored to make it a baker’s dozen. The Pioneers were recently picked No. 1 in the nine-team Summit League in a midseason poll of the conference’s head coaches. DU is in its third season in the Summit League.

Northern Colorado Men

National Ranking — 202nd (Golfstat).

Best Fall Team Finish — Seventh at Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Joshua Matz (fourth).

Next Tournament — Feb. 8-9, Thunderbird Invitational, St. George, Utah.

Conference Championships — Big Sky, April 29-May 1 in Boulder City, Nev.

Current Ranking Among Big Sky Conference Teams — Fourth out of eight.

Northern Colorado Women

National Ranking — 116th (Golfweek).

Best Fall Team Finish — Eighth at Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Invitational.

Best Fall Individual Finishes — Amanda Myers (third, eighth), Kala Keltz (eighth).

Next Tournament — Feb. 22-24, Grand Canyon Invitational, Goodyear, Ariz.

Conference Championships — Big Sky, April 18-20 in Boulder City, Nev.

Current Ranking Among Big Sky Conference Teams — Second out of 12.
 

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.
 

Knous led the NCAA Division II Championship Finals for most of Thursday’s final round of stroke play in Louisville, Ky.

But Josh Creel of Central Oklahoma birdied two of his last three holes in regulation to tie Knous, then won their playoff with a par on the first extra hole.

So Knous, a product of Basalt High School, had to settle for second place in the nation’s Division II ranks as his college career came to a close.

Knous finished the season with five individual victories, including three in a row heading into the national tournament.

In the NCAA finals, Knous shot a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday to move into the lead. With most of his competition playing in the afternoon, Knous went off early and posted his four-birdie, one-bogey round.

By the time he finished, he held the outright lead, and it took a late rally by Creel to catch up. Creel birdied Nos. 16 and 17 and parred 18 to shoot 71 and tie Knous, forcing the playoff.

Knous, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year, ended up at 10-under-par 206.

Knous is perhaps best known for a couple of stellar rounds he posted in finishing second in the 2010 CGA Stroke Play Championship, and in being the medalist in last year’s U.S. Amateur qualifying in Aurora. Knous shot a 10-under-par 60 in the final round of the Stroke Play, and a 9-under-par 63 at Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club. In both cases, he set the course record by two shots.

While Knous took second place individually on Thursday, his School of Mines team failed to advance to the match play portion of the Division II finals. Needing to finish in the top eight in stroke play to earn a spot in the quarterfinals, the Orediggers tied for 11th, with an 882 total for three rounds.

It was necessary to shoot 873 or lower to advance.

Meanwhile, at the women’s NCAA Division II Championship Finals, also in Louisville, Colorado Mesa moved up to 11th place in the 12-team field. Jessica Berve is leading the way for Mesa individually as she stands in 41st place at 168 for two rounds.

11. Colorado School of Mines 293-291-298–882
2 (playoff). Jim Knous 70-67-69–206; 45. Michael Lee 72-74-76–222; 67. Jordan Arndt 77-73-76–226; 79. Cory Bacon 75-77-77–229; 97. Kyle Grassel 76-84-77–237.

Women’s NCAA Div. II Championship Finals
May 16-19, 2012 in Louisville, Ky.

11. Colorado Mesa 356-344–700
41. Jessica Berve 87-81–168; 52. Michelle Stripp 87-85–172; 59. Jennifer Hilts 89-88–177; 66. Alisa Lindsay 93-91–184; 67. Afton Balling 97-90–187.