Laird completed his 10th Phoenix Open on Sunday, and for the fourth time in his last eight trips to the event, he posted a top-10 finish.

This time, the former Ram placed ninth after an early-round run of four straight birdies (holes 3-6) vaulted him into second place.

Laird (pictured) went 68-67-68-68 for a 13-under-par 271 total, which left him five strokes behind champion Gary Woodland, a Kansas product. Laird finished with five birdies and two bogeys in the final round.

Sunday marked the 33rd PGA Tour top-10 for Laird, who has won three times on golf’s top circuit.

Laird’s finishes at the Phoenix Open in the last eight years include a third place in 2011, a fifth place in 2015, a seventh place last year and Sunday’s ninth-place showing.

For Phoenix Open scores, CLICK HERE.

Arvidsson Finishes Fifth in PGA Tour China Q-school: Former University of Denver golfer Oskar Arvidsson earned fully-exempt status on PGA Tour China on Sunday by finishing fifth out of 120 players in a four-round international Q-school tournament in Haikou in southern China.

Arvidsson, who qualified for the 2016 British Open, led after the first three rounds of the Q-school event. He posted scores of 67-67-74-74 for a 6-under-par 282 total and finished seven strokes behind medalist Jeffrey Kang, a former University of Southern California golfer.

Former CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Steven Kupcho failed to earn PGA Tour China status as he placed 51st at 12-over-par 300 (78-74-72-76). Kupcho missed conditional status by four strokes.

The top 15 finishers at Q-school will be fully exempt for the 14-tournament PGA Tour China season, with the next 25 conditionally exempt. This was the first of two international qualifiers for PGA Tour China.

For Q-school scores, CLICK HERE.
 

The former University of Colorado golfer, a two-time winner of the CoBank Colorado Open, posted rounds of 71-72-68-74 for a 3-under-par 285 total. Tolan played the two par-5s on the back nine in 3 over par, costing him a shot at exempt status for 2018.

The winner of the tournament (Cristobal Del Solar) will be exempt for the entire Latinoamerica season, while the next 10 finishers are exempt for the first half of the year. The rest of the players placing in the top 35 and ties will have conditional status.

Tolan (pictured) played in 11 PGA Tour Latinoamerica tournaments in 2015 and ’16 combined, recording a best finish of fifth place in 2015. The Denver native has also played in five PGA Tour events — including the 2002 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old — and 10 Web.com tournaments.

The PGA Tour Latinoamerica season begins March 15 with the Guatemala Open. Earlier this year, three other players with major Colorado ties also earned conditional status on PGA Tour Latinoamerica through other Q-school tournaments: former Buff golfer Jeremy Paul, Cole Nygren of Longmont and former University of Denver golfer Chris Gilman.

For scores from Q-school in Argentina, CLICK HERE.

No Weekend Play at Phoenix Open for Clark, but Laird in 8th Place: Denver native Wyndham Clark missed the cut on Friday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the eighth PGA Tour start of his pro career.

Clark, who made it into the field via a sponsor exemption, shot rounds of 74-73 for a 5-over-par 147 total at TPC Scottsdale.

It was an up-and-down two days for Clark, who has a Web.com Tour card this year. The winner of the 2017 Pac-12 title and the 2010 CGA Amateur made two birdies and five bogeys on Thursday. In round 2, he carded an eagle, three birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey.

Clark has made two cuts in his eight PGA Tour starts.

Meanwhile, former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird, a Scottsdale resident, backed up his first-round 68 with a 67 on Friday afternoon and moved into a share of eighth place at 7-under 135. After a five-birdie, one-bogey day, he trails co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau by three shots.

For Phoenix Open scores, CLICK HERE.

Former DU Golfer Arvidsson Leads in China: Former University of Denver golfer Oskar Arvidsson leads at the halfway point of an international PGA Tour China Q-school event in Haikou in southern China.

Arvidsson, who played in the 2016 British Open, fired a 5-under-par 67 on Friday, leaving him at 10-under 134 and with a two-stroke lead.

Former CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Steven Kupcho shares 72nd place out of the 120-player field after rounds of 78-74.

The top 15 finishers after 72 holes will be fully exempt on PGA Tour China, with the next 25 conditionally exempt. This is the first of two international qualifiers for PGA Tour China.

For scores, CLICK HERE.

Top 10s in California for Gilman, Nygren: Former University of Denver golfer Chris Gilman and Longmont resident Cole Nygren recorded top-10 finishes Friday in a Golden State Tour tournament in Bakersfield, Calif.

Gilman placed fourth with a three-day total of 12-under-par 204, ending up four behind winner Manav Shah of Bakersfield. Gilman went 66-70-68.

Nygren, who like Gilman will have conditional status on PGA Tour Latinoamerica in 2018, finished 10th on Friday. He posted scores of 71-69-71 for a 5-under 211 total.
 

Who would have guessed this day would ever come?

The top golfers in the most recent watch lists for the ANNIKA Award (given at the end of the season to the national player of the year in women’s college golf) and the Haskins Award (presented to the men’s national player of the year in college golf) are both Colorado residents.

Not Californians, not Texans, not Floridians, but Coloradans — in this case Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster (a sophomore at Wake Forest) and Wyndham Clark of Highlands Ranch (a fifth-year senior at Oregon). Both never finished outside the top 10 in their fall college tournaments, with Kupcho winning her last two events of the autumn, becoming the only NCAA Division I woman in the country to win more than one full-field event in the first two months of the season.

We’ll delve more into college golf when both the men’s and women’s fall season is complete, but the rankings of Kupcho and Clark are two of the many highlights of the 2016 tournament season in Colorado and for Colorado golfers. With the tourney season in the Centennial state now complete, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the top moments of the year:

— Kupcho (pictured) is a good place to start given that she’s had a season few Colorado women golfers have ever matched. That includes becoming the first player to win three straight CWGA majors since the late 1980s as she swept the 2016 Match Play and Stroke Play titles. And the 19-year-old did it by amazing margins — 12 and 10 in a 36-hole match play finale, and 19 shots in the Stroke Play. In the Stroke Play, she set the women’s course record at historic Denver Country Club with a 7-under-par 65, breaking the previous mark of 68 established by world-renowned athlete Babe Zaharias on July 3, 1946.

Out of the state, besides notching her first two college victories, Kupcho placed sixth in the women’s NCAA Championship Finals as a freshman. And she and fellow Coloradan Hannah Wood both qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, arguably the top women’s tournament in the world.

It’s little wonder why Kupcho was recently named the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year.

— As for Clark, he posted three top-six finishes in his first three tournaments at Oregon after transferring from Oklahoma State. Over the summer, Clark qualified for his fifth U.S. Amateur — quite a feat for a player 22 years old. And once he made it to the U.S. Am, he advanced to the round of 32 in match play out of an original field of 312.

— Though, as mentioned above, NCAA Division I golfers from Colorado accomplished plenty in 2016, it’s worth noting that two golfers from the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference won the CGA’s top two open-division championships in 2016. Nathaniel Goddard, who wrapped up his Colorado Christian golf career last spring, prevailed in the CGA Match Play, while current University of Colorado-Colorado Springs golfer Colin Prater (left) won the CGA Amateur by five shots.

— Two of the most remarkable scores shot in tournament golf in recent months were recorded by players with strong Colorado connections. University of Colorado senior Esther Lee set the NCAA women’s record for lowest score in relation to par as she shot an 11-under-par 61 in September at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, held at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course in Albuquerque, where Lee claimed the title.

Then last month, Denver resident James Love fired a 12-under-par 59 in a Web.com Q-school event at Sunriver Golf Course in St. George, Utah. That helped earn the former University of Denver golfer a spot in a second-stage tournament this week.

— Speaking of former DU golfers, former Pioneers had the distinction of qualifying for two of the biggest tournaments in the world in 2016.

Oskar Arvidsson earned medalist honors in a British Open qualifier in Scotland, landing a spot in the third men’s major championship of the year, where he missed the 36-hole cut.

Also this summer, Espen Kofstad qualified for the Olympics by winning a tournament on the European Challenge Tour. He finished 43rd in the men’s tourney at the Summer Games.

— Several players with strong Colorado ties made a splash in USGA championships in 2016.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur for a remarkable fourth time. Earlier in the year, Eaton made the CWGA Senior Match Play the 22nd CWGA title of her career.

Also advancing to the final eight in a USGA championship was Alex Buecking of Columbine Valley, who joined former SMU teammate Jason Enloe in making the quarters of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

And CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle (left) earned a berth in the final 16 of the U.S. Amateur just a year after finishing 311th out of 312th in stroke play at the same event.

— Certainly one of the biggest oddities of the year took place at the CGA Mid-Amateur. The top finishers at the 2016 tournament looked almost identical to the 2015 version.

Not only did Jon Lindstrom win by four strokes for the second straight year, but the top four finishers were the same in 2016 as they were in 2015. In fact, they were almost in the exact same order, with the only difference being Steve Irwin tying for second this year and placing third alone in 2015. For the record, Chris Thayer tied Irwin for second and Ryan Axlund was fourth.

— Back on the college front, the CGA’s 2015 Junior Player of the Year made a remarkably quick adjustment at the next level. University of Northern Colorado freshman Coby Welch, competing in just his fourth college tournament, won the individual title at the 108-man Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational after a final-round 66 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.

— Also in college, Colorado State University senior Blake Cannon pulled off a remarkable feat in September, winning two college titles in one week, the first one coming at CSU’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club. This was after going his first three years as a collegian without an individual victory.

— Geoff Keffer used his first victory in the Coloado PGA Professional Championship to move into some rarefied air. Keffer subsequently received the CPGA’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year award for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five seasons. Only three other players have captured that honor three straight years: Bob Hold (1966-71), Vic Kline (1977-79) and Ron Vlosich (1986-88). Vlosich, by the way, qualified for his fifth U.S. Senior Open in 2016.

— Mary Weinstein (left) of Highlands Ranch had a rather remarkable run to wrap up her junior career. After winning the 5A state individual title to close out her high school career at Regis Jesuit, Weinstein won the first two Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors ever held, the Colorado Junior Amateur and the Colorado Junior PGA Championship. Then she finished strong in national events, placing 15th at the Junior PGA Championship a week after ending up fifth at the Optimist International Junior.

Not surprisingly, Weinstein was named the JGAC’s female player of the year, while AJ Ott of Fort Collins earned the male award. Ott won the boys title at the Colorado Junior PGA at Indian Tree, shooting a course-record 7-under-par 63 on day 2.

— Kent Moore‘s victory in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play certainly wasn’t the most prestigious victory of his career, but it did continue to expand upon a rather remarkable distinction. The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer has now claimed titles in seven different CGA individual championships — the Junior Match Play, Amateur, Match Play, Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur, Senior Match Play and now the Super-Senior Stroke Play — an unprecedented feat in CGA competition. Moreover, he’s won CGA championships in five consecutive decades, starting with the 1973 CGA Junior Match Play at Flatirons Golf Course.

— In team competition, the amateurs broke new ground in 2016. This year marked the first time ever that amateurs from the CGA and CWGA won all three competitions in the Colorado Cup matches against the pros from the Colorado PGA — the open-division men, senior-division men and open-division women. But later in the year, the Colorado PGA earned a big team victory of its own, winning the biennial Taylor Cup matches against the Sun Country PGA for the first time since 2008.

Also on the team front, Kent Denver High School set a Colorado High School Activities Association record by winning its ninth boys golf state title. Kent captured the 3A team title this time around.

— Sherry Andonian-Smith, an instructor at Valley Country Club, made some history of her own this fall when she became the first female to win one of the Colorado PGA’s top tournaments. With a 5-under-par 139 total, she prevailed by three shots at the Colorado PGA West Chapter Championship at Aspen Glen Club.

Also scoring a first in 2016 was Alexandra Braga from Denver Country Club, who won the inaugural Colorado PGA Women’s Championship, held at Cherry Creek Country Club.

— And, let’s finish off with the biggest-money event of the year … Neil Johnson of Phoenix earned the distinction of being the first winner of the CoBank Colorado Open after the tournament more than quadrupled its first-place prize money, to $100,000. Johnson was playing in his first Colorado Open after qualifying for the tournament on Monday of championship week.

Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye, winner of two PGA Tour events, tied for second place in his first tournament in two years.
 

The golfer from Sweden not only landed a spot in the third major championship of the year, but he earned medalist honors out of a field of 72 at the Gailes Links Golf Course in Scotland on Tuesday. He carded rounds of 64-68 for a 10-under-par 132 total in the final stage of The Open Qualifying Series, leaving him four strokes ahead of runner-up Scott Fernandez of Spain. Colin Montgomerie, who once competed in 21 consecutive British Opens but hasn’t played since 2010, was the third qualfier at the site, finishing at 137.

Arvidsson, ranked No. 1,418 in the world, eagled his first hole, a 346-yard par-4, to spark his big day.

Arvidsson, who turned pro two years ago and has been playing on the Asian Development Tour, has dreamed of competing in the British Open since as a youngster watching a video of Mark Calcavecchia winning the 1989 Open at Royal Troon. Coincidentally, that Scottish course will host this year’s Open July 14-17.

During his senior season at DU (2013-14), Arvidsson won the individual title at the 2013 Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins, along with Cameron Harrell. (Arvidsson is pictured above during that tournament.)

In all, 12 players qualified for the British Open in four qualifying tournaments this week.

(July 15 Update: Arvidsson posted rounds of 75-84 at Royal Troon and missed the 36-hole cut.)
 

The second annual Ram Masters Invitational featured a wide array of storylines, ranging from the rare to the fulfilling to the heartbreaking.

On the rare side, the tournament that ended Tuesday at Fort Collins Country Club included each of the last three head coaches of the Colorado State men’s golf team — second-year CSU coach Christian Newton (current) and former helmsmen Mark Crabtree (now at Louisville) and Jamie Bermel (Kansas).

As for fulfilling, the University of Denver men notched their first team victory since April 2011, when the Pioneers won the Sun Belt Conference title. And both of the co-champs in the individual competition — CSU junior Cameron Harrell and DU’s Oskar Arvidsson — posted their first individual victory in college. (The two are pictured above, with Arvidsson at left.)

On the heartbreaking end, CSU not only lost its home tournament by a single stroke for the second straight year, but extenuating circumstances on Tuesday made it even more painful this time. A one-stroke penalty incurred on the final hole by freshman Jimmy Makloski of Pueblo, the 2012 CGA Junior Stroke Play champion who was making his college debut, made the difference between CSU finishing second or playing off against DU for the title.

“You hate to see that,” DU coach Eric Hoos said. “Honestly, I would much rather have had a tie and go into a playoff. But that speaks volumes about the character of Jimmy and to their program that he called (the penalty) on himself. That’s what this game is about. I don’t think that always happens out there. Class kid, class program. I’m sorry for him.”

Colorado State led for most of the final day, but with DU done with its round and just Makloski and Harrell’s groups left on the course Tuesday, the Rams were tied with Denver after Harrell made a 5-foot birdie on 17.

Though Makloski had bogeyed his previous two holes, he had a 4-foot birdie attempt on No. 18. After getting some help lining up the putt from assistant coach Bret Guetz, Makloski addressed the ball — and the ball subsequently changed position. Makloski backed off, said something to Guetz (pictured at left), and rules official Rich Langston was called in. Langston told them it would be a one-stroke penalty — and to replace the ball.

Makloski then missed the short putt and finished with a bogey. And when Harrell, in the final group, recorded a par, CSU had fallen a shot short of the top spot for the second consecutive year.

“I still should have collected myself better mentally after (the penalty) and made it and we should have been in a playoff,” said Makloski, who placed 22nd in his first college event. “I guess it’s something to learn from.”

Asked if he takes anything from doing the right thing and calling the infraction on himself, Makloski said, “It kind of makes me feel a little better, but it’s still tough because one shot made a big difference today.”

DU (pictured at left), which started the final round in seventh place and 11 out of the lead in the 15-team event, put together a stellar score on Tuesday to rally for the victory. The Pioneers’ 8-under-par 272 was the best score of the tournament by five strokes and left them at 7-over 847 overall, one better than CSU, which closed with a 284.

Denver recorded three scores in the 60s on Tuesday, including a 64 (by Arvidsson), a 65 (by junior Victor Doka, who finished fifth) and a 69 (by senior Ole Ramsnes, who placed 24th).

“With the conditions out there — a wet, long golf course — it’s a really special round,” Hoos said.

In all, Colorado-based schools put four players in the top 10 individually — Harrell, Arvidsson, Doka and Northern Colorado’s Steven Kupcho, who shared 10th place.

Harrell (pictured at left), who hails from Colorado Springs, went 67-67 in the last two rounds to gain a share of his first college victory. He posted a 6-under 204 total along with Arvidsson.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Harrell’s co-championship came at the same course where he qualified for the U.S. Amateur earlier this summer. Harrell said he’s probably played Fort Collins Country Club about 100 times over the years, and the CSU team often uses the course as a qualifying site.

“Coming out here and qualifying every day, you get more and more comfortable because I feel this course takes a lot to get comfortable with it,” said Harrell, who made nine birdies in the final two rounds. “It’s just a huge advantage for us to be out here every day with these greens, this course.

“Hopefully more tournaments are here. It’s fun to dominate the field because I know a lot of people don’t like coming here. I’m fine with that.”

This kind of performance is exactly what Newton has told Harrell he’s capable of.

“This is what we’ve been telling him he is,” Newton said. “For it to finally come to fruition is obviously huge for us. This is a big springboard for his year. This is how good Cam is.”

As for Arvidsson (pictured at left), a fourth-year player from Sweden who’s been a mainstay for DU, he likewise showed his stuff on Tuesday by carding an eagle, five birdies and a bogey en route to a 64.

“It feels great,” he said. “I know I can play well and I proved it today. It gives me good confidence for the upcoming tournaments.”

The Ram Masters Invitational marked DU’s season opener, which Hoos hopes bodes well for the Pioneers.

“It’s been a while since we won, and it makes it even more special to start the season with a win,” the veteran coach said. “You have some seniors and juniors on this team who have worked hard a lot of years here. It’s nice to see them get a reward like this.”

Conversely, it stings some for CSU to absorb finishing second — by one stroke — two straight years at its own event.

“Obviously it is hard to swallow,” Newton said. “But you want to look at it as a big, giant picture. We’re not going to take snapshots of the year. I’m real proud of the guys. We played just terrible down at Air Force last week (placing 12th). For us just to be in the situation we were (today), I’m pretty proud as a coach.

“For Jimmy (Makloski), this is golf. That’s what happens. I’m just proud of him for his integrity, just stepping up, being a man and being accountable for what happened.”

Ram Masters Invitational
Sept. 16-17, 2013 at Par-70 Fort Collins CC

1. Denver 287-288-272–847
T1. Oskar Arvidsson 72-68-64–204; 5. Victor Doka 71-73-65–209; 24. Ole Ramsnes 72-76-69–217; 53. Arthy Edelman 72-73-78–223; 64. Patrick Frodigh 79-74-74–227. Competing only as Individual: 53. Petter Mikalsen 76-71-76–223.

2. Colorado State 280-284-284–848
T1. Cameron Harrell 70-67-67–204; 15. Dominic Kieffer 67-75-72–214; 15. Parker Edens 72-72-70–214; 22. Jimmy Makloski 71-70-75–216; 53. Brett Wilson 73-75-75–223. Competing only as Individuals: 62. Patrick Winther 80-73-73–226; 71. Alec Bone 77-73-78–228.

9. Northern Colorado 287-287-293–867
10. Steven Kupcho 70-72-70–212; 34. Ben Krueger 74-73-72–219; 41. Steve Connell 72-76-73–221; 50. Conner Barr 71-73-78–222; 71. Jack Cummings 79-69-80–228. Competing only as Individual: 71. Austin Lowe 77-73-78–228.