Lanting (left) shot the only round in the 60s on Tuesday — a 3-under-par 69 — to post a 4-under 140 total for two days, good for a two-stroke victory. He finished round 2 with five birdies and two bogeys.

First-round leader and three-time champion Caine Fitzgerald of Meadow Hills Golf Course bogeyed two of his last three holes and finished second at 142 after closing with a 74.

Taking third place was University of Colorado men’s assistant coach and 2016 champion Pat Grady, who carded back-to-back 72s.

The top four finishers — Lanting, Fitzgerald, Grady and Jordan Gibbs of Denver — qualified for the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, set for Nov. 15-18 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

For all the scores from Saddle Rock, CLICK HERE.

Bingaman, who won the National Car Rental Colorado PGA Assistants Championship in early August, shot a 1-under-par 71 in the final round to post a 1-over 289 total. He carded five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on Sunday. Bingaman bogeyed his final two holes after making birdie his previous two and finished 12 strokes behind champion Ryan Zylstra of The Federal Club in Virginia.

The other Coloradan to make the cut, University of Colorado men’s assistant coach Pat Grady, placed 56th after closing with a 78 on Sunday, leaving him at 296 overall.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans who competed in Florida:

28. Brandon Bingaman, The Bridges GC 72-73-73-71–289
56. Pat Grady, University of Colorado 75-72-72-78–296
MISSED 36-HOLE CUT
83. Ben Lanting, Bear Creek GC 73-77–150
121. Jack Allen, Heritage Eagle Bend GC 80-79–159
 

The University of Colorado men’s assistant coach shot a 1-under-par 71 on Saturday to move up into a tie for 38th place at 2-over-par 218.

Grady (pictured), the 2016 Colorado PGA Assistants Champion, made four birdies and three bogeys in the third round.

Brandon Bingaman of The Bridges Golf and Country Club in Montrose, this year’s Assistants champ in Colorado, also shares 38th place at 218. Bingaman carded his second straight 73, posting two birdies and three bogeys.

Grady and Bingaman trail leader Derek Berg of Sahalee Country Club in Washington by 12 going into Sunday’s final round.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing this week in Florida:

38. Pat Grady, University of Colorado 75-72-72–218
38. Brandon Bingaman, The Bridges GC 72-73-73–218
MISSED 36-HOLE CUT
83. Ben Lanting, Bear Creek GC 73-77–150
121. Jack Allen, Heritage Eagle Bend GC 80-79–159
 

Brandon Bingaman of The Bridges Golf and Country Club in Montrose and University of Colorado men’s assistant coach Pat Grady — the winners of the last two Colorado PGA Assistants Championships — will advance to the final two rounds of the national tournament thanks to being in the top 70 and ties at the halfway point.

Bingaman shares 40th place at 1-over-par 145 after shooting a 1-over 73 on Friday. He made three birdies and four bogeys in round 2.

Grady (pictured) stands at 147, which leaves him in 55th place, after he carded a 72 on Friday. He made an eagle, three birdies and five bogeys in the second round.

The other two Coloradans in the national tournament — Ben Lanting of Bear Creek Golf Club (150) and Jack Allen of Heritage Eagle Bend (159) failed to make the 36-hole cut.

Derek Berg of Sahalee Country Club in Washington leads the tourament with two rounds remaining at 9-under-par 135.

Play will continue through Sunday.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing this week in Florida:

40. Brandon Bingaman, The Bridges GC 72-73–145
55. Pat Grady, University of Colorado 75-72–147
MISSED 36-HOLE CUT
83. Ben Lanting, Bear Creek GC 73-77–150
121. Jack Allen, Heritage Eagle Bend GC 80-79–159
 

The former Colorado Mesa University golfer shot an even-par 72 and shares 40th place out of 132 players. Bingaman made three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey on Thursday.

Other scores from Colorado players were a 73 from Ben Lanting of Bear Creek Golf Club, a 75 from University of Colorado men’s assistant coach Pat Grady and an 80 from Jack Allen of Heritage Eagle Bend.

Four players share the lead at 66: Jesse Massie of Kentucky, J.P. Griffin of Georgia, Chris Mory of Michigan and Ryan Botts of Tennessee.

Play will continue through Sunday, with a cut to the low 70 players and ties coming after Friday’s second round.

Here are the scores from all the Coloradans competing this week in Florida:

40. Brandon Bingaman, The Bridges GC 72
54. Ben Lanting, Bear Creek GC 73
81. Pat Grady, University of Colorado 75
122. Jack Allen, Heritage Eagle Bend GC 80
 

(MAY 9 UPDATE: On Tuesday, Chris Thayer withdrew from the upcoming U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying stage. First alternate Jon Lindstrom will fill his spot in the Sectionals. For more on that, CLICK HERE.)

———————————————————————–

On a day that featured challenging weather conditions on a tough golf course and two lightning delays totaling more than 2 1/2 hours, a pair of Golden residents were the only players to break par on Monday, leading a group of five golfers who advanced to the second stage of U.S. Open qualifying.

Former CoBank Colorado Open champion Zahkai Brown shot a 2-under-par 70 to earn medalist honors in U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, the new name for the Heritage at Westmoor course in Westminster.

Joining Brown (pictured) in advancing to one of the 10 36-hole Sectional Qualifiers that will be held in the U.S. on June 5 will be fellow Golden resident Chris Thayer (1-under 71 Monday), former Valor Christian High School teammates Josh Seiple of Castle Rock and Jake Staiano of Englewood (72 each), and University of Colorado assistant men’s golf coach Pat Grady of Denver (72). Staiano plays college golf at Colorado State and Seiple at the University of Mississippi.

Jon Lindstrom of Broomfield (72), who won the CGA Four-Ball title on Sunday with teammate Richard Bradsby, also shot a 72 at Walnut Creek, but a family matter kept him from participating in what would have been a playoff Monday evening. He’ll be the first alternate. Daniel Pearson of Longmont, who shot 73, will be the second alternate.

Brown, the former CSU golfer who won the 2013 Colorado Open, took advantage of having played hundreds if not thousands of rounds at Walnut Creek over the years. But some of the conditions took even a Walnut Creek regular like him by surprise.

“It was hard out there,” the 26-year-old newlywed said. “You had to play so much break (on the greens). You’d barely hit putts and they’d keep feeding and feeding. All of our group hit it 9 or 10 feet by a lot of the time. It was just wicked.”

Added Thayer (left): “The wind wasn’t that strong, but it definitely was affecting every shot. You had to really think about it. With the greens the way that they were and the course being 7,500 yards, it was a lot (to handle).”

Of the five qualifiers, Brown and Grady are professionals and the other three are amateurs. Grady and Brown are former CGA Players of the Year, with Grady having earned the honor twice.

The top finishers at U.S. Open Sectional sites on June 5 will advance to the Open itself, which this year is set for June 15-18 at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.

Brown is particularly keen on trying to earn a U.S. Open berth this year with Erin Hills being the host site. You see, he competed in the 2011 U.S. Amateur at the course, making it to the match play round of 64.

“It means a lot to me because I’ve played Erin Hills and I really like that golf course a lot,” he said. “I played well in the U.S. Am when they had it there. I feel comfortable on it. I’m really hoping to get to that event.”

Four of the players who advanced on Monday — with the exception being Seiple — have made it to Sectionals previously, though none has gone on to compete in the U.S. Open. The two players in Monday’s field who have previously qualified for the Open fell short of advancing at Walnut Creek, with Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch shooting 78 and Nick Mason of Denver withdrawing during one of Monday’s delays.

With slow play being an issue even before the weather became a problem, a total of 10 pace-of-play penalties were assessed on Monday.

Thayer, who plans to take the marriage plunge himself in a couple of weeks, will be going to Sectionals for the second time, and has competed in three different USGA championships — the Junior Amateur, Amateur and the Mid-Amateur.

“That’s the goal — to play in those national championships,” the 36-year-old said. “And this is kind of a pseudo one to make it through this stage.”

Grady, himself a thirtysomething (being 31), doesn’t get a lot of time to play golf these days, between his coaching duties and doing some accounting work as a CPA. But he has shown some flashes, like when he finished 11th in the National Assistant PGA Professional Championship last fall, and he pieced together a solid round on Monday. (Grady is pictured at left, in black, with Seiple, in blue, and Staiano.)

“I feel really good,” said Grady, who last tried to qualify for the U.S. Open in 2011. “I had low expectations (being a) golf coach and accountant. It was fun. I got to play with one of our incoming (CU) players, Cole Krantz, and it was fun to watch him play. I (jokingly) told him if he beats me, he’s off the team, and if he loses to me, he’s not good enough so he’s off the team. I got him pretty good today. He’ll beat me the rest of the time.”

As for former Valor teammates Staiano and Seiple, they’re in the most important part of their college season, and both will compete next week in an NCAA Regional tournament in Austin, Texas.

With Monday’s weather delays, Seiple had to change his flight back to Mississippi, and he was working on rescheduling the two final exams he had on the agenda for Tuesday. But in the end, at least it all paid off with him advancing to U.S. Open Sectionals for the first time.

“It’s awesome,” said Seiple, a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier and the runner-up in the 2016 CGA Match Play. “The chance to play in the U.S. Open is something you dream of forever. Just the chance to see if you’ve got the stuff to get there. There’s a bunch of good players (in Sectional Qualifying) so it’s cool to compare your game. It’s going to be a fun opportunity. Anything can happen.”

Staiano competed in Sectionals two years ago as an 18-year-old, the same year he went to the match play round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur. But on Monday, he had to battle back from two double bogeys and being 4 over par through 8 holes to make the grade at even-par 72. He played his final 10 holes in 4 under.

“(In 2015), I played with somebody who qualified for the Open, so I saw what it takes,” said Staiano, the 2013 CGA Junior Match Play champion. “I’m going back to the same (Sectional site) and I know the course a little bit. It gives me a good opportunity. My game is in a pretty good spot. It will be a good chance to see if I can do something special.

“Last time at Sectionals I was a little young, a little immature. I played with a couple of Tour pros in the practice rounds. I was sort of wide-eyed. I will be a little different scenario this time around.”

Upcoming next week are two more Colorado-based U.S. Open Local Qualifiers, May 15 at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and May 16 at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins. As with Monday, they each feature 84-man fields, with the top five at each site advancing to Sectionals.
 

U.S. Open Local QualifyingӬ
At Par-72 Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster
ADVANCE TO SECTIONALS
Zahkai Brown, Golden 34-36–70
Christopher Thayer, Golden 37-34–71
Josh Seiple, Castle Rock 36-36–72
Pat Grady, Denver 34-38–72
Jake Staiano, Englewood 33-39–72

ALTERNATES (in order)
“¨Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield 35-37–72″¨
Daniel Pearson, Longmont 39-34–73

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

The Colorado PGA will recognize some of its best of 2016 tonight (Nov. 4) at its Awards Gala at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

Most of the award winners were announced in August (READ MORE), including Leslie Core-Drevecky being named the Section’s 2016 Golf Professional of the Year, its highest honor. Core-Drevecky, the PGA head professional at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora, became the first female president of the Colorado PGA in 2014.

Finalized more recently have been the Colorado PGA’s Players of the Year. Player honorees will be:

— Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year: Geoff Keffer (pictured above), PGA Learning Center at Park Hill. Keffer, who won his first Colorado PGA Professional Championship in September, receives this award for the third consecutive year and for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Others who have been Player of the Year three straight times include Bob Hold (1966-71), Vic Kline (1977-79) and Ron Vlosich (1986-88).

— Senior Player of the Year: Mike Northern, Colorado Springs. Northern, a three-time Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year, claimed the title in the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship in mid-August.

— Apprentice Player of the Year: Pat Grady, University of Colorado men’s golf assistant coach. Grady won the National Car Rental Colorado PGA Assistants Championship in August and on Sunday he placed 11th in the National Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

Here are the recipients of the Colorado PGA’s special awards for 2016:

— Golf Professional of the Year (overall performance, including leadership, service and promotion of the game of golf): 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

— Charles “Vic” Kline Award (outstanding service and leadership in the Colorado PGA through work on CPGA Board of Directors): Theo Gregory, El Pomar Foundation.
 

Gott Receives National Clubfitter Honor from Callaway: The people who will be recognized tonight aren’t the only members of the Colorado PGA Section who have been honored recently. Brian Gott, PGA director of instruction at Gott Golf, was named Callaway Golf’s National Club Fitter of the Year on Oct. 17 in San Diego.

Gott opened Gott Golf in 2008 and was named one of Golf Digest’s top 100 club fitters in America in 2015 and ’16. Among the clubs Gott works with in Colorado are Cherry Hills, Castle Pines, The Broadmoor and Maroon Creek.

Gott Golf is based at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.
 

The winner of the Colorado PGA Assistant Professional title in August, Grady closed with a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday, leaving him at 288 and seven strokes behind champion Ben Polland of Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y.

Grady, a two-time CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year who plays out of Colorado National Golf Club, carded two birdies and three bogeys in the final round.

Here are the scores of all the Coloradans who competed in the event:

11. CU men’s assistant coach Pat Grady, Colorado National GC 70-71-74-73–288
Missed 36-Hole Cut
103. Brian Zeigler, Red Sky GC 79-76–155
108. Somin Lee, Valley CC 76-80–156
120. Remington Post, Hiwan GC 78-82–160
 

Grady (pictured), who won the Colorado PGA Assistant Professional title in August, shot a 2-over-par 74 to sit at 1-under 215 going into Sunday’s final round. The two-time CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, from Colorado National Golf Club, made two birdies and four bogeys in round 2. He trails leader Danny Lewis of Elks Run Golf Club in Ohio by six strokes.

The champion on Sunday, if eligible, will earn a berth in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship, set for June 18-21 in Sunriver, Ore.

Here are the scores of all the Coloradans competing in the event:

8. CU men’s assistant coach Pat Grady, Colorado National GC 70-71-74–215
Missed 36-Hole Cut
103. Brian Zeigler, Red Sky GC 79-76–155
108. Somin Lee, Valley CC 76-80–156
120. Remington Post, Hiwan GC 78-82–160
 

The former two-time CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year fired a 1-under-par 71 on Friday, leaving him at 3-under 141 and tied for fifth place, four behind leader Jack Lempke of Bent Tree Golf Club in Texas.

Grady, the Colorado PGA Assistant Professional Champion who plays out of Colorado National Golf Club, made an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys on Friday.

The other three Coloradans who qualified for the national tournament — Brian Zeigler of Red Sky Golf Club, Somin Lee of Valley Country Club and Remington Post of Hiwan Golf Club — missed the 36-hole cut to the low 70 players and ties.

The tournament will continue through Sunday. The champion this week, if eligible, will earn a berth in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship, set for June 18-21 in Sunriver, Ore.

Here are the scores of all the Coloradans competing in the event this week:

5. CU men’s assistant coach Pat Grady, Colorado National GC 70-71–141
Missed 36-Hole Cut
103. Brian Zeigler, Red Sky GC 79-76–155
108. Somin Lee, Valley CC 76-80–156
120. Remington Post, Hiwan GC 78-82–160