When the Solheim Cup came to Colorado last year, it deservedly attracted much attention on a local, national and international level. After all, the Ryder Cup-like event featuring the best women’s golfers from the U.S. and Europe is a big event in the golf world.

But it was a tournament that rode the coattails of the Solheim Cup into Colorado that particularly piqued the ongoing interest of those at the CGA and CWGA. The Ping Junior Solheim Cup, a key event on the AJGA schedule that featured 24 of the best girl golfers from America and Europe, was held during Solheim Cup week, but at Inverness Golf Club in Englewood. And the CGA and CWGA staff and volunteers played significant roles at the event.

“People were saying, ‘Why don’t we have an AJGA here every year?'” recalls Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA.

Looking back now, four of the top seven golfers in the current women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings competed in that Junior Solheim Cup: Alison Lee (No. 4), Andrea Lee (No. 5), Bethany Wu (No. 6) and Linnea Strom (No. 7).

And with Coloradan John Seiple helping plant the seed with some financial support, an effort was launched that recently paid dividends in the form of Colorado landing an AJGA tournament for 2015.

The AJGA, which conducts tournaments that draw some of the best junior golfers in the nation and beyond, will bring an event to the state that will bear the name of one of Colorado’s all-time sports greats.

The AJGA Hale Irwin Junior will be contested June 2-4 at CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA.

“One of the reasons we built CommonGround was to host championships that attract the best players in the state, region and country, so this is a real good fit,” Mate said. “This will give the best junior players in the state a chance to see how they stack up (against national competition). And it was a nice tie-in with the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround.”

And CommonGround, of course, is no stranger to big-time events, having served as the second stroke-play course for the 2012 U.S. Amateur that Cherry Hills Country Club hosted. (At left, CommonGround was also the site of the 2013 CGA Junior Stroke Play.)

The 54-hole no-cut Hale Irwin Junior will feature a total field of 96 players — all age 18 and under — with separate boys and girls divisions. While some competitors will be exempt into the field, a qualifying round will be held on May 31, with a Junior Am and practice rounds set for June 1.

The 2015 Hale Irwin Junior will be the first AJGA tournament held in Colorado since 2013.

Irwin, who developed his game as a junior player in Colorado in the 1960s, agreed to lend his name to the new event at CommonGround, which is already home to the three-year-old Hale Irwin Elite Player Program. Coloradan Steve Irwin, Hale’s son, is a member of the CGA Board of Governors.

Hale Irwin is the most successful golfer to have grown up in Colorado. A graduate of Boulder High School and the University of Colorado, he’s won three U.S. Opens, 20 PGA Tour events overall, and a record 45 tournaments on the Champions Tour. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

In Colorado, Irwin claimed the 1963 state high school championship, three straight CGA Stroke Plays (1963, ’64 and ’65) and the CGA Match Play in 1966. He won the NCAA individual title in 1967 while competing for CU.

“Who better to represent what we’re hoping to accomplish — have our best players achieve their full potential?” Mate noted.

Ideally, it’s hoped that Irwin himself will play a role at the Hale Irwin Junior, but that part remains to be seen.

While there is currently a one-year commitment to hold the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, the plan is for the tournament to be an ongoing event on the AJGA circuit.

A strong national field is expected for the inaugural AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, but there is plenty of precedent for Coloradans winning AJGA events in their home state. Since 2008, in-state players who have accomplished that feat include Josh Seiple (John Seiple’s son), Jimmy Makloski, David Oraee (twice), Wyndham Clark, Patricia Lee and Cole Nygren.

It’s anticipated that some player exemptions for the Hale Irwin Junior will likely be awarded through performance in CJGA events, which would help spur participation in those tournaments. But details about that are still in the works.

The AJGA circuit dates back to 1978, and a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, J.R. “Digger” Smith, is an AJGA founder and a longtime chairman of the board of directors. The association will end up holding 108 tournaments nationwide in 2014.

Many of the top players on the PGA and LPGA Tours in recent decades were regular competitors in AJGA events as youngsters, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer.
 

It took 6 1/2 hours and 25 holes, but Allie Johnston and Claudia Davis gained their first lead in the title match of the CWGA Mashie Championship at about 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday at Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club in Aurora.

That coincided exactly with the time when the teenagers became champions of the four-ball match play competition, the CWGA’s first championship of the year.

Davis, a senior-to-be at Arapahoe High School, made a 3-foot birdie — draining her third consecutive pivotal putt — to give herself and Johnston a marathon 25-hole victory in their final against two other teenagers, Kathleen Kershisnik of Columbine Country Club and Patricia Lee of Lone Tree Golf Club.

“I still kind of feel like we should be playing,” said Johnston, a Rock Canyon High School graduate who plays out of Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course. “It was really fun. Mostly I think we were all just wanting to finish and eat.”

Davis (pictured above at left with Johnston), winner of the 2011 CJGA Tournament of Champions, waited until the end to make her major contributions. She made a 10-foot par putt on the 23rd hole to extend the match, holed a 35-foot birdie from behind the green on the 24th hole that Kershisnik matched with a 20-foot birdie of her own, then stuck her tee shot on the decisive 164-yard par-3 seventh hole 3 feet from the flag and won it with another birdie.

“I kind of lost my tempo and my swing for a few holes, but when it really counted, I felt like I stepped up and contributed and helped my teammate,” said the 17-year-old Davis. “It was just exhilarating to make the putt that you know counted to push it to the next hole.”

Kershisnik and Lee (pictured at left), who will play college golf at Wyoming and Georgetown, respectively, could have ended it on the 18th hole, but Lee left a 3-foot par putt short and the match was extended. It was one of several short putts that cost the team as Kershisnik missed a 2-footer on No. 9 and a 4 1/2-footer on No. 14.

But on the extra holes, both teams flourished on the greens. On No. 2, Johnston made a 15-foot birdie and Lee put a 7-footer right on top of her. On No. 4, Lee kept the match going with a 5-foot par. On 5, Davis drained her crucial 10-footer for par. And on 6, both Davis and Kershisnik made bombs. Then Davis closed it out with her 3-foot birdie on No. 7.

“I’m a little frustrated because it was kind of all for nothing in the end,” said Lee, a graduate of Highlands Ranch High School. “We both made crucial putts. We didn’t give any shots away so that’s a bonus, but we lost so that sucks.

“It could have been over a long time ago, but we didn’t give up, so that was good. (Davis) hit a really good shot on 7.”

While a 25-hole match is unusual, Kershisnik played one almost as long last year in the CWGA Junior Match Play, falling in 24 holes to Mikayla Tatman in the quarterfinals.

“All four of us played really well (on Wednesday), but obviously it’s not nice to be on our end,” said Kershisnik, who finished second in a playoff last month at the 4A state high school meet as a Regis Jesuit senior. “We got a few putts rolling (at the end), but it was a little frustrating because we had them around the hole a lot , but we couldn’t get them to fall” earlier in the match.

It was the second CWGA championship for Johnston, who earned CWGA Junior Player of the Year honors in 2011 after dominating the CWGA Junior Stroke Play, winning an AJGA event and qualifying for two USGA championships. The 18-year-old, runner-up in the 2012 5A state tournament, will be playing her college golf at Texas-San Antonio.

Davis, meanwhile, won an CWGA title for the first time. And it was a championship match she won’t soon forget — one in which the biggest lead for either team was 1-up.

“That was crazy,” the golfer from Glenmoor Country Club said. “It was a lot of fun. We really fought. I feel like it was equal. Both teams were trying really hard to just make that one extra shot count.

“I honestly didn’t know when it was going to end. (The scene on the 25th hole is pictured at left.) I thought we might play another 18 out there.”

In the end, Johnston and Davis prevailed in the championship flight of an event that featured 200 players and 13 flights overall. The championship flight included three players who are in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame — Kim Eaton, Janet Moore and Lynn Zmistowski.

“I felt like there’s a lot of great players here, and to have two (teams) of juniors fighting for first place is really special,” Davis said. “I’m proud of myself and my teammate.”

CWGA Mashie Championship
At Heritage Eagle Bend GC in Aurora

Championship Flight
Allie Johnston, Red Hawk Ridge GC and Claudia Davis, Glenmoor CC def.Kathleen Kershisnik, Columbine CC and Patricia Lee, Lone Tree GC, 25 holes
  
Championship Flight Consolation
Janet Moore, Cherry Hills CC and Sarah Moore, Cherry Hills CC def.Laurie Steenrod, Saddle Rock GC and Lisa Stone, Saddle Rock GC, 2 and 1

First Flight
Vickie Brown, Broken Tee GC def. Sally Lawrence, Broken Tee Englewood def Ruth Van Zee, Canongate Colorado GC and Jessi McVay, Commonground GC, 2 and 1
  
First Flight Consolation
Kim Gosche, CommonGround GC and Sue Davis, Saddle Rock GC def. Danielle Atkinson, The Pinery CC and  Robyn Asbury, The Pinery CC, 3 and 2
  
Second Flight
Brenda Cook, The Links GC and Marie Driessen, Pinery CC def.Debra Bolke, Saddle Rock GC and Cathy Neistat, Saddle Rock GC, 1 up
 
Second Flight Consolation
Marti Alter-Cudlip, Denver CC and Beth Hudson, Meridian GC def Mary Jo Deming, Lakewood CC and Sheryl Larsen, Lakewood CC, 2 and 1
 
Third Flight
Karen Leuschel, Coal Creek GC and Laura Wetzel, Coal Creek GC def. Jenny Elliott, Broken Tee GC and Nina Dulacki, Broken Tee GC, 1 up
 
Third Flight Consolation
Jeanine Wasielewski, West Woods GC and Darlene Evans, West Woods GC def. Leanna Rosenow, West Woods GC and Patricia Swanson, West Woods GC, 2 and 1
 
Fourth Flight 
Cathy Weber, Perry Park CC and Chris Leger, GC at Heather Ridge def. Debra Shultz, Saddle Rock GC and Mary Repetto, Broken Tee GC, 5 and 4

Fourth Flight Consolation
Krista Overstreet, Glenmoor CC and Jennifer Jacobsen, Glenmoor CC def. Vicki Porter, Commonground GC and Amy Tomlinson, CommonGround GC, 2 and 1
 
Fifth Flight
Carlene Decker, Kissing Camels and Denise Cohen, Kissing Camels def. Cindy Lantz, CC at Castle Pines and Sharee Merullo, Castle Pines CC, 3 and 2
 
Fifth Flight Consolation 
Patti Godette, Red Hawk Ridge GC and Juliet Miner, Bear Dance GC def Sharon Berglund, The Pinery CC and Barbara Davis, Pinery CC, 3 and 2

Sixth Flight
Theresa Lange, Canongate Colorado GC and Kim Gould, Saddle Rock GC def Jane Anhold, Lakewood CC and Barbara Mcgrath, Lakewood CC, 5 and 4

Sixth Flight Consolation
Jeanette Ali, CC at Castle Pines and Linda Sinsar, CC at Castle Pines def. Jane Anhold, Lakewood CC and Barbara Mcgrath, Lakewood CC, 1 up

Seventh Flight
Debbie Childs, Lone Tree GC and Ellen Thomas, Canongate at Blackstone def. Pat O’Connor, Collindale GC and Irene Stein, Collindale GC, 3 and 2
 
Seventh Flight Consolation
Karen Bergert, West Woods GC and Mary Smith, Fox Hollow GC def. Patricia Cahill, Patty Jewett GC and Lita Van Cleave, Patty Jewett GC, 2 and 1

Eighth Flight
Laura Laux, Applewood GC and Joann Smith, Foothills GC def. Kimberlee Powelson, Valley CC and Carol Kishiyama, Valley CC, 1 up
 
Eighth Flight Consolation
Doris Hug, Heritage Eagle Bend GC and Connie Norkoli, Heritage Eagle Bend GC def. Paula Maes, Pradera GC and Billie Dahlbach, Plum Creek GC, 8 and 7

Ninth Flight
Barb Dearing, The Links GC and Cathy Quesnell, Red Hawk Ridge GC def. Nancy Peters, The Courses at Hyland Hills and Marlene Drew, The Courses at Hyland Hills, 23 holes
 
Ninth Flight Consolation
Dolly Moreno, Broken Tee GC and Jo Honeyman, Overland Park GC def. Jane Videtich, The Links GC and Karen Hendrickson, The Links GC, 20 holes

Tenth Flight
Anne Svec, The Courses at Hyland Hills and Kris Van Bladeren, The Courses at Hyland Hills def. Pat Latta, The Courses at Hyland Hills and Laura Fischer, Willis Case GC, 4 and 3

Tenth Flight Consolation
Linda Brown-Stiller, Broken Tee GC and Cathleen Ryland, Broadlands GC def. Sandra Schnitzer, Murphy Creek GC and Bunny Ambrose, Meadow Hills GC, 2 and 1
 
Eleventh Flight
Jan Squires, West Woods GC and Jaki Berry, West Woods GC def. Marilyn Hollman, Buffalo Run GC and Cheryl Miller, Riverdale GC, 5 and 4
 
Eleventh Flight Consolation
Roben Deines, Buffalo Run GC and Susan Elliott, Riverdale GC def. Jan Shoemaker, Twin Peaks GC and Sharla Gambrell, Sunset GC, 3 and 1
 
Twelfth Flight
Marcia Hall, Overland Park GC and Susie Goldberg, Overland Park GC def. Pamela Ortell, Heritage Eagle Bend GC and Debby Wishmier, Heritage Eagle Bend GC, 20 holes

Twelfth Flight Consolation
Phyllis Finlay, Eagle Vail GC and Marilyn Everett, Heritage Eagle Bend GC def. Jo-El Freyer, Denver CC and Jan Lee Heath, Spreading Antlers GC, 2 up
 

All of the top five finishers at state in 2011 — and nine of the top 11 — will be in the field when this year’s 5A championship is contested Monday and Tuesday (May 21-22) at Aurora Hills Golf Course.

Meanwhile, the 4A state tournament will feature six of the top 10 finishers from a year ago. The 4A meet will be played at Boomerang Golf Links in Greeley, also Monday and Tuesday.

Senior SeungHa Choi of Overland will defend her 5A title, but the 2011 CWGA Junior Match Play champion figures to face a formidable challenge at Aurora Hills. After all, the top five finishers at state last year were separated by only three strokes.

Also in the field this time is 2011 CWGA Junior Player of the Year Allie Johnston (pictured) of Rock Canyon. Johnston is coming off a stellar year in which she won the CWGA Junior Stroke Play by eight shots, captured an AJGA title in Texas, placed second in the prestigious Mary Cave Cup and qualified for two USGA championships.

Another contender figures to be Shinwoo Lee of Cherry Creek, who’s finished second or third in three previous 5A state tournaments. Meanwhile, Patricia Lee of Highlands Ranch has been a 5A runner-up the last two years.

Calli Ringsby of Cherry Creek could also challenge for the title after finishing tied for second last year and later placing second in the CWGA Stroke Play Championship as a 15-year-old.

Other returning players from the top 10 in the 2011 5A state meet are Shannon Lubar of Chatfield (seventh), Claudia Davis of Arapahoe (ninth) and Hannah Wood of Arapahoe and Taylor Buck of ThunderRidge (tied for 10th).

Several of those players have signed to play Division I college golf, with Johnston headed to Texas-San Antonio, Patricia Lee to Georgetown and Lubar to the University of Denver.

Cherry Creek and Arapahoe, who have finished 1-2 in the last two 5A state meets (with each winning a title), figure to be the teams to beat again.

In Class 4A at Boomerang, the field features two players who have been regulars in the top five at the state tournament in recent years.

Bryce Schroeder of Pueblo South was the 4A runner-up last year and finished fifth in 2010. And Regis’ Kathleen Kershisnik placed second in 2009, third in 2010 and fourth last year. Schroeder will play college golf at Wichita State and Kershisnik at Wyoming.

Other returning top-10 finishers from 4A state in 2011 are Taylor Dorans of Broomfield (sixth each of the last two years), Shannon Spinuzzi of Pueblo South (sixth), Katherine Kemp of Cheyenne Mountain (ninth) and Alex Briggs of Broomfield (10th).

Pueblo South, Broomfield and Regis, who finished a close 1-2-3 in the team race last year, likely will battle it out again next week.

For Monday’s tee times, CLICK HERE for 5A, and CLICK HERE for 4A.