The Greg Mastriona Golf Courses at Hyland Hills in Westminster hosted the PGAJL Southwest Regional over the weekend, drawing opposing teams from Dallas, Houston and Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Axis All-Stars from greater Houston, which is in the process of rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey, won the Southwest Regional title and therefore will advance to the PGA Junior League national championship, set for Nov. 16-19 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

With all four teams at Hyland Hills playing three matches in a round-robin — two on Saturday and one on Sunday — Colorado-based Mt. Elbert went 0-3 and finished fourth, with nine points.

On Saturday, Mt. Elbert fell to Brookhaven from the Dallas area, 8-4, and to Grayhawk from Scottsdale, 10-2. On Sunday, Axis defeated Mt. Elbert 9-3.

Here’s the Mt. Elbert All-Star team roster that represented Colorado over the weekend after winning the Sub-Regional competition (more than 1,500 juniors competed in PGA Junior League in Colorado this year):

Team Captain: Rick Timm, PGA — Timm Golf Academy
Assistant Coach: Tim Porter
 
Traejan Andrews, 13 — Timm Golf Academy
Ty Andrews, 10 — Timm Golf Academy 
Kaden Devenport, 11 — Timm Golf Academy
Rachel Penzenstadler, 13 — Timm Golf Academy
Andy Schwartz, 12 — The Links Golf Course
Dylan Bundy, 12 — The Links Golf Course
Qwenton Caldwell, 13 — The Links Golf Course
Max Zadvorny, 12 — South Suburban Golf Course
Cade Rummell, 13 — Fossil Trace Golf Club
Ayzic Belanger, 13 — Family Sports Center Golf Course

The three other teams competing at Hyland Hills over the weekend each went 2-1 in round-robin action, but Axis finished with 22 points, edging Grayhawk (21.5) and Brookhaven (19.5).

Axis started with a 6.5-5.5 loss to Grayhawk, beat Brookhaven 7.5-4.5, then defeated Mt. Elbert 9-3.
 

It may be just a coincidence, but since the year Lexi Thompson was born — 1995 — the percentage of American junior golfers who are females has doubled.

Obviously, it’s not all due to Thompson — to say the least — but it’s not an overstatement to say that the young Lexi has more than done her part to grow the game, particularly among girls.

For the record, the growth statistic, according to the National Golf Foundation, is this: In 1995, 17 percent of all junior golfers in the U.S. were female. Now, that percentage is 32.7.

Thompson knows the figures, and they bring a smile to her face. On Saturday, the No. 2-ranked female golfer in the world conducted a First Tee kids exhibition — presented by CoBank — at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. Though the event, which drew more than 200 people, wasn’t limited to girls, they were the vast majority of attendees.

Thompson wants to help golf grow on all levels, and among both females and males, but the trend among girls in the last couple of decades is particularly gratifying for players such as her on the LPGA Tour.

“It’s amazing,” the 22-year-old said. “That’s what we want. We want to see little girls pick up a club early and get involved in the game because it is an amazing sport. You learn a lot about yourself. We want to grow the game, so it’s great to see.

“The thing I’ve noticed is the number of little girls wearing the program shirts or hats that are out following us. There’s so many little girls out following us and that’s what we want to see. We want to see smiles on their faces when we sign something for them or are giving them high-fives between holes. Knowing that they play the game as well, and we have an impact on that, it means the world to us.”

Thompson points to organizations such as The First Tee, PGA Junior League and LPGA*USGA Girls Golf as key reasons the percentage of girls among junior players has grown markedly in the last couple of decades. For her part, Thompson serves as an ambassador for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. The program features more than 400 sites around the world, reaching roughly 60,000 girls. Just in Colorado, 13 sites host LPGA*USGA Girls Golf programs. There are locations in Aspen, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Evergreen, Loveland and Pagosa Springs, besides seven in the Denver metro area. The CWGA coordinates and helps run the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf program based at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. For all the Colorado sites, CLICK HERE.

“Obviously I want to accomplish what I do on the golf course, but I want to give back to the game and grow it as well,” Thompson said. “Being part of that program is a huge honor. To get the girls involved in the game at a young age, and to see how excited they are to be involved with it, it means a lot to me to be part of it.

“I definitely embrace it. I notice the little girls that follow me the whole day (during rounds on the LPGA Tour), and I’ll sign and give them golf balls between holes and everything because it means a lot. They took time out of their lives to come out and watch me and support me. The least I can do is give them something signed. I really embrace it because I’m following my dreams and that’s what I want to show to them.”

And, perhaps more than most LPGA Tour players, Thompson can make a connection with girls. After all, at age 22, she’s not very far removed from being a girl herself. But she definitely took a more accelerated route to considerable success in the game than most.

Thompson qualified for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open as a 12-year-old. She won the U.S. Girls’ Junior as a 13-year-old. She turned pro at 15 and won an LPGA Tour event as a 16-year-old. Now, at the grand old age of 22, she owns eight LPGA Tour victories, including one major. Thompson has captured one title this year, with five runner-up finishes.

“My No. 1 goal is to be in the Hall of Fame,” she said. “Besides that, the people I look up to like Nancy Lopez and Juli Inkster, it’s not only because of what they’ve accomplished, but what they do for their fans, for their sponsors and how they’ve grown the game. People look up to them. That’s what I want to accomplish in life. I want people to look up to me and respect the game because they watch me play. I can accomplish all I want on the golf course, but if I give back to my fans and grow the game, that’s all I want.”

Thompson vividly remembers her first up-close interaction with LPGA Tour players, when she qualified for that first U.S. Women’s Open at age 12. And she keeps that in mind when she mixes with youngsters these days.

“At the Open I got to see Annika (Sorenstam) and Lorena (Ochoa) and Juli (Inkster); that was amazing on its own,” Thompson said. “I didn’t talk to them too much — I was a 12-year-old — but to see them on the range and the putting green, I was like, ‘I just watched you guys on TV last week or a few weeks ago.’ I looked up to them. That’s what drove me to be out there. I’m like, ‘I’m playing beside my role models.’ That’s what I want to be to the kids watching me.”

Indeed, whether she’s conversing with girls or boys, Thompson tries to provide a little inspiration to the impressionable kids.

“I always say to the little girls and boys to follow their dreams whether it’s in golf or anything they want to do in their lives — to go after what they want,” she said. “It takes a lot of hard work to achieve your goals in life, but don’t let anybody get in the way of that. Do something that you love; that’s the most important part.”

Although the LPGA doesn’t have a regular tour stop these days in Colorado, it was in this state where Thompson says she was the most nervous she’s ever been. That was at the 2013 Solheim Cup — the women’s version of the Ryder Cup — at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. Thompson was 18 at the time, and playing in the U.S. vs. Europe matches for the first time.

“I remember the first tee shot very vividly” with LPGA legend Lopez in the stands among those leading the fans in support of the U.S. team, Thompson said. “It’s pretty intense, a lot of adrenaline. It was the best feeling to hit that tee shot. Just to hear the USA chants … We didn’t play that well that week, but it was an incredible experience.

“That first tee shot there was the most nervous I’ve ever been. You’re playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team, you’re playing for your country, so there’s a lot more on the line. But I thrive on it. I love it.”

Next week in West Des Moines, Iowa, Thompson will participate in her third Solheim Cup. And if her excitment and that of the other competitors rubs off on girls — and boys and adults — perhaps golf will take another incremental step in the right direction.

Thompson’s exhibition was the second conducted by a big-time player this summer at Green Valley Ranch. David Duval did the honors in June — just as Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer and Paula Creamer did last year. And on Aug. 25, Mark O’Meara will be putting one on for The First Tee of Pikes Peak at a Colorado Springs site to be determined.
 

And in many ways the activities and initiatives that were directly the result of the “Century of Golf” exceeded expectations. The Century of Golf Gala and related activities raised roughly $400,000, according to CGA executive director Ed Mate — significantly more than originally envisioned. The proceeds from the Gala and related undertakings benefit the Colorado Golf Foundation and its mission of youth development through golf, including junior player development, caddie programs, community partnerships, and college scholarships.

Besides the Gala and other fundraising efforts, and an extensive look back on the last 100 years of Colorado golf, the Century of Golf included a rebranding for the CGA, and “positioning the Colorado Golf Foundation as a mechanism for collaboration to raise money for golf,” Mate said recently.

“We made the most of the centennial,” Mate noted. The Gala was “the biggest golf gathering of our time (with about 1,250 in attendance at The Broadmoor). We raised a ton of money. We launched an exciting relationship with the PGA. It’s a home run. I look back on this as a special year. It’ll be a tough act to follow.”

Indeed, the question now is, where to go from here? And what will the second century of the CGA — the the future of Colorado golf in general — look like?

Of course, it’s much easier to foresee the short term, but that may provide some hints about what’s to come decades from now.

“Going forward, there’s a lot of ways it will manifest itself,” Mate said when asked what he hopes will come out of the Century of Golf. “None is more important than our collaboration with the (Colorado) PGA on junior golf (READ MORE). That’s evidence of us working together. We’re walking the walk. By (joining forces) we can accomplish the greatest good in golf.” (Pictured at top are CGA president Phil Lane and CPGA president Leslie Core-Drevecky signing a memorandum of agreement in October.)

Indeed, many activities and initiatives revolving around the Century of Golf were collaborative efforts of the CGA, Colorado PGA, CWGA and the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association.

Looking ahead, another partner, the USGA, is examining its business model and how it works with state and regional golf associations like the CGA and CWGA, Mate said.

“It’s a great opportunity to create a stronger partnership with the USGA — one robust and with more meat on it,” said Mate, who recently joined the USGA Rules of Golf Committee. “I think our future over the next 100 years will look much different. We’ll have ways to reach more golfers — whether it be through technology, apps or other things to be determined. We’ll work very closely with the USGA and Colorado PGA to reach more golfers — including more casual and less serious golfers. And then there’s things like the World Handicap System (READ MORE). Some game-changing stuff is being worked on.”

And some of those things currently in the pipeline, or in their formative stages, could significantly blossom over the coming decades. That includes programs such as Colorado PGA Golf in Schools; the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, PGA Junior League, etc., etc.

“I foresee our role being more significant,” Mate said. “The CGA won’t exist unless the game of golf is healthy, and I think the game of golf will be. It’s a fundamentally great game. I think we’ll look back on this chapter, when we were so oversupplied with golf courses because of the real-estate bubble. We went through soul-searching, and I think we kind of were grasping at straws — with things like using a bigger hole, less holes … — but the game isn’t broken.

“If we’re smart — with things like Golf in Schools, Drive Chip & Putt and PGA Junior League — we’ll make sure the game is put in the hands of the next generation in a thoughtful way. Sanity has returned. We got back to the basics of blocking and tackling (in growing golf). The game will take care of the rest. I think we’ll see the game thriving.”