I’ve been fortunate enough to have covered golf in Colorado for 35 years, and you get to the point that not much that happens on the golf course surprises you a great deal. But what I saw earlier this month at the CGA Amateur was eye-opening, to the point that I recounted it several times — to CGA executive director Ed Mate, CGA co-president Joe McCleary and Pinehurst Country Club head golf professional Kevin Vena, among others.

Let me explain …

During my college years, I had the chance to caddie for Jack Nicklaus in an exhibition he played with Tom Watson and Dow Finsterwald on Aug. 24, 1981 at Pinehurst.

And on Aug. 4, I covered the third round of the 2018 CGA Amateur, played at the same course.

Everyone old enough knows that golf has changed an incredible amount in those 37 years — and that certainly includes someone like me who has covered a ton of tournaments over that time. But a comparison of what happened on those two days was a little jarring.

This centers around the16th hole at Pinehurst, a par-5 in which there’s a gradual hill that crests a little more than halfway between the back tee and the green. I still have a Pinehurst scorecard from 1981 — only because it was autographed by Nicklaus and Watson — and the 16th hole measured 553 yards from the back tees. For this month’s CGA Amateur, it was a 563-yard hole.

I remember — thanks in parts to reviewing columns I wrote not long after — how the hole played out for Nicklaus (pictured). Then a 41-year old, the Golden Bear was still among the longest hitters on the PGA Tour in the early 1980s, typically ranking in the top 25 in driving distance. On 16 at Pinehurst, he used his persimmon MacGregor Eye-O-Matic 945W driver and hit a good tee tee shot down the left side of the fairway, but still had more than 250 yards left to the flag. In fact, his ball didn’t make it to the top of the hill because he asked me where he should aim his second shot as the green wasn’t yet in view. I pointed out Loretto Heights College in the distance and he hit a perfect 250-yard 3-wood where directed.

“I hope you’re right,” he said as he handed the club back to me.

“I hope so too,” I replied.

Unfortunately, as we approached the green, it became apparent the ball ended up in a greenside bunker front right of the putting surface. But Nicklaus still got up and down for birdie.

That came to mind again this month when I was following the lead group in round 3 of the CGA Amateur. On the same 16th hole, playing from a tee 10 yards further back, Kyler Dunkle (left), who would go on to win the title the next day, ripped a drive that made Nicklaus’ 37 years earlier look laughably short.

Dunkle’s ball ended up on the left edge of the fairway — and even with the 150-yard marker. I went out to check a sprinkler head in the fairway, making sure it wasn’t really a 200-yard marker. But sure enough, his ball was right at 150 to the middle of the green.

It didn’t take much figuring to see that Dunkle had just hit his tee shot 413 yards — and without the ball landing on a cart path, a sprinkler head or anything of the sort. Just as notably, his ball had traveled roughly 115 yards further than Nicklaus’ had on the same hole in 1981. That’s 115 yards past arguably the greatest golfer of all time and one of the best drivers of the ball ever.

Now I realize that Dunkle’s ball no doubt had more roll than did Nicklaus’ because it was on a downslope. But I was in the landing area for Dunkle’s shot and the amount of roll wasn’t at all unusual.

Dunkle is certainly a long hitter by the standards of top Colorado players. He was leaving drives greenside or within 40 or 50 yards of the flag on plenty of par-4s at Pinehurst that week. But Coby Welch, who was paired with Dunkle that Saturday, wasn’t that far behind his fellow player that day on No. 16. As for Nicklaus, this was no mis-hit on his part. He’d smacked a drive almost 300 yards, which may be pedestrian by today’s PGA Tour standards, but was pretty darn good back then with persimmon-headed clubs, even with some altitude adjustment.

So what is there to draw from this non-planned comparison?

Well, after realizing that I wasn’t just seeing things … it’s a mixture of awe and concern. Awe because the evolution of equipment, the golf ball and to some extent better strength and conditioning regimens, has allowed a player to hit a 400-yard-plus drive that doesn’t involve any fluke-ishness or luck. And concern because it renders a lot of great golf courses near-obsolete for many elite/tour-level players, barring making fairways 15 yards wide, growing 6-inch-deep rough, making greens extra firm and having pin placements resemble those in miniature golf. And it’s even more of an issue at the altitude we are here in Colorado.

That certainly is no revelation. Observers have been debating the issue of “distance-creep” in golf for decades. And if I had a buck for every time I’ve heard Nicklaus say the golf ball has to be rolled back, I’d be one rich golf writer. But he’s right that that would be the most manageable solution to many classic and shorter courses becoming de-facto obsolete for PGA Tour-level players — and building ever-longer golf courses, with the increased maintenance and water they require. The problem regarding Nicklaus’ solution is, there’s plenty of pushback to rolling back the ball or to variable-distance balls — from ball manufacturers, many players with lucrative ball contracts and many others in the business.

While it’s an awesome sight to watch great golfers hit the ball jaw-dropping distances, at some point you have to wonder if the transformation in equipment and the ball renders it essentially a different game now for the world’s best than it was for comparable players decades ago. And equally as important, what does that progression bode for some great classic courses that once were a major challenge for the best golfers but are no longer — again, barring tricked-up setups?

For the record, in 1980 Dan Pohl led the PGA Tour in average driving distance at 274.3 yards. This year, Rory McIlroy leads at the way at 320.5 yards. If that trend continues, you’re talking a 400-yard average leading the PGA Tour by the year 2085 — if there’s still a PGA Tour then, that is.

Why does this matter to your average golf fan, particularly one in Colorado?

If you’re that golf fan, have you ever wondered why Colorado hosted six men’s major championships — meaning the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship because they’re the two held in the U.S. that change sites each year — in the 47 years from 1938 to 1985, but hasn’t held a single one in the 33 years since? (And you can tack on at least another seven years to that total as the next vacancy for a PGA Championship site is 2025 and for a U.S. Open site is 2028.)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to surmise that the main reason a U.S. Open or PGA hasn’t returned to Colorado is significant changes in the ball and equipment technology over the last several decades, and the exacerbated effect that brings at altitude. Things like going to solid-core golf balls and from small wood-headed drivers with steel shafts to large titanium ones with graphite shafts have affected golf everywhere, but even more so at a mile-high altitude, where the ball flies 10 or 15 percent further than at sea level. That means if the longest hitters on the PGA Tour catch one particularly solid these days in the Denver area, a 400-yard drive is not only very possible, but not that big of deal — which is how Dunkle treated his 16th-hole tee shot at the CGA Amateur.

If you don’t believe that speculation, McIlroy hit a 370-yard 3-wood at Cherry Hills the week of the 2014 BMW Championship — and he’s upped his average driving distance by 10 yards since then. He said at Cherry Hills that week that with his high ball flight, a typical shot was “going a good 15 percent further than it usually does (at sea level).” Based on his 320-yard norm this season on Tour, that means that an average drive for McIlRoy in the Denver metro area would currently travel about 368 yards. And, like every PGA Tour player, he can certainly take it up a gear or two.

Also at that BMW Championship, Bubba Watson hit the green on the 555-yard 17th hole with driver-9 iron.

With driving distance having increased since then, it wouldn’t be at all surprising for players like McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka or Watson to hit driver-wedge on a similar-length par-5 in Denver now. My guess is that the USGA and the PGA of America, who run the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, respectively, would prefer not to see two of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world come to that on anything approaching a regular basis.

Even back at the 1985 PGA Championship at Cherry Hills, some observers were aghast when several contestants were hitting driver-wedge at the 491-yard 18th hole. With what’s happened since then with distance increases, returning to Colorado for another U.S. Open or PGA Championship may simply be a bridge too far for the powers that be — particularly with plenty of sea-level alternatives.

If that’s the case, it’s a sad situation for a state with such a rich history of major golf championships.

But Dunkle, who has long called Parker and The Club at Pradera home, certainly went out on a high note.

In the same week the family home was sold, the 21-year-old claimed the CGA Amateur title on Sunday at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver. And within the last five weeks, despite battling back problems, he’s also qualified in Fort Collins for the U.S. Amateur and finished ninth and earned low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open in Denver.

That’s what you call a run of good play.

“This feels great,” Dunkle said of winning the CGA Amateur. “It means a lot. It’s one of the bigger tournaments in Colorado that I had yet to make a run in. It’s fun. To have my name on the trophy with a lot of other really good players (including Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman and Wyndham Clark), that will be a cool thing.

“Growing up in Colorado, this is the tournament that a lot of people want to win. This is where all the best players in the state play. So this definitely ranks up there near the top (of my golf accomplishments). I got to play with a bunch of really good players this week and it was really fun.”

Dunkle, who will soon be going into his final year on the University of Utah golf team, played nearly mistake-free golf on Sunday at the CGA Amateur, making just one bogey in shooting a 3-under-par 67. His 14-under 266 total for the week was good for a two-stroke victory.

“Really there wasn’t anything special about the (final) round,” Dunkle said. “It was just kind of keep plugging along and a couple of putts fell here and there. I wasn’t trying to force anything. I just stuck to my game plan. My dad(/caddie) and I talked about it every tee shot and hit driver as much as we could. We just went and found it and hit it from there.

“I had the same strategy the whole week. I was hitting driver as much as I could, trying to get as close to the green as I could (on par-4s and 5s). The thing that feels best (in my game) right now is my driver. The driver has always been a weapon because I hit the ball pretty far. Lately, I’ve been hitting it pretty straight and haven’t been getting into too much trouble. On a course like this that helped a lot because I was able to get pretty close to a lot of greens.”

It’s the third CGA championship for Dunkle, who has also won a CGA Western Chapter title and a CGA Parent/Child with dad Jason, who caddied for Kyler all this week at Pinehurst. Dunkle was also the CGA’s Les Fowler Player of the Year in 2016. (Kyler is pictured at top, and with Jason while walking off the 18th green on Sunday.)

University of Northern Colorado golfer Coby Welch, from The Links Golf Course, led by two after three rounds, and pulled even on Sunday with Dunkle with a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 15, where he very nearly holed out his approach shot.

But the par-5 16th proved pivotal. Welch’s tee shot ended up just in the right fairway bunker, but he had to stand outside of the sand, making for a somewhat-awkward approach from about 210 yards. He pulled the shot left of the green, then left his pitch short of the putting surface. His subsequent chip ran 15 feet by the hole, and when he missed that putt, he carded a bogey.

The long-hitting Dunkle, meanwhile, hit his second shot on the green, 40 feet past the flag, and two putted for birdie, accounting for a two-shot swing.

“I just got a little unlucky break (on 16),” said Welch (left). “The ball was 6 inches in the bunker right in front of the lip. I hit a decent shot out of there, then I got around the green and my short game got to me again. That’s been the case lately.

“I knew I could get that up and down (for birdie on 16). I’ve gotten (shots like that) up and down a thousand times. I didn’t have a great lie, but I hit two really bad chips. This tournament, I scored well, but my short game wasn’t very good.”

On 17, Dunkle’s tee shot finished well left of the green on the par-3, but he nestled his pitch down a slope to within two feet for par. He called that “one of the bigger moments for me.” And he made a routine par on 18 for the victory.

Welch, a former CGA Boys Junior Player of the Year, had made just one bogey combined on Friday and Saturday. But he had four on Sunday to go with three birdies, one of which was an improbable, big-breaking 60-footer on No. 10. He ended up shooting a 1-over-par 71 and finishing runner-up at 268.

“I didn’t play well. I didn’t clutch up when I needed to,” said Welch, who like Dunkle will play in the U.S. Amateur this month. “It’s unfortunate, but I just didn’t have my best today. I felt fine. To be honest I wasn’t even nervous. But I didn’t perform.

“You always want to finish first, but I’m glad Kyler won. He’s a good kid. If it wasn’t me, I’m glad it was him.”

Griffin Barela (left) of Bear Creek Golf Club made a run to get in contention, one stroke out of the lead with three holes left. But the University of Wisconsin golfer bogeyed the last three to shoot 69 and share third place at 271.

“Going into the day my goal was to try to get to 14 (under) to try to have a chance,” said Barela, who won a college tournament in April and finished 15th last Sunday at the CoBank Colorado Open. “I knew I was one back (after 15). Obviously I didn’t want to finish that way, but I’m happy with how I played this week. I wanted to give myself a chance to win, and I did that. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but it happens.”

At that 271 figure with Barela were Tyler Zhang of Lone Tree Golf Club (bogey-free final-round 66) and former Colorado State University golfer Dominic Kieffer (67 despite bogeying the last two).

Former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte of Littleton, competing in his final amateur event, encountered considerable tree trouble on Sunday, leading to a triple bogey and two doubles in his final 10 holes. Despite five birdies, he shot 74 and shared sixth place at 273 with Michael Tait of Raccoon Creek Golf Course (final-round 70).

Sunday’s win adds to Dunkle’s list of notable victories in Colorado, which also includes earning the title at the 2017 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational college tournament and the 2012 5A state high school meet. Dunkle started his college career at CSU before transferring to Utah.
He’ll live in Salt Lake City for the time being, but plans to continue to play tournaments in Colorado in the future, ideally if plans pan out to turn pro late next spring.

But for now, he’s concentrating on making a run at the U.S. Am, which begins on Aug. 13. And why not, considering the way he’s been performing on the golf course lately?

“I’m definitely in a groove. I’ve been playing really good since the beginning of June,” Dunkle said.
For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

Coby Welch came ever so close to winning the Colorado Junior Amateur several years ago, but couldn’t quite close the deal.

The 20-year-old from Highlands Ranch (left) hopes to get over the hump in the CGA Amateur, the open-age version of the same tournament.

Meanwhile, former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte will attempt to go out on a high note in his amateur finale by winning the CGA Amateur for the second time.

And 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle will try to make his outstanding summer of golf that much better by capturing the CGA Am title.

Those are the main three players in the spotlight after Saturday’s third round at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver, though given the number of rounds of 65 or lower this week, there are others potentially within reach going into Sunday’s final 18.

Welch, the 2015 CGA Boys Junior Player of the Year from The Links Golf Course, grabbed the lead at Pinehurst on Saturday with his second straight round of 5-under-par 65, which leaves him at 13-under 197 overall.

“I’m just going to tee it up (Sunday) and play it like every other round I have,” said the University of Northern Colorado golfer. “We’ll see what happens at the end. If I play well, hopefully I’ll win. But it is golf.

“It would be very cool to be able to win this. I was close many times in the Junior Stroke and never capped it off. That would be cool to be able to do it now.”

Korte (left), who won this event in 2015 and the CGA Match Play in 2017, trails by two after a round of 68. He shot a 4-under 31 on the front nine, but went 2 over on the back despite making a 12-foot par save after being in the trees on No. 18 Saturday.

“I started out really hot and the game felt awesome,” the 21-year-old said. “The swing got a little loose on the back nine. I got out of trouble really well from behind some trees here and there, like 18 after punching out. But it was a pretty disappointing back nine. It was a grind for sure. The front nine felt super easy. Hopefully I’ll get more of that tomorrow.”

Also at 199 was 36-hole leader Dunkle, from The Club at Pradera, who three-putted twice in the final six holes to shoot 70. The University of Utah golfer went eagle-birdie-bogey on his final three holes. His 12-foot eagle on 16 came after a drive of more than 410 yards.

“I feel horrible,” said Dunkle, who made 19 birdies the first two days combined but just three on Saturday to go with the eagle. “I missed a lot of shots in really bad places. Out here, especially with some pins they had today, you had to be on the correct side the green if you weren’t going to be close. I put myself in some really tight spots and had hard chances at up and down, and my short game wasn’t where I wanted it to be.”

Both Dunkle (left) and Welch have qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, while Dunkle was low-amateur at the CoBank Colorado Open last weekend. Korte, meanwhile, will be turning pro before the Web.com Tour Q-school starts late this month.

In other words it should make for an interesting final day at Pinehurst.

Korte is trying to become the first repeat winner of the CGA Amateur since Kane Webber (2002 and ’03).

“This is my final amateur event. I’m turning pro at the end of the month for Web.com Q-school,” Korte said. “It would be amazing to go out with a bang like that.”

To this point, only three players in the field have shot in the 60s every round this week — Korte (65-66-68), former Colorado State University golfer Dominic Kieffer (67-69-68) and Welch (67-65-65).

“I hit it really well today,” said Welch, whose only bogey in the last two rounds combined was due to a three-putt from 15 feet off the fringe on No. 12 Saturday. “I scored well. I didn’t really feel like I putted great. But I scored very well for the way I putted today. I hit the ball very well, so it kind of help even it out.”

Two other players maintained some hope at the title with 6-under-par 64s at Pinehurst on Saturday. Griffin Barela (left) of Bear Creek Golf Club stands at 202, while Michael Tait of Raccoon Creek Golf Course went bogey-free and checked in at 203.

So what should we expect from Sunday’s final round?

“This course can yield a lot of really low scores,” Dunkle said. “If the three of us (in the final group — Welch, Korte and Dunkle) don’t play the way we want to and someone else throws up a number … You can be within seven shots here and have a chance. I think it’s really anyone’s game. But it will be nice to play with the same guys I did today and knowing that we’re all close. I think it’s going to be really fun, really back and forth because all three of us have been playing pretty good this week. There’s lots of birdies being made.”

Added Korte: “Coby and Kyler are great players. Kyler bombs it and he hit it next to the greens on a lot of these par-4s and reaches all the par-5s, so he’s going to make a lot of birdies regardless. And Coby is a great player, so I’ve just got to go out not make mistakes and make a few putts and I think I’ll do just fine.” 

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

The 2016 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year made nine birdies on Friday at the CGA Amateur, giving him a remarkable 19 for two rounds at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver. To put that into perspective, the next-highest total to this point is a dozen.

And 3s are clearly wild for the University of Utah golfer, who has carded 20 of them in 36 holes.

Most importantly, Dunkle’s 6-under-par 64 on Friday gave the 21-year-old a two-stroke lead at the midway point of the CGA Amateur, one of the oldest and most prestigious golf championships in Colorado.

Dunkle, who finished ninth and claimed low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open on Sunday, sits at 11-under-par 129. On Friday, the 2018 U.S. Amateur qualifier had a bogey and a double bogey in addition to his nine birdies.

Chris Korte of Littleton, winner of the 2015 CGA Amateur and the 2017 CGA Match Play, backed up his first-round 65 with a 66 on Friday and trails Dunkle by two. The former University of Denver golfer, who placed 22th against a formidable field last week at the Pacific Coast Amateur in San Francisco, carded an eagle, three birdies and one bogey on Friday. That one bogey — which came on No. 7 Friday — is Korte’s only one in 36 holes.

University of Northern Colorado golfer Coby Welch, from The Links Golf Course, stands at 132. Welch, who like Dunkle has qualified for the U.S. Amateur, fired a bogey-free 65 on Friday that included five birdies.

Tyler Zhang of Lone Tree Golf Club is in fourth place at 135 after a 67. Sharing fifth at 136 are first-round leader and 2016 champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club (73 Friday) and Dominic Kieffer of Collindale Golf Course (69).

The field was cut from 84 to the low 40 players and ties after Friday’s second round, with the 42 players at 148 or better advancing to the weekend.

The 72-hole championship will continue through Sunday.

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.

For Saturday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

And guess who’s atop the leaderboard after Thursday’s opening round?

Colin Prater (left) of The Broadmoor Golf Club, winner of the Amateur two years ago, leads the way at 7-under-par 63 despite a bogey on the 18th hole. That’s the new tournament course record at the club, according to Pinehurst head professional Kevin Vena. And 2015 champion Chris Korte of Littleton shares second place at 65 with Kyler Dunkle of The Club at Pradera.

Prater, who finished 12th in the NCAA Division II Championships in May in his final college event at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, eagled the par-5 16th and added seven birdies and two bogeys for his 63.

Korte, the former University of Denver golfer who’s won the 2017 CGA Match Play in addition to the 2015 CGA Amateur, went bogey-free in his round of 65, making five birdies. Korte is coming off a 22nd-place finish competing against a very strong field at the Pacific Coast Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Dunkle, meanwhile, followed up his low-amateur showing at the CoBank Colorado Open on Sunday with an up-and-down round that included 10 birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. The University of Utah golfer and 2016 CGA Player of the Year, who will play in the U.S. Amateur this month, had 11 3s on his card en route to 65.

Four players share fourth place at 67 after round 1 — University of Northern Colorado teammates Sam Marley of South Suburban Golf Course and Coby Welch of The Links Golf Course, plus Griffin Barela of Bear Creek Golf Club and Dominic Kieffer of Collindale Golf Course.

Welch, who has qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur, made eagle on the 370-yard par-4 first hole on Thursday.

In all, 14 players broke par in round 1, including 2018 CGA Match Play champion AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club, who posted a 69.

The field will be cut from 84 to the low 40 players and ties after Friday’s second round. The 72-hole championship will continue through Sunday.

For scores from the CGA Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

— There’s Kyler Dunkle of The Club at Pradera, the 2016 CGA Player of the Year who finished ninth overall and was low-amateur in last week’s CoBank Colorado Open. The University of Utah golfer has also qualified for this month’s U.S. Amateur.

— There’s Colorado State University golfer AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club, who won the 2018 CGA Match Play, has qualified for the U.S. Amateur and finished 19th in the Colorado Open. Ott is ranked No. 156 among the world’s amateur golfers.

— There’s former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte of Littleton, who’s won both the CGA Match Play (2017) and the CGA Amateur (2015) and just finished 22nd against a packed field at the Pacific Coast Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

And those are just a few of the most notable players scheduled to compete at Pinehurst. Eighty-four golfers will be in the field, which will be cut to the low 40 and ties after two rounds. A champion will be decided on Sunday at Pinehurst, which has most recently hosted the CGA Amateur in 2013 and 2008.

Also set to compete at Pinehurst are U.S. Amateur qualifier Coby Welch, a University of Northern Colorado golfer; Pac-12 Conference runner-up and CGA Western Chapter champion Ross Macdonald, a University of Colorado golfer; 2016 CGA Amateur winner Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club; Griffin Barela of Bear Creek Golf Club, a University of Wisconsin golfer who placed 15th in the Colorado Open; University of Mississippi golfer Josh Seiple from Castle Pines Golf Club; Jon Lindstrom of Lakewood Country Club and Chris Thayer of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, winner of five CGA Mid-Amateurs between them; and 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course.

For Thursday’s pairings at Pinehurst, CLICK HERE.

Repeat and three-peat.

That was the story of the day for the winners of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 10 & under Junior Series Championship at the Pfluger Course at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver.

Andre Dumonteil of Centennial handled the repeat part on Wednesday, winning the 10 & under boys title for the second straight year, this time with a career-best round of 7-under-par 67. And, at age 9, Dumonteil could have a shot at three straight championships in this age division.

But 10-year-old Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch managed that feat this year with her third girls title in a row. After firing an even-par 74 on Wednesday, she’s the first to accomplish that at the 10 & under level and just the second regardless of age/gender division as Somin Lee of Aurora won three straight 14-18 Junior Series Championships on the girls side from 2008-10.

The only others to have won three Junior Series Championships — in their case not consecutively — are Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster and Coby Welch of Highlands Ranch.

“To me, it means a lot — a lot, a lot — because what I want to be when I grow up is a golf pro, so this really matters,” said Wilson (left), winner of nine JGAC events in 2017.

As for Dumonteil, he becomes just the second two-time winner in the boys 10 & under Junior Series Championship, joining Brayden Bozak (2012 and ’13).

“This year I was really proud of myself because last year I didn’t do very good but I still won,” said Dumonteil, who likewise notched his ninth win of the season in JGAC tournaments. “This year I actually played my butt off and I won, so I’m happy about that.”

Indeed, the 7-under-par total for the round that Dumonteil (below) shot was two better than his previous personal best. On Wednesday, he made an eagle on No. 15 — missing a double eagle by an inch after hitting a hybrid from 132 yards — to go with seven birdies and two bogeys. He’s won this tournament each of the two years he’s competed in it.

“It feels really good” to post his best round relative to par, he said. “I shot shot 5 under two weeks ago and eagled in the playoff so it gave me a little confidence that I could do it.

“I’m happy I shot 7 under and I’m proud of myself that I shot that with two bogeys.”

Tyler Long of Evergreen carded a 73 to finish runner-up, six strokes behind Dumonteil. Ty Andrews of Windsor checked in at 74 for third place.

In the girls tournament, Wilson prevailed by nine strokes after a four-birdie, four-bogey day. She matched her career best with the even-par round. On No. 9, she rolled in a 25-foot birdie, then backed it up with another bird on No. 10.

“Winning this three years in a row” is the thing I’m most proud of in golf, she said, “considering (the streak started) when I was 8. That’s the thing that sticks out the most.

“This year, I put in the time to make sure I had everything down.”

The Junior Series Championships for 11-13 year olds was held earlier this week, with Gage Messingham of Arvada and Sofia Choi of Littleton earning the titles. The 14-18 tournament will be conducted Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 12-13) at Pelican Lakes in Windsor.

JGAC 10 & Under Junior Series Championship
At Par-74 Pinehurst CC Pfluger Course in Denver
BOYS
1. Andre Dumonteil, Centennial, CO 35-32–67 -7  
 2 Tyler Long, Evergreen, CO 36-37–73 -1  
 3 Ty Andrews, Windsor, CO 36-38–74 E   
 4 Kaden Devenport, Windsor, CO 34-41–75 +1  
 5 Landon Houska, Fort Collins 40-36–76 +2  
 T6 Charlie Doyle, Colorado Springs, CO 38-40–78 +4  
 T6 Charles Budacz-Kauflin, Niwot, CO 40-38–78 +4  
 T6 Frank Lockwood, Meridian, CO 41-37–78 +4  
 T9 Campbell McFadden, Denver, CO 41-39–80 +6  
 T9 Jake Dost, Parker, CO 42-38–80 +6  
 11 Brayden Destefano, Colorado Springs, CO 46-38–84 +10 
 T12 Ashton Edwards, Boulder, CO 41-44–85 +11 
 T12 Christopher ODonnell, Centennial, CO 42-43–85 +11 
 14 Donovan O’Brien, Erie, CO 46-40–86 +12 
 15 Alex Doyle, Colorado Springs, CO 47-44–91 +17 
 16 James Flaxbeard, Greenwood Village, CO 45-47–92 +18 
 17 Napat Tubtim, Denver, CO 45-49–94 +20 
 18 Booth Hayes, Frederick, CO 52-50–102 +28
 19 Marcel “MT” Barnhill, Pueblo, CO 57-57–114 +40
 
GIRLS 
1 Ashleigh Wilson, Highlands Ranch, CO 38-36–74 E   
 2 Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood, CO 44-39–83 +9  
 3 Livia Pett, Denver, CO 44-43–87 +13 
 4 Alena Kasanicky, Longmont, CO 43-50–93 +19 
 5 Addison Hines, Arvada CO 44-51–95 +21 
 T6 Kady Ulrich, Fruita, CO 50-50–100 +26
 T6 Maddie Makino, Parker, CO 50-50–100 +26
 8 Zoey Gomez, Westmister, CO 53-51–104 +30
 9 Taylor Wilsonm Highlands Ranch, CO 52-54–106 +32
 10 Jessy Merrell, Vernal, UT 58-51–109 +35
 

Family matters and work have kept her from trying to qualify again after making match play in the 2004 championship in Knoxville, Tenn. She’s even signed up for qualifying in recent years, but something has always forced her to withdraw.

But on Thursday, she did return to qualifying — and she showed little rust. The former University of Oregon golfer earned medalist honors in the qualifier at Pinehurst Country Club, shooting a 4-over-par 76.

“I haven’t played in a lot of competitive qualifying rounds for a while so I was a little bit nervous,” Roh said. “So I was happy with how I ended up finishing. I thought I played well.”

Roh, a former professional who won one mini-tour event before regaining her amateur status in 2003, led a group of several Coloradans in qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur on Thursday. In all, six players secured spots in the national championship, which will be contested Sept. 10-15 at The Kahkwa Club in Erie, Pa.

Roh set the pace with a two-birdie, six-bogey performance at Pinehurst. Joining her in advancing to nationals were Tiffany Maurycy of Denver (77), Jennifer Delgadillo of El Paso, Texas (80), Meghan Christensen of Houston and Vail (80), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore of Centennial (81) and Kareen Markle of Meridian, Idaho (81). (Pictured are, from left, Christensen, Roh, Maurycy and Delgadillo. Not pictured are Moore and Markle.)

It’s the 16th time Moore has qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am.

Moore and Markle prevailed in a playoff with Jamie Zook of Colorado Springs to land the final two national berths. Markle has likewise qualified for multiple U.S. Women’s Mid-Ams in recent years.

For Roh — a Coloradan since 2001 — it will be her third USGA championship. She previously competed in a U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2004 U.S. Women’s Mid-Am. In that national Mid-Am, Roh earned the seventh seed with a strong performance in stroke play, but then promptly lost in the first round of match play, 3 and 1, to 58th-seeded Mina Hardin, who six years later would win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

“I had really good qualifying rounds and then just played terrible in my first match (in 2004),” said Roh, a 42-year-old who plays out of Lakewood Country Club. “I definitely want to make it to match play again and hopefully not lose my first match.

“I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a great representation from Colorado.”

The Women’s Mid-Am is limited to players 25 and older.

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Qualifying
At Par-72 Pinehurst CC in Denver
ADVANCED TO U.S. WOMEN’S MID-AM
Susie Roh, Denver, Colo. 38-38–76
Tiffany Maurycy, Denver, Colo. 37-40–77
Jennifer Delgadillo, El Paso, Texas 42-38–80
Meghan Christensen, Houston, Texas 40-40–80
Janet Moore, Centennial, Colo. 41-40–81
Kareen Markle, Meridian, Idaho 41-40–81
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Jamie Zook, Colorado Springs, Colo. 41-40–81
Molly Dorans, Firestone, Colo. 41-41–82
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Sandra Young, Monument, Colo. 41-41–82
Giuliana Colavito, Italy 41-42–83
Sue O’Connor, Scottsdale, Ariz. 41-42–83
Christie Austin, Denver, Colo. 42-41–83
Amy Hodgkinson, Longmont, Colo. 42-42–84
Tanya Krempel, Breckenridge, Colo. 48-37–85
Joanna Ringsby, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 42-43–85
Monica Meihack, Sandia Park, N.M. 42-46–88
Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs, Colo. 43-48–91

In one of the better chances players have of qualifying for a USGA championship, 18 competitors will vie for six spots into the national Women’s Mid-Am, which this year will be contested Sept. 10-15 at The Kahkwa Club in Erie, Pa.

Moore made it to the round of 64 in match play at last year’s national championship.

Among those also in this year’s qualifying field will be fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin, who qualified for the Women’s Mid-Am most recently in 2014, and another multiple-time qualifier, Kareen Markle.

The Women’s Mid-Am is limited to players 25 and older.

For Thursday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.

She’s won the last two 4A state high school tournaments by 14 and 10 shots, the 2014 CWGA Junior Stroke Play by nine, the 2014 CJGA Tournament of Champions by 12, the 2014 CJGA Junior Series Championship by eight and low-amateur honors in last year’s HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open by 12.

But all those pale in comparison to what the 18-year-old Westminster resident did this week in the 68th CWGA Stroke Play Championship at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver. Though she missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have given her a 199 total for three days, her 16-under-par 200 was still good for a remarkable 21-shot victory. (Jennifer is pictured above with her dad/caddie, Mike Kupcho.)

“That’s outstanding,” said Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, a five-time winner of the CWGA Stroke Play who placed 12th on Thursday. “Jennifer is a great player. They definitely set the course up so you could score if you’re hitting the ball well and you putt well. But that’s still outstanding. She played really well. She’s an impressive player.”

Kupcho fired a 5-under-par 67 in Thursday’s final round. And with a 68 and a bogey-free 65 on the previous days, every other competitor was playing for second.

Though CWGA Stroke Play scoring records aren’t complete, Kupcho’s 21-shot victory is certainly one of the largest margins in the history of the event — if not the largest. Double digits certainly has been done before, and there are recollections of spreads of almost 20 strokes in this event, but this week marked a step beyond even that.

On Thursday, 2015 CWGA Junior Stroke Play champion Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch finished in second place at 221 after closing with a 78. Former 5A state high school champion Mackenzie Cohen of Inverness Golf Club placed third at 222 after a 74 on Thursday.

“I lost by a big margin, but that’s OK because Jennifer Kupcho, she’s a phenomenal athlete and a great person in general,” said Weinstein, who just broke Kupcho’s record for best girls 15-17 finish by a Coloradan in the Junior World Championships by placing 15th. “So to lose to her shooting under par every day, that’s amazing. I’d rather have her play her best and lose to that instead of having her play bad and lose to that.”

The victory gives Kupcho, who will begin her college career at Wake Forest this fall, a career sweep of the CWGA’s two top individual championships. She won the CWGA Match Play last year en route to CWGA Player of the Year honors.

“It’s real exciting to be playing as well as I am,” said Kupcho, who just last week qualified for her second U.S. Women’s Amateur. “To (win both the Match Play and Stroke Play) by 18 is pretty exciting. To just be one of the best players in Colorado is cool.”

And, of course, Jennifer isn’t the only Kupcho who has won recent state amateur championships in Colorado. Her older brother, Steven. claimed the CGA Stroke Play title in 2012. And they’ve also won their respective state Junior Stroke Plays and been low amateur in the HealthOne Colorado Open and Colorado Women’s Open.

“As a brother and sister we’ve won the juniors and men’s and women’s,” she said. “That’s pretty exciting to be the brother and sister that has done that.”

Steven Kupcho has posted a three-round total of 199 in a tournament before, and that was another feat Jennifer was attempting to match on Thursday. And though she shot her best score ever on Wednesday — the 65, one of the lowest rounds ever posted by a woman at Pinehurst — and made only two bogeys all week, she fell a stroke short in what likely will be her last tournament in Colorado this year.

“My brother’s lowest is 199 over three days, so I was just trying to get to 199,” she said. “My goal was to shoot 66 (Thursday) so I could get that and be able to say ‘I’ve been there, I did that.'”

Kupcho recently put a new set of irons in play, and they paid big dividends as she finished with an eagle and 16 birdies in 54 holes.

“I was just hitting the ball really well,” she said. “I had a lot of tap-in to 3-foot birdie putts throughout the whole tournament, so that was exciting. I’d hit the shot and be like, ‘Oh that was really good.’ That was cool.”

To put Kupcho’s performance into some perspective, the next-lowest three-round scoring total by a CWGA Stroke Play champion in the past seven years is 210. And the average winning score during that period is 218.

Meanwhile, though the gap with Kupcho was huge, Weinstein (left) has likewise put together an outstanding summer. A victory in the CWGA Junior Stroke Play, placing 15th in the Junior Worlds and runner-up in the CWGA Stroke Play isn’t half bad.

“Coming in second in the women’s Stroke Play is really nice because I won the Junior Stroke Play,” said the 17-year-old senior-to-be at Regis Jesuit High School. “People are going to be like, ‘Hey, she might be good.’ I wanted to prove it’s not just the junior tournaments that I can actually play well in. And second place, I’m absolutely fantastic with that.”

CWGA Stroke Play Championship
At Par-72 Pinehurst CC in Denver

Championship Flight 

Jennifer Kupcho, CommonGround WGC 68-65-67–200

Mary Weinstein, CWGA Junior Club 69-74-78–221

Mackenzie L Cohen, Inverness Lga 71-77-74–222

Delaney Elliott, CommonGround WGA 74-72-77–223

Adara Pauluhn, Indian Peaks WGA 73-80-73–226

Sara Swaney, Perry Park CC Wga 78-72-76–226

Taylor Dorans, Eagle Trace Lga 77-71-78–226

Samantha Barker, Perry Park CC Wga 74-73-79–226

Sarah Hankins, Thorncreek Wga 76-75-76–227

Mikayla Tatman, Twin Peaks Lga 76-75-76–227

Kathleen Kershisnik, Columbine CC Lga 78-75-75–228

Janet Moore, Cherry Hills CC Wga 76-75-77–228

Jaylee Tait, Raccoon Creek WGA 77-76-76–229

Kate Granahan, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 76-75-79–230

Megan McCambridge, Boulder CC Wga 78-77-83–238

First Flight 

Kelsey Petersen, Mariana Butte Wga 81-78-74–233

Alleman Zech, Indian Wells Golf Resort 79-82-78–239

Jordan Sunset, Boulder CC Wga 79-81-80–240

Klara Felicita Castillo, Kennedy Lga 81-78-81–240

Madison McCambridge, Boulder CC Wga 78-83-81–242

Sofia Vigil, Park Hill Golf Club 82-79-82–243

Emily Woodard, Cheyenne CC 79-82-82–243

Delaney Benson, CommonGround WGA 78-82-84–244

Jacquelin Biggs, South Suburban Family Sports 81-83-83–247

Danielle Price, Heritage at Westmoor Wga 84-86-80–250

Allie Johnston, Red Hawk Ridge Wga 80-80-WD–WD

Second Flight 

Holly Schaefer, Columbine CC Lga 74-75-78–227

Joanna Ringsby, Denver CC Lga 77-75-80–232

Kathy Malpass, Hiwan Wga 80-74-81–235

Jill Gaschler, Willis Case Wga 76-75-84–235

Jenni Chun, Lone Tree Lga 78-83-76–237

Hannah More, Pinehurst CC WGA 83-76-79–238

Courtney Ewing, CWGA Junior Club 83-81-77–241

Nina Dulacki, Broken Tee Wgl 80-82-79–241

Ashlyn Kirschner, West Woods Wgc 88-74-79–241

Meghan Christensen, Cordillera WGA 87-76-79–242

Dr. Andrea Grilli, The Club at Rolling Hills Wga 87-83-82–252

Third Flight 

Megan Vernon, Applewood Wga 78-82-77–237

Carly Gallant, Boulder CC Wga 88-78-85–251

Susan Schell, Arrowhead Wga 80-85-86–251

Katty Rothberg, Cherry Creek CC Wga 84-82-91–257

Kelli Poppenhagen, Meadow Hills Wga 90-80-88–258

Emma Mellman, Cherry Creek CC Wga 83-88-88–259

Sheila Schroeder, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 86-87-87–260

Jennifer Hocking, Cherokee Ridge Lga 87-86-89–262

Patty Smogor, Saddle Rock Wga 85-93-87–265

Kathleen Johnson, Ranch CC Lga 87-97-92–276

Mary Doyen, Foothills Wga 78-DQ

Fourth Flight 

Mariko Coplin, Fox Hollow Lgc 87-84-86–257

Marie Schriefer, South Suburban Wga 87-88-86–261

Cindy Speer, Raccoon Creek Wga 89-86-89–264

Kimalee Hull, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 90-85-89–264

Jenny Tempas, Columbine CC Lga 85-91-90–266

Janine Lowe, South Suburban Wga 93-89-85–267

Maggie Brindley, Pinehurst CC Wga 82-95-90–267

Kay Geitner, South Suburban Wga 90-87-91–268

Alison O’Connor, Collindale Wga 87-93-88–268

Diane Duschatko, South Suburban Wga 90-92-90–272

Andrea Berry, Indian Peaks Wga 93-91-91–275

Vicki Porter, Foothills Wga 91-87-97–275

Pat O’Connor, Collindale Wga 92-92-92–276

Claudia Gallegos, South Suburban Wga 89-93-95–277

Juliet Miner, Bear Dance Wga 92-93-93–278

Andrea Dikeou, Castle Pines Wga 91-95-97–283

Fifth Flight 

Holly Schuetz, Meadow Hills Wga 93-92-90–275

Debbie Childs, South Suburban Wga 92-94-90–276

Jennie Jones, South Suburban Wga 94-95-88–277

Linda Powell, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 98-91-90–279

Lyndon Lieb, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 90-94-96–280

Linda Loveland, Broken Tee Englewood Wga 96-91-95–282

Becky Finger, Riverdale Wga 89-97-96–282

Karen Baron, Inverness Hotel & GC 99-93-96–288

Donna Edelen, Riverdale Wga 98-105-89–292

Karen Lesko, Executive Women’s Ga-Denver 94-104-98–296

Kris Woodruff, Sonnenalp Wga 109-96-97–302

Kathy Mansueto, Broken Tee Wgl 100-101-101–302

Pat Jackson, Links Lga 99-103-101–303

Susie Goldberg, Overland Park Wgc 104-104-97–305

Cindy Ortega, Foothills Wga 113-102-100–315