It was a big day for Charlotte Hillary of Englewood.

It was a big week for Jackson Klutznick of Denver.

And it was a big year for Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins and Lauren Lehigh of Loveland.

On a day the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado wrapped up its fourth and final major of the season and celebrated the year with an awards banquet, the four aforementioned Coloradans were among the biggest winners.

In a sweep for golfers from Kent Denver School, Hillary and Klutznick (left) earned the girls and boys titles, respectively, at the JGAC Tour Championship that concluded on Sunday at Denver Country Club.

And Stewart and Lehigh landed the boys and girls JGAC Player of the Year awards for 2018, respectively.

For the Tour Championship winners, both accomplished something very notable on Sunday. Hillary won the event for the second time in the three years it’s been played, and that’s despite not being in the field in 2017. And Klutznick claimed a big title for the second time in a week as he captured the 3A boys state high school individual championship on Tuesday at Boulder Country Club. In addition, Sunday’s victory came at Klutznick’s home course, Denver Country Club.

And the fact that both Hillary and Klutznick attend Kent Denver — Klutznick is a senior and Hillary a junior — made the accompishments ever more satisfying.

“It’s just incredible,” Klutznick said. “I feel like the coaches and the staff at Kent bring out the best in all of us. I don’t think we could do it without them. My coach at Kent (Bob Austin) came out today to support me. You don’t get that at a lot of these places.”

Hillary, who earlier this year made the match play round of 32 at the California Women’s Amateur Championship, rallied from a three-stroke deficit going into Sunday to overtake first-round leader Caroline Jordaan of Lakewood. The 16-year-old Hillary shot an even-par 71 in round 2 to check in with a winning total of 3-over 145. 

So even though the JGAC Tour Championship has been played only three times — and that she missed a year — Hillary is a two-time champion.

“It’s going to be fun to have my name on (the trophy) twice,” the 16-year-old said. “Normally when I play in Colorado it makes me more nervous than when I’m out of state for some reason. So this gives me a lot of confidence to play and win here finally. It’s been a while. It really means a lot in that sense. And even though it was chilly, I had a great time.”

Hillary (left) made three birdies on a cold Sunday, with two of them on the back nine coming from a mere 18 inches from the cup. She had gotten a new putter about a week ago, but it didn’t cooperate during Saturday’s round of 74, so she went back to her old one for Sunday.

“It wasn’t great but it was a lot better,” Hillary said of her putting. “I’m glad I went back.”

Jordaan, who plans to play her college golf at the University of Denver, finished second at 147. After going 5 over par in her first eight holes on Sunday, she parred her final 10 holes of the tournament to post a final-round 76. It was Jordaan’s second runner-up finish in a JGAC major this year.

Sofia Choi of Littleton took third place among the girls at 151 after a 76 of her own on Sunday.

Like Hillary, Klutznick (left) rallied for the boys title. His 1-over-par 72 on Sunday left him at even-par 142 overall, good for a one-stroke victory over his Kent Denver teammate Jeffrey Zhou, a 15-year-old from Greenwood Village who closed with a 71.

Klutznick carded three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on Sunday. As he himself fully acknowledged, competing on your home course — which he was doing this weekend — brought certain advantages. That can happen when a person has played a course an estimated 500 times over the years, as Klutznick guesses he has at DCC.

“It was a big advantage,” the 17-year-old said. “There’s a few little things you can do that maybe not everyone knows about. A few holes, putts do weird things. There’s just some sneaky stuff that happens. It was definitely beneficial to know that ahead of time.

“Even (par) is incredible. The condition it was in was insane. A combination of confidence and a little home-course advantage certainly didn’t hurt.”

So how does it feel to notch two significant victories in a week?

“I’ve practiced a ton in the past and haven’t had an overwhelming amount of success,” Klutznick said. “These are two of the biggest tournaments I play in over the course of a calendar year, and to have this happen is honestly incredible. It was an awesome experience.”

Bo Wardynski of Parker finished third at 144 after a 72 on Sunday.

First-round leader Jacob Mason of Westminster was in good shape to earn the victory through 13 holes of Sunday’s round, but he played his final five holes in 6 over par. That led to a 77 and a share of sixth place at 146.

The JGAC Players of the Year were all but set in stone prior to the Tour Championship. Stewart (left), who won the 5A state high school title on Tuesday, skipped the Tour Championship because he’s competing in the prestigious Ping Invitational in Stillwater, Okla. He’s coming off a summer in which he won the Junior America’s Cup individually and helped Colorado to the team title for the first time ever — along with teammates Cal McCoy, Davis Bryant and Walker Franklin.

“It’s truly an honor to accept this award,” Stewart said via video at the awards banquet. “… Junior America’s Cup has been awesome and I’m glad we got a win this year — both me individually and as a team. That’s my favorite tournament of the year.”

Meanwhile, Lehigh placed sixth Sunday at the JGAC Tour Championship.

“It feels great,” Lehigh said of her POY honor. “It’s always great to be considered the best player in the JGAC. You can’t go wrong with that. I worked really hard this season so it was a big accomplishment. I’m really happy about it.”

Here are the highlights of the season for the Players of the Year:

Lauren Lehigh of Loveland (below) — One of 24 players (12 girls) worldwide to be named to the Transamerica Scholastic Junior All-America Team by the AJGA. The Loveland High School senior earned that honor by placing in the top five in an AJGA open or invitational, then based on the following criteria: standardized test scores, grade-point average, school leadership and community service. … Won the girls division of the Colorado Junior Match Play, one of four JGAC majors. … During the course of 2018 at JGAC events, won three times, placed second seven times and third three times. … One of the runner-ups was in her title defense at the 4A state high school tournament. … Finished third among girls at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … Helped lead Colorado to a fifth-place finish at the Girls Junior Americas Cup competition at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, where Lehigh tied for 14th place individually. … Finished 13th nationally in Big I National Championship. … Has verbally committed to play in college at the University of New Mexico. … Has been a member of the Hale Irwin Player Program for three years.

Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins — Won individual title in Junior America’s Cup, which featured some of the top junior golfers from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico. … Led Colorado to its first team title ever in the boys Junior America’s Cup. … Became the first Colorado boy to win the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. … As a senior, won the 5A state high school individual championship and led Fossil Ridge to its first team title in boys golf. … Notched his second AJGA title of 2018 at the AJGA Junior at Big Sky in Montana. … Shared medalist honors in qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur. … Finished second at the Colorado Junior Amateur. … Has verbally committed to play college golf at Oklahoma State.

For scores from the JGAC Tour Championship, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS

The CGA recently named its 2017 players of the year, and the honors were split between first-time winners and a couple of golfers who have earned season-long awards at least twice before.

Jake Staiano (left) of Glenmoor Country Club (the Les Fowler Player of the Year) and Keith Atkins of Highland Meadows Golf Course (Senior Player of the Year) captured CGA POY awards for the first time, while Chris Thayer of Walnut Creek Golf Preseve (Mid-Amateur Player of the Year) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club (Super-Senior POY) have landed similar honors from the CGA in the past.

Thayer was named the Mid-Am Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, joining Keith Humerickhouse (2010, ’12 and ’13) as the only three-time winners of the award, which was first given in 2008. And while the CGA Super-Senior POY honor is new this year, Moore has previously been named the Les Fowler Player of the Year (1989) and the Senior Player of the Year (2006 and ’14).

Another honoree being saluted by the CGA is Tom Kennedy, who receives the Jim Topliff Award as on-course official of the year. The now-retired District Court Judge has volunteered for the CGA for the last five years, and in 2017 he served as chief rules official at several tournaments, including the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational that the University of Colorado hosts annually.

As for the players of the year, here’s a recap of some of their 2017 highlights:

— Jake Staiano, Les Fowler Player of the Year: The CGA’s top annual award for players has gone to first-time winners for the last nine years, since Pat Grady won in both 2007 and ’08. And Staiano, a Colorado State University golfer, is the 10th college-age player in the last 11 years to earn the overall POY honor, with the lone exception over that time being Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs in 2014.

“Being named player of the year definitely means a lot,” Staiano said in a recent email. “Just to be in the category with some of the best players to come out of Colorado shows a lot about how far I have come in the past few years with my game. I definitely went through some hard times, but to get this award really shows my maturity through it all and how I was able to get through those times.”

As CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, Staiano joins a list of past honorees that includes 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones (1980 and ’81); Brandt Jobe, who has won more than $11.1 million combined on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions (1985); Kevin Stadler, winner of the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour (2002); and three-time Colorado Open winner and 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Bill Loeffler (1986). (The CGA Player of the Year award debuted in 1978, after golfers such as Hale Irwin and Bob Byman had starred as amateurs in Colorado.)

Staiano was in the hunt for the title this year in the biggest tournament held annually in the state, the CoBank Colorado Open. He shared the lead after three holes of the final round, which is no small feat considering only two players (Gary Longfellow and Brian Guetz) have won the Colorado Open as amateurs.

Staiano ended up finishing eighth at 15-under-par for 72 holes, taking low-amateur honors by seven strokes. It was the best overall showing by an amateur at the Colorado Open since Cameron Harrell placed fifth in 2014.

Elsewhere, Staiano qualified for the U.S. Amateur for the second time and advanced to Sectionals at U.S. Open qualifying. In the biggest CGA championships, Staiano placed second at the CGA Amateur and fell in the semifinals of the CGA Match Play to eventual champion Chris Korte.

— Chris Thayer, Mid-Amateur Player of the Year: In capturing this award for the third straight year, Thayer (left) edged out Jon Lindstrom, winner of the 2008, ’15 and ’16 CGA Mid-Amateurs. This time around in the Mid-Am, which is limited to players 25 and older, Thayer prevailed by one stroke for his second victory in the state championship, having previously won in 2014. He placed second to Lindstrom in both 2015 and ’16.

Also in 2017, Thayer made the cut and finished 44th in the CoBank Colorado Open, tying for third among amateurs. He also advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying, but subsequently withdrew from that second and final stage of qualifying. Thayer made the round of 16 at the CGA Match Play.

— Keith Atkins, Senior Player of the Year: Atkins won three tournaments in the senior division during the course of the year, at the Aurora Senior Amateur, the Collindale Invitational and the Estes Park Labor Day tournament.

In CGA championships, Atkins placed fourth in the CGA Senior Amateur and second in the senior division of the Western Chapter Championship. In the CGA Senior Am, he ended up two strokes behind winner Steve Ivan.

CGA senior championships were limited to players 51 and older in 2017.

— Kent Moore, Super-Senior Player of the Year: When Moore (left) won the title in the Super-Senior Match Play in late May, it gave the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer victories in an amazing eight different CGA championships in his career. Over the last 44 years, he’s won the 1973 Junior Match Play, the 1986 Amateur, the 1989 Match Play, the 1995 Mid-Amateur, the 2006 Senior Match Play, the 2014 Senior Stroke Play, the 2016 Super-Senior Stroke Play and the 2017 Super-Senior Match Play.

Moore was also in the hunt for the championship at the 2017 CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play, but Gary Albrecht edged him by one shot.

And in the Super-Senior Four-Ball tournament, Moore and partner Stephen Bell finished second in a playoff.

CGA super-senior championships were limited to players 61 and older in 2017.