The college golf season is almost upon us, and for Coloradans that means an abundance of in-state tournaments in a monthlong span from mid-September to mid-October.

And this season, with the men’s and women’s NCAA Division II national championships coming to the Denver metro area in the spring, that’s adding to the busy fall calendar as well.

National Division II “preview” tournaments will be held this month at both CommonGround Golf Course (left) and Green Valley Ranch Golf Club (below), which will be hosting the women’s and men’s national championships, respectively, in May.

The men’s preview tournament at GVR is set for Sept. 21-22, while the women’s at CommonGround is scheduled for Sept. 28-29.

Those events will set the stage for the first Colorado-hosted NCAA men’s or women’s DII golf national championships. (The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs was the site of five NCAA Division I men’s national championships between 1953 and ’69.)

The DII national championship finals are scheduled for May 17-21 for the men at GVR and May 18-21 for the women at CommonGround. Both are part of the 2016 DII Spring Championships Festival that brings national finals in several sports to a single venue over a six-day period. In the case of May 2016, Metropolitan State University of Denver will host DII nationals for men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s lacrosse and softball.

Getting back to this fall’s portion of the schedule, the DII previews this month are in addition to six full-fledged Division I college tournaments that will be contested in Colorado between now and mid-October. There are three each on the men’s and women’s side, starting Sept. 12-13 with the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Acacemy (men) and the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic Sept. 14-15 at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins (women).

The only major change in the Division I tournament lineup in Colorado is that the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational will be played at Boulder Country Club this year after Colorado National Golf Club hosted the event every previous year since its debut in 2010.

Here’s the rundown of Division I and selected other tournaments that are on the schedule this season for Colorado venues:

Men

Sept. 12-13 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC Blue Course, hosted by Air Force Academy. Other Div. I Colorado schools competing: CU, CSU, UNC.

Sept. 21-22 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC, hosted by CSU. Other Div. I Colorado schools competing: DU, Air Force, UNC.

Sept. 21-22 — Div. II National Preview Fall Intercollegiate, Green Valley Ranch GC, hosted by Colorado School of Mines.

Sept. 28-29 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC, hosted by CU. Other Div. I Colorado school competing: UNC, Air Force.

May 17-21 — NCAA Div. II National Championships, Green Valley Ranch GC, hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

Women

Sept. 14-15 — Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC, hosted by CSU. Other Div. I Colorado school competing: UNC.

Sept. 21-23: Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott. Div. I Colorado school competing: DU.

Sept. 28-29: Div. II National Championship Preview, CommonGround GC, hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

Oct. 9-11 — Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC, hosted by DU. Other Div. I Colorado schools competing: CU, CSU, UNC.

May 18-21 — NCAA Div. II Women’s National Championships, CommonGround GC, hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

And here’s a look at the season openers and tournaments in Colorado for each of the NCAA Division I programs in the state:

CU Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Sept. 28-29: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC.

CU Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis.

Tournament in Colorado — Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

CSU Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.

CSU Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

DU Men

First Tournament — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.

Other Tournaments in Colorado — None.

DU Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: New Mexico Dick McGuire Invitational, Albuquerque.

Tournaments in Colorado — Sept. 21-23: Golfweek Women’s Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott; Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

UNC Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournaments in Colorado — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC; Sept. 28-29: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC.

UNC Women

First Tournament — Sept. 14-15: Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.

Other Tournament in Colorado — Oct. 9-11: Ron Moore Denver Invitational, Highlands Ranch GC.

Air Force Academy Men

First Tournament — Sept. 12-13: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.

Other Tournaments in Colorado — Sept. 21-22: Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC; Sept. 28-29: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Boulder CC.

Speaking of the Eisenhower GC’s Blue Course, it was recently ranked 25th in the nation among campus courses by Golfweek magazine.
 

In fact, there will be five such events held in Colorado next month. We’ll give a rundown on those later in this story, but first let’s note the two new or reinstated tournaments on the local schedule — both set for after the September rush.

First, as has been previously reported, the University of Denver women’s program will bring back the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate Oct. 10-12 at Highlands Ranch Golf Club. The tournament was last held in 2009. Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, was a major supporter of DU athletics, and in 2011, the Moore family donated Highlands Ranch Golf Club to the university.

But the real eye-catching college tournament that will be conducted in Colorado during the 2014-15 season will be the Pac-12 Conference Women’s Championships, set for April 20-22 at Boulder Country Club.

The University of Colorado, of course, switched to the Pac-12 three years ago, but this is the golf program’s first chance to host the conference championships. And what a conference it is from a women’s golf perspective.

Barring the unforeseen, the field at Boulder Country Club in the spring will include the defending NCAA Division I champion (Doris Chen of Southern California) and three other top-seven finishers from the 2014 national finals (Lauren Kim of Stanford, Manon Gidali of Arizona and Louise Ridderstrom of UCLA). Also expected to be on hand at BCC are Alison Lee of UCLA, currently the No. 3-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world, and Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State, presently No. 9 among the world’s top women’s amateurs.

The Pac-12 field in Boulder will feature four of the top seven team finishers from the 2014 NCAA finals — Southern California (second), UCLA (third), Arizona State (fifth) and Arizona (seventh) — along with seven of the top 22.

And besides CU hosting and competing in the event, adding local flavor will be the presence of former longtime University of Denver coach Sammie Chergo, who is just beginning her first season as head coach at Oregon State.

As for the men’s golfers from Colorado-based Division I programs, four of the five local teams (Air Force, Colorado, Colorado State and Northern Colorado) will begin their seasons at Air Force’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational Sept. 6-7 at Eisenhower Golf Club. Other Division I tournaments set for Colorado are CSU’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club Sept. 15-16, and the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie Sept. 29-30.

On the women’s side, September tournaments in Colorado include CSU’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins Sept. 8-9, and the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott Sept. 22-24.

Here’s a rundown of all this season’s NCAA Division I tournaments scheduled in Colorado, with the local participating teams:

MEN

Sept. 6-7 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy (Air Force, CU, CSU, UNC).

Sept. 15-16 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC (CSU, DU, Air Force, UNC).

Sept. 29-30 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie (CU, DU, Air Force, UNC).

WOMEN

Sept. 8-9 — Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins (CU, CSU, UNC)

Sept. 22-24 — Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott (CU, DU)

Oct. 10-12 — Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, Highlands Ranch GC (DU, UNC)

April 20-22 — Pac-12 Conference Women’s Championships, Boulder CC (CU)
   

The overwhelming majority of college golf tournaments played in Colorado take place in September, for an obvious reason: It’s the best month in the state, weather-wise, during the college golf season.

And this year, more than ever, September will be prime time for college golf in Colorado. In the Division I ranks alone, five multi-team invitational tournaments will be played this month in the Centennial State — three on the men’s side and two on the women’s. Four of the events have been held in previous seasons, but the Colorado State men’s Ram Masters Invitational will be contested for the first time.

And the good news for local golf fans is that in many of the Colorado-based tournaments, several of the state’s teams compete against one another.

Here’s the lineup of Division I invitationals being held in Colorado this month:

— Sept. 9-10: Men’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by Air Force at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, UNC.

— Sept. 10-11: Women’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic hosted by Colorado State at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: CSU, CU, UNC.

— Sept. 17-18: Men’s Ram Masters Invitational hosted by Colorado State at Fort Collins Country Club. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, DU, UNC.

— Sept. 24-25: Men’s Mark Simpson Invitational hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, DU, UNC.

— Sept. 24-26: Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge hosted by the University of Denver at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. Div. I team from Colorado participating: DU.

Colorado College Golf Chip Shots: The Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club Sunday and Monday (Sept. 9-10) will mark the first event in his new job for CSU men’s head coach Christian Newton. Newton was hired after longtime CSU head coach Jamie Bermel took the same position at the University of Kansas. … The CU women, who in the spring went to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history, are ranked 16th in the nation in the preseason coaches’ poll. … Also ranked nationally are the Colorado School of Mines men, who are 20th in the Div. II coaches’ poll after placing 11th in the Div. II national finals last season. … Both the University of Denver men and women will be in a new conference this season, moving from the Sun Belt to the Western Athletic. The Pioneer women won the last nine Sun Belt Conference championships. … Former DU golfer Erik Billinger is the new assistant golf coach for the women’s team at his alma mater. Billinger was an assistant for the university’s golf programs from 2002 to 2004. Billinger replaces Lindsay Hulwick, who became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. … UNC sophomore Steven Kupcho is coming off a stellar summer in which he won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, was low amateur at the HealthOne Colorado Open and placed second in the CGA Public Links. … In addition to the Mark Simpson Invitational, the CU men will host a 36-hole one-day tournament at Colorado National this season — the Colorado Spring Invitational on April 22. UNC will be among the teams competing. … The DU men recently announced the addition of two freshmen to their roster: Arti Edelman of Switzerland and Trey Pflug of Portland, Ore.