And two other Coloradans — Jake Staiano (2015) and Wyndham Clark (2016) — have likewise earned spots in the 64-man match play field in the 312-player event.

All those golfers began their U.S. Amateur journey with a 36-hole qualifying tournament in Colorado. Two of those qualifying events are on tap in the next two weeks as Columbine Country Club will host one on Monday (July 3) and Fort Collins Country Club one on July 13.

In each case, the top three finishers out of a field of 80-plus players will earn berths to the U.S. Am, scheduled for Aug. 14-20 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The qualifying field for Monday at Columbine features 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater, who earned a U.S. Am berth at Columbine last year. Also set to compete are 2017 CGA Match Play winner Chris Korte; former U.S. Am qualifiers Staiano, Chris Thayer, Spencer Painton and Jeff Chapman; Josh Seiple, the 2016 CGA Match Play runner-up who recently advanced to the round of 32 at the British Amateur; and 2015 CGA Match Play champ Nick Nosewicz.

At Fort Collins CC on July 13, 2016 U.S. Am qualifiers Tristan Rohrbaugh and Colton Yates are in the field. Also scheduled to play are Steve Irwin, who’s twice competed in the U.S. Amateur and once in the U.S. Open; 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifiers Jackson Solem and Davis Bryant; and former 5A state high school champion Hunter Paugh.

For pairings, click on the following: COLUMBINE CC, FORT COLLINS CC.

At least assuming no alternates get into the field.

Fifteen Coloradans competed Saturday in regional qualifying at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., but none won his or her age division — which was what was necessary to qualify for the finals, which will be held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on April 2.

This marks the third time in the four years of the DC&P Championships that Coloradans have been shut out of the finals. But three in-state junior golfers — Luke Trujillo, Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin — went to nationals this past spring.

Here were the Coloradans who had the highest finishes Saturday at regionals:

— Landon Houska of Fort Collins, playing in regionals for the second straight year, finished second in the boys 7-9 division, seven points behind national qualifier Carter Gaede.

— Matai Naqica of Centennial tied for second in the boys 10-11 division, 10 points behind national qualifier Liam Hartling.

— Jake Chesler of Firestone placed second in the boys 12-13 division, 14 points behind national qualifier Evan Chien.

— Gracie Olkowski of Grand Junction finished third in the girls 14-15 division, 38 points behind national qualifier Megan Ahmadi.

Here’s how all the Coloradans fared on Saturday, with their points from each of the three skills (drive, chip and putt) — and their total.

Boys 7-9 — 2. Landon Houska, Fort Collins 32-23-50–105; 7. Preston Brooke, Arvada 27-4-36–67.

Boys 10-11 — T2. Matai Naqica, Centennial 48-22-37–107; 5. Benjamin Starr, Cherry Hills Village 27-17-50–94.

Boys 12-13 — 2. Jake Chesler, Firestone 58-30-45–133; 9. Ben Harding, Longmont 11-26-60–97.

Boys 14-15 — 4. Jack Hughes, Aspen 52-27-45–124; 6. Davis Long, Lafayette 35-31-51–117.

Girls 7-9 — 6. Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 6-19-41–66; 7. Livia Pett, Denver 13-7-40–60.

Girls 10-11 — 10. Brooke Hudson, Parker 0-12-26–38.

Girls 12-13 — 6. Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland 32-2-45–79; 7. Sofia Choi, Littleton 27-19-30–76.

Girls 14-15 — 3. Gracie Olkowski, Grand Junction 41-22-60–123; 7. Marie Jordaan, Cherry Hills Village 43-14-32–89.

For all the results from the regional qualifying at Riviera, CLICK HERE.

All the regional competitors advanced through both local and sub-regional qualifying events.

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the national finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.
 

On Saturday at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, 16 junior golfers — including 15 from Colorado — kept their hopes alive of doing what Trujillo, Keating and Chin did in the spring.

The top two finishers in each of eight divisions at Saturday’s DC&P Sub-Regional Qualifier earned spots in the Regional Qualifying, set for Sept. 24 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. And from there, the top performer in each division will punch their tickets to the 2017 national finals April 2 at Augusta National.

Among those still in the running for a 2017 trip to Augusta is Chin, a Greenwood Village resident who on Saturday finished second in the girls 7-9 division at CommonGround. She placed 10th in the national finals in that same division four months ago.

Here are all those who will advance to Riviera, with their points from each of the three skills on Saturday (drive, chip and putt) — and their total.

Girls 7-9 — 1. Livia Pett, Denver 16-46-37–99; Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 23-31-36–90.

Girls 10-11 — 1. Rylee Salome, Los Lunas, N.M. 31-30-45–106; 2. Brooke Hudson, Parker 26-26-51–103.

Girls 12-13 — 1. Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland 43-36-55–134; 2. Sofia Choi, Littleton 34-45-50–129.

Girls 14-15 — 1. Gracie Olkowski, Grand Junction 52-55-55–162; 2. Marie Jordaan, Cherry Hills Village 44-50-45–139.

Boys 7-9 — 1. Landon Houska, Fort Collins 16-45-45–106; 2. Preston Brooke, Arvada 22-31-50–103 (second-place tiebreaker based on putting score).

Boys 10-11 — 1. Matai Naqica, Centennial 47-22-45–114; 2. Benjamin Starr, Cherry Hills Village 26-31-55–112.

Boys 12-13 — 1. Jake Chesler, Firestone 27-55-50–132; 2. Ben Harding, Longmont 35-40-50–125 (second-place tiebreaker based on putting score).

Boys 14-15 — 1. Jack Hughes, Aspen 55-40-50–145; 2. Davis Long, Lafayette 52-45-42–139.

All the players noted above have now advanced through both Local and Sub-Regional qualifying events.

Back in Regionals for the second straight year after competing at CommonGround will be Houska, Chin and Salome.

Each participant in the DC&P is awarded points for each skill based on his or her performance, with the points added together for an overall score.

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the national finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championships, which are sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.

For all the scores from Saturday, CLICK HERE.