The title will be settled over 36 holes in the event for players at least 62 years old. There will be a separate masters division for golfers 72 and older.

Past winners of the younger championship who are scheduled to compete at Perry Park include defending champion Gary Albrecht, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2016 champ), Robert Polk (2015), Kary Kaltenbacher (2014) and Jerry Kidney (2012).

Also planning to play are 2018 CGA Super-Senior Match Play champion Harry Johnson; Dave Brown, who finished runner-up to Johnson in that event; Robin Bradbury; Sean Forey; and Roger Gunderson.

Among the contestants in the masters division is Don Alley, a former pro who has won the last two titles in that tournament.

For Wednesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
  

Fifty-five players will be in the field, with the top three finishers earning spots in the Senior Am, which will be contested Aug. 25-30 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Of those 55, almost one-fifth have competed in the U.S. Senior Am just in the last five years.

The list includes Wyoming resident John Hornbeck, the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play champion who has played in three U.S. Senior Amateurs, going to the quarterfinals in 2016. Also, there’s three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk (round of 64 in 2017), Guy Mertz (2017), Robin Bradbury (round of 64 in 2016), Gary Albrecht (2016), Jim Reynolds (2016), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2015), Thomas Roos (2015), and David Delich and Harry Johnson (both 2013 and ’14).

Also competing on Tuesday are Steve Ivan, winner of the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur and runner-up in the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play; Charlie Post, who played in the 2017 U.S. Senior Open; 2015 CGA Senior Amateur winner Bill Fowler; 2014 CGA Senior Match Play champ Tom Musselman and Sean Forey.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

Ross Macdonald put a big-time exclamation mark on his successful title defense Sunday at the 36th CGA Western Chapter Championship.

The University of Colorado golfer from the Country Club at Castle Pines played his final nine holes of the event in 7-under-par 29 at The Bridges Golf & Country Club in Montrose. That torrid stretch gave Macdonald a nine-stroke victory in the 36-hole event.

The 22-year-old from Castle Rock (left) finished with a 6-under-par 65 — the best championship flight score on Sunday by six shots — to post a 6-under 136 total. That made Macdonald the first back-to-back winner of the championship since Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Rick DeWitt accomplished the feat in 2001 and ’02. DeWitt won the Western Chapter title five times.

On the back nine Sunday, Macdonald recorded two eagles — on No. 10 and 17 — and added birdies on 11, 12 and 18 to shoot the 29. It marked the first time Macdonald has ever broken 30 for nine holes on a championship course, and the 65 is his low tournament score ever. In addition, he can never remember making two eagles in nine holes before.

Macdonald needed just 11 putts to negotiate the greens on the back nine on Sunday.

“That was really cool,” Macdonald said of his 29. “Going into 18, the only thing I was thinking about was shooting 29, which I’d never done in my life. That was definitely a good way to go out.”

Macdonald had started out his title defense by being 3 over par after five holes on Saturday. But he closed with three straight birdies that day for a 71. On Sunday, he was 1 over par through nine holes when things turned on a dime.

He made a 20 footer for eagle on 10, a 25 footer for birdie on 11 and a 10 footer for birdie on 12. He parred the next four holes, twice getting up and down, including making a 20 footer on No. 16.

On No. 17, he hit a 5-iron from 235 yards to a foot for another eagle. Then he rolled in a downhill slider from 15 feet on No. 18 to close with a birdie.

“It was really nice to put that round together — and that nine — to come in with a good margin of victory,” Macdonald said.

And the result — going back-to-back in the Western Chapter — was satisfying considering Macdonald originally wasn’t planning to play in the event.

“I feels really good,” he said. “Two weeks ago, I looked at it and didn’t have anything on my schedule (for this week). I just thought it would be a good one to play in. And I think it’s always good to pay respect and go back and defend a title. I’ve been playing really well the last five or six months so I felt really good. And I thought of this (course) as a good challenge — and a good challenge to see if I could go back to back.”

Macdonald now owns four CGA titles, having also won the Colorado Junior Amateur in back-to-back years (2013 and ’14).

As he noted, the CU golfer has been performing well in recent months, having placed second in both the Pac-12 Conference Championships and the CGA Match Play.

First-round leader Barry Erwin of Murphy Creek Golf Course tied for second place at 145 after a second-round 76 on Sunday. Sharing runner-up honors with him was Cameron Barnhardt of Dalton Ranch Golf Club, who closed with a 74. Blake Schneiter placed fourth at 146 after his second straight 73.

Meanwhile, the senior title was decided in extra holes on Sunday.

Scott Sullivan (left) of Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction tied three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club in regulation, with both players finishing at 2-over-par 144. But Sullivan broke the tie on the first playoff hole by making a par while Polk recorded a bogey.

Sullivan shot a 3-under-par 68 on Sunday, improving on his first-round score by eight. He played his final 14 holes of regulation in 4 under par. For the day, he made six birdies and three bogeys.

Polk birdied his final hole of regulation — No. 9 — to force the playoff. He finished the day with three birdies, three bogeys (including the playoff) and a double bogey.

Placing third among the seniors on Sunday was 2017 CGA Senior Player of the Year Keith Atkins of Highland Meadows Golf Course, who closed with a 71.

For scores from the Western Chapter Championship, click on the following: OPEN, SENIOR.

Pat Bucci (left) of West Woods Golf Club, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, scored a 5 and 4 victory over Dave Mittan of Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course.

Other past champions who won on Monday included Jeff Oneth of Colorado Golf Club (2016), David Delich of The Broadmoor Golf Club (2007, ’11 and ’15), Ray Makloski of Pueblo Country Club (2012), Guy Mertz of The Fox Hill Club (2010), Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club (2009) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club (2006).

The one former champ to fall on Monday was 2013 winner Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course, who claimed the trophy in the recent CGA Super-Senior Match Play. Rick Tarasiewicz of Patty Jewett Golf Course defeated Johnson 1 up.

Meanwhile, Moore needed 19 holes to advance over Colin Bork of Collindale Golf Course, while Delich won 1 up over Robert West of Cherry Creek Country Club.

Also winning on Monday was 2017 CGA Senior Player of the Year Keith Atkins, the No. 2 seed who went 19 holes to overcome Davis Butler of Cherry Hills Country Club.

The Senior Match Play, limited to players 52 and older, will feature the rounds of 32 and 16 on Tuesday and the quarterfinals and semifinals on Wednesday. The 18-hole championship match is set for next Thursday morning.

For results from Buffalo Run, CLICK HERE.
 

John Elway figures to receive much of the attention from fans and the media on Monday at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, whether the Pro Football Hall of Famer qualifies for the U.S. Senior Open or not. More than 2,000 fans are expected to watch him try to qualify Monday at The Broadmoor.

Attention comes with the territory for Elway, who has an official role to play for this particular U.S. Senior Open even if he fails to earn a spot in the 156-man field. The Broncos general manager is the honorary chairman for this year’s Senior Open, which the East Course at The Broadmoor will host June 28-July 1.

On the golf course, Elway does have some game. He’s made the cut in the CoBank Colorado Open once, and has posted two top-30 finishes in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open. And he’ll be helped out on Monday by oilman and philanthropist George Solich, an Elway friend who grew up caddying at The Broadmoor. George Solich and brother Duffy have lent their names and support to the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy. Elway is scheduled to tee off at 10:10 a.m. from No. 1 on the East Course.

But the bar will be set high on Monday for Elway and the other 83 competitors in the 18-hole qualifying tournament at the East Course as just two players from the site will advance to the U.S. Senior Open itself.

The field is full of formidable players. Ron Vlosich of Lakewood has qualified for five U.S. Senior Opens and Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale for three, and Rohrbaugh has also won a Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships in recent years. Dale Smigeksy of Fort Collins and Charlie Post of Castle Rock played in the 2017 Senior Open.

On top of that, there’s several Colorado Golf Hall of Famers, in addition to Vlosich — Bill Loeffler (the 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion), Kent Moore and John Olive, who’s competing at his home course. There’s 2017 Colorado PGA Professional Champion John Ogden of Cherry Hills Village; Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, winner of both a Colorado Open and a Colorado Senior Open; Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, who finished fourth in the 2016 national Senior PGA Professional Championship; amateurs David Delich, a two-time U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and Robert Polk, who went to the 2007 Senior Open; 2016 U.S. Senior Open qualifier John Hornbeck of Wyoming; and Chris Johnson, who along with Rohrbaugh is competing in this week’s Senior PGA Championship.

Besides Colorado, states represented in Monday’s field including Arizona (6), Utah (5), Wyoming (3), Oklahoma (2), California (1), Florida (1), Montana (1), Ohio (1), Tennessee (1) and Texas (1).

Monday marks just the fourth time a U.S. Senior Open host course has also held a qualifying tournament leading up to the event. All told, 34 sites will host U.S. Senior Open qualifying events this spring.

Spectators are welcome for Monday’s qualifying tournament at The Broadmoor, and admission is free.
 

Olive (pictured), who’s earned a record seven CGA Senior Player of the Year awards himself, won the Super-Senior Match Play in 2015.

On a day that saw five of the eight round-of-16 matches go to the 18th hole, defending champion and top seed Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club scored a 2-up victory over Gary Kephart of Patty Jewett Golf Course. And two-time Senior Player of the Year Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course, the fourth seed, slipped by Rick George of Castle Pines Golf Club, 1 up.

Also among those advancing to the quarterfinals were third-seeded Sean Forey of The Club at Rolling Hills (2 and 1) and fifth-seeded Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club, the 2017 runner-up in this event (2 up).

Wednesday will feature both the quarterfinals and the semifinals, while the finals are set for Thursday morning.

The Super-Senior Match Play is limited to competitors at least 62 years old.

For results from the Super-Senior Match Play, CLICK HERE.

Moore (pictured), a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and the No. 1 seed this week, scored a 7-and-5 victory over Carl Peters of Twin Peaks Golf Course in the round of 32 in this event for competitors 62 and older.

Second-seeded Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club, a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year, was even more dominant on Monday, posting an 8-and-6 win over Richard Pober of the Club at Pradera.

Other top seeds who won on Monday were No. 3 Sean Forey of the Club at Rolling Hills (5 and 4), No. 4 Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course (6 and 5) and 2017 runner-up Jim Reynolds of Bear Creek Golf Club, the fifth seed (2 and 1).

The only top-10 seeds to lose on Monday were No. 6 Steve Bell of CommonGround Golf Course (falling 1 up to Patrick Mooney of Colorado Golf Club) and No. 10 Frank Wilkinson of Lincoln Park Golf Course (5 and 3 to Dave Brown of Highlands Ranch Golf Club).

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer John Olive, the 2015 champion, defeated Mark Barkley of Clubcorp Colorado, 4 and 3, and will face Polk in Tuesday’s round of 16.

Play at the Super-Senior Match Play will continue through Thursday, with Wednesday featuring quarterfinal and semifinal matches.

For results from the Super-Senior Match Play, CLICK HERE.

If the way the first CGA championship of 2018 ended is any indication, it could be one memorable season.

The 37th CGA Senior Four-Ball culminated in spectacular fashion on Wednesday at West Woods Golf Club in Arvada.

With his partner out of the hole and his two opponents less than half the distance from the cup, former CGA president Bill Fowler drained a 60-foot-plus birdie putt on the second hole of sudden death to give he and Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club their second Senior Four-Ball title in the last three years.

“It was probably one of the most exciting finishes of golf I’ve had in a long time,” Fowler said at the trophy presentation. “I’ll be celebrating that for a while.”

Fowler, from The Club at Rolling Hills, and Polk handed Guy Mertz and Tony Workman of The Fox Hill Club their second similar playoff loss in the CGA Senior Four-Ball. In 2012, Jerry Kidney and Daniel Dymerski defeated Mertz and Workman on the fifth hole of a playoff when Dymerski sank a 15-foot birdie putt.

“Did you see it bounce up when it hit the hole?” Mertz said of Fowler’s putt. “If he misses that (and it goes by quite a bit), we probably win with a 4. At worst we go on. That was twice as long as any putt I saw go in the whole tournament. It’s one of those turnarounds that you just … But that’s golf. It happens. But it’s happened to us twice now.”

Said Workman: “It was a hell of a putt.”

On a cold and sometimes rainy final day, Polk and Fowler shot the best score on Wednesday — a 4-under-par 68 — to rally from three strokes down going into the final round. With Polk getting up and down for birdie on the final hole of regulation, they finished with a winning total of 12-under-par 204. (The winners are pictured, with Fowler at right above and at left below.) 

It was the fourth CGA Senior Four-Ball title for Polk, who won with different partners in 2005 and ’07 before earning the trophy with Fowler in 2016. Only Bert Welz, with five, has won this tournament more, while Kidney has also captured four titles. Polk and Fowler also qualified for the first U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, played in 2015, and were one of the older twosomes in the field.

In the CGA Senior Four-Ball, Polk and Fowler have finished in the top three five of the last six years.

“I hope he has me back next year,” Fowler said with a smile. “I didn’t have my A game for the whole three days. He’s always looking on the free-agent market for somebody better.”

Said Polk, a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year: “We are a good team. Bill is real steady. I tend to make some birdies, but I tend to knock it off the golf course every now and then. Bill covers me when I take leave.”

That includes the second hole of the playoff, the par-4 11th. There, teeing off before Fowler as usual, Polk put two tee shots out of bounds right leaving his partner on his own for the hole. Fowler, who turns 55 on Thursday, responded with a nice drive, but pulled his 8-iron approach a little, leaving his ball on the far left side of the green while the pin was on the right side. Mertz and Workman both had makeable birdie putts in the 25-foot range.

“I was tending the flag because I couldn’t do anything else,” said Polk, 62. “I had a real peaceful feeling. The greens were slow and they were hard to putt. We had so many that we thought we made that didn’t go in. But I’m sitting there holding the flag and going, ‘I think he’s going to make this.’ Halfway, I go, ‘Oh my!’ That sucker was right in the middle for a long time. It was a great putt.

“They had two (good looks) with putts, but after something like that the hole looks like a thimble.”

Both Workman and Mertz ended up two-putting for par.

As for Fowler’s thinking on his birdie putt:

“I was back there and I thought, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose. I really don’t,'” he said. “They’re up there for a two-putt par. I’ve got to just not three-putt. I wanted to get up there in the 3- or 4-foot range for a two-putt par. I just kept my head still, hit a really solid putt and hit my line. About halfway there, I said, ‘That’s on line, it’s not going to be very far away, it looks like it’s the right speed.’ As it got closer and closer and closer, I thought, ‘Man, that has a chance.’ Then all of a sudden, it was not on the green anymore. I just had this overwhelming feeling. I could not believe that I just did what I did.

“If you look at the scorecard, Robert played really well for three days and I played OK. It was really, really fun for me to contribute in that big way at the very end.”

In falling for the second time in a playoff in this event, Mertz and Workman (left, with Mertz in gray) carded scores of 66-68-70 and didn’t make a better-ball bogey in the tournament.

Tying for third place, one out of the playoff, were second-round leaders Mark Hirsch of Lone Tree Golf Club and Michael Davis of Meadow Hills Golf Course, and Sean Forey and Scott Radcliffe of The Club at Rolling Hills. Forey and Radcliffe closed with a 70 and Davis and Hirsch with a 72.

Forey and Radcliffe, who won the CGA Senior Four-Ball together in 2003 — Forey also won with a different partner in 2008 — on Wednesday earned the super-senior division title, which is limited to partners who are both 62 or older. The two 65-year-olds lapped the field in that division, winning by six strokes.

“I’ve been out of action (on the state scene competitively) for quite a while, so it feels really good to me,” said Radcliffe, the president of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. “Winning never gets old — anything — so I’m happy as heck. It’s renewed my interest in playing more golf.”

Said Forey: “We’ve won or tied for the super-seniors a few times. It’s always fun to win. But it’s always hard to come up one short (of the playoff for the overall title). Today was tough conditions and we just didn’t get it done.”

Finishing second among the super seniors were Dave Merritt and Bill Stevens of Meridian Golf Club, who shot a final-round 73.

For scores, click on the following: SENIORS, SUPER-SENIORS.

Thirteen teams broke 70 in round 1 of the scratch better-ball competition at West Woods Golf Club in Arvada, with 2016 champs Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club and Bill Fowler of The Club at Rolling Hills, and 2003 winners Sean Forey and Scott Radcliffe, both also from Rolling Hills, sitting atop the leaderboard.

Polk also won the Senior Four-Ball title in 2005 and ’07, while Forey also won in 2008.

Polk and Fowler, a former CGA president, made a better-ball eagle, six birdies and a bogey on Monday. Polk carded a 67 on his own ball. (Polk and Fowler are pictured, with Polk at left.)

Radcliffe, the president of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, and Forey also recorded a better-ball eagle, six birdies and a bogey in round 1.

Sharing third place at 66 with two rounds remaining in the Senior Four-Ball are Guy Mertz and Tony Workman from The Fox Hill Club, and Mark Hirsch of Lone Tree Golf Club and Michael Davis of Meadow Hills Golf Course. Hirsch posted a 68 on his own ball and Mertz a 70.

Defending champions Doug Moore and Raymond Kelley of Lone Tree Golf Club opened with a better-ball 73.

In the super-senior division, for players 62 and older, Forey and Radcliffe’s 65 is good for a three-stroke advantage over Bill Stevens and Dave Merritt of Meridian Golf Club.

The CGA Senior Four-Ball will continue through Wednesday.

For scores, click on the following: SENIORS, SUPER-SENIORS.

Ivan didn’t quite reach that level, but more than three decades later, he’s in position to add a nice CGA title of his own.

The golfer from Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs, who led the CGA Senior Amateur after round 1, expanded his lead to five strokes Wednesday at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood.

Coincidentally, another one of Ivan’s CU teammates, Paul Lobato, is the PGA head professional at Meridian.

Ivan shot a 1-over-par 73 on Wednesday, giving him a 1-over 145 total going into Thursday’s final round. He made one birdies and two bogeys in round 2.

John Hornbeck of Saratoga, Wyo., who competed in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open after qualifying in Colorado, stands in second place at 150 after a second-round 76.

Three-time champion Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club shares third place at 151 with James Pullin of Collindale Golf Club. Pullin carded a 75 on Wednesday and Polk had a 76.

Seven back of Ivan and tied for fifth are Brian Harris of Denver Country Club, Shane Unfred of Highlands Meadows Golf Course and Victor Minovich of Foothills Golf Course. Harris matched Ivan’s 73, while Minovich posted a 75 and Unfred a 78.

The field was cut to the low 40 players and ties after Wednesday’s second round, with the 42 golfers at 161 or better advancing to Thursday. Among those who missed the cut by one was defending champion Kevin Ott of The Club at Rolling Hills.

The final threesome — Ivan, Hornbeck and Pullin — will tee off for Thursday’s final round at 9:57 a.m.

The CGA Senior Amateur is limited to player 51 and older. In an effort to eventually match the age criteria for the U.S. Senior Amateur, which is limited to players 55 and older, each year beginning in 2017 the eligibility for CGA senior events will rise one year. So next year, for instance, the minimum age will be 52. From 2021 and beyond, competitors must be at least 55.

For all the scores from the CGA Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.