After posting finishes of ninth and fifth place in Series events over the last seven months, the CU sophomore on Friday won the 112-player Saguaro Amateur at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.

Olkowski, a former Grand Junction resident who now lives in Las Vegas, carded rounds of 71-67-70 for an 8-under-par 208 total, good for a one-stroke victory over Sean Carlon of Albuquerque, N.M. In the final round, Olkowski made five birdies, giving him 16 for the three rounds. (Olkowski is pictured at left with Edwards in September at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, where the sophomore tied for first place but lost in a playoff.)

This week’s performance gave Olkowski the overall championship in the Troon Saguaro Amateur Series.

Olkowski was one of three players who grew up in Colorado to post top-10 finishes in the Saguaro Amateur on Friday. Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village, a senior at Colorado State, and Tyler Severin of Johnstown, a University of Wyoming freshman, tied for fourth place. Staiano, the 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, went 73-69-71 for a 3-under-par 213 total. He birdied two of his last three holes. Severin carded scores of 70-73-70 for his 213. He made the top five despite a 42 on the front nine on Thursday.
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For all the scores from the Saguaro Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Olkowski, a former Grand Junction resident who now lives in Las Vegas, posted rounds of 73-69-67 for a 4-under-par 209 total at Sewailo Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. Olkowski made five birdies and one bogey in Wednesday’s 67.

In the last two rounds of the tournament, the CU golfer (left) recorded a combined 10 birdies.

Olkowski, who tied for first place but lost in a playoff at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational two months ago in Erie, finished five strokes behind Gobbler champion Daniel Gurtner of Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday. Gurtner is a former Texas Christian University golfer.

For all the scores from the Gobbler Amateur, CLICK HERE.
  

Some of the best amateurs in the world — a handful of whom could very well be competing on the PGA Tour within several years — will be on hand April 28-30 when Boulder Country Club hosts the men’s Pac-12 Conference Championship.

Don’t believe it?

Last year’s individual champion at the event was Jon Rahm of Arizona State, who in his rookie season on the PGA Tour has won the Farmers Insurance Open and posted three other top-five finishes.

Other past Pac-12 (or Pac-8/Pac-10) champions include Tiger Woods (Stanford), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State), Al Geiberger (USC), Dave Stockton (USC), Corey Pavin (UCLA), Paul Casey (Arizona State), Scott Simpson (USC) and Peter Jacobsen (Oregon).

As for this year’s field, it includes:

— The No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Stanford senior Maverick McNealy. He’s one of six Pac-12 competitors ranked among the top 50 amateurs in the world. The others are USC junior Sean Crocker (eighth), Cal sophomore Collin Morikawa (ninth), ASU senior Jared du Toit (13th), USC senior Rico Hoey (17th), Oregon freshman Norman Xiong (34th) and Oregon senior — and Colorado resident — Wyndham Clark (48th).

— The No. 1-ranked college player in the nation — by both Golfstat and Golfweek, Clark, whose many successes include two college individual wins this season, along with two Colorado state high school titles and the 2010 CGA Amateur Championship. Clark is one of five Pac-12 players currently ranked among the nation’s top 10 collegians.

— The No. 1 team in the land, Southern California, along with two other top-10 men’s golf schools: three-time defending Pac-12 champion Stanford and 2016 national champion Oregon.

“(How big a tournament this is), that’s the message we’re trying to get out there for sure,” University of Colorado coach Roy Edwards said at Wednesday’s Pac-12 media day event at BCC. “Jon Rahm, a PGA Tour Rookie of the Year shoe-in guy, won the championship last year. There’s a number of those (kind of) guys this year. That’s something people need to know. And this is a fun environment to watch those players because they’re competing for their school and for a championship. It’s not just like they’re playing a recreational round out here.”

With admission to the Pac-12 Championship being free to the general public, Boulder Country Club officials said they wouldn’t be surprised if crowds reached into the “thousands”.

After an April 27 practice day — which is also open to spectators — the competitors will play 36 holes on April 28 and 18 holes each on April 29 and 30. Unlike most college tournaments, each school will feature six players, with the best five scores from those six each day counting toward the team total.

For CU, this will mark the first men’s conference championship it has hosted since 1972, when the Big Eight meet came to Boulder CC.

“It means a lot being a Colorado kid and coming up and representing your state, representing your school and competing against some of the best teams and best players in the country,” said CU’s Spencer Painton, an Aurora resident who won a 5A state high school individual title while at Regis Jesuit. “I’ve had some nice success here in the past (he was runner-up in the 2016 CGA Amateur at BCC) and it feels like home to me. I’ll have a lot of family and friends coming over. It’s going to be a pretty special week for the entire Buffs team.”

Certainly CU is treating it as a special week. The school is even bringing in two of the four CU players who have won individual conference championships to be honorary starters and hit the first tee shots on April 28 — not unlike what the Masters does. Former BCC head professional Terry Kahl (the 1981 Big Eight champion) and Bob Kalinowski (the ’93 and ’94 winner of the Big Eight meet) will do the honors. (The other individual conference champions from CU are Hale Irwin (1966 and ’67) and Keith Alexander (1954).

“It’ll be a special, unique touch to the tournament that all the participants will enjoy,” Edwards said.

Of course, the Buffs would like to make the weekend even more special by contending for a team title. CU hasn’t won a conference championship, team-wise, since 1968 in the Big Eight. The Buffs are currently ranked 25th in the nation by Golfweek and 32nd by Golfstat, but they suffered a significant blow this week when their all-time scoring leader, Jeremy Paul, announced he is going pro immediately.

“Jeremy was obviously a great player — one of the best in our history,” Edwards said. “At the same time, everybody has the ability to play well. We fully expect to perform at a high level. …

“We don’t go to any tournament expecting to finish worse than first place. At the same time, it’s not like ‘Ricky Bobby’ — if you’re not first you’re last kind of thing. We’re probably ranked around sixth in the league or so. We expect at home to play to a higher level than that. If we do our business we’ll be competitive on Sunday for a high finish, if not winning the tournament.”

Whatever the case, CU and Boulder Country Club hope a significant number of fans show up for the festivities. They’ve certainly made a point of making golfers around the state aware of the event.

“The CGA and the (Colorado) PGA have sent some stuff out about it, and we sent (informational) posters to every club within 50 miles of campus — 97 facilities,” Edwards said. “We’ve emailed every high school coach in the state. We’ve had a lot of print (ads). We’ve done a ton of stuff at our games — football basketball, lacrosse — and some radio stuff, online. It’s gotten out there pretty well.”

————————————————————————————

Men’s Pac-12 Conference Championship: Just the Essentials

When: April 28-30 (April 27 practice rounds). Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. on April 28, 10 a.m. on April 29, and 8 a.m. on April 30.

Where: Boulder Country Club (7350 Clubhouse Rd., Boulder).

Admission: Free.

Format: 72 holes of stroke play: 36 on April 28 and 18 each on April 29 and 30. For the team competition, each school counts the best five of its six individual scores each day.

Boulder Country Club Course: 7,129 yards, Par-70.

Coloradans Expected to Compete: Ethan Freeman and Spencer Painton from the University of Colorado, Wyndham Clark from Oregon, Kyler Dunkle from Utah and possibly one more CU player.

TV: Taped coverage airing May 7 at noon on Pac-12 Network.

Defending Champion: Stanford, which has won the last three years. The Cardinal claimed the title by 29 strokes in 2016. Jon Rahm of Arizona State won the 2016 individual title as a senior and has since turned professional and won on the PGA Tour.

Where Did CU Finish Last Year: Tied for sixth.

How Did Top Returning CU Player Fare in 2016?: Ethan Freeman (35th place).

CU’s Top Finish Since Joining Pac-12: Fourth in 2014.

Top 25 Nationally Ranked Teams in Field: Southern California (No. 1 by Golfstat and Golfweek), Stanford (No. 5 by Golfstat and No. 8 by Golfweek), Oregon (No. 8 by Golfstat and No. 10 by Golfweek), Arizona State (No. 22 by Golfweek), CU (No. 25 by Golfweek).

Top 10 Nationally Ranked Individuals in Field: Senior Wyndham Clark, Oregon (No. 1 by Golfstat and Golfweek); junior Sean Crocker, USC (No. 2 Golfstat, No. 4 Golfweek); senior Maverick McNealy, Stanford (No. 3 Golfweek, No. 4 Golfstat); freshman Norman Xiong, Oregon (No. 7 Golfstat, No. 8 Golfweek); sophomore Collin Morikawa, Cal (No 8 Golfstat, No. 9 Golfweek).

Players in Field in Top 50 in World Amateur Golf Rankings: 1. senior Maverick McNealy, Stanford; 8. junior Sean Crocker, USC; 9. sophomore Collin Morikawa, Cal; 13. Jared duToit, Arizona State; 17. senior Rico Hoey, USC; 34. freshman Norman Xiong, Oregon; 48. senior Wyndham Clark, Oregon.

Honorary Starters: Prior to the first round on April 28, two former Big Eight champions from CU — Terry Kahl (1981) and Bob Kalinowski (1993 and ’94) — will serve as honorary starters and hit the first tee shots, a la the Masters.
 

Spencer Painton (pictured) of Aurora, a University of Colorado golfer, tied for fourth place at Southern Dunes Golf Club. The former 5A state high school champion posted rounds of 70-67-72 for a 7-under-par 209 total that left him two strokes behind champion Tanner Hughes, a Cal golfer from Livermore, Calif.

Josh Seiple of Castle Rock (69-72-69–210) and Jake Staiano of Englewood (72-68-70–210) tied for sixth place. Blake Cannon, like Staiano a Colorado State University golfer, finished ninth at 211 after going 73-69-69.

The Saguaro Amateur is run by chairman Roy Edwards, the men’s head coach at CU. For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

Yannik Paul (pictured), a German who had left CU and considered turning pro, will be a Buff again starting in the fall, the university announced on Tuesday. Paul and his twin brother, Jeremy, will pack quite a 1-2 punch as Jeremy is No. 116 in the World Amateur Rankings and in 2015-16 set a CU single-season record for stroke average (70.66). Jeremy was a Golf Coaches Association of America honorable-mention All-American.

“We are excited to have Yannik come back this fall,” CU coach Roy Edwards said in Tuesday’s release. “He is a great young man and he adds a special dimension to our team.”

Both of the Paul twins will be competing as amateurs this week in a European Tour event in their home country, the BMW International Open, which runs Thursday through Sunday (June 23-26). Among the others in the field is Sergio Garcia.

(Updated June 26: Jeremy Paul made the cut and finished 56th at the BMW International Open, going 72-70-74-74 for a 2-over-par 290 total, while Yannik Paul missed the cut, shooting 73-78).

The Buffs have to finish in the top five at the NCAA Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Regional to advance, but after Tuesday’s second round they share eighth place in the 13-team field, 18 strokes behind the fifth-place team.

CU struggled on Tuesday, posting an 18-over-par 306 total, the highest score among the top 11 teams. Colorado sits at 602, 36 strokes behind leader Georgia, the SEC champion. Auburn is in the critical fifth spot, at 584.

CU junior Jeremy Paul, who shared the individual lead after round 1, posted a 5-over 77 on Tuesday, dropped him to 14th place at 145. (Paul is pictured above, with coach Roy Edwards.) The top individual not on a qualifying team also will advance to the NCAA Finals, set for May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon. If the tournament had ended after 36 holes, William Rainey of the College of Charleston would have gained that berth at 141.

For all the scores from the Tuscaloosa Regional, CLICK HERE.

NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional
May 16-18, 2016 in Tucscaloosa, Ala.
8. Colorado 296-306–602
14. Jeremy Paul 68-77–145; 32. Ethan Freeman 75-74–149; 50. Philip Juel-Berg 74-80–154; 53. John Souza 80-75–155; 71. Wilson Belk 79-83–162.

The Buffs, winner of two major team titles this season (including its own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational), were seeded 11th out of 13 teams for the Tuscaloosa, Ala., Regional that will be contested May 16-18 at the Ol’ Colony Golf Complex. It marked the third time in the last four years that Colorado has been sent to a regional in the southern U.S. (Fayetteville, Ark., in 2013 and Auburn, Ala., in 2014).

In all, the fields for six 54-hole regionals were revealed Thursday morning on Golf Channel.

It’s the fourth consecutive season that CU has earned a regional berth — and the 20th time since 1989. But the Buffs, with coach Roy Edwards at the helm, are looking to qualify a team for the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time since 2002.

The top five team finishers, and the low individual not on those teams, from each regional will advance to the NCAA finals, set for May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Colorado, the only Colorado-based school to earn a team (or individual) berth in the men’s NCAA regionals in 2016, is ranked 66th nationally by Golfstat and 67th by Golfweek, meaning CU landed one of the final NCAA regional at-large berths. Individually, the Buffs are led by junior Jeremy Paul, who has two individual wins to his credit this season, one in a large-scale tournament. The German has seven top-10s all told this season — including a seventh at the recent Pac-12 Championships — and owns a 70.46 stroke average. In the national individual college rankings, Paul is 41st according to Golfstat, while Golfweek has him 64th. This week, he was named a second-team All-Pac-12 selection. (Paul is pictured above with Edwards.)

Georgia is the top-seeded team in the Southeastern Conference-heavy Tuscaloosa Regional, having just won the SEC title. Host Alabama is seeded fourth. Kansas, coached by former Colorado State University coach Jamie Bermel, is the seventh seed in Tuscaloosa after a four-win season.

Meanwhile, Coloradan Wyndham Clark’s Oklahoma State team was seeded first in the Stillwater, Okla., Regional that the Cowboys will be hosting at Karsten Creek. Clark, who won the 2010 CGA Stroke Play title when he was 16, has two top-six individual finishes — and six top-12s — to his credit this season. Also competing in the Stillwater Regional will be Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Crabtree’s University of Louisville squad. The Cardinals are seeded 10th in the region.

For the complete fields for the men’s NCAA Regionals, CLICK HERE.

David Oraee considerably bolstered his Colorado golf resume by winning two state amateur titles in a 14-month period in 2013 and ’14.

This year, the Greeley native made headway on a national level while also claiming low-amateur honors at the HealthOne Colorado Open, all of which earned the 22-year-old CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year honors for 2015.

Oraee (left), who completed his University of Colorado golf career in May, is one of four players of the year for 2015 recently selected by the CGA. David Delich of Colorado Springs was named CGA Senior Player of the Year for the second time, while Chris Thayer of Denver earned CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year honors, and Coby Welch of Highlands Ranch was selected CGA Junior Player of the Year.

Oraee, winner of the 2013 CGA Match Play and the 2014 CGA Stroke Play, becomes the ninth current or former CU player since 2000 to earn the Les Fowler Player of the Year award. In that regard, he joins Derek Fribbs (2013), Pat Grady (2007 and ’08), Derek Tolan (2005), Steve Irwin (2004), Kane Webber (2003), Ben Portie (2001) and Matt Call (2000).

Last May, after placing second in an NCAA regional tournament, Oraee became the first CU golfer since 2008 to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship Finals, where he started off with a 71 before eventually finishing in 126th place individually to wrap up his CU career.

Oraee, who competed in 50 tournaments all told for CU, finished with the fourth-best stroke average in program history (73.57).

“Over four years, he basically exceeded all expectations you can have for any player,” CU coach Roy Edwards said.  “The consummate teammate, golfer, student, person — the total package.  I think we should all look back on his career with great fondness.  He did about everything you can do as a player and as a Colorado Buffalo.”

Two months later, the former state high school champion earned low-amateur at the Colorado Open and finished 21st overall.

Then the high point of Oraee’s year was his performance after qualifying for the U.S. Amateur for the first time. At the national championship in Olympia Fields, Ill., he finished second out of 312 players in the stroke-play portion of the event with consecutive rounds of 67.

Oraee won his first match after being 2 down with four holes left, and eventually advanced to the final 16. There, he faced the amateur sensation of the year, Ireland’s Paul Dunne, who just the month before was a co-leader at the British Open going into the final round.

In a match that was featured on Fox Sports 1’s national telecast, Dunne ended Oraee’s run in the Sweet 16, 3 and 2.

Oraee plans to turn pro in 2016 before likely eventually going to medical school.

Delich (left) receives CGA Senior Player of the Year honors for the second time in four years.

The former Colorado College hockey standout won the CGA Senior Match Play for the third time, becoming the sixth person to claim that title at least three times. Delich has captured five CGA individual championships over the years, plus two senior titles conducted by the Southern California Golf Association.

Delich, who plays out of The Broadmoor Golf Club, also qualified for two USGA championships in 2015: the U.S. Senior Open, along with the U.S. Mid-Amateur for the fourth time.

In addition, Delich and teammate Ben Hargis of Alexandria, La., won the senior division of the annual Charlie Coe Invitational at Castle Pines Golf Club.

Thayer (left) has had a very strong run since last September, when he won the CGA Mid-Amateur Championship, ending Keith Humerickhouse’s streak of consecutive titles in the event at four.

While the player from Bear Creek Golf Club didn’t add another state championship in 2015, he was certainly in contention on numerous occasions. Thayer finished runner-up to Michael Harrington at the CGA Mid-Amateur Match Play, and was second in his title defense to Jon Lindstrom at the Mid-Amateur stroke play.

Thayer was also eighth in the CGA Stroke Play, and third (with Jadon Wiens) at the CGA Four-Ball.

Welch had a busy and successful summer in the junior ranks.

The now-senior at Valor Christian High School won the Colorado Junior Golf Association 14-18 Junior Series Championship, becoming the first person to sweep the titles in all three age groups of the tournament.

Welch (left) finished seventh individually at the Junior America’s Cup, leading the way for a Colorado team that matched its best finish ever in the event by placing third.

Part of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, Welch qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur and was the highest finisher at the national meet (121st). He placed second in both the Colorado PGA Junior Championship and the 4A state high school meet. At that 4A tournament, Welch’s Valor squad won its third consecutive state team title.

Welch, who has verbally committed to play his college golf at Northern Colorado, shot 62 in one round during his high school season.

Welch also posted top-10 finishes at the CJGA Tournament of Champions (fifth), the CGA Junior Stroke Play (sixth) and in the inaugural AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior (ninth).

In addition, the Colorado Junior Golf Association has honored junior players for their golf and academic accomplishments in 2015:

CJGA All-Star Team
Christian Agelopoulos
Pierce Aichinger
Katie Berrian
Chunya Bead Boonta
Camden Braidech
Davis Bryant
Emma Bryant
Caitlyn Chin
Amy Chitkoksoong
Sofia Choi
Delaney Elliott
Walker Franklin
Elijah Harp
Thomas Hicks
Jack Hughes
Jordan Jennings
Anna Jordaan
Caroline Jordaan
Marie Jordaan
Jasmine Kahler
Jennifer Kupcho
Katherine Malcolm
Brittlynn O’Dell
Yusuke Ogi
AJ Ott
Eshaan Palanati
Isaac Petersilie
Bielly Phasay
Hannan Reed
Morgan Sahm
Ryan Sangchompuphen
Hailey Schalk
Timbre Shehee
Amisha Singh
Jackson Solem
Blake Sullivan
Gillian Vance
Mary Weinstein
Coby Welch
Ashleigh Wilson
Liam Wood
Tyler Zhang
 
CJGA Academic All-Star Team
Christian Agelopoulos
Amy Alonzi
Drew Anderson
Cameron Barnhardt
Julia Baroth
Kirby Berke
Katie Berrian
Brandon Bervig
Molli Boruff
Connor Burke
Logan Byler
Isaac Calden
Ben Carrington
Cole Chalmers
Alexis Chan
Alyssa Chin
Caitlyn Chin
Benjamin Chin
Sofia Choi
Paul  Cleveland
Jake Dost
Delaney Elliott
Brynn Ellis
Nolan Farrar
Kaden Ford
Rhett Fruitman
Danny Gallant
Sarah Gallant
Jake Garrett
Elliott Gitt
Merielle Gojo
Grant Hengsteler
Thomas Hicks
Mark Hillary
Charlotte Hillary
Patrik Holmes
Tomas Holmes
Cristian Holmes
Jordan Jennings
Jake Johnson
Max Johnson
Marie Jordaan
Caroline Jordaan
Anna Jordaan
Callie Kloenne
Cassandra Kneen
Cole Krantz
Jennifer Kupcho
Luke Kusserow
Blake Kuzava
Will Leary

David Leede
Lauren Lehigh
Katelyn Lehigh
Davis Long
Mason Macias
Kaylee Macias
Max Malden
Justin Markel
Fischer Matthews
Madison McCambridge
Matt Mccartney
Natasha McClain
Thomas McCloskey
Sarah McDevitt
Aryn McLaughlin
Glen-Michael Mihavetz
Wes Moran
Hannah More
Jaclyn Murray
Roger Nakagawa
Brittlyn O’Dell
Anju Ogi
Kota Ogi
Yusuke Ogi
Luke Olkowski
Gracie Olkowski
Trevor Olkowski
Canon Olkowski
AJ Ott
Eshaan Palanati
Desiree Pater
Daniel Pearson
Kira Peteresen
Xavier Petrosky
Hattie Poole
Wesley Poole
Sydney Prey
Makena Prey
Haley Prey
Keaton Rich
Lauryn Rivale
Larissa Roberts
Jihyun (Anna) Roh
David Roney
Ben Rosenthal
Meghan Royal
Mason Royal
Kailer Rundiks
Ryan Sangchompuphen
Erin Sargent
Jacob Shelton
Parker Skiles
Nathan Smith
Jackson Solem
Micah Stangebye
Blake Sullivan
Samuel Taylor
Charles Thornton
Hunter Tuite
Chadd Vasquez
Brittain Walton
Mary Weinstein
Coby Welch
Jake  Welch
Liam Wood
Alex Yano
Ryan Zetwick
Tyler Zhang
Ben Zimmerman
Ryan Zoellner
Zach Zurcher
 

With the University of Colorado men’s golf team having lost two of its top three players from last season — David Oraee and Yannik Paul — the opportunity to help fill a void is certainly at hand this fall.

And several home-grown players — all graduates of Colorado high schools — are doing their best to address the issue.

That was apparent the last two days at CU’s own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Boulder Country Club.

Three Coloradans finished in the top 11 out of a field of 74, including freshmen Ross Macdonald and Wilson Belk. And junior Ethan Freeman and Macdonald, who established and tied their best college finishes, respectively, on Tuesday by sharing fifth place, played major roles in helping the Buffs tie for the team title.

For the third consecutive year — and fourth overall — CU earned a least part of the team championship at the Simpson Invite. Against all odds, they’ve tied for the title two of the last three years, this time with Missouri-Kansas City.

The Buffs (left) rallied from five strokes behind entering last round to shoot a Tuesday-best 1-under-par 279. That left them and the Roos at 7-over-par 847 for three rounds.

And besides their overall solid play, Macdonald and Freeman helped seal the deal for CU on the final hole.

Macdonald drained a very fast downhill 5-foot putt for bogey. Then junior Jeremy Paul, Yannik’s twin brother, chipped in for birdie on that same hole from 30 feet. And Freeman made an impressive up and down from a greenside bunker, sinking a challenging sidehill 4-footer for par. (Freeman is pictured at top getting congratulated by CU head coach Roy Edwards.)

And the Buffs needed all three of those things to happen to earn a tie for the title.

“The whole team is riding on you,” said Freeman, who was in the final group. “You’re the last guy in. I had to make that putt or we wouldn’t have tied for the win, so I definitely felt the nerves. I knew I had to pull it out for my team.

“That was huge for me. We’re at our home event and this is the one we want to win every year. That putt definitely meant a lot. It was just (4) feet, but that felt like a really long putt. I was real excited to make that.”

As for two-time CGA Junior Stroke Play champion Macdonald (at left preparing to fist-bump with CU assistant coach Pat Grady), CU coach Roy Edwards was likewise impressed by his play, especially given that he’s in his first month of college golf.

“That’s one big thing for Ross Macdonald,” Edwards said. “He’s come right in and been a huge part of our success early in the season. We’ve got some good talented young players. It’s always a developmental process. They’re in the middle of it and sometimes it doesn’t feel as good as other days. They’re doing a lot of really good things. There are some growing pains, but I actually enjoy it because you get to see guys (make strides, and) the fruition is guys like Philip (Juel-Berg, a senior) and Jeremy and Ethan. That’s what those young guys are going to be in a couple of years. They’re thrown right into the fire right now.”

All told, CU put five individuals in the top 11 Tuesday, with Jeremy Paul (210) finishing third — marking the 12th top-10 of his career — Macdonald and Freeman (212) sharing fifth, and Juel-Berg (213) tying for 11th. Belk, competing solely as an individual, also shared 11th place.

Freeman, a two-time state high school champion from Kent Denver, has recorded three fifth-place individual finishes so far this season.

While the Coloradans certainly made their contributions on Tuesday, Paul had the most impressive moment of the day. With CU trailing UMKC by a stroke, he spun his approach shot off the front of the final green, then proceeded to hole out his chip (left) for birdie, tying things up.

“I was trying to make it because I knew we needed to make up one shot,” said the native of Germany. “Usually it never goes in (under those circumstances), but this time it did so it was really emotional. It’s just important for us as a team to at least share the victory. I was just super excited about it.”

UMKC’s Antoine Rozner, No. 53 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, claimed the individual title Tuesday, though he missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on No. 18 that would have given the Roos the outright team championship. He shot a 1-under-par 69 Tuesday for a 2-under 208 total.

While the Buffs notched their second team victory of the season — the first came in a three-team field at Ballyneal — Air Force (878) placed seventh on Tuesday and Northern Colorado (885) was 10th.

A small junior-golf event was held in conjunction with the Simpson Invitational. Fairview High School golfer Daniel Pearson, from Longmont, posted the low 54-hole total for the group, a 17-over-par 227. Here are the scores of all the junior players who competed:

Daniel Pearson 73-76-78–227
Cole Krantz 80-75-73–228
Timothy Amundson 80-80-76–236
Jackson Solem 81-77-80–238
Austin Burgess 82-82-80–244

Boulder Country Club will host the men’s Pac-12 Conference Championships in the spring of 2017.

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
At Par-70 Boulder CC

T1. (out of 12 teams) Colorado 275-293-279–847
3. Jeremy Paul 67-75-68–210
T5. Ethan Freeman 69-72-71–212
T5. Ross Macdonald 67-75-70–212
11. Philip Juel-Berg 72-71-70–213
47. Kade Crossland 74-76-74–224
CU Players Competing Only as Individuals
11. Wilson Belk 73-69-71–213
53. Drew Trujillo 77-72-77–226
58. Pierce Aichinger 76-76-76–228

7. Air Force 289-293-296–878
16. Brenden Bone 71-73-72–216
27. Sunwoo Choi 71-74-74–219
41. Bryant Falconello 76-72-74–222
58. Kyle Fuller 71-81-76–228
61. Michael Fan 77-74-78–229
Competing as Individuals
45. Tate Tatom, Air Force 72-74-77–223
64. Dan Hankamer 78-75-75–230
66. Troy Berglund 74-79-79–232

10. Northern Colorado 293-288-304–885
16. Conner Barr 74-68-74–216
35. Steven Kupcho 70-70-81–221
35. Joshua Matz 75-74-72–221
61. Sam Marley 75-76-78–229
68. Julian Woodfork 74-79-80–233
Competing as Individual
47. Li Chen 74-77-73–224

Also
27. Colton Yates, Colorado State 73-71-75–219
27. Blake Cannon, Colorado State 73-72-74–219
47. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 75-76-73–224
 

It seemed only fitting that a week that will culminate with the Colorado-Colorado State football game would start with a showdown between the rivals on the golf course.

Though 14 other teams competed in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Academy, they ended up playing second fiddle to CSU and CU.

The Rams (pictured above) prevailed in the 16-team tournament on Sunday, earning the Falcon Invite title for the third time in the 47-year-old event. CSU has taken home the trophy in 2008, ’09 and ’15.

“It’s big” to beat CU, said Rams senior Dominic Kieffer, who placed third individually. “The history between the two schools … we’ve always been close to them, (but) they’ve been a little bit better than us the last few years so it’s nice to get a win against them.”

But the Buffs didn’t go home empty-handed. They claimed the individual championship — with senior Philip Juel-Berg (left) earning his first college victory — in addition to being the runner-up team-wise.

Breaking through individually is “awesome,” said Juel-Berg, a native of Denmark who earlier this summer won the Danish International Amateur. “It’s definitely been a dream since I started college. I played really well over the summer, so I thought there was a chance to win a tournament when I got back here. It’s a great way to start off my senior year. I’m obviously really, really happy.”

CSU, which went into the final round three behind CU, shot a 7-under-par 281 as a team on Sunday and finished at 15-under 849. That was three better than CU, the 2012 champions. Wyoming was a distant third at 863. Northern Colorado (877) was seventh and host Air Force (881) was 11th.

Individually, Juel-Berg birdied five consecutive holes in the middle of his round — making a 45-foot putt, then four inside of 3 feet — and was 6 under for the day through 12. Ultimately, he posted a 4-under 68 in the final round. That left him at 12-under 204, good for a five-stroke victory over Devon Purser of Weber State. Juel-Berg matched the CU record for most shots under par in a three-round tournament.

Kieffer (above) and UTEP’s Frederik Dreier shared third place at 210.

Two former Colorado state high school champions also placed in the top 10, with CU’s Ethan Freeman (below) tying for fifth at 212 and CSU’s Kyler Dunkle sharing seventh place at 213.

The last four holes ultimately determined the team title as the four CSU golfers who had their scores count on Sunday went a combined 1 under down the stretch, while the corresponding Buffs went 5 over par.

“The guys did a nice job in general,” said CSU coach Christian Newton. “Kyler Dunkle was 3 over after 3, then made three birdies on the front to get it back to even, then shoots 2 under on the back, which was awesome, really gutsy. Blake Cannon had played really bad yesterday — he was in (71st) place — but he was 1 under for us today, which was huge. It was fun to watch.”

But not so much for the Buffs, who shot 16 strokes higher in round 3 than in round 2.

“It’s obviously real sad standing here afterward not being able to pull it out (team-wise),” Juel-Berg said. “We have to be honest: We just weren’t good enough. We dropped a lot of shots coming down the stretch.”

During Saturday’s first two rounds of the 54-hole event, CU competed with a four-man team, meaning that all the scores counted, with none being thrown out. That was because sophomore John Souza withdrew due to back spasms. He returned for Sunday’s third round and shot a 77.

“We’re very happy for Philip (Juel-Berg, left),” Buffs coach Roy Edwards said. “Anytime you have an individual win the event, you’re real excited. He’s a very hard worker, a senior. I know he’s very motivated to play well this year.

“Second (as a team) is obviously a nice event considering our situation with one guy not playing yesterday and hitting some bunts off the tee today. You’re never happy when you don’t win. We’re definitely not satisfied with second, but I’m certainly happy with how we played.

“It was a great battle with CSU. It’s always good to be in those situations, especially to start the year off.”

CU has a solid lineup, but lost one of its key players after just two seasons, as Yannik Paul is back is his native Germany, expected to soon turn pro. Yannik’s twin brother, Jeremy, remains one of the Buffs’ top players and tied for seventh on Sunday.

As for CSU, it put three players in the top 10 on Sunday — Kieffer, Dunkle and Max Oelfke (who also tied for seventh).

“We’ve got a tremendous amount of competition” on the team, Newton noted. “All the guys have gotten better. We’ve got seven or eight legitimate players; there are good guys at home. That speaks well for the program. There’s a lot of pushing and shoving for those spots. Ultimately that will make everyone better.

“We’re looking forward to next week and our home event (the Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 21-22 at Fort Collins Country Club). I’m really happy for the boys. This is really nice for them because they’ve worked really hard.”

Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational
At Par-72 Eisenhower GC (Blue Course) at Air Force Academy

Team scores — 1. Colorado State 849; 2. Colorado 852; 3. Wyoming 863; 4. Weber State 866; 5. Texas-El Paso 867; 6. Nevada 875; 7. (tie) Northern Colorado and Missouri-Kansas City 877; 9. William & Mary 878; 10. Utah State 879; 11. Air Force 881; 12. Boise State 885; 13. (tie) Abilene Christian and Utah 886; 15. Air Force B 904; 16. Southern Utah 944.

1. Colorado State 286-282-281–849
3. Dominic Kieffer 70-71-69–210; 7. Max Oelfke 72-70-71–213; 7. Kyler Dunkle 71-72-70–213; 15. Jimmy Makloski 73-69-73–215; 52. Blake Cannon 74-79-71–224.

2. Colorado 294-271-287–852
1. Philip Juel-Berg 69-67-68–204; 5. Ethan Freeman 76-67-69–212; 7. Jeremy Paul 71-69-73–213; 52. Ross Macdonald 78-68-78–224; 86. John Souza DNP-DNP-77.

7. Northern Colorado 286-299-292–877
22. Steven Kupcho 72-75-71–218; 35. Joshua Matz 75-71-75–221; 35. Sam Marley 68-78-75–221; 52. Conner Barr 78-75-71–224; 69. Li Chen 71-81-76–228.

11. Air Force Academy 300-291-290–881
18. Sutton Farmer 73-72-72–217; 35. Michael Fan 74-74-73–221; 46. Sunwoo Choi 76-75-72–223; 46. Bryant Falconello 77-73-73–223; 52. Brenden Bone 77-72-75–224.

15. Air Force Academy B 301-297-306–904
59. Tate Tatom 73-73-79–225; 62. Kyle Fuller 76-74-76–226; 67. Dane Hankamer 75-76-76–227; 79. Troy Berglund 86-74-75–235; 80. Turner Howe 77-79-80–236.

Other Local Players and Locals Competing as Individuals Only
22. Tristan Rohrbaugh, Boise State 73-72-73–218
28. Pierce Aichinger, Colorado 74-73-72–219
29. Glenn Workman, Wyoming 72-73-75–220
35. Jake Staiano, Colorado State 72-70-79–221
52. Kade Crossland, Colorado 73-74-77–224
88. Colton Yates 68-72-DNP