It might seem out of place for a Colorado Golf Association trophy, but the award that goes to the winner of the 49th CGA Senior Match Play will spend the next year in … Wyoming.
John Hornbeck — a resident of the southern Wyoming town of Saratoga, which sits about 30 miles north of the Colorado border as the crow flies — came to the Centennial State and left with the Senior Match Play hardware on Thursday.
In a title match that was completed by 9:20 a.m. at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City, Hornbeck defeated Steve Ivan of Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs, 5 and 3, possibly starting a friendly, golf-related variation of the Border War.
Hornbeck, who has been voted into the Golf Hall of Fame in Wyoming, is no stranger to competing in Colorado. He qualified in the Centennial State for the 2016 U.S. Senior Open, along with the 2014 and ’16 U.S. Senior Amateur. He made the semifinals of last year’s CGA Senior Match Play and finished eighth in the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur that Ivan won. He’s also tried three other times in Colorado to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open — 2015, ’17 and ’18 — falling short in each case.
“I enjoy coming down here and playing with all these guys” in Colorado, the 60-year-old said. “Since I qualified for (the 2016 U.S. Senior Open), I’ve met a lot of nice senior players and I’ve developed some friendships. They’ve said, ‘Come on down. We’d love to play with you.’ I love playing with them.
“And I like the golf courses (in Colorado). There’s a lot of real nice, unique golf courses down here. The ones in Wyoming, I’ve been playing my whole life. I enjoy playing golf, and this gives me another month or two to play golf.”
So now Hornbeck (pictured above and below) has his first CGA championship to go with more than a dozen he’s won in Wyoming in the 15 years in which he’s been competing at golf. That includes all four state senior match plays that have been contested in Wyoming.
“I really enjoy the competition,” he said. “It brings out the youth in you, I guess.”
On the national level, besides playing in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open, where he missed the cut, Hornbeck has qualified for three U.S. Senior Amateurs, advancing to match play on each occasion. In fact, he made the quarterfinals in that national event in 2016.
On Thursday, Hornbeck not only never trailed in the match, he never lost a hole. Neither golfer played particularly well on the front nine as Hornbeck finished 2 over par and Ivan 3 over. They halved eight of the nine holes, with Hornbeck winning the par-3 seventh with a par to take a 1-up lead.
But the Wyoming golfer, who had missed two very short putts on the front nine, heated up on the back. He won Nos. 10 and 11 with 7-foot birdies — the first birdies of the day by either player — and No. 13 with a par after Ivan failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.
“I’ve been pretty confident all week. I’ve been hitting the ball really well,” said Hornbeck, who only had one match go to the 17th or 18th hole this week. “I knew if I could just get the putter going that it would probably go my way.”
Hornbeck closed things out on the 15th hole after putting his approach shot 8 feet from the flag. Ivan just missed the green and, after hitting a poor chip, conceded the match without further ado.
“I haven’t really hit my driver well all week. I’ve really struggled (with that),” said Ivan, a former University of Colorado golfer who was a teammate of 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones for one year at CU. “I didn’t put any pressure on (Hornbeck). I didn’t hit quality shots like I need to and like I did in the (2017 CGA Senior Amateur). It’s OK. I’m still here. I’m alive. I’m still retired.”
Ivan (left), winner of the 1979 CGA Junior Match Play in addition to last year’s CGA Senior Amateur, hit fewer than half of the greens in regulation during the title match and never had the honors on the teebox. Hornbeck, who was much longer off the tee, took advantage of that length.
“People can’t believe I’m getting longer,” Hornbeck said. “I’m not buying any new equipment to speak of. But I’m as long as I ever was, even when I was back in my 30s.
“When you’re coming in with a shorter iron, it’s always an advantage. You can fire more at the stick. In senior golf when we move up a set of tees once in a while, that’s where I have a little advantage.”
And with Ivan’s driver being problematic, that exacerbated the issue.
“I didn’t hit my driver well, so then I started hitting my 3-wood,” the 56-year-old said. “But you can’t be aggressive when you’re hitting long irons or hybrids into those greens versus short irons.
“John is very consistent with that driver. Whenever you’re swinging well, you pick the piece of grass you want to land (the ball) on. That’s all you see. But when you’re swinging bad, you see everything, and that’s not a good thing.”
Looking ahead, Ivan has a possibility of competing in a major event in his hometown before the month is over. He finished fourth on Memorial Day at The Broadmoor in qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, which put him in the second alternate position, behind Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler. But given that Loeffler lives in Castle Pines and Ivan in Colorado Springs, it’s possible they’ll get a call should a few players in the U.S. Senior Open field at The Broadmoor have to withdraw, particularly just prior to the start of the championship.
The CGA Senior Match Play is limited to players 52 and older.
CGA Senior Match Play
At Buffalo Run GC in Commerce City
WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Bob Chandler, Overland Park GC, 5 and 4
Victor Minovich, Foothills GC, def. Bill Irwin, Highlands Ranch GC, 2 up
Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, def. Keith Atkins, 2 and 1
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. Robin Bradbury, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 1 up
WEDNESDAY SEMIFINALS
John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Victor Minovich, Foothills GC, 4 and 2
Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, 20 holes
THURSDAY’S FINAL
John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, 5 and 3
For all the results from Buffalo Run, CLICK HERE.
The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer tied for second on Sunday at the Constellation Senior Players Championship in Baltimore. The former Coloradan has clearly become one of the top players on the PGA Tour Champions circuit. In nine senior majors since turning 50 two years ago, Jobe owns five top-five performances and six top-10s. He was third two weeks ago in the U.S. Senior Open. Jobe captured his first Champions title last month in Des Moines, Iowa.
The oppotunity for a victory in a senior major was very much there down the stretch on Sunday in Baltimore. He shared the lead after the first hole of the final round and had chances late in the round to force a playoff.
On the 17th hole, trailing by one with leader Bernhard Langer in the water off the tee, Jobe was in the greenside bunker. But he left his sand shot in the rough short of the green, then hit his pitch 20 feet by the hole. He had to make a 20-foot putt to save a bogey, while Langer carded a double on the par-3.
Then on 18, trailing his former UCLA teammate Scott McCarron by one, Jobe gave himself a 20-foot birdie attempt to force sudden death, but he just missed. Langer did the same, giving McCarron the title.
After going 66-68-65 the first three rounds, Jobe (pictured) shot an even-par 72 on Sunday to finish with a 17-under 271 total.
The former Coloradan jumped into fifth place on the 2017 PGA Tour Champions money list with $1,064,585.
Elway Finishes 9th, Spiranac 14th in American Century Celebrity Tourney: Elsewhere on Sunday, Denver Broncos general manager John Elway finished in a familiar spot at the American Century Championship near Lake Tahoe, Nev. The Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback tied for ninth place, marking his 14th top-10 showing at the celebrity tournament. His best performance was a runner-up in 2010.
Elway racked up 52 points over three rounds in the modified Stableford format, ending up 21 behind winner Mark Mulder. He shot medal-play scores of 74-76-75, making four birdies on Sunday.
Former Coloradan Paige Spiranac, the 2015 CWGA Match Play champion and one of a handful of women competitors in the American Century Championship this year, placed 14th on Sunday following a final-round 71 that included four birdies. She posted 50 points after rounds of 76-80-71.
The Westminster resident, a sophomore at Wake Forest, came into the spring portion of the schedule ranked as high as No. 1 nationally in women’s college golf. But a rough start to the spring — a concussion and subsequent withdraw at one tournament and a 47th-place finish in the next — set her back a little.
However, the 19-year-old got back on track this week in Hawaii as she finished second at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational.
The winner of the last three CWGA Player of the Year awards shot a 2-under-par 70 in Wednesday’s final round to post a 5-under 211 total, leaving her four behind champion Maddie Szeryk of Texas A&M. Kupcho (pictured) held the outright lead briefly as she was 5 under par for the round through 13 holes, but she bogeyed three of her last five to lose her chance at the title.
Kupcho, who just earned induction into the Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of Fame, now has five top-10 individual finishes to her credit this season, including two wins and a second. She’s ranked seventh in the nation according to Golfweek and eighth by Golfstat. Kupcho sits 18th in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Meanwhile, a couple of other Colorado residents joined Kupcho in recording top-five individual finishes in college tournaments on Wednesday. Kala Keltz of Montrose and Morgan Sahm of Centennial tied for fifth place in the ORU/SFA Spring Break Invitational in Dallas as their University of Northern Colorado squad placed second out of 16 teams.
Keltz and Sahm matched 8-over-par 224 totals, ending up six strokes behind co-champions Amanda Lindahl and Sofie Levin, both of Eastern Kentucky.
As a team, UNC notched its best showing of the season. The Bears (906 for three rounds) finished 11 behind winner Eastern Kentucky.
ORU/SFA Spring Break Invitational
March 13-15, 2017 (final) in Dallas
2. (out of 16 teams) Northern Colorado 314-296-296–906
5. Kala Keltz 79-71-74–224
5. Morgan Sahm 78-73-73–224
10. Baile Winslow 76-76-76–228
38. Christina Ferreira 81-76-79–236
38. Marisa Hisaki 85-78-73–236
Also
74. Coloradan Sydney Gillespie, Creighton 86-79-85–250
The 2015 CGA Stroke Play champion carded a 2-under 34 on the front nine Tuesday to extend his lead. And he still shared the top spot after finishing with a 2-over-par 74. But Kevin Gordon of Omaha birdied the 17th hole to pull ahead and won by one stroke after closing with a 68.
Korte posted a 1-over-par 217 total along with Ben Maskus of Omaha and Felipe Strobach of South Dakota State.
Korte’s runner-up showing was the 13th top-10 finish by local players in NCAA Division I conference tournaments this spring. Here’s the rundown:
— DU’s Jessica Carty (first in women’s Summit League)
— Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest (second in women’s ACC)
— CSU’s Katrina Prendergast (second in women’s Mountain West)
— DU’s Mariell Bruun (second in women’s Summit League)
— Coloradan Jaylee Tait, Montana State (third in women’s Big Sky)
— DU’s Jessica Dreesbeimdieke (third in women’s Summit League)
— CU’s Alexis Keating (fifth in women’s Pac-12)
— DU’s Kathi Baratta (fifth in women’s Summit League)
— UNC’s Steven Kupcho (sixth in men’s Big Sky)
— CSU’s Dominic Kieffer (sixth in men’s Mountain West)
— CU’s Jeremy Paul (seventh in men’s Pac-12)
— DU’s Sophie Newlove (eighth in women’s Summit League)
Team-wise on Tuesday, the DU men tied for seventh place in the nine-school field, posting a 52-over-par 916 total.
Men’s Summit League Championship
May 1-3, 2016 (final) in Newton, Kan.
7. (out of 9 teams) Denver 306-305-305–916
2. Chris Korte 72-71-74–217; 24. Jake Kelley 75-75-78–228; 36. Adam Ruben 81-77-78–236; 38. Arti Edelman 78-82-78–238; 42. Michael Boylan 82-84-75–241.