In the last several years, more players from out of state have won the CoBank Colorado Open than in-staters have.

And don’t think that’s gone unnoticed.

In 2014, Ian Davis of Edmond, Okla., prevailed. In 2015, it was Scotland’s Jimmy Gunn. Two years ago, it was Neil Johnson of Phoenix/River Falls, Wis. In 2017, part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye scored one for the home team with his victory at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

And now, Coloradans have a good chance to make it two in a row.

Not only do local residents hold down the top two places after Saturday’s second round, but they have some cushion over the player in third place heading into Sunday’s final 18.

Shane Bertsch of Parker, winner of the 1998 Colorado Open and a veteran of 193 PGA Tour starts, leads going into the final round. And Riley Arp of Fort Collins, a former Colorado State University golfer who has had plenty of success on mini tours over the years, stands in second place, just a stroke behind Bertsch. (Bertsch is pictured chatting with a young fan after Saturday’s round.)

Arp finds himself where he is thanks to a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 on Saturday that matched the course record at GVR. It was the sixth time that score has been shot at the course in the Colorado Open.

Arp, for one, likes to see Coloradans excel at the Colorado Open.

“It’s our state open,” the 30-year-old (left) said. “It’s nice to come in and kind of protect your state. It’s like, ‘Everybody can show up but this is the Colorado Open.’

“The guys who play here a lot, we do have a pretty good advantage because the ball flies a long way. And if you’re not used to really knowing your distances … you can catch a flyer” that will go an unexpectedly long distance.

Through two days, Bertsch is atop the leaderboard with a 15-under-par 129 total, while Arp is at 130. The next best on the leaderboard are Chris Petefish of Cumming, Ga., a rookie pro who recently graduated from Georgia Tech (64-68–132); Dru Love, son of World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III (68-65); and Patrick Stolpe of Scottsdale, Ariz. (64-69).

Bertsch had only one blemish in his second-round 64 on Saturday, a bogey on his final hole, the par-5 ninth. Ironically, he had a wedge from the middle of the fairway into the green, but pushed it a bit, hit a poor chip and missed an 8-foot par putt.

But through two rounds, the 48-year-old has made an eagle and 15 birdies at GVR.

“I’m playing good,” he said. “I’m in that aggressive mindset. I was in good position for birdie (on Saturday’s final hole) and all of a sudden I walked off with a bogey. That’s how golf is. But there were a lot of good things today.

“It’s been a long year and a half. I had (left) shoulder surgery in April of ’16 and I’ve been back playing on the two tours (PGA and Web.com) without much success. But about a month ago, I started to figure out some stuff. I had lost my iron game basically — the consistency of it. But I found some stuff that’s making a big difference and has gotten me back on track.”

Indeed, Bertsch has missed the cut in his one PGA Tour appearance this season and has made just two cuts in nine events on the Web.com Tour in 2018. But he’s certainly in the groove this week at the Colorado Open.

His wedge game has been particularly sharp at GVR, where he’s competing for the first time in three years.

“I’ve hit a lot of wedges close this week — some really good ones for kick-ins,” said Bertsch, who owns three Web.com Tour victories and five PGA Tour top-10s in his career. “I hadn’t been doing that. That was the part of the game I had to excel at because I’m not the longest (hitter) so I need to take advantage of those situations. I’m starting to again.”

It’s been a while since Bertsch’s last significant victory — he won the on the Web.com Tour in 2015 — but he’s looking forward to a crack at another title.

“It’s going to be pedal to the medal” on Sunday, he said. “There’s going to be scores to be had assuming we have a typical Colorado morning with not much wind. You’re going to have to be going for it when you can and playing away from certain pins. But you’re not going to be able to just protect. I’ll be trying to go as low as I can.

“I can’t wait. It’s going to be fun.”

Arp, who Monday qualified for last week’s Web.com Tour event in Omaha, matched his career tournament low score relative to par on Saturday. He shot a 62 last year in a Monday qualifier to earn a spot in the field for the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open.

On Saturday, the 2010 CGA Public Links champion did the trick with 10 birdies and no bogeys.

“It has nothing to do with my golf game at all. It all has to do with me controlling myself,” Arp said of his impressive play this week. “My golf game has been fine the last month, but I haven’t been able to score and I couldn’t figure out why. I realized I was a head case and need to figure that out. I’ve been focused on that the last two weeks and trying to come up with solutions. I found one and it’s working so far and we’ll see if it keeps working.

“A buddy of my turned me onto a book — it’s called, ‘On Combat’. I just read it and was kind of thinking about (how) it has to do with heart rate and how you can calm yourself down when you start to get a little edgy or whatever It’s been working. And it helps to make a few putts here or there.”

As good as Arp’s round was, he said it easily could have been better. But he missed three putts inside 10 feet.

“I feel like I’m in a pretty good place and hopefully I’ll keep myself there tomorrow,” he said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good chance. I’m hitting it pretty good and rolling it well.”

Arp made his professional debut at the Colorado Open in 2010 and is looking for his first top-10 finish in the event.

“The Colorado Open has always meant quite a lot to me,” said Arp, who is now a full-time resident of Fort Collins again. “And now I feel like I have my head in the right place, so it’s time to play some golf.”

Two Days and Out: Two of the biggest names in the 2018 CoBank Colorado Open field, including the defending champion, bowed out after Saturday, having missed the cut.

Part-time Colorado residents and PGA Tour winners Jonathan Kaye and Kevin Stadler finished at identical 3-over-par 147 totals, which left them six strokes shy of advancing to Sunday’s final round.

“It’s kind of expected,” said Kaye (left), who finished with a 23-under-par total for four rounds at GVR in winning last year. “I’ve just been playing (poorly). It wasn’t really out of the realm for me to play (poorly).”

Though it may have been just in the heat of the moment following rounds of 76-71, Kaye said this in response to a question if he was going to play any more tournaments this year: “Nope. Done. I might not ever play again in a tournament. I just don’t like golf. I don’t enjoy the pace of play and waiting around so much. Everybody is just dinking around. No one is playing. …. I don’t get it. I can’t play like that. I don’t have the patience for it anymore.”

As for Stadler, the 2002 Colorado Open champion and winner of the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open is continuing the road back to the PGA Tour after first feeling the effects of a left hand injury while playing in China in November of 2014. After not receiving the correct diagnosis for more than 18 months, he underwent surgery on what was a broken hamate bone last August, and is now pain-free. But while he has made two starts on the Web.com Tour this year, he hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since 2015. He plans to change that this fall.

In the meantime, he’s trying to shake some poor habits in his game, and he shot 78-69 at GVR this week.

“It was a lot of rust and a lot of lack of ability these days,” he said with a chuckle. “Yesterday (the 78) was kind of a perfect storm getting caught in the wind and I didn’t have control of my ball, (and I) three-putted a couple of times early. Basically I made every error I could possibly make. It was pretty pathetic shooting what I shot. I played bad but I didn’t feel I played that bad. It was just a combination of everything.

“I played all right today. It’s just a lot of rusty, silly mistakes.

“The scores don’t really mean a whole lot for me right now. As poor as it was, it’s actually getting better. I’ve shot better scores in events I’ve played the last 6-8 weeks, but I can tell the motion is better and I’m starting to play a little better. Yesterday was just a disaster. All in all I was pretty happy with the way I hit it today. It’s nowhere near where it needs to be and where it used to be, but it’s going in the right direction.”

Remarkable Recovery for GVR: After a day of playing lift, clean and place on Friday after severe storms and flooding on Wednesday evening led to a cancelation of Thursday’s scheduled opening round, it was back to playing the ball down on Saturday at the Colorado Open.

Suffice it to say it was quite a task to get GVR back in playable shape after the storm on Wednesday evening, which brough heavy rain, hail and winds estimated at 60 mph.

That weather event dumped at least 1.1 inches of rain on the course, leading to the Colorado Open being reduced to 54 holes for the first time since 1981.

There were standing “lakes” on the course were there was previously fairway, and newly created pools of water where fish and frogs were stranded and sometimes died (see photos at left and below, courtesy of Kevin Laura).

On Thursday, superintendent Barry Kendall had a crew of 10 working 11 straight hours pumping the water off the course and from the bunkers. Kendall has worked at GVR since 2007 — since 2009 as head superintendent — having prepared the course for 35 Colorado Opens/Colorado Women’s Opens/Colorado Senior Opens during that 11-plus-year period.

But the bottom line was, the course was ready to play on Friday, although it was certainly still wet in spots.

Noted two-time Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan about the course on Saturday: “It’s in phenomal shape, unbelievable.”

Notable: Kyler Dunkle of Parker, the 2016 CGA Player of the Year, remains in the lead for low-amateur honors after 36 holes. Dunkle, a University of Utah golfer after transferring from Colorado State, has posted rounds of 66-70 for an 8-under-par 136 total. He played his final 10 holes in 4 under par on Saturday. Dunkle is one stroke ahead of AJ Ott of Fort Collins, the 2018 CGA Match Play champion who carded a 69 on Friday. Both Dunkle and Ott have qualified for next month’s U.S. Amateur. Sam Marley of Centennial and Griffin Barela of Lakewood share third place among amateurs at 138. … The 62 players who were at 3-under 141 or better made the 36-hole cut on Saturday. Among those who didn’t advance to Sunday — besides Kaye and Stadler — were former champions Zahkai Brown (142), Scott Petersen (142) and Ben Portie (145), 2017 runner-up Jacob Lestishen (147) and five-time Colorado PGA Player of the Year Geoff Keffer (150). … Chris DiMarco, a three-time PGA Tour winner, caddied for his son Cristian on Friday and Saturday, but the younger DiMarco missed the cut (75-74). The DiMarcos recently moved to Colorado. … Notah Begay, winner of four events on the PGA Tour, shares 44th place after rounds of 69-72. He birdied his final hole Friday to make the cut. … The leading threesome after 36 holes — Bertsch, Arp and Petefish — will tee off at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday for the final round.

For scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

For Sunday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

This year, a severe Wedneday night storm led to flooding and a one-day postponement of the start of the championship — and to the event joining ’80 and ’81 as a 54-hole affair.

Which means this week’s Open will be a little more like a middle-distance run than the usual marathon.

With just three rounds, players can ill-afford a bad day and still hope to be in the hunt for the $100,000 first prize at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

With that in mind, plenty of players got off to quick starts on Friday, while a couple of the most prominent names in the field went backward.

While Christopher Petefish of Cumming, Ga., and Patrick Stolpe of Scottsdale, Ariz., took the lead with 8-under-par 64s under lift, clean and place rules on Friday, two past champions in the field who have won PGA Tour events struggled on day 1.

Two-time Tour winner Jonathan Kaye, a former University of Colorado golfer and a part-time Boulder resident who won his second Colorado Open last year, opened with a 4-over-par 76.

And 2002 Colorado Open champion Kevin Stadler, winner of the 2014 Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, posted a 78. Stadler, a part-time Denver resident, shot a 6-over 42 on his first nine, the back at GVR.

Meanwhile, one PGA Tour veteran who is in contention is Shane Bertsch of Parker, the 1998 Colorado Open champion. The 48-year-old shot a 65 on Friday and shares third place with Timothy O’Neal of Savannah, Ga.

Other Coloradans in the top six include two amateurs — 2016 CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle of Parker and Griffin Barela of Lakewood. Dunkle played his last 10 holes in 6 under par and shot 66. Barela carded a 67.

Four-time PGA Tour winner Notah Begay opened with a 69.

Play will continue through Sunday, with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after Saturday’s second round.

For scores from the CoBank Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

Two players with major Colorado ties — Shane Bertsch of Parker and David Duval, who just moved back to the Centennial State after a brief stay in Florida — are scheduled to make their first PGA Tour starts of the season this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Bertsch (pictured) last played on the PGA Tour in August and faces a formidable task if he wants to play many more events on the world’s top circuit. He has just two events remaining on a medical extension — the result of a shoulder injury — to earn $597,069 in order to keep PGA Tour status moving forward.

The 47-year-old, winner of the 1998 Colorado Open, has played 192 PGA Tour events in his career, with five top-10 finishes. He’s won three times on the Web.com Tour, most recently in 2015.

Duval, 46, plays very little on the PGA Tour anymore, but is a regular at the Pebble Beach stop. In fact, his last top-five finish on the Tour came in the 2010 AT&T, where he was runner-up. This week’s tournament starts on Thursday.

Duval, a Golf Channel TV analyst, hasn’t made a cut on the PGA Tour since the 2015 British Open.

Also in the AT&T field this week is Sam Saunders, who moved from Fort Collins to Florida two years ago.

Meanwhile, two-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Kaye will be making his second straight Web.com Tour start at the Club Colombia Championship in Bogata, starting Thursday.

Kaye, who won his second CoBank Colorado Open last year, withdrew in the midst of the second round at last week’s Panama Championship. Before that, he hadn’t competed in the Web.com Tour since April.

Also in the Colombia field are locals Wyndham Clark, Mark Hubbard, Jim Knous and Andrew Svoboda.

And at the PGA Tour Champions’ Boca Raton Championship, World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin will make just his third tour start in the last seven months. The former University of Colorado golfer will be joined in the Florida field — starting on Friday — by fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe and former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo.
 

— Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, moved from Fort Collins to Atlantic Beach, Fla., in 2016. Saunders grew up in Florida.

— David Duval moved last year from Cherry Hills Village, also to Atlantic Beach. Duval has lived most of his life in northeast Florida.

— And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Wiebe departed Aurora in 2017 to become the director of instruction at San Jose Country Club. Wiebe played college golf at San Jose State.

— Meanwhile, 1997 British Open champion Justin Leonard moved in, to Aspen from Dallas, in 2015. Leonard, winner of a dozen PGA Tour titles, played in just one PGA Tour event in 2017. He serves on the broadcast team for the Golf Channel.

As the first full-field events of 2018 are held this week on the world’s top golf tours, we’ll continue with that theme and explore what’s new and different with the major tour players who have significant Colorado ties.

On the Mend: Two Colorado golfers who have had plenty of starts on the PGA Tour are on major medical extensions from the Tour.

Kevin Stadler, a part-time Denver resident, hasn’t competed on the world’s top golf circuit since the summer of 2015 due to a stress fracture in his left hand that he suffered late in 2014. Stadler, who withdrew after one round of a Web.com Tour event in July, has 26 starts remaining on his PGA Tour medical extension to earn $717,890, the amount he’ll need to keep his PGA Tour card.

In November, Stadler was among 18 new inductees into the University of Southern California Hall of Fame. Stadler, who counts a Colorado Open and two CGA Match Plays among his victories, won the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour.

Shane Bertsch of Parker, meanwhile, has two events left to earn $597,069 on his PGA Tour medical extension, which was due to a now-healed shoulder injury. The Denver native made two cuts in nine PGA Tour starts in 2017, and four cuts in 10 Web.com tournaments last year. He’s entered in the Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, which begins on Saturday.

New on the Web.com Tour: Wyndham Clark, who lived in Colorado for all of his pre-college years, played in one Web.com Tour event in his first year as a pro in 2017 (along with seven tournaments on the PGA Tour). But in 2018 — starting Saturday in the Bahamas — Clark will be an official Web.com Tour member after finishing 23rd in the final stage of Q-school. After wrapping up his amateur career with three individual college wins in 2017 — including the Pac-12 Conference Championship in Boulder — the former University of Oregon golfer turned pro last June. Since then, he finished as high as 17th on the PGA Tour and 23rd on the Web.com Tour.

Meanwhile, Denver native Mark Hubbard is no stranger to the Web.com Tour, though he’s spent most of the last three seasons on the PGA Tour. But the former Colorado junior player of the year lost his PGA Tour card last year and failed to regain it through Q-school, so he’s back to the Web circuit in 2017, starting this weekend in the Bahamas. Hubbard has played in 34 Web events, posting seven top-10 finishes.

Also in the Bahamas field this week is Jim Knous of Englewood, who is back for his second year on the Web circuit, along with Bertsch and former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda.

U.S. Senior Open in Colorado Awaits: The 2018 PGA Tour Champions season begins Jan. 18 with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii. That’s the first official event of a 2018 schedule that is highlighted by the U.S. Senior Open that The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs will host June 28-July 1.

World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, the Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate who has won a record 45 times on PGA Tour Champions, is among a half-dozen PGA Tour Champions players with major Colorado ties. But the one who figures to make the most noise at The Broadmoor, based on recent seasons, is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe. Jobe (pictured) won on PGA Tour Champions for the first time in 2017 and finished third in the U.S. Senior Open after a third-round 62. He ended up seventh on the 2017 PGA Tour Champions money list with almost $1.4 million.

Players with significant Colorado ties entered in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship include Irwin, Jobe, Craig Stadler, Esteban Toledo and Wiebe.

LPGA Tour Absence: No Colorado locals will compete regularly on the LPGA Tour this season as former CU golfer Jenny Coleman lost her card in 2017 after making just one cut in 10 events. Coleman and her twin sister, Kristin, will likely play mainly on the Symetra Tour in 2018.

In Europe: On the European Tour, former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele has returned for his second straight season after improving his status by finishing 18th in the final stage of Q-school. He posted third- and fourth-place finishes last season on the top European circuit. And former University of Denver golfer Espen Kofstad has returned to action after missing 10 months following wrist surgery. He’s missed his first two cuts this wraparound season.

On the Ladies European Tour, returning are former DU golfers Eleanor Givens and Tonje Daffinrud, who finished 70th and 73rd, respectively, on the 2017 LET money list.
  

The 1998 Colorado Open champion spent much of last year recovering from a shoulder injury. Ironically, in his last PGA Tour event before the long layoff, Bertsch posted his best finish on that circuit since January 2013 by placing 35th in the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

This year, Bertsch (pictured) has been playing on the Web.com Tour, where he’s a three-time winner. He’s made one cut in five tournaments, finishing 20th on April 23 at the United Leasing & Finance Championship.

Bertsch, 47, is on a medical extension from the PGA Tour and has 11 events to earn at least $612,397 in order to keep his PGA Tour playing privileges.

(May 6 Update: Bertsch shot 75-75 for a 6-over-par 150 total and missed the cut by five strokes in Wilmington.)

Another Coloradan, Mark Wiebe of Aurora, also will return to major golf action this week as he’s competing in the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational starting Friday in The Woodlands, Texas. Wiebe has won five times on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, including the 2013 Senior British Open.
 

The former University of Colorado golfer, competing in his first tournament in two years, led the CoBank Colorado Open during the final nine holes. And while he didn’t emerge his second Colorado Open victory, the two-time PGA Tour winner finished second with a 20-under-par 268 total at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, which isn’t bad considering his competitive rust.

This week, Kaye (pictured) will put his game to a bigger test as the 46-year-old competes in his first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in almost three years. The part-time Boulder resident, who beat Phil Mickelson in a playoff to win a 1992 college tournament, is scheduled to tee it up starting Thursday (Feb. 9) at the Web.com Tour’s Club Colombia Championship in Bogota.

Prior to this week, the last time Kaye played in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event was at the Web.com’s Rex Hospital Open in May 2014. The former CGA Public Links champion last competed on the PGA Tour in 2011.

Overall, Kaye played in 318 PGA Tour events from 1995 to 2011, winning more than $10.5 million. His two Tour wins came at the 2003 Buick Classic and the 2004 FBR Open (now the Waste Management Phoenix Open).

Kaye isn’t the only Colorado resident who is in the midst of a return to big-league golf after a prolonged layoff:

— Denver-area resident David Duval, who has competed in a grand total of three PGA Tour events since the summer of 2015, is in the field for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which also begins on Thursday.

Duval, a 13-time PGA Tour winner who’s now a regular on the Golf Channel broadcast team, finished second at the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, matching his best PGA Tour finish since 2001.

However, Duval did team up with stepson Nick Karavites to win the nationally televised PNC Father/Son Challenge in December.

Also in the Pebble Beach field are former Coloradans Mark Hubbard, Martin Laird and Sam Saunders.

(Feb. 12 Update) Hubbard (69-70-75-73–287) finished 62nd at Pebble Beach, while Laird (71-73-71–215) made the cut but didn’t qualify for the final round individually, and Saunders (69-75-72–216) and Duval (73-71-75–219) missed the cut.

— Meanwhile, joining Kaye in the Web.com Tour’s Club Colombia Championship will be Shane Bertsch of Parker, who last month competed in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event for the first time in 11 months. Bertsch, who is on a medical extension from the PGA Tour, was sidelined most of last year with a shoulder injury.

When Bertsch does return to the PGA Tour, he’ll have 11 tournaments left on his medical extension, needing to earn $612,397 in those events to keep his exempt status.

Also playing in Bogota will be Jim Knous of Littleton, former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda and former Colorado Open champions Jimmy Gunn and Nate Lashley. Knous Monday qualified for the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open last week. 

(Feb. 11 Update) All the local players missed the 36-hole cut in Bogota:
Kaye 74-73–147
Svoboda 71-76–147
Knous 75-73–148
Bertsch 79-71–150

Kaye, Bertsch, Knous and Svoboda are also in the field for the Web.com Tour’s Panama Claro Championship, which begins Feb. 16 in Panama City.

With the LPGA Tour playing its season opener this week, every major tour in the world will be underway for 2017. And if recent developments are any indication, it will be an eventful year for players with strong Colorado connections.

For example:

— Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird (pictured) posted his second top-10 finish in four starts on the 2016-17 PGA Tour wraparound season by placing ninth Sunday in the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, Calif.

The three-time Tour winner shot rounds of 68-66-71-69 for a 14-under-par 274 total, leaving him six strokes behind winner Hudson Swafford.

Laird placed eighth in the Safeway Open in October.

— World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, a graduate of Boulder High School and the University of Colorado, doesn’t play a lot anymore on PGA Tour Champions, where he’s far and away the record-holder for career victories with 45. But even at 71 years old, he still has his moments.

At last week’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, Irwin shot better than his age not once but twice in the tournament, which was shortened to 36 holes due to heavy winds on Saturday. Named the Colorado Male Player of the Century in 2015, Irwin fired a 3-under-par 69 Thursday and a 70 on Friday, making it a remarkable 18 times in which he’s bettered his age on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.

Irwin’s 28th-place finish was his best in a non-team event on the Champions tour since August 2014.

— Shane Bertsch of Parker, who hasn’t competed in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in more than 11 months following a shoulder injury, is back in action at the Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, which started on Sunday.

When he returns to the PGA Tour, the former Colorado Open champion will have 11 events left on a medical extension, needing to earn at least $612,397 in those events to keep his exempt status.

Also on a medical extension on the PGA Tour is part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler, who when he returns will have 26 tournaments in which to earn $717,890 in order to keep his Tour status. Stadler, hampered by a left hand injury for more than two years, hasn’t competed on the PGA Tour in 18 months, though he finished 41st in the CoBank Colorado Open in July.

Among those joining Bertsch in the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic are two Coloradans who earned Web.com Tour status through Q-school in December, Jim Knous of Englewood and Tom Whitney of Fort Collins. Whitney received a sponsor’s exemption for the event. Former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda, a winner last year on the Web circuit, is also competing in the Bahamas.

Here are some of the other notable things from a Colorado perspective on the world’s major tours in 2017:

— Though former CU golfer Jenny Coleman (left) in all likelihood won’t make it into the field for this week’s Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic, she will be the first player with major Colorado connections to compete regularly on the LPGA Tour since 2013. (Sue Kim, who spent one semester at the University of Denver, played on the LPGA Tour regularly as recently as 2015.)

Coleman, who competed for the Buffs from 2010-14, finished 29th in the final stage of LPGA Tour qualifying in December to earn conditional status.

Two former DU golfers, Tonje Daffinrud and Ellie Givens, continue to be regulars on the Ladies European Tour.

— As many as a half-dozen players with strong Colorado ties figure to compete at least a handful of times on the PGA Tour in the current wraparound season.

As noted earlier, that could include two players long sidelined by injuries, Stadler and Bertsch.

Laird, who already has two top-10 showings, will be a regular.

Former Denver resident Mark Hubbard has struggled in the early going this season, but has shown he has some staying power by keeping his PGA Tour card for three straight years. His best PGA Tour finish is 15th in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open.

Meanwhile, likely getting periodic starts in 2017 will be former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders and current Aspenite Justin Leonard.

— As many as eight players with Colorado connections may compete on PGA Tour Champions in 2017. The one likely to make the most noise, based on last year, is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe, who posted seven top-10 finishes in 2016. Others likely to play at least periodically in 2017 are Esteban Toledo, Gary Hallberg, Irwin, Mark Wiebe, Steve Jones, Craig Stadler and Mike Reid.

— For the first time in several years, at least two players with strong Colorado connections will compete in the same season on the European Tour. That happened when former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele finished 19th in the final stage of Q-school in November and former DU player Espen Kofstad was 25th. That made both players exempt for the 2016-17 wraparound season.

— Joining Knous, Whitney and Svoboda on the Web.com Tour in 2017 are Coloradans Parker Edens and Michael Schoolcraft, along with current CU senior Jeremy Paul, all of whom have conditional status, like Whitney.

For weekly updates on all the local tour players, CLICK HERE.
 

This year, those reflections have particularly come into focus.

With the CGA celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, there’s been a concerted look back on the past century of golf in Colorado. That includes a 10-part series of stories on notable people and events from the last hundred years.

Writing that series was illuminating, which brings us back to Thanksgiving. A better understanding of the past can lead to increased appreciation for all we have to be thankful for in Colorado golf.

To wit, here are 10 things that come to mind:

— Rich History of Golf. The Century of Golf Gala held recently at The Broadmoor particulary brought this home, with Jack Nicklaus reminiscing about his strong links to Colorado over the last 60 years. Nicklaus is one of golf’s all-time pantheon to have won significant tournaments in the state, with others being Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Kathy Whitworth, Babe Zaharias, Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson. For much more about Colorado golf history, CLICK HERE.

— Teamwork. Another thing that the Century of Golf Gala — 1,250 attendees strong — and related activities reinforced is that big things can happen when the Colorado golf community joins forces. Teaming up with the CGA in making it all a major success were the CWGA, Colorado PGA and the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association.

— Great Venues. The day of the Century of Golf Gala, a golf outing held at The Broadmoor (pictured) demonstrated yet again what stellar golf courses Colorado has produced. On a mid-November day, temperatures reached the mid-60s, and the setting was enough to make any golfer take pause. The same can be said for countless other courses in the state — Sanctuary, Arrowhead, Castle Pines, Ballyneal, Red Sky, Eisenhower, etc., etc. Golfers in Colorado are indeed fortunate.

— Good of the Game Partnerships. The recent creation of a partnership between the CGA and the Colorado PGA will result in a new Colorado Junior Tour and many other advantages for all levels of junior golfers in Colorado (READ MORE). It’s yet another example of how the game can be well served by constructive cooperation.

— Local Players Who Excel. Colorado has a long history of homegrown players hitting it big — with Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Dale Douglass, Jill McGill, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman, Kevin Stadler, Shane Bertsch, Bill Loeffler and to some extent Mike Reid, to name some. It’s always fun for Coloradans to have one of their own to root for on the national or international level. And we also have some very promising young players potentially in a similar pipleline with the likes of Mark Hubbard, Jennifer Kupcho, Wyndham Clark and Hannah Wood.

— Highly Regarded PGA Professionals. There are oustanding PGA professionals throughout the country, but members of the Colorado PGA have proven to be high achievers as the Section or its members have won national PGA of America awards eight times in the last nine years. And highly respected instructor Ann Finke was recently voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, along with Colorado-based Champions Tour player Craig Stadler. And Vic Kline was honored as Colorado Golf Professional of the Century during the Century of Golf Gala.

— Foundations to Support Good Causes. Numerous golf foundations in Colorado do considerable and commendable work in bolstering good causes through the game of golf. Among them are the Colorado Golf Foundation, Colorado PGA Reach, the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Environmental Golf Institute.

— Volunteers. While the staffs of the major golf organizations in Colorado do yeoman’s work, those organizations would be a shell of what they are were it not for volunteers. Such volunteerism came to the forefront this past year with the passing of Joe Salvo, and the departure from the Colorado tournament golf scene of Rich Langston and Joan Scholes. Each of them made major contributions — in terms of both time and dediction — to the likes of the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA over the years. And many, many others do likewise each year.

— Another Senior Major on the Horizon.This year it was announced that the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will be contested at The Broadmoor the year the resort celebrates its 100th birthday. It will mark the third U.S. Senior Open held in Colorado, meaning only Ohio (with six) will have hosted more. The Centennial State also was home to another senior major, the Senior PGA Championship contested at Colorado Golf Club in 2010.

— Good People. I’ve always marveled at the number of good people you meet through the game of golf. Perhaps it’s part of the significant “self-policing” aspect of the sport that tends to attract people of high character. But whatever the case, it’s refreshing.

And yet another reason to give thanks.
 

The HealthOne Colorado Open championship season closed on Friday, Aug. 28 with the conclusion of the Colorado Women’s Open.

Coincidentally, but appropriately, that same weekend three veterans of recent Colorado Opens or Colorado Women’s Opens made good in very notable and significant ways.

Shane Bertsch of Parker, winner of the 1998 Colorado Open and a 10th-place finisher this year, regained his PGA Tour on Aug. 30 after toiling on the Web.com Tour for the last three years.

That same day, Kris Tamulis, who has posted two top-10s at the Colorado Women’s Open since 2010, won the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic for her first LPGA Tour victory.

And also on Aug. 30, the 2011 Colorado Open low-amateur, Zac Blair, recorded his best finish ever on the PGA Tour, tying for fourth in The Barclays. The Utah resident has since advanced to the third event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the BMW Championship — one of just four PGA Tour rookies to do so.

All in all, it’s been like a welcome blast from the past for the Colorado Open, which has featured a plethora of big-name players in its fields over the years, though primarily before the turn of the century. Indeed, participants in the Colorado Open have accounted for more than 35 major championship victories. The most successful in that regard are Sam Snead (seven major wins), Phil Mickelson (five) and Hale Irwin and Billy Casper (three each).

Blair, Bertsch and Tamulis certainly don’t fit into the World Golf Hall of Fame category, but their recent surges do bode well.

Here’s a brief look at how each fared in the Colorado Open championships, and what they’ve accomplished recently:

— Bertsch, a Denver native, is now 45 years old, but in June he claimed his third victory on the Web.com Tour — and first since 2005 — winning the Rust-Oleum Championship. With four other top-10s on the Web.com Tour this year, Bertsch finished ninth on the Web.com regular-season money list, easily good enough to regain his PGA Tour card.

Bertsch (pictured above) has played in 174 events on the PGA Tour, but just two since 2012. He’s posted five top-10s in his PGA Tour career, with the best finish being a fourth in the 2011 Frys.com Open.

Bertsch, the ’98 Colorado Open champion, returned to the tournament this year for the first time since 2002, tying for 10th place.

— In these days when ever-younger players are winning on the LPGA Tour, Tamulis (left) is an anamoly. With her recent victory at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic at 34 years and 8 months, she became the second-oldest winner on the LPGA Tour in 2015, behind only Cristie Kerr (37). The victory came after Tamulis had gone her first 185 LPGA events without a win. The $195,000 she earned more than doubled her previous winnings for 2015. Tamulis currently sits 31st on the 2015 money list with $373,758.

The resident of Naples, Fla., finished fifth at the 2010 Colorado Women’s Open and seventh at the 2013 tournament.

— Blair (below) is certainly no stranger to the Colorado Open. His dad, Jim Blair, won the tournament twice in the 1980s. And Zac himself competed in the event three straight years beginning in 2009. He placed 34th in ’09, missed the cut the next year, and placed 18th in 2011, claiming low-amateur honors. Then he returned to Colorado the next summer for the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, where Blair placed fifth in stroke play (65-71–136) then lost in the round of 64 of match play to eventual runner-up Michael Weaver.

The now-25-year-old Blair, who went from PGA Tour Latinoamerica to the Web.com Tour to the PGA Tour in just six months, has continued his ascendency as a PGA Tour rookie. His fourth-place showing at The Barclays was his second top-10 of the season. The former BYU golfer has won more than $1.2 million for his rookie season, and by being one of the 70 golfers to make it to the BMW Championship, there’s the potential for much more.

“My goals the whole year were, one, to keep my card, and the second goal was to make it to the Tour Championship,” Blair said. “So I feel like I’m in a good spot. If I go out and handle my business, I can accomplish that second goal.”

Going forward, the folks at the Colorado Open championships, now with CoBank as the title sponsor, can only hope that more of the tournament’s veterans make good at golf’s highest levels, as Bertsch, Tamulis and Blair have.