Finishing in the top 10 in a USGA national championship is no small feat. Ask any elite-level golfer with strong Colorado ties.

In the last half-dozen USGA seasons, fewer than 10 times has a player with major Colorado connections either placed in the top 10 in an individual USGA stroke-play national championship or made it to at least the quarterfinals of an individual USGA amateur championship.

That list includes David Duval (second in 2009 U.S. Open), Steve Ziegler (quarterfinalist in 2009 U.S. Amateur), Hale Irwin (fourth in 2011 U.S. Senior Open), Mark Wiebe (eighth in 2012 U.S. Senior Open) and Marilyn Hardy (quarterfinals in 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur).

Yet in this month alone, two players with significant Colorado ties accomplished that feat. Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs made it to the final eight in the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Bethlehem, Pa., last week. And this week, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (pictured above in a USGA photo) advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur — held this year in Deal, N.J. — for the third time since 2009.

The 2014 USGA championship season for non-team events ends today with the finals of the U.S. Senior Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. After that, all that’s left is the biennial USGA Men’s State Team Championship, set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in French Lick, Ind. Steve Irwin, Jon Lindstrom and Nick Nosewicz are scheduled to represent Colorado at that event.

As for the recent USGA quarterfinalists with strong ties to the Centennial State, both Harrington and Eaton earn exemptions into their respective 2015 national championships by virtue of advancing to the final eight this month.

Harrington (left), 42, was playing in his ninth USGA championship, and his third U.S. Mid-Am, but he had never before gotten beyond the round of 16 in match play. Ironically, when he did previously go to the round of 16, he lost to a fellow Coloradan, Rick DeWitt, in the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur. This time around, after qualifying for match play and winning his first three matches, the 2009 CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year fell 5 and 3 to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, Mich., who won the 2013 Michigan Open title as an amateur.

For the record, by the way, had Harrington won the title, he would have been the second national Mid-Am champion from Colorado. Bill Loeffler, who has gone on to win three Colorado Open titles, claimed the U.S. Mid-Am title in 1986.

At the Senior Women’s Amateur, Eaton, 55, went 19 holes in the round of 16 to defeat former U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Corey Weworski and earn a quarterfinal spot. But, just as was the case in 2011, Eaton fell in the quarters to Terri Frohnmayer of Salem, Ore.

Eaton, a native of Greeley who now lives in Tempe, Ariz., was competing in her 22nd USGA championship. Besides this year and in 2011, she made the U.S. Senior Women’s Am quarterfinals in 2009. She won 21 CWGA championships before “retiring” from those competitions at the end of the 2013 season. She’s been the CWGA Senior Player of the Year each of the past five years.

Eaton and Harrington are two of the 13 players with strong Colorado connections who in 2014 made cuts during the 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. (Note: Making cuts in this case means advancing to match play in amateur-only events, or surviving 36-hole cuts in open championships).

Here’s the rundown:

U.S. Open — Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler finished 63rd.

U.S. Women’s Open — Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim finished 59th.

U.S. Senior Open — Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo finished 14th.

U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links — DU golfer Elyse Smidinger advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Amateur Public Links — Chris Korte of Littleton, a current DU golfer, advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Junior Amateur — Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Girls’ Junior — Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster tied for eighth place in stroke play, easily advancing to match play, then lost in the round of 64.

U.S. Women’s Amateur — Former University of Colorado golfer Jennifer Coleman made match play, won one match and lost in the round of 32 to Alison Lee, the No. 3-ranked female amateur in the world at the time.

U.S. Amateur — No local players advanced to match play.

U.S. Mid-Amateur — Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs made match play, won three matches and lost in the quarterfinals, which makes him exempt from qualifying next year.

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur — Shannon Langhardt of Lakewood made match play and lost in round of 64.

U.S. Senior Amateur — No local players advanced to match play.

U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur — Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton made match play, won three matches and lost in the quarterfinals for the third time in the last six years, which makes her exempt from qualifying in 2015. Also making match play, but losing in the round of 64 were Christie Austin of Greenwood Village, a former USGA Executive Committee member, and part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy.
 

But none was as good as Thursday’s, which just happened to come in the qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Stypula, a member at Boulder Country Club since 1997 and a full golf member since 2001, shot a 1-over-par 73 and shared medalist honors with part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy. (Stypula, in yellow, is pictured with Hardy.)

Considering Hardy has made it to the semifinals and quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur — in separate years — and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, tying her for medalist is no small feat.

“This is the best round I’ve ever played — and on a big day,” said the 59-year-old Stypula, a former girls golf coach at Fairview High School. “This is probably my biggest (golf) accomplishment. My feeling is working with girls stands a little higher, but in competition, this is the biggest.”

In all, seven players out of Thursday’s field of 20 earned spots into the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, which is limited to players 25 and older. The national championship is scheduled for Sept. 6-11 in Noblesville, Ind.

Joining Stypula and Hardy in qualifying were Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore of Cherry Hills Village (74), former USGA Executive Committee member Christie Austin of Greenwood Village (77), Shannon Langhardt of Lakewood (78), Kareen Markle of Eagle, Idaho (78) and Lynn Fischer of Niwot (81 and winning a playoff against Blair Fraser of Boulder).

Hardy, who’s married to nationally recognized golf instructor Jim Hardy, has competed in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am more than 20 times, while Moore has played in a dozen.

Stypula, the BCC senior women’s club champion each of the last two years, will be competing in the national Mid-Amateur for the first time.

“It sounds like fun,” she said.

Stypula actually shot a 73 in one previous round at Boulder Country Club this year, but that came on a set of tee boxes much shorter than Thursday’s, which measured 6,175 yards. Before Thursday, she had played those tees just twice.

For the day, Stypula finished with four birdies and five bogeys. Her four birdie putts ranged from 15 feet to the 35-footer she drained on No. 18.

“Those were just gifts,” said Stypula, who owns a handicap index of just under 6.0. “It was a really lovely day.”

Though players as young as 25 can compete in the Mid-Am, all of Monday’s top four scorers are at least 49 years old.

Hardy, despite her credentials, had to rally Thursday after starting poorly. She double-bogeyed her first hole and was 4 over par after four. But she went 3 under par for her last 14 holes and finished birdie-birdie-par.

“I knew I had a lot of golf in front of me” after the slow start, said Hardy, 52. “I was thinking, ‘One hole at a time and make pars.’ I drove the ball really well and love the golf course.”

Hardy, a former basketball and volleyball player at UC-Irvine, has played in a number of USGA qualifiers in Colorado in recent years. This trip to Boulder was about a 4 1/2-hour drive from the Hardys’ home near Gunnison. The Hardys, who live in Houston most of the year, are members at Dos Rios Golf Club in Gunnison.

“We enjoy it so much,” Marilyn Hardy said of living in the area during the summer. “There’s so much to do out here.”

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
At Par-72 Boulder CC

ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Marilyn Hardy, Houston TX 38-35–73
Catherine Stypula, Boulder CO 36-37–73
Janet Moore, Cherry Hills Village, CO 35-39–74
Christie Austin, Greenwood Village, CO 40-37–77
Kareen Markle, Eagle, ID 39-39–78
Shannon Langhardt, Lakewood CO 37-41–78
Lynn Fischer Niwot, CO 38-43–81

ALTERNATES (In Order)
Blair Fraser, Boulder, CO 40-41–81
Annette Gaiotti, Salt Lake City, UT 39-43–82

FAILED TO QUALIFY
Meghan Christensen, Vail Colorado 43-42–85
Karen Hale Boynton Beach FL 43-42–85
Suzanne Smith, Breckenridge, CO 42-44–86
Janice Roberts Wilson, Northeast, FL 43-44–87
Lisa Lee, Longmont, CO 42-47–89
Katy Rothberg, Denver CO 46-43–89
Jessi McVay, Denver, CO 43-47–90
Joanna Ringsby, Denver, CO 49-41–90
Beverly Hoffenberg, Greenwood Village, CO 45-46–91
Sue Davis, Denver, CO 45-46–91
Jennifer Hocking Colorado Springs, CO WD