Colorado last hosted a USGA championship in 2012 when the U.S. Amateur paid a visit, but there are now two national events on the horizon.

Less than three months after the USGA announced that The Broadmoor will be hosting the U.S. Senior Open in 2018, the association on Thursday revealed its plans for the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur to come to Colorado Golf Club in Parker, with CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora serving as the second stroke-play course for the tournament.

The dates are set for Sept. 21-26, 2019, with two rounds of stroke play preceding 64 players advancing to match play.

“The USGA is pleased to bring a championship to Colorado Golf Club (pictured) for the first time,” said Diana Murphy, who is set to become the president of the USGA in February. “The course has a proven record in both stroke-play and match-play competition, and the variety of risk-reward options will allow for exciting and dramatic play, helping to identify a champion worthy of hoisting the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy.”

It will mark just the second time the U.S. Mid-Am — a championship for players 25 and older — will be contested in Colorado. The 1983 Mid-Am was held at Cherry Hills Country Club, with Jay Sigel winning one of his five USGA titles, this one coming just a month after capturing the U.S. Amateur championship.

Overall, it will be the 33rd USGA championship played in Colorado, with the first being the 1938 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills.

Colorado Golf Club, designed by Bill Coore and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, has hosted the 2010 Senior PGA Championship (won by Tom Lehman) and the 2013 Solheim Cup (where Europe defeated the U.S.) in its first decade of existence, but this will be its first USGA national championship for the club that opened in 2007. However, Colorado GC has hosted numerous USGA qualifiers over the years, including U.S. Open Local Qualifying in 2009.

“We’ve always wanted to work with the USGA, so this is really exciting,” Graham Cliff, head professional at Colorado Golf Club, said on Thursday. “From Day 1 we’ve wanted to give back to amateur golf. For guys that don’t turn pro, this is a huge event. And it fits in with our mission to give back to the game.” 

CommonGround (left), which is owned and operated by the CGA, served as the second stroke-play course for the 2012 U.S. Amateur that Cherry Hills hosted. Designed by Tom Doak, CommonGround opened in 2009.

“If you told me in 2009 that in the first decade of the golf course that it would play a significant role in two (USGA) championships, I’d have said we’re hitting it out of the park,” said Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA. “But it’s one of the main reasons we did what we did in hiring a (big-league) architect who designs a course worthy of them.”

After the USGA progressed in discussions with Colorado Golf Club officials about hosting the Mid-Am, USGA director of regional affairs Mark Passey called representatives of CommonGround to see if they were interested in being the companion course.

The USGA said, “We’d love your golf course (to co-host the stroke-play rounds),” Mate relayed. “They said your golf course complements Colorado Golf Club really well. It all just made sense.”

The U.S. Mid-Amateur dates back to 1981. Coloradan Bill Loeffler captured the championship in 1986 in Madison, Miss. Traditionally, the U.S. Mid-Am champion receives an invitation to the following year’s Masters.

With the 2019 U.S. Mid-Am, Colorado will add to the extensive and diverse list of significant golf championships it has hosted — or is scheduled to host — since The International PGA Tour event ended its 21-year run after the 2006 tournament.

That list includes:

— The 2008 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor
— The 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Murphy Creek
— The 2009 Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills
— The 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club
— The 2010 Trans-Mississippi at Denver Country Club
— The 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor
— The 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills and CommonGround
— The 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club
— The 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills
— The 2018 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor
— The 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Colorado Golf Club and CommonGround.

Editor’s Note: With the CGA celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1915, this is the 10th monthly installment of a series of stories looking back on the last century of golf in Colorado. All the articles are being published on coloradogolf.org. This chapter focuses on the period from 2005-present. For the previous installments, CLICK HERE

When it comes to big-time golf tournaments being held in Colorado, the last decade has certainly had its ups and downs.

And many of the “ups” may have largely been the result of the biggest “down”.

The dominoes began to fall early in 2007. That was when Jack Vickers, founder of The International and of Castle Pines Golf Club, and PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced at a Denver-based press conference that The International’s run in Colorado was ending after 21 consecutive years on the PGA Tour.

Though there were many contributing reasons, the lack of a title sponsor in the final years of the event played a major role. The tournament hadn’t had a title or presenting sponsor after 2002. Tiger Woods seldom playing in the event — he competed in 1998 and ’99 only — was another factor, as were problems with the tournament’s dates.

But whatever the case, there was a sense of mourning on the Colorado sports scene. The International had produced champions such as Phil Mickelson (twice), Davis Love III (twice), Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. Among the many other giants of the game to have played at Castle Pines were Jack Nicklaus (designer of Castle Pines GC), Woods and Arnold Palmer.

And the event produced some incredible golf, including in 2002, when one of the most amazing finishes in Colorado golf history occurred. Ten points out of the lead with five holes left, Steve Lowery went birdie-eagle-bogey-double eagle in a four-hole stretch, twice holing out from the fairway during that run. Only an eagle at the 17th hole by Rich Beem and Lowery’s missed birdie putt on 18 kept Lowery from carting off the trophy.

With the International’s exit, for the first calendar year since 1971, Colorado was left without a PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour event in 2007.

But as it turned out, the void was largely filled, and the last decade has been full of top-level spectator events.

— Before 2005, the U.S. Women’s Open had been held in Colorado just once — at 1995 at The Broadmoor, with Annika Sorenstam winning. But twice in the seven-year period from 2005 through 2001, the Centennial State would host the top tournament in women’s golf.

Birdie Kim won the 2005 championship in spectatcular fashion at Cherry Hills Country Club, holing out for — what else, given her name — birdie from a deep greenside bunker on the 72nd hole.

Six years later, at The Broadmoor’s East Course, another South Korean, So Yeon Ryu (left, in orange), prevailed, winning in the first three-hole aggregate playoff in the tournament’s history. Like Sorenstam at The Broadmoor and Kim at Cherry Hills, Ryu made the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA Tour victory.

Both the 2005 and ’11 Women’s Opens in Colorado drew more than 130,000 spectators for the week.

–The Broadmoor attracted a similar number for the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, won by Eduardo Romero of Argentina. That tournament is remembered for the black bear that ran across a fairway in which Bernhard Langer was playing. And then there was the presence of then-celebrity couple Greg Norman and Chris Evert …

— Colorado would go on to host two Champions Tour majors in three years as the 2010 Senior PGA Championship came to Colorado Golf Club, with Tom Lehman claiming the title.

— In 2012, the U.S. Amateur came to Cherry Hills for the second time — Phil Mickelson’s win in 1990 being the first — with CommonGround Golf Course serving as the second stroke-play venue. Steven Fox won the championship this time in one of Jordan Spieth’s final amateur events.

— In 2013, the Solheim Cup — the female version of the Ryder Cup — came to the western U.S. for the first time, with Colorado Golf Club being the host. The Europeans (left) won the Cup on U.S. soil for the first time. The 18-10 score marked the largest final margin in the history of the event.

— And then in 2014, the PGA Tour returned to Colorado for the first time since 2006, with Cherry Hills hosting the BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Billy Horschel won the tournament en route to claiming the 2014 FedEx Cup title.

The 2014 BMW Championship (pictured at top, with Rory McIlroy competing at Cherry Hills) was later named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year for the third straight season. With University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum George Solich serving as general chairman, the event raised a record $3.5 million for the Evans Scholars.

— And, looking ahead, another major spectator event is on tap for the state as the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will be contested at The Broadmoor the same year as the resort turns 100 years old.

Here are some of the other Colorado golf highlights of the period from 2005 to present:

— Two distinguished Colorado PGA golf professionals, Warren Smith and Charles “Vic” Kline, were both inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005.

— In 2005, the CGA and CWGA officially purchased the former Lowry golf course, the site of the present-day CommonGround Golf Course.

— Rick DeWitt became the oldest (at age 50) winner of the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Award, in 2006.

— In 2006, the Walking Stick course in Pueblo hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, with Tiffany Joh defeating Kimberly Kim in the final.

— In 2007, former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin won his record 45th Champions Tour event — 16 more than the No. 2 player on the list, Lee Trevino.

— In 2008, Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora was the site of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, with Jack Newman earning the title. Among the other competitors were Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.

— The Tom Doak-designed CommonGround Golf Course, originally owned and operated by both the CGA and CWGA, opened in 2009, marking the last new 18-hole course to come on the scene in Colorado. A nine-hole Kids Course also opened, thanks in significant part to a $175,000 grant from the USGA. The Kids Course is largely used for junior golf development and community outreach. 

— In 2009 Steve Ziegler became the first player since Brandt Jobe in 1985 to sweep the CGA Match Play and Stroke Play titles in the same year.

— Coloradans John Elway and Tom Hart won the 2009 Trans-Miss Four-Ball title at Cherry Hills Country Club.

— Denver Country Club hosted the 2010 Trans-Miss Championship, won by Scott Pinckney, and the senior Trans Miss, won by Chip Lutz.

— After decades as a U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying site, Columbine Country Club lost that status after 2010.

— Wyndham Clark won the 2010 CGA Stroke Play at age 16, becoming the youngest winner of the event since Bob Byman in 1971. In the final round of the championship, Jim Knous shot a course-record 10-under-par 60 at Boulder Country Club to force a playoff, but Clark prevailed for the title.

— From 2010-13, Keith Humerickhouse claimed four consecutive CGA Mid-Amateur titles, becoming just the third person to win four straight CGA championships.

— In 2011, the Allied Golf Associations of Colorado became partners in the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools initiative, designed to introduce kids to golf through P.E. classes at school. The program has now reached more than 40,000 students.

— Green Gables Country Club, a storied course that dated back to the 1920s, closed in 2011. The course hosted six LPGA Tour events and one from the Senior PGA Tour.

— The CGA hosted the Junior America’s Cup at Hiwan Golf Club in 2011, when the Colorado team finished third, its best showing ever at the event (since matched in 2015).

— The CGA launched the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course in 2012. The Academy, named for University of Colorado Evans Scholar alums George and Geoff Solich, provides incentives to take caddies as it pays the base fee for the caddies, with the players having the option to tip. The caddies attend weekly leadership classes and do volunteer community-service work each summer. In Colorado, the Academy concept has spread to Fort Collins Country Club and Meridian Golf Club.

— Part-time Lakewood resident Hollis Stacy, winner of three U.S. Women’s Opens and six USGA championships in all, was inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.

— The philanthropic Colorado Golf Foundation was launched in 2012, with CU Evans Scholar alum George Solich providing a $2 million lead gift. The foundation provides funding for Colorado-based organizations and programs that use golf to build important life skills and character, with an emphasis on instilling hard work and self-reliance in young people.

— In 2012, Coloradan Christie Austin, while serving on the USGA Executive Committee, became the first woman to chair the USGA Rules of Golf Committee.

— Coloradan Derek Tolan, who competed in the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old in 2002, won the HealthOne Colorado Open twice in a four-year period starting in 2009.

— In September 2013, about 14 inches of rain in less than a week caused devastating flooding (left), leading to major damage at many Colorado golf courses, including CommonGround GC and Coal Creek GC.

— Colorado resident Mark Wiebe won the Senior British Open in 2013, marking the first major championship of his career.

— Melissa Martin of Grand Junction became the seventh player to win the CWGA Stroke Play at least three times, doing so in the course of five years (2009-13).

— In 2014, the Colorado Open was played for the 50th time.

— Also in 2014, Kent Moore completed a sweep of major CGA championships — and has won at least one in five different decades. His resume includes victories in the Junior Match Play (1973), Stroke Play (1986), Match Play (1989), Mid-Amateur (1995), Senior Match (2006) and Senior Stroke (2014).

— In December 2014, the Evans Scholarship for caddies surpassed the 10,000 mark in graduates, including 434 from CU.

— Paige Spiranac won the 100th CWGA Match Play Championship in 2015 in a stellar final in which she was 9 under par for 35 holes against University of Colorado golfer Brittany Fan. And Jennifer Kupcho put on an exhibition at the CWGA Stroke Play, winning by an amazing 21 shots in posting a 16-under-par total.

— For the eighth time in a nine-year period (2007-15), members of the Colorado PGA, or the Section itself, won a national PGA of America Award. The honorees during that stretch were Danny Harvanek and Ann Finke (Junior Golf Leaders); George Kahrhoff, Dale Smigelsky and Jim Hajek (Merchandisers of the Year); Clayton Cole (Bill Strausbaugh Award), Kyle Heyen (President’s Plaque Award), and the Colorado PGA Section as a whole (Herb Graffis Award).

— Doug Rohrbaugh won three straight Colorado PGA Professional Championships from 2013-15, tying a record previously established, then matched, by Ron Vlosich and Ken Krieger, respectively. Rohrbaugh also captured the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open title.

— The CGA and Colorado PGA announced they’re joining forces to bolster junior golf in the state. A Junior Tour, which will include four junior major championships, is scheduled to debut in 2016. 

— The CGA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2015, culminating with a Century of Golf Gala in mid-November at The Broadmoor. Jack Nicklaus, who won his first and last USGA championships in Colorado (the 1959 U.S. Amateur and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open), is a guest of honor. Also among those who will be recognized are six People of the Century: Judy Bell (Woman of the Century), Hale Irwin (Male Player of the Century), Charles “Vic” Kline (Golf Professional of the Century), Dennis Lyon (Superintendent of the Century, Barbara McIntire (Female Player of the Century) and Will Nicholson Jr. (Man of the Century).

Any retrospective about Colorado golf in 2013 wouldn’t be complete without including significant doses of both good and bad.

After all, while there were plenty of highlights during the year — most notably the Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club — the September flooding definitely put a damper on 2013, with its effects extending into 2014 and perhaps beyond.

With that in mind, we’ll count down the top 18 stories of the Colorado golf year, in reverse order. We’ll also include an honorable mention list at the end.

Here’s the rundown:

18. Before this year, Jennifer Kupcho had never competed in a USGA championship. In 2013, the 16-year-old played in four national championships: the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the USGA Women’s State Team. Individually, she advanced to the round of 32 at the Girls’ Junior. And, along with Hannah Wood and Melissa Martin, she helped Colorado finish sixth in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship, tying the state’s best showing ever in the event.

Also, Kupcho joined with Calli Ringsby, Wood and Sydney Merchant in leading the CWGA team to a third-place finish in the Girls Junior America’s Cup, tying the state’s second-best performance ever in that event.

Kupcho won titles in the Colorado Junior PGA and the Big I Junior Classic state tournament, and she was runner-up in the 4A state high school meet and in the girls division of the CJGA Tournament of Champions.

17. After leading the University of Denver women’s golf team to two top-six finishes in the NCAA Championship finals, Sammie Chergo resigned in February after 15 years as the head coach.

Lindsay (Hulwick) Kuhle, who served as an assistant coach under Chergo for seven seasons before departing in 2012, returned to replace Chergo.

16. Senior teammates Spencer Painton and Jake Kelley led Regis Jesuit to its fourth consecutive 5A state high school title, but their link went far beyond that.

The two both qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur, and they finished 1-2 (with Painton winning) at both the 5A state high school meet and the CJGA Tournament of Champions.

In the first round of the 5A state meet, Painton made six consecutive birdies to end a round of 66 that included a 29 on the back nine.

15. Caine Fitzgerald of Parker, an assistant professional at Murphy Creek Golf Course, qualified for the PGA Championship by finishing 14th at the PGA Professional National Championship. READ MORE. 

14. Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird out-battled Rory McIlroy with a 63 in the final round to win the Valero Texas Open in April, marking the third PGA Tour victory of his career. Any Tour victory is a big deal, but an added bonus was that it came the week before the Masters, which earned Laird a spot in the field at August National. READ MORE. 

13. Esteban Toledo, who lived in Castle Pines for several years in the last decade, had a memorable rookie season on the Champions Tour, to the point that he was seriously in the running for the Rookie of the Year award.

After going through Q-school to qualify for the circuit, Toledo won twice in his first full Champions season, both times in playoffs. The first victory for the native of Mexico came, appropriately enough, on Cinco de Mayo.

12. In a year in which the CGA announced it was discontinuing the CGA Public Links Championship, Derek Fribbs (left) sent the tournament out with a bang.

Fribbs shot an 8-under-par 62 in the final round to win by six with a 17-under-par total for 54 holes. The next day, he shot 66-65 to qualify for U.S. Publinks. That gave Fribbs a 64.8 stroke average for five tournament rounds over four days.

Fribbs went on to claim the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Award.

11. Former University of Colorado golfer Emily Talley competed in two of Golf Channel’s Big Break competitions, and she won the season-ender, Big Break NFL, along with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and Isaac Sanchez.

The victory was worth $50,000 cash and a spot in the Shoprite LPGA Classic. READ MORE. 

10. Evergreen resident Craig Stadler looked as if his days of winning Champions Tour events were over. But after an 8-year, 9-month victory drought, the former Masters champion claimed a title in the Encompass Championship in June.

Stadler, who had just turned 60, set a Champions Tour record for longest time between wins. READ MORE. 

9. Vail resident Harry Johnson hadn’t won an individual CGA championship or qualified for a USGA championship before this year, but he certainly made up for lost time. At age 63, he swept the CGA’s Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play championships, becoming one of the oldest winners of both events. He also qualified for the USGA Senior Amateur.

8. It’s ironic that when Golf World magazine recently published a list of state champions in various events, it left off Keith Humerickhouse and his victory in the CGA Mid-Amateur. It was a bad one to exclude.

It was in that tournament that Humerickhouse became just the third player in history to win the same CGA championship for four consecutive years. And keep in mind that CGA championships have been contested since 1901. READ MORE. 

Beyond that, the Eagle-based golfer made it to the round of 16 at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he defeated two-time champion Tim Jackson in the process.

7. For the first time in history, all three Colorado Open championships were won by Coloradans. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale prevailed in the Senior Open, Zahkai Brown of Arvada in the Open and Becca Huffer of Denver in the Women’s Open.

Huffer, a two-time state high school champion, won despite battling a severe case of tendinitis in her wrist. And Brown shot 64-64 on the weekend to claim the top spot.

6. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton retired from CWGA championships after sweeping the CWGA individual senior titles in 2013 and winning 21 times in her 41-year CWGA career.

Eaton, who won six state titles in 2013 (three in Arizona, two in Colorado and one in California), was named to Global Golf Post’s Women’s Senior Amateur first team for her performance this year. READ MORE. 

5. Doug Rohrbaugh’s 2013 season was one for the ages, at least by the standards of a Coloradan who’s 51 years old. The head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship for the second straight year, and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. In the case of the last of the three, he may be the oldest winner of the tournament ever.

Beyond that, he qualified for the U.S. Senior Open for the second straight year and finished third in the HealthOne Colorado Open. He also made it to the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying.

If all that weren’t enough, Rohrbaugh’s son, Tristan, won the 3A state high school title and signed a letter of intent to play college golf at Boise State.

4. Mark Wiebe of Aurora hadn’t won a Champions Tour event since 2011, but ended that drought in grand fashion. When he beat Bernhard Langer in a playoff that lasted five holes, Wiebe claimed the first major championship of his career, the Senior British Open. READ MORE. 

And that wasn’t all Wiebe accomplished in 2013. With his victory in the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship, he won twice in the course of eight weeks, and for the fifth time in his Champions Tour career.

3. In a move that should pay dividends for years to come, the Colorado Golf Foundation was launched early in 2013, thanks to a seven-figure lead gift from philanthropist George Solich.

The foundation — chaired by former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., managed on a day-to-day basis by the CGA, and guided by a board of directors and additional advisors — will provide assistance “for innovative programs that use the game of golf to instill hard work and self-reliance in young people.”

Look for the foundation to make a major difference through worthwhile youth-oriented golf programs for a long time to come. READ MORE. 

2. The torrential rain that produced flooding in many areas of Colorado in September had a big impact on golf, as it did on many other aspects of life in the state.

Many Colorado golf courses were affected over the short term (a week or less), but a handful or so suffered more significant damage. That included Coal Creek in Louisville, CommonGround in Aurora, Mariana Butte in Loveland, Twin Peaks in Longmont and Pelican Lakes in Windsor.

In some instances, getting back to normal will take well into 2014. In the case of Coal Creek and the estimated $3.5 million in damage it suffered, the course is closed and may not reopen until 2015.

Meanwhile, a couple of other Colorado courses closed for good in 2013 for reasons unrelated to the flood. Falling into that category were Gleneagle Golf Club’s course in Colorado Springs and Centre Hills par-3 in Aurora.

1. The Solheim Cup matches between the best American and European women’s players are held in the U.S. just once every four years, and Colorado Golf Club in Parker was the first host site in the western U.S. (Nancy Lopez is pictured at top leading the cheers for the Americans behind the first tee on the final day.)

The six-day event — three practice days and three competition days — drew about 110,000 fans.

The outcome, however, wasn’t what most of the gallery wanted to see: The Europeans, with six Solheim Cup rookies, won the Cup on U.S. soil for the first time. The 18-10 margin was the biggest in the history of the event.

Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall became the first player to go 5-0 in a single Solheim Cup, while 17-year-old Brit Charley Hull, the youngest player in Solheim history, went 2-1 and beat Paula Creamer in singles. Hull subsequently was named the Best International Newcomer at the 2013 SJA British Sports Awards. READ MORE. 

The U.S. fared far better in the Junior Solheim Cup held at Inverness Golf Club. The Americans, led by captain Kathy Whitworth, defeated the Europeans 14.5-9.5.

Honorable Mention Selections — Former University of Colorado golfer Steve Jones, the 1996 U.S. Open champion, was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. … Two golfers from Valor Christian High School, Ross Macdonald and Jake Staiano, swept the CGA junior championship titles. … Melissa Martin became the seventh player to win three or more CWGA Stroke Play titles. … Former Grand Junction resident Monte Montgomery won his third Rocky Mountain Open. … 2011 HealthOne Colorado Open champion Ben Portie was named coach for the new Metro State women’s golf team. … The University of Denver women’s golf team won its 10th consecutive conference title, this one in the Western Athletic Conference. … Derek Tolan and Tom Glissmeyer, who each qualified for the U.S. Open as 16-year-olds, advanced from the same Local qualifier to the Sectionals, but fell short of returning to the Open. … The CWGA won a national handicap-service award for Best GHIN Service for a Medium Association.

Two Coloradans won junior tournaments with strong national fields — Castle Rock’s Josh Seiple (Jones Cup Junior Invitational) and Centennial’s Hannah Wood (Kathy Whitworth Invitational). … Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim earned her 2014 LPGA Tour card by finishing in the top 10 on the Symetra Tour’s season-long money list. … Part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy advanced to match play in both the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, but in each case she lost to players who would go on to win the national championship. … Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village qualified for the U.S. Amateur for the third time in four years and made it to the round of 64 in match play. … Former Denver resident Mark Hubbard and Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch earned Web.com Tour cards for the first time. … Former U.S. Women’s Public Links champion Annie Young was named women’s golf coach at Colorado State. … Coloradan Paige Crawford won the Big Sky Conference women’s title.
 

A year’s worth of golf — and golf-related activities — produces many quotable utterances, even if you limit it to just Colorado and Coloradans.

2013 was certainly no exception. An eventful year yielded a plethora of memorable quotes.

Without any further ado, we present you with a selection of the most notable quotables of the year in Colorado golf:

 — Dustin Jensen, recalling an episode when he and fellow former CGA staffer Pete Lis (pictured above in green) shared an apartment:

“(Lis) was a diehard about the Rules of Golf. He sat out on the patio at our apartment and was reading the original Rules of Golf — or a book like that — and happened to fall asleep. He was catching a suntan and had his shirt off. He fell asleep with the book laying on his stomach, and he ended up having the outline of the book burned into his stomach. We thought that was pretty funny. He loved the Rules of Golf to the point that he would burn them into his chest.”

— Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, after winning the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open:

“I lost my sister in January. Scott Freelove (a Titleist representative and a friend of Rohrbaugh) had some golf balls made up for me. They had her initials on one side and the number 49 for how old she was. That’s the golf ball I was using. So it was kind of a little kiss on the golf ball and looking up at her (after winning).”

— Colorado Springs native R.W. Eaks (left), after, for the second consecutive year, withdrawing from the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open mid-round while being in the top five on the leaderboard:

“I’m just done.” Asked if he was hurt, he added, “No, I’m just mentally ill.”

— Country Club at Castle Pines head professional George Kahrhoff insisted that his two sons, Mitchell and Trey, watch the Golf Channel after he and Collindale Golf Course director of golf Dale Smigelsky earned PGA of America nationwide awards, both for merchandising:

“I said, ‘You guys need to pay attention.’ Of course, they were on the computer and all that. I said, ‘Are you watching?’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, yeah’. All of a sudden my name pops up on the TV, and they said, ‘Hey, that’s you.'”

— Denver’s Jim Bunch, the departing chairman of the Western Golf Association, on participating in interview sessions with Evans Caddie Scholarship candidates:

“It’s the best day of the year without any question — and not just for the Evans Scholars but for me. It’s very rewarding and makes you so glad you’re helping out. It’s a one-of-a-kind event; there’s not another organization that I know that does it like that. I look forward to it.”

— LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, leading up to the Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club:

“Colorado (fan support) has been a consistent home run for women’s golf.”

— Meg Mallon, captain for the U.S. team at the Solheim Cup in Colorado, on getting more girls involved in the game:

“My greatest memory in golf to this day is walking nine holes with my mom (while) carrying a bag on my back. I want every kid and every parent to have that experience. I’m biased. It’s the greatest game in the world. It teaches ethics, morals, the right thing to do, how to get along with people. What greater avenue (than) to teach children the game of golf? So we need to, as adults, make sure that that happens. … It’s a hard game. It’s a time-consuming game. You have to give the kids the love of the game so they want to be out there playing. … Make golf fun. It’s not supposed to be like going to the dentist.”

— George Solich (left, in red) on making a seven-figure lead gift to found the Colorado Golf Foundation:

“I love golf and what it can teach kids of all socio-economic backgrounds — good lessons about character and competition. For me, the game has affected my life in so many great ways. When we look back in five or 10 years, I hope we can say, ‘Look at what we started and how many kids we affected.'”

— Hannah Wood of Centennial, after winning the Kathy Whitworth Invitational, an event which featured several players ranked highly on a national basis:

“I knew I could play with them, but I’ve never had the opportunity. I went up against the best today and kept telling myself to play Hannah Wood golf.”

— CommonGround Golf Course director of golf Dave Troyer, characterizing Lauren Harmon, the course’s director of player development:

“She’s a non-stop energy bunny. Her relaxation and enjoyment is to spend more time at work.”

— Former Colorado State golfer Martin Laird, on winning the Valero Texas Open to earn a spot in the Masters the following week:

“I’ve probably been asked 30 times in the last couple of weeks, ‘Are you in Augusta, are you in Augusta?’ Everytime I’d say ‘no’ it hurt me.”


— Coloradan Kaye Kessler, on the attraction of the Masters, a tournament he covered for the 50th time in 2013:

“It’s the first breath of spring. It’s a coming-out party, a rite of spring. And it’s the only one of the majors that’s anchored. The Masters tries to look better every year — and they seem to do it. It’s just kind of an awakening. And I think it’s still the toughest ticket around.”

— Former University of Colorado golfer Steve Jones, on attending the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame banquet instead of competing in a Champions Tour event:

“In the very beginning, yeah (it was a tough choice), but when you really think about it, my parents raised me pretty well to think correctly. And thanks to that upbringing, I made the right decision to come here. There’s no way you can miss something like this. It’s the biggest golf honor in my life that I’ve been given.”

— Tom Glissmeyer, on continuing to try to qualify for the U.S. Open after making it as a 16-year-old in 2003:

“It’s hard to believe that I’ve tried 10 times now. I don’t think I had an appreciation for how tough it is. I just showed up my first time (and qualified). It was like, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal.’ Little did I know 10 years later I’d still be waiting for that return trip.”

— Kala Keltz of Montrose after winning the 4A state high school title:

“I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m kind of in shock, I guess. This means the world. I don’t know what to do I’m so excited. This is something people dream about. It was one of my goals this year to even come close, so I’m stoked.”

— Dean Clapp, after winning his first CGA individual title (the Mid-Amateur Match Play Invitational) following 21 years of competing in Colorado, ironically on the eve of moving to California:

“I’ve always been the bridesmaid but never the bride, so to speak. Last night I was telling my wife, ‘I have a chance to go out with a bang tomorrow. I could end my Colorado golf career with a bang if I can finish it off.’ Lo and behold, I pulled it off. I’m elated. I finally got the monkey off my back.”

— Christie Austin, 56, on her and Janet Moore, 48, coming up short in the CWGA Mashie Championship against Samantha Stancato, 20, and Kathleen Kershisnik, 19:

“We’re like they’re mothers (age-wise). I think they would have been disappointed to lose to the old ladies, to be honest. I think they’re pretty happy that they beat us.”

— Steven Kupcho, whose 63 the previous day was bettered by Derek Fribbs’ 62 in the CGA Public Links Championship:

“He was 9 under through 17; that’s just unbelievable. I can’t even fathom shooting that number after what I did yesterday because I felt like I played about as good as I could.”


— Annika Sorenstam (left, in purple cap), assistant captain for the European squad at the Solheim Cup held in Parker, on potentially bringing her husband, Mike McGee, to the competition:

“My husband is a U.S. citizen. I said, ‘(You can come, but) only if you cheer for Europe.”

— CU’s David Oraee, who beat CSU’s Parker Edens, a fellow Greeley product, in the final of the CGA Match Play:

“Obviously we’ve always gone to rival schools in high school and college. It was fun. It’s fun to play against someone you’ve known for a while. And it’s awesome that we’re both from Greeley. We bring the city name some ‘rep’.”

— Wyndham Clark, who has qualified for three of the last four U.S. Amateurs, on the one he missed, which just happened to be held at his home course, Cherry Hills Country Club, in 2012:

“It sucked. I would have for sure given up one of the other Ams to play in that one. But I told myself last year, ‘I don’t ever want to miss it again.’ I just hated that feeling.”

— Zahkai Brown, on his final-round approach at the HealthOne Colorado Open, where he’s led through three rounds each of the last two years:

“I stayed real aggressive. On No. 18, I was like 305 (yards out on the par-5). I’m like, ‘I’m still going for it. Play aggressive.’ My whole mindset was to stay aggressive.”

— Gunner Wiebe, on finishing fifth following the final round of the HealthOne Colorado Open while his dad, Mark, was in contention at the Senior British Open:

“My mind was really elsewhere today, but I will not apologize for that. I love playing golf myself and I love competing, but it’s hard for me not to” be distracted by what was going on with Mark.

— Fellow competitor Deb Hughes on Kim Eaton, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer who’s retiring from CWGA championships after 41 years of competing:

“She’s not only a good player, but she’s a good person and I love being paired with her and against her. I learn a lot by playing with her.”

— Beth Clippinger, on trying to qualify for the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at age 61:

“You always think the young ‘munchkins’ are going to come beat you out. So it is more special (to qualify as a 61-year-old).”

— Pueblo West’s Glenn Workman, on arguably his two biggest golf victories coming in Colorado Springs:

“I like the air up here, the water.”

— Hale Irwin, stopping by the CGA Stroke Play 50 years after posting the first of three straight wins in the tournament, that one by 15 shots:

“That was a lot of years ago, but I remember that first one; that made an impression on me. I was an upstart young guy and then there was the old guard — guys like Les Fowler and Jim English. I was relatively new to Colorado and I happened to have a very good tournament. I do remember playing awfully well.”

— World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth after captaining a U.S. team that won the Junior Solheim Cup at Inverness Golf Club:

“I never played on a team, even in high school or later on. So (the Solheim Cup) was a new experience for me. And I was flattered that John Solheim asked me to do this again. I don’t have any experience doing things like this. I was never part of a team. I would have liked to have been, but it wasn’t in the books for me. But I can imagine being part of a team that’s playing for your country.”


— Liselotte Neumann, European team captain, proving somewhat prophetic going into the Solheim Cup in Colorado:

“I said, ‘We need to go to America, we need to make history. No (European) team has ever won here before; let’s do this.’ So that’s our goal and that’s why I took on the job, and here we are.”

— U.S. Solheim Cup captain Meg Mallon, after a day in which Europe’s Anna Nordqvist made a hole-in-one to win a match at Colorado Golf Club:

“I’m standing there on 17 tee and looking at Anna Nordqvist’s shot in the air, and I’m thinking, ‘That’s going to go in the hole.’ And it did. Things like that just don’t happen. But today for the Europeans, it was a magical day.

— Veteran Suzann Pettersen, on being on the first European Solheim Cup team to win in the U.S.:

“It’s massive for women’s golf, it’s massive for the Solheim Cup, for us to be historic and win on American soil, in Colorado, in front of a pretty much all-American crowd We took it to them and they couldn’t answer.”

— U.S. Solheim Cup captain Meg Mallon after the Americans’ historic loss to the Europeans:

“We really got our butts kicked this week.”

— Haymes Snedeker, an older brother of six-time PGA Tour winner Brandt Snedeker, on holing out for eagle from 90 yards on the final hole at CommonGround to qualify for the U.S. Mid-Amateur:

“Sometimes it’s supposed to be. Sometimes it’s meant to be and sometimes it certainly isn’t. I’ve been on both sides of it.”

— Vail’s Harry Johnson on becoming, at age 63, the fifth player to sweep CGA match play and stroke play senior championships in a calendar year:

“These guys (his fellow competitors) make me play better than I can play. It’s really an interesting phenomenon. It’s one reason I play in these events. I don’t have that type of game when I play Saturday with my friends, but in a tournament the focus is there and I can make it happen.”

— George Solich, who with brother Geoff are the namesakes for the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, which produced more than 1,000 caddie loops in 2013 at CommonGround Golf Course:

“I feel like we’re really hitting it on all cylinders right now, and I think people get what this is about.”

— Doug Rohrbaugh (left) after a season in which he won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship, and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship:

“The only thing I keep saying is, ‘Why did it take me 50 years to figure this out?’ There’s definitely something to be said for older and wiser, but who knows?”

— George Solich figures there are two ways to approach his job as general chairman for the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club:

“You can be a figurehead and let everyone else do all the work, or you can dive in — and I’ve dived in and it’s been really fun. There are a lot of balls in the air, but it’s been fun.”

— Ernie Els, noting his attachment to Colorado in receiving the Will Nicholson Award:

“I made so many great friends here. I was this close to buying a house at Castle Pines about 10 years ago. I used to stay with a heart specialist here in town — he’s an ex-South African — and he had a house on the 11th tee. (My) whole family came every year; we’d come on a Sunday and stay until Tuesday (of the following week). “I saw his kids grow up and he’s seen my kids grow up. He lives near Cherry Hills here now. I said to Liezl (Els’ wife), ‘You know, next year we’re going to come to Cherry Hills (for the BMW Championship) and maybe I’ll still buy that house.'”

— DU men’s golf coach Eric Hoos, on the Pioneers winning CSU’s home tournament by a stroke over the Rams as a one-stroke penalty incurred on the final hole by CSU freshman Jimmy Makloski loomed large:

“You hate to see that. Honestly, I would much rather have had a tie and go into a playoff. But that speaks volumes about the character of Jimmy and to their program that he called (the penalty) on himself. That’s what this game is about. I don’t think that always happens out there. Class kid, class program. I’m sorry for him.”

— Keith Humerickhouse, on winning a record-matching four straight CGA Mid-Amateur titles:

“I feel like it’s my niche. I really like it. I feel comfortable out here. I feel like I can actually compete. The Publinks and the Stroke Play, it’s not that I don’t feel I can compete, but basically I’m playing a college golf tournament. These (college-age) kids are playing every day. You feel like you’re going to have to shoot 10 to 15 under to even sniff the lead. That’s how good they are.”

— Spencer Painton, on claiming the 5A state high school individual title and helping his Regis Jesuit squad land its fourth consecutive team championship:

“I’m happy to contribute to hopefully (Regis eventually winning) six in a row. I wish I could come back again next year, but I went out with a bang. That’s all I can do.”

— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, on retiring from CWGA championship competition:

“It’s tough because the CWGA is a great organization and I love the way they run all their tournaments and I love all the people. Everybody that’s been involved in the CWGA in the 41 years I’ve played has somewhat been involved in raising me or making me a better person or making me the person I am today. And that’s hard. But sometimes you just have to move on. … You know what they say: It’s better to go out on top because you all know when I’m not on top I’m not going to be a very happy person. It’s been a great run.”
 

Four big-time LPGA Tour-related events have come to Colorado in the last 20 years, and all have been successes in the attendance department.

The biennial Solheim Cup matches between the U.S. and Europe, which concluded Sunday at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, drew about 110,000 fans for the three practice days and the three competition days. That’s a little shy of pre-tournament goals of 120,000 — the Solheim Cup record, set in 2009 in Sugar Grove, Ill. — but it’s still a strong total.

“I can’t tell you how great these fans are out here. It’s amazing,” American player Paula Creamer said.

Added John Solheim, part of the family that lent its name to the Solheim Cup: “What a course, what a place, what an atmosphere.”

Part-time Lakewood resident Hollis Stacy, a World Golf Hall of Famer who takes an active role in promoting the LPGA and women and girls golf, attended both the Ping Junior Solheim Cup at Inverness Golf Club and the main event at Colorado Golf Club.

“It’s gotten a great response,” said Stacy, winner of three U.S. Women’s Opens, three U.S. Girls’ Juniors and 18 LPGA Tour events overall. “The crowds have been very, very, very, very good, even with the Europeans pulverizing us. The fans have been wonderful.”

And that comes on the heels of Colorado-based tournaments setting then-U.S. Women’s Open weeklong attendance records in 1995 (96,000 for seven days at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs) and in 2005 (more than 131,000 at Cherry Hills). And while the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor didn’t break a record, it still drew an impressive total of more than 125,000.

The crowds at the Solheim Cup are a little different. Besides being considerably more boisterous, many more fans come from out of the country — and out of the state — than in a more typical golf event. And, of course, because of the nature of the Solheim Cup, it’s televised in nations worldwide.

“It showcased Colorado golf terrifically,” Stacy said. “The winner of the whole thing is the golf course. It’s extremely tough, especially for the U.S. players. The course looked great.”

And the event could play a role in growing the game in Colorado, especially among women and girls who get the itch to play — or play more — because of what they’ve seen.

“I saw a lot of little girls out there,” Stacy said. “I think it will help little girls in playing golf and being excited about playing.”

And Stacy hopes that the run of big-time women’s golf events in Colorado continues. Starting in 2005, three of the women’s game’s top competitions have been held in the state.

“I think it’s smart to have LPGA events and USGA events here because it does showcase the beauty of Colorado and everything else that’s so wonderful about Colorado,” Stacy said.