Among those three who won their Regional Qualifying competition at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis was Caitlyn Chin of Greenwood Village, who became the first Coloradan to qualify twice for the DCP Nationals.

Chin competed in the Girls 7-9 division at Augusta National in 2016, and now she’s in the 10-11 group.

Chin won that 10-11 division Saturday in St. Louis by accumulating 115 points for an 18-point victory over fellow Coloradan Taylor Hale of Eagle.

Also advancing to the DCP Finals at Augusta National on Saturday were Chunya Boonta of Centennial, who prevailed by one point in the Girls 12-13 group with a 131 total, and Grady Ortiz of Colorado Springs, who won in the Boys 7-9 group with a 104 tally.

In order to qualify for Nationals, a golfer has to win — out of 12 players — in his/her gender/age division at Regionals. There are eight divisions in each DCP event.

Each of Saturday’s champions previously advanced through Local and Sub-Regional qualifying events.

When Chin qualified for Nationals previously, in 2016, she was one of a three-player Colorado contingent that year also, along with Luke Trujillo and Arielle Keating, both of Colorado Springs. Trujillo and Keating each finished sixth at Nationals that Year, while Chin was 10th.

The only other Coloradan who has competed in the nationally-televised DCP Finals has been Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs, who placed sixth in the Boys 14-15 competion on April 1.

In DCP events, contestants score points in each discipline — driving, chipping and putting — which are added together for a cumulative total.

In addition to the three Coloradans who won their divisions at Regionals in St. Louis on Saturday, four from the Centennial State were runners-up, coming up just short of advancing: Miles Kuhl of Boulder (Boys 10-11), Maxwell Lange of Golden (Boys 14-15), Hale (Girls 10-11) and Grace Ha of Greenwood Village (Girls 14-15).

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the Nationals of the DCP, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.

ҬHere are the results for the Coloradans at the Drive Chip & Putt Regional Qualifying in St. Louis on Saturday:

ҬScore: Drive-Chip-Putt=Total

ҬBoys 7-9
“¨”¨1. Grady Ortiz, Colorado Springs 30-23-51–104
“¨7. Ryan Fenton, Colorado Springs 28-26-17–71
10. Benjamin Pederson, Arvada 28-30-8–66″¨

Boys 10-11
“¨2. Miles Kuhl, Boulder 24-45-55–124
3. Jake Dost, Parker 45-45-32–122″¨
6. Gregory White, Centennial 16-40-50–106

ҬӬӬӬBoys 12-13
“¨5. Reese Knox, Peyton 19-32-55–106
“¨6. Matai Naqica, Centennial 52-20-27–99
9. Carter Surofchek, Colorado Springs 18-32-40–90

ҬӬBoys 14-15
“¨2. Maxwell Lange, Golden 62-45-55–162″¨
4. Matthew Wilkinson, Centennial 70-40-36–146″¨
6. Ben Harding, Longmont 46-40-50–136
12. Jackson Rottschafer, Centennial 0-55-32–87″¨”¨

Girls 7-9″¨
3. Jadie Wilson, Denver 14-26-27–67
“¨4. Amalei Lagrimas, Castle Rock 13-21-31–65″¨
4. Annabel Roy, Denver 11-41-13–65
“¨7. Adrielle Miller, Highlands Ranch 14-30-12–56

Girls 10-11
“¨1. Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 34-26-55–115″¨
2. Taylor Hale, Eagle 23-45-29–97
4. Addison Hines, Arvada 36-37-12–85″¨
12. Emmalee Johnson, Denver 2-25-7–34″¨”¨

Girls 12-13″¨
1. Chunya Boonta, Centennial 36-45-50–131″¨
11. Madeline Bante, Denver 19-40-27–86

Girls 14-15
“¨2. Grace Ha, Greenwood Village 51-26-22–99
5. Elle Higgins, Centennial 32-26-32–90
6. Sofia Choi, Littleton 17-35-36–88 “¨ 

After making birdie on the 16th hole to go 1 up on Canadian Julia Hodgson, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer went double bogey-bogey on 17 and 18, respectively, to see her run end in the national championship.

Hodgson birdied the 18th hole to score a 1-up victory after being 2 down after 13 holes.

Moore finished 7 over par for the 18 holes of her match.

Also ousted on Tuesday in the round of 32 was the other Colorado resident who made match play, Marilyn Hardy of Gunnison. She fell to fourth-seeded Lauren Greenlief of Ashburn, Va., 4 and 3.

Greenlief birdied the first two holes and won four of the first five to take a lead she wouldn’t relinquish. The closest Hardy came after that early stretch was 2 down, which she was as late as No. 11. But Greenlief won 12 with a par and three 13 with a birdie and ended the match on No. 15.

Hardy was 4 over par for the 15 holes.

The Women’s Mid-Am is limited to players 25 and older.

Here are the round-by-round results for the Coloradans competing at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur:

Tuesday’s Match Play Round of 32
Lauren Greenlief, Ashburn, Va., def. Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison, 4 and 3
Julia Hodgson, Canada, def. Janet Moore, Centennial, 1 up

Monday’s Match Play Round of 64
Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison, def. Kayla Barnes, Bellevue, Neb., 19 holes
Janet Moore, Centennial, def. Erin Bradford, Georgetown, Ky., 1 up

Stroke Play
Advance to Match Play
27. Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison 79-75–154
59. Janet Moore, Centennial 82-77–159
Failed to Advance to Match Play
Staci Creech, Englewood 80-84–164

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Hardy, a part-time Gunnison resident, easily made match play at age 56 on Sunday at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Mo.

And Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer from Centennial, has a good chance to do likewise at age 54. (The two are pictured, with Hardy at left.)

With the top 64 players in stroke play earning spots in match play, which starts on Monday, Hardy finished 27th on Sunday. And Moore tied for 59th, which leaves her in a playoff on Monday morning that will determine which six players out of the seven at 15-over-par 159 will advance to the match-play bracket.

Hardy shot a 3-over-par 75 in round 2, giving her a 10-over 154 total for 36 holes. A one-time semifinalist in this event, Hardy made one birdie and four bogeys on Sunday in ending up 11 strokes behind stroke-play medalist Shannon Johnson of Norton, Mass.

As for Moore, she fired a 5-over-par 77 on Sunday — five strokes better than Saturday — to move into the top 64. She recorded two birdies, four bogeys and a triple bogey in round 2.

The other Coloradan competing in the 132-player event, Staci Creech of Englewood, failed to advance to match play with her 164 total.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the Coloradans competing at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur:

Advances to Match Play
27. Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison 79-75–154
In Playoff on Monday
59. Janet Moore, Centennial 82-77–159
Failed to Advance to Match Play
Staci Creech, Englewood 80-84–164

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Hardy (left, with husband Jim) would like to make another deep run in the tournament for players 25 and older, but first things first. She must make match play to extend her stay at this year’s tournament, which began on Saturday at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Mo.

Hardy shot a 7-over-par 79 on Saturday to lead the way for the Colorado competitors at the Women’s Mid-Am. She made 11 pars and seven bogeys on day 1 and trails stroke-play leader Meghan Stasi of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., by 10 with one round of stroke play remaining. Stasi has won this national title four times.

The top 64 players — out of the original field of 132 — after Sunday’s round 2 will make the 64-person match-play bracket.

Also in the top 64 after one round was Staci Creech of Englewood, who has earned spots in match play in three of her last four appearances in this national championship. Creech, the wife of new University of Denver athletic director Karlton Creech, shot an 80 and is tied for 63rd place despite taking a triple-bogey 8 on Saturday.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore opened with an 82 and shares 88th place.

U.S. WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR
Norwood Hills CC in St. Louis, Mo.
53. Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison 79
63. Staci Creech, Englewood 80
88. Janet Moore, Centennial 82

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Particularly when it comes to the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

In the last 11 years when the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer has attempted to qualify for those three USGA events, she’s never failed.

Taking it a step further, she’s been medalist about as often as not in qualifying tournaments for those championships over that time.

On Wednesday at a U.S. Women’s Mid-Am qualifier at Grand Elk Golf Club in Granby, Moore fell a little short of medalist honors, but she easily earned a spot in the national championship, set for Sept. 22-27 at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.

“I enjoy playing in the qualifiers,” said the 54-year-old, who won five CWGA Stroke Play titles in the 1990s. “The numbers are good (in terms of qualifiers vs. the size of the fields) — and today the numbers were really good — so I thought I just needed to go out there and play a solid round. I was pleased that that happened.”

A total of seven players out of the field of 22 contestants advanced, including three Coloradans: Moore, a resident of Centennial (4-over-par 75); Marilyn Hardy, who splits her time between Gunnison and the Houston area (77); and Staci Creech of Englewood (78). Hardy, wife of renowned golf instructor Jim Hardy, once made it as far as the semifinals in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am, which is limited to players 25 and older.

Joining them in qualifying at Grand Elk were co-medalists Kay Daniel of Covington, La., and Sue Billek Nyhus of Orem, Utah, who carded 2-over-par 73s; and Annette Gaiotti of Park City, Utah, and Jennifer Delgadillo of Horizon City, Texas, who posted 77s.

(The qualifiers are pictured, from left: Hardy, Gaiotti, Delgadillo, Creech, Daniel, Nyhus and Moore.)

Nyhus, the current women’s golf head coach at Utah Valley University and former coach at Brigham Young University, shot her 73 despite bogeying her last three holes. Daniel, who went to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am in 2015 and has made match play at the event for eight of the last nine years, made one birdie and three bogeys on Wednesday.

As for Moore, she earned a spot in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur for the 11th consecutive year — though she didn’t end up competing in 2013 — and 16th time overall. It’ll be her 27th USGA championship as earlier this year she competed in the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

“It’s always special to go to USGA events — always,” she said. “It’s an honor to go, but for me I have a little higher goals than just qualifying. Lately, I haven’t been doing as well (at the national championships). Hopefully I can do well once I’m there (for this event). For sure my goal is to make it to match play and maybe win one or two matches. I would feel that’s a real successful tournament for me.”

At Grand Elk, Moore was 4 over par through seven holes, but played her final 11 in even par. Her husband Kent, also a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, caddied for her on Wednesday.

“He drove all the way up to caddie for me, which was nice,” she said. “It worked out real well. I always play better when he’s on the bag.”

Coincidentally, the last time Janet Moore had played Grand Elk before this week, she and Kent shared the title with two other couples in the now-defunct CGA/CWGA Mixed Team Championship more than a quarter-century ago.
 

U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Qualifying
At Par-71 Grand Elk GC in Granby
ADVANCE TO U.S. WOMEN’S MID-AM
Kay Daniel, Covington, La. 73
Sue Billek Nyhus, Orem, Utah 73
Janet Moore, Centennial 75
Marilyn Hardy, Gunnison 77
Annette Gaiotti, Park City, Utah 77
Jennifer Delgadillo, Horizon City, Texas 77
Staci Creech, Englewood 78
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Amy Ricci, Edwards 79
Alicia Bakken, Westminster 79

For all the scores from Wednesday, CLICK HERE.
 

Wayne Wright of Aledo, Texas, seeded 12th in the match-play bracket, defeated 53rd-seeded Bradbury 5 and 4.

Bradbury (pictured) never led on Monday, falling 6 down after eight holes before winning two of the next three. Bradbury finished 5 over par for the 14 holes of the match, while Wright was 2 under.

The U.S. Senior Amateur is limited to players 55 and older.

Here are the stroke-play scores and positions of all the players with strong Colorado ties who competed in St. Louis:

48. Robin Bradbury of Superior 74-76–150 (Lost in R64)

Failed to Advance to Match Play
96. Gary Albrecht of Denver 78-77–155
150. Jim Reynolds of Denver 79-85–164

For all the results from the U.S. Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.