(Updated Dec. 7) The last three years, players who have started their college golf careers at Colorado State University have treated the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Award like a tag-team affair.

The honor has gone from one Ram signee to another to another.

Kyler Dunkle, who transferred from CSU to Utah in 2016, started the run that same year. In 2017, it was CSU’s Jake Staiano who earned the award as the top amateur golfer in the state. And this year, the Rams’ AJ Ott (left) has landed the CGA Les Fowler POY honor.

“It really means a lot,” Ott said recently by text regarding earning the award. “We have so many good players around the state and I’m very blessed just to be able to compete with those guys. We’re all very close friends and have played against each other in Colorado since we were kids, which makes competing against one another that much better.”

Ott, a Fort Collins resident who plays out of Ptarmigan Country Club, is one of three CGA men’s players of the year that have been decided for 2018. On Monday, we’ll publish a story on the CGA women’s players of the year.

Other CGA men’s honorees that have been settled on are Chris Thayer (below) of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve (Mid-Amateur POY), Steve Ivan of Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs (Senior POY) and Sean Forey of The Club at Rolling Hills (Super-Senior POY). See below for the highlights of their 2018 seasons.

As for Ott, the 21-year-old left-hander won the 118th CGA Match Play title and qualified for his second straight U.S. Amateur to highlight a stellar season.

At the CGA Match Play at The Golf Club at Ravenna, Ott shot a 6-under-par 65 to finish second in the stroke-play qualifying round, then won six matches. He was particularly impressive in the last two. He made a double eagle in beating former champion Brian Dorfman 3 and 1 in the semifinals. Then in one of the most lopsided scheduled 36-hole finals in the event’s history, Ott defeated friend Ross Macdonald 9 and 8 for the title.

“I think the Match Play this year was great just because of the week-long test and it felt good to finally come through and get a win,” Ott said. “Playing against one of my best friends, Ross, was something I’ll never forget. He’s helped me a lot with my game in the past and we both have had our struggles at times so it was great to see us both get to that final match at the end of the week.”

In U.S. Amateur qualifying at Fort Collins Country Club, Ott fired rounds of 68-65 to finish second and earn a berth in the national championship for the second consecutive year.

Elsewhere this year, Ott placed 19th in the CoBank Colorado Open — third among amateurs — and 10th in the CGA Amateur. In college events in 2018, He finished fifth in the Mountain West Conference Championship and ninth in both the Ram Masters Invitational and the Paintbrush Invitational.

The CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year honor is the second statewide POY award for Ott, who was the 2016 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Boys Player of the Year.

As for highlights for the other CGA players of the year that have been decided …

— Chris Thayer of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve (CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year) — Thayer has now won this award the last four years, which establishes a record for the 25-and-older category.

Thayer has a remarkable record in the CGA Mid-Amateur in recent years. In the last five times the championship has been contested, he’s finished first, second, second, first and second. He was runner-up in the event in late September, a stroke behind champion Jared Reid.

Earlier in September, Thayer tied for 53rd place in the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Mid-Amateur, but failed in a playoff to advance to match play. The month before, he earned medalist honors in Colorado-based qualifying for the event.

Thayer also finished 13th in the CGA Amateur — following a final-round 66 at Pinehurst Country Club — and was among three players who represented Colorado at the Pacific Coast Amateur in San Francisco. Early in the season, he teamed with Nick Nosewicz to place third in the CGA Four-Ball Championship.

— Steve Ivan of Patty Jewett Golf Course (CGA Senior Player of the Year) — Ivan (left) has accomplished plenty in golf over the decades, but in the last 14 months or so, he’s certainly stepped it up a notch on the state level.

The former University of Colorado golfer — he was a teammate of 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones — Ivan won the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur. He finished runner-up in the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play, falling to Wyoming resident John Hornbeck in the final. And he also placed second in his title defense at the 2018 CGA Senior Amateur, behind only three-time CGA Senior POY Robert Polk.

Ivan, winner of the 1979 CGA Junior Match, finished second among amateurs at the CoBank Colorado Senior Open, and was fourth in the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Senior Open, falling a little short of advancing to the national championship held at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs.

— Sean Forey of The Club at Rolling Hills (CGA Super-Senior Player of the Year) — Now Forey will have bookends for his trophy case.

Eight years ago, the golfer from The Club at Rolling Hills earned the CGA Senior Player of the Year Award. And this fall, the 65-year-old from Morrison has added the CGA Super-Senior POY honor for players 62 and older.

Forey (left) recorded two victories in CGA super-senior events in 2018 — at the Super-Senior Stroke Play and the super-senior division of the CGA Senior Four-Ball — with Scott Radcliffe.

 At the Super-Senior Stroke Play in August at Perry Park Country Club, Forey notched a four-shot victory. After finishing second, third, fourth and fifth in previous appearances at the event, landing the title was a welcome outcome for him.

Besides his showings at the Super-Senior Stroke Play and the Senior Four-Ball, Forey was a semifinalist in the CGA Super-Senior Match Play and finished ninth in the CGA Senior Amateur that was won by 63-year-old Robert Polk.

Forey, the low amateur in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open in both 2008 and 2010, led the CGA super-senior points list this year.

As chairman of the CGA Tournament Committee, Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club often has the duty of presenting trophies to winners of CGA championships, particularly when it’s a senior or super-senior event in which he’s competed.

On Thursday, that could have been a dilemma.

You see, Polk won the 47th CGA Senior Amateur at Eisenhower Golf Club, so it would have been a little awkward for him to give the trophy to himself.

Fortunately, another member of the CGA board of directors, Gary Albrecht, was also on hand, so he did the honors.

“We always try to have a board member on hand,” Polk said. “I’ve handed out trophies way too many times. I wanted to win. That was always painful.

“The older I get, the winning is wonderful but it means you didn’t lose. I take losing so much harder now, and I lose obviously a lot more than I win. It takes me a while to get over it. I think, ‘I left so many shots out there.’ You’d think I wouldn’t take it so hard. But to get it done is very exciting.”

Thursday’s victory marked Polk’s fourth in the CGA Senior Amateur, which puts him in some elite company. Only three other players have captured the title at least four times —
Larry Eaton (a seven-time champion), John Olive (five) and Les Fowler (four). All three are members of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

“It feels wonderful to have won this again,” said Polk (above and left), who has captured 11 CGA championships in all. “Those are great players (who have claimed four or more Senior Am titles), and to be mentioned with them is very, very pleasing and satisfying.”

Bill Fowler, who has won CGA Senior Four-Ball titles with Polk two of the last three years and who finished third on Thursday, can appreciate what Polk has accomplished in the Senior Am.

“He’s a great player,” said Fowler, a former CGA president. “He could have won way more than four (titles in this event). He sometimes gets in his own way. Today he stayed out of his own way. He played really well and I’m really proud of him and I’m happy to be his Four-Ball partner.”

Polk won this event previously in 2005, ’07 and ’09, meaning he ended a nine-year drought on Thursday. In doing so at age 63, he became one of the oldest champions of the CGA Senior Amateur. Les Fowler won at age 65 in 1989, Jerry Kidney at 63 in 2011 and Harry Johnson at 63 in 2013.

“It has been so long since I’ve won this thing — it seems like forever — so I’m extremely pleased,” Polk said in accepting the trophy on Thursday.

“It’s wonderful, just wonderful. For the last nine years I didn’t know if it was going to happen again. I came close a couple of times and had a good chance last year, then couldn’t get it done. Today I just said, ‘I’m going to get it done.'”

Polk was technically a wire-to-wire winner this week, but despite his five-stroke victory margin, the tournament was deceptively close down the stretch. In fact, with three holes remaining, he was tied with 2017 champion Steve Ivan (left) of Patty Jewett Golf Course. But Ivan bogeyed two of his last three holes and Polk finished with a flurry.

He hit the par-5 16th in two with a 7-iron from 197 yards and sank a 7-foot putt for eagle. Then on the next hole, a par-3, he hit a 9-iron from 164 yards, with his ball landing right next to the hole and ending up less than 6 inches from the cup for a birdie. That stellar two-hole stretch, plus making three 5-foot par putts, left him 3 under for his final six holes.

“It’s just fun and gratifying” to finish strong for the victory. “It means an awful lot. Last year I gave away the Florida Senior Stroke Play (title). I had it won, but shot 41 on the back and lost by one. I said, ‘I’m not going to let that happen this year. I’m going to bear down and play a decent back side.'”

On the formidable Blue Course at Eisenhower that was made tougher by wind much of the week, Polk closed with a 2-under-par 70 — the low round of the tournament — to post a winning total of 1-over 217. Only two sub-par rounds were carded at the Senior Am, and Polk had both of them.

Ivan recorded a 72 on Thursday to place second at 222. That means he’s been runner-up in both CGA senior majors in 2018 — the Senior Match Play and Senior Amateur — and that’s he’s finished first-second-second in the last three senior majors.

“I played well today, but I bogeyed two of the last three. You can’t do that,” the 56-year-old Ivan said. “What I really wanted to do today — and I did it for a long time — is because I wasn’t in that last group, I wanted to have them see me making putts after putts after putts. It worked until I ran out of gas at the end. But (Robert) deserves it.”

Fowler (left), the 2015 Senior Amateur champion, recorded a 76 on Thursday to check in third at 224. John Hornbeck of Saratoga, Wyo., the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play champ, placed fourth at 225, also after a 76.

“I didn’t have my ‘A’ game the whole tournament so it was going to be a struggle to beat Robert, who obviously played very well,” Fowler said. “So to finish third and play as well as I did while not really hitting it the way I wanted, I’m very pleased.

“(Robert) birdied 2, 3 and 4 today and I knew there was no catching him. He made a couple of mistakes in the middle, then finished strong.”

Thursday’s victory by Polk looked improbable as recently as a few weeks ago, when he finished a distant fourth in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play. But in the interim, a short break from the game seemed to work wonders.

“I was so dejected after the Super-Senior Stroke Play at Perry Park. I was hitting some really good ones and getting nothing out of them,” Polk said. “My mind wasn’t right. I needed to take some time off. I took four or five days off and kind of got cleared out again. I played with Jim Pierce — I won my first (CGA Senior) Four-Ball with Jim (in 2005) — last Saturday, and the light kind of went on. I felt good coming into this tournament for the first time in I can’t remember when.”

And though there were some hiccups in the middle of Thursday’s round — a double bogey on No. 9 after a bogey at No. 8, then a missed par putt after a stellar drive at No. 12 — but he righted the ship and more down the stretch.

“I missed that putt (on 12) and said, ‘God bless it. It’s those par putts that you have to make on the back nine. You look at all the major championships and all the amateur events, whoever makes par putts on the back nine wins — every time.'”

And sure enough, Polk drained par putts of 5 feet on 14, 15 and 18, sandwiched around the eagle on 16 and the tap-in birdie at 17.

And judging by the way he bombed some drives on Thursday, you’d never guess that Polk is 63 years old.

“I’ve been very fortunate health-wise,” he said. “I do an awful lot of working out. I have a great workout guy, Dee Tidwell, who’s kept me stronger and flexible. I went to him five years ago and said I don’t care about hitting it any further. I just don’t want to start hitting it shorter. Let’s fight this as long as we can. And I’m as long as I’ve ever been — still. But I hadn’t been able to put anything together.”

Until this week, that is.

For all the scores from the Senior Am, which is limited to players 52 and older, CLICK HERE.
 

The 54-hole event for players 52 and older will run Tuesday through Thursday (Sept. 11-13).

The list of past champs entered include 2017 winner Steve Ivan of Patty Jewett Golf Course, who also was runner-up in the CGA Senior Match Play earlier this year.

Other past champions teeing it up in the Senior Am are Kevin Ott (2016), Bill Fowler (2015), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2014), Harry Johnson (2013), David Delich (2012) and three-time winner Robert Polk (2005, ’07 and ’09).

Also scheduled to be in the 84-man field are this year’s CGA Senior Match Play champ John Hornbeck, a Wyoming state Golf Hall of Famer from Saratoga; other recent Senior Match Play champions Pat Bucci (2017) and Jeff Oneth (2016); Guy Mertz, who just competed in his second straight U.S. Senior Amateur; and recent CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play winners Sean Forey (2018) and Gary Albrecht (2017).

The field will be cut to the low 40 players and ties after Wednesday’s second round.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

Fifty-five players will be in the field, with the top three finishers earning spots in the Senior Am, which will be contested Aug. 25-30 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

Of those 55, almost one-fifth have competed in the U.S. Senior Am just in the last five years.

The list includes Wyoming resident John Hornbeck, the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play champion who has played in three U.S. Senior Amateurs, going to the quarterfinals in 2016. Also, there’s three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year Robert Polk (round of 64 in 2017), Guy Mertz (2017), Robin Bradbury (round of 64 in 2016), Gary Albrecht (2016), Jim Reynolds (2016), Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore (2015), Thomas Roos (2015), and David Delich and Harry Johnson (both 2013 and ’14).

Also competing on Tuesday are Steve Ivan, winner of the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur and runner-up in the 2018 CGA Senior Match Play; Charlie Post, who played in the 2017 U.S. Senior Open; 2015 CGA Senior Amateur winner Bill Fowler; 2014 CGA Senior Match Play champ Tom Musselman and Sean Forey.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

It might seem out of place for a Colorado Golf Association trophy, but the award that goes to the winner of the 49th CGA Senior Match Play will spend the next year in … Wyoming.

John Hornbeck — a resident of the southern Wyoming town of Saratoga, which sits about 30 miles north of the Colorado border as the crow flies — came to the Centennial State and left with the Senior Match Play hardware on Thursday.

In a title match that was completed by 9:20 a.m. at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City, Hornbeck defeated Steve Ivan of Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs, 5 and 3, possibly starting a friendly, golf-related variation of the Border War.

Hornbeck, who has been voted into the Golf Hall of Fame in Wyoming, is no stranger to competing in Colorado. He qualified in the Centennial State for the 2016 U.S. Senior Open, along with the 2014 and ’16 U.S. Senior Amateur. He made the semifinals of last year’s CGA Senior Match Play and finished eighth in the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur that Ivan won. He’s also tried three other times in Colorado to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open — 2015, ’17 and ’18 — falling short in each case.

“I enjoy coming down here and playing with all these guys” in Colorado, the 60-year-old said. “Since I qualified for (the 2016 U.S. Senior Open), I’ve met a lot of nice senior players and I’ve developed some friendships. They’ve said, ‘Come on down. We’d love to play with you.’ I love playing with them.

“And I like the golf courses (in Colorado). There’s a lot of real nice, unique golf courses down here. The ones in Wyoming, I’ve been playing my whole life. I enjoy playing golf, and this gives me another month or two to play golf.”

So now Hornbeck (pictured above and below) has his first CGA championship to go with more than a dozen he’s won in Wyoming in the 15 years in which he’s been competing at golf. That includes all four state senior match plays that have been contested in Wyoming.

“I really enjoy the competition,” he said. “It brings out the youth in you, I guess.”

On the national level, besides playing in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open, where he missed the cut, Hornbeck has qualified for three U.S. Senior Amateurs, advancing to match play on each occasion. In fact, he made the quarterfinals in that national event in 2016.

On Thursday, Hornbeck not only never trailed in the match, he never lost a hole. Neither golfer played particularly well on the front nine as Hornbeck finished 2 over par and Ivan 3 over. They halved eight of the nine holes, with Hornbeck winning the par-3 seventh with a par to take a 1-up lead.

But the Wyoming golfer, who had missed two very short putts on the front nine, heated up on the back. He won Nos. 10 and 11 with 7-foot birdies — the first birdies of the day by either player — and No. 13 with a par after Ivan failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

“I’ve been pretty confident all week. I’ve been hitting the ball really well,” said Hornbeck, who only had one match go to the 17th or 18th hole this week. “I knew if I could just get the putter going that it would probably go my way.”

Hornbeck closed things out on the 15th hole after putting his approach shot 8 feet from the flag. Ivan just missed the green and, after hitting a poor chip, conceded the match without further ado.

“I haven’t really hit my driver well all week. I’ve really struggled (with that),” said Ivan, a former University of Colorado golfer who was a teammate of 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones for one year at CU. “I didn’t put any pressure on (Hornbeck). I didn’t hit quality shots like I need to and like I did in the (2017 CGA Senior Amateur). It’s OK. I’m still here. I’m alive. I’m still retired.”

Ivan (left), winner of the 1979 CGA Junior Match Play in addition to last year’s CGA Senior Amateur, hit fewer than half of the greens in regulation during the title match and never had the honors on the teebox. Hornbeck, who was much longer off the tee, took advantage of that length.

“People can’t believe I’m getting longer,” Hornbeck said. “I’m not buying any new equipment to speak of. But I’m as long as I ever was, even when I was back in my 30s.

“When you’re coming in with a shorter iron, it’s always an advantage. You can fire more at the stick. In senior golf when we move up a set of tees once in a while, that’s where I have a little advantage.”

And with Ivan’s driver being problematic, that exacerbated the issue.

“I didn’t hit my driver well, so then I started hitting my 3-wood,” the 56-year-old said. “But you can’t be aggressive when you’re hitting long irons or hybrids into those greens versus short irons.

“John is very consistent with that driver. Whenever you’re swinging well, you pick the piece of grass you want to land (the ball) on. That’s all you see. But when you’re swinging bad, you see everything, and that’s not a good thing.”

Looking ahead, Ivan has a possibility of competing in a major event in his hometown before the month is over. He finished fourth on Memorial Day at The Broadmoor in qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, which put him in the second alternate position, behind Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler. But given that Loeffler lives in Castle Pines and Ivan in Colorado Springs, it’s possible they’ll get a call should a few players in the U.S. Senior Open field at The Broadmoor have to withdraw, particularly just prior to the start of the championship.

The CGA Senior Match Play is limited to players 52 and older.
 

CGA Senior Match Play
At Buffalo Run GC in Commerce City
WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
   John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Bob Chandler, Overland Park GC, 5 and 4
   Victor Minovich, Foothills GC, def. Bill Irwin, Highlands Ranch GC, 2 up
   Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, def. Keith Atkins, 2 and 1
    Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. Robin Bradbury, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 1 up
WEDNESDAY SEMIFINALS
   John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Victor Minovich, Foothills GC, 4 and 2
    Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, 20 holes
THURSDAY’S FINAL
  John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, 5 and 3

For all the results from Buffalo Run, CLICK HERE.
 

Ivan, a former University of Colorado golfer who won the 2017 CGA Senior Amateur, went 20 holes on Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals to defeat Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club. Moore, the 2006 champion, had won a 19-hole match in the first round and a 1-up decision in the quarterfinals, but couldn’t eke out another close victory in the semis. A three-putt bogey on the 20th hole saw to that.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ivan (left) had beaten 2017 CGA Senior Player of the Year Keith Atkins, 2 and 1.

Hornbeck, a semifinalist in this championship last year, scored a 5 and 4 win over Bob Chandler of Overland Park Golf Course in the quarterfinals and a 4 and 2 victory over Victor Minovich of Foothills Golf Course in the semis.

Hornbeck hasn’t been pressed much in his run to the championship match. His only match that went past the 16th hole was a 1-up round-of-32 win over Bradley Becker of Plum Creek Golf Club.

Thursday morning’s title match is schedule for 18 holes.

CGA Senior Match Play
At Buffalo Run GC in Commerce City
QUARTERFINALS
John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Bob Chandler, Overland Park GC, 5 and 4
Victor Minovich, Foothills GC, def. Bill Irwin, Highlands Ranch GC, 2 up
Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, def. Keith Atkins, 2 and 1
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, def. Robin Bradbury, Walnut Creek Golf Preserve, 1 up
SEMIFINALS
John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, def. Victor Minovich, Foothills GC, 4 and 2
Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC, def. Kent Moore, Cherry Hills CC, 20 holes
THURSDAY’S FINALS
John Hornbeck, Collindale GC, vs. Steve Ivan, Patty Jewett GC

For results from Buffalo Run, CLICK HERE.
 

John Elway drew the majority of the crowds Monday at U.S. Senior Open qualifying at The Broadmoor Golf Club — no surprise there — but it was Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Chris Johnson of Castle Rock who will be competing in front of the really big galleries at the Colorado Springs resort in four weeks.

While an estimated 500 fans came to The Broadmoor to see the Pro Football Hall of Famer — an extemely high number for a Colorado-based USGA qualifying tournament — Rohrbaugh and Johnson earned the two available U.S. Senior Open berths at stake on the historic East Course. (The two qualifiers are pictured, with Rohrbaugh at left.)

The Broadmoor, of course, will host this year’s Senior Open come June 28-July 1, which makes it an even bigger bonus for Colorado PGA professionals like Rohrbaugh and Johnson, both of whom competed in last week’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Michigan.

Rohrbaugh, who was paired with two of the best senior players in the world (Scott McCarron and Miguel Angel Jimenez) at the Senior PGA, fired a stellar 1-under-par 69 Monday at The Broadmoor to earn medalist honors. On a course that takes a toll on many a player’s scorecard, Rohrbaugh was rock solid. He made two birdies on the day — most notably from 3 feet on the 520-yard par-4 17th — and his only bogey came when he three-putted No. 15 by missing a 2-foot putt.

Johnson, the 2010 Colorado PGA Professional Champion, carded a 2-over 72 to land the second and final qualifying spot out of a field that originally numbered 84. He made two birdies and four bogeys on the day.

Meanwhile, Elway, the honorary chairman of the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, won’t to adding “competitor” to his title for this year’s championship. The Broncos general manager posted a 10-over-par 80 in a round that was interrupted for 75 minutes by a lightning delay. The 57-year-old was even-par for the first four holes, but ended up with eight bogeys and a double bogey. Still, an 80 was tied for the 18th-best score of the day. Oilman and philanthropist George Solich, who earned an Evans Scholarship as a caddie at The Broadmoor in the late 1970s, looped for Elway on Monday. (The two are pictured at left.)

“I played as well as I could play,” Elway said. “These are hard conditions. If you’re off the fairway by a yard, it’s hard to get it to the green. It’s a lot of work in that rough. But it was fun. I enjoyed playing in these conditions.”

Asked if he thought he had a chance to qualify had he played his best, Elway said, “No. I hadn’t been playing very well and not playing much either. But it was fun to be out here and compete.”

Next month’s championship will mark the fourth U.S. Senior Open for the 56-year-old Rohrbaugh — and the 11th PGA Tour Champions event of his career. Oddly, eight of those 11 will have been senior majors (four U.S. Senior Opens, three Senior PGAs and one Regions Tradition). In Rohrbaugh’s three previous trips to the U.S. Senior Open, he’s missed the 36-hole cut each time — by one stroke (2015), three (2012) and four (2013).

“Four times (in the Senior Open) is obviously amazing, but to play in your backyard …,” Rohrbaugh said. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since I saw it was on the schedule — thinking how cool it would be to have family and friends come down. It’s huge.”

In Colorado, Rohrbaugh has won the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships. As for his day jobs, he’s an instructor at Snowmass Club and a representative at Anderson Ord apparel.

Meanwhile, this will be the second senior major of Johnson’s career, following last week’s Senior PGA. Both the 51-year-old Johnson (77-76) and Rohrbaugh (76-76) missed the 36-hole cut last week.

“I’ll tell you what: It’s been a couple of crazy weeks,” said Johnson, a Life Member of the Colorado PGA. “To get to play in one major was incredibly fun. To get to play in a second one, these are the goals you set when you’re a kid. I’m just tickled.

“I don’t know that I could have played any better than I did today. That was a pretty solid round of golf for me. If you drove the ball in the rough here, you were done. You couldn’t get it to the green. You couldn’t get it close to the hole. On the fourth hole, I hit a 7-iron out of the rough as hard as I could and advanced it 120 yards. You had to hit it in the fairway.”

Rohrbaugh’s score on Monday was surprising to many observers, who didn’t think anyone would match par or better. And as it turned out, only three players broke 76. But a strong finish netted Rohrbaugh a 69. A 310-yard drive on 17 left him 216 in, and he hit a 4 hybrid to 3 feet and sunk the putt for birdie. Then on 18, with a difficult pin placement, Rohrbaugh’s birdie putt ended up 12 feet from the hole. But with the help of a good read from son Tristan, a former 3A state high school champion and 2015 CGA Western Chapter winner, Rohrbaugh rolled in the par putt (left) to shoot in the 60s.

“Going in, I thought par or even 1 over would” qualify, Rohrbaugh said. “I played so good today. I only missed three fairways. And the lies I had when I missed the fairway were decent. And my irons today were really good. I only missed three greens and made just one bogey. That was huge. I had it under par early and just kept going par-par-par and playing smart. I managed my game pretty fricking good, I have to say.”

Besides both being Colorado PGA professionals and both having played in last week’s Senior PGA, Rohrbaugh and Johnson had one other thing in common at The Broadmoor: They both had their sons caddying for them, Tristan for Doug Rohrbaugh, and Cooper for Chris Johnson.

“Tristan was awesome,” Rohrbaugh said. “He read the greens. We all know how tricky these are, but he read them so good.”

All in all, Johnson said it shouldn’t surprise anyone that two guys who competed in the Senior PGA last week should gain the two spots at stake Monday in the U.S. Senior Open.

“It’s no coincidence,” he said. “You go out there for 36 holes grinding your butt off (in Michigan) to shoot your best possible score and you know that you’re striking it good and that you’ve worked really hard to play in that event. Then you come here and there’s this thinking, ‘I can do this.’ So I don’t think it’s coincidental that Doug and I both shot solid rounds today.”

As for Rohbaugh, watching McCarron and Jimenez operate up close for two days paid dividends. After all, the two have combined for 11 PGA Tour Champions wins, including two senior majors.

“With the pairing I had, it could have been very nerve-wracking,” Rohrbaugh said of the Senior PGA. “But I was as comfortable as I’ve ever been playing. It was the advantage of playing in those circumstances so many times. I’ve played with (Bernhard) Langer before and played well.

“And the two guys (McCarron and Jimenez) were absolute gentlemen. They were so great. It made up for the way I played. What a treat to get to play with them and witness some incredible ball-striking.”

Landing alternate spots on Monday at The Broadmoor were Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock (round of 74) and low amateur Steve Ivan of Colorado Springs (76). 

(At left was the gallery as Elway walked off the first tee on Monday.)

U.S. Senior Open Qualifying
At Par-70 East Course at The Broadmoor GC in Colorado Springs
ADVANCE TO U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Doug Rohrbaugh, Carbondale 35-34–69
Chris Johnson, Castle Rock 36-36–72
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Bill Loeffler, Castle Rock 39-35–74
Steve Ivan, Colorado Springs 38-38–76

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Very rarely does a winner of a major CGA individual championship post a round in the 80s, but Meridian Golf Club and Mother Nature led to an exception to the rule this week.

Still, Steve Ivan of Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs didn’t sweat it. He left Meridian with his first CGA title in 38 years, so it’s all good.

Despite shooting an 8-over-par 80 in very windy conditions and on a challenging golf course on Thursday, Ivan held off his challengers and recorded a one-stroke victory in the 46th CGA Senior Amateur.

“It feels good,” the 55-year-old said. “I had to go through qualifying at Walking Stick, and I qualified first there. There’s all these little steps. With that 72 on Tuesday, I was like, ‘I can do this.’ And today, I’m proud of the way I hung in there.”

Indeed, though he shot a final-round 80, Ivan didn’t let things swirl out of control on Thursday. After taking a five-stroke lead into the last day, he found himself 7 over par for his first eight holes in round 3. Particularly frustrating was the triple bogey on No. 2, where Ivan hit a good drive, but — unbeknownst to him or his playing partners — the ball hit a cart sign and bounced back 50 yards. They couldn’t find it, so he played another ball from the tee. It was only when he was driving back up the hole that the ball was found — and by then it was too late.

“I got on the wrong side of the hole on the front nine and made compounding error after compounding error,” he said. But after the front nine, “I looked at the scores and I said, ‘You’ve still got one shot (on the second-place player). Just grind it, grind it, grind it, and let the score take care of itself — and I did.”

Indeed, after not making a birdie through 15 holes, Ivan almost holed out his approach from 89 yards on the 16th hole, tapping in for birdie from 4 inches. Then on the 179-yard 17th, he hit a 6-iron to 10 feet and drained that putt for a second straight birdie. Though he didn’t know it at the time, that gave him a two-stroke lead, and even a three-putt bogey from 40 feet on the 18th hole didn’t make a difference in the outcome.

The retired insurance claims adjuster (above and left) finished with a 54-hole total of 9-over-par 225, one of the highest winning tallies in the history of this championship.

Brian Harris of Denver Country Club and Victor Minovich of Foothills Golf Course shared second place at 226 after matching 74s on Thursday.

Three-time champion Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club tied for fourth place at 227 with Paul Edwards of Meridian and Keith Atkins of Highland Meadows Golf Course. Edwards matched the low round of the tournament with a 72, while Atkins had a 74 and Polk a 76.

For Ivan, Thursday marked his first CGA title since he won the 1979 CGA Junior Match Play at The Ranch Country Club. A year later, he joined the University of Colorado golf team, where over the years he was teammates with Steve Jones, who would win the 1996 U.S. Open, Rick Cramer, Terry Kahl, Tim Smith, Matt Potter and Paul Lobato, coincidentally now the PGA head professional at Meridian.

“Today, that birdie on 16 was monumental,” Ivan said. “The momentum just switched like that. I went from no emotion to off the charts. That was the whole tournament right there. That allowed me to hit that tee shot on 17 and make that putt, which allowed me to hit a good drive on 18. It’s just the little engine that could.”

By the way, this little engine that could is a throwback of sorts. He plays his golf with 1993 Ram Laser Fx irons — of which he owns 13 sets. And because he likewise favors Royal grips, he claims to own more of those than anyone in the U.S.

“They call that OCD. The first step in recovery is admitting you’ve got a problem,” he said with a smile.

But whatever the case, Ivan makes it work. Though he hasn’t competed in many CGA championships, he’s the winner of many, many tournaments in Colorado Springs between the Pikes Peak Amateur, the Valley Hi Springer and the city championship.

But on Thursday, both Harris and Minovich came very close to overtaking Ivan afer being seven strokes down going into the day.

Harris bogeyed the last two holes, missing a 3-foot par putt on No. 17. And Minovich (left) misfired on several close putts on the back nine.

“When I realized how windy it was, and knowing what can happen on this course, for us amateurs I think everybody has a chance, even coming from seven back,” said Harris, a onetime U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier. “But a bogey-bogey finish to come in one behind is a little disappointing.”

Minovich, meanwhile, was competing in this event for the first time.

“It was the little 3-foot putts I missed coming in (that cost me),” said the multiple-time Foothills Golf Course club champion. “It really did come down to putting for me. Yesterday, the last four holes, I missed three short putts. And today I missed two 4-footers and a 3-footer on the back nine.”

The CGA Senior Amateur is limited to players 51 and older. In an effort to eventually match the age criteria for the U.S. Senior Amateur, which is limited to players 55 and older, each year beginning in 2017 the eligibility for CGA senior events will rise one year. So next year, for instance, the minimum age will be 52. From 2021 and beyond, competitors must be at least 55.

For all the scores from the CGA Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Ivan didn’t quite reach that level, but more than three decades later, he’s in position to add a nice CGA title of his own.

The golfer from Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs, who led the CGA Senior Amateur after round 1, expanded his lead to five strokes Wednesday at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood.

Coincidentally, another one of Ivan’s CU teammates, Paul Lobato, is the PGA head professional at Meridian.

Ivan shot a 1-over-par 73 on Wednesday, giving him a 1-over 145 total going into Thursday’s final round. He made one birdies and two bogeys in round 2.

John Hornbeck of Saratoga, Wyo., who competed in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open after qualifying in Colorado, stands in second place at 150 after a second-round 76.

Three-time champion Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club shares third place at 151 with James Pullin of Collindale Golf Club. Pullin carded a 75 on Wednesday and Polk had a 76.

Seven back of Ivan and tied for fifth are Brian Harris of Denver Country Club, Shane Unfred of Highlands Meadows Golf Course and Victor Minovich of Foothills Golf Course. Harris matched Ivan’s 73, while Minovich posted a 75 and Unfred a 78.

The field was cut to the low 40 players and ties after Wednesday’s second round, with the 42 golfers at 161 or better advancing to Thursday. Among those who missed the cut by one was defending champion Kevin Ott of The Club at Rolling Hills.

The final threesome — Ivan, Hornbeck and Pullin — will tee off for Thursday’s final round at 9:57 a.m.

The CGA Senior Amateur is limited to player 51 and older. In an effort to eventually match the age criteria for the U.S. Senior Amateur, which is limited to players 55 and older, each year beginning in 2017 the eligibility for CGA senior events will rise one year. So next year, for instance, the minimum age will be 52. From 2021 and beyond, competitors must be at least 55.

For all the scores from the CGA Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Ivan, a former University of Colorado golfer, made four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the day, and overcame two 6s on his card.

Shane Unfred of Highland Meadows Golf Course, Scott Sullivan of Bookcliff Country Club and John Hornbeck of Saratoga, Wyo., share second place after opening with 74s. Hornbeck, who competed in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open, made three birdies on Tuesday, while Unfred and Sullivan managed two each.

Tied in fifth place at 75 were three-time champion Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club and Bob Schuler of Inverness Golf Club. They each carded two birdies in the first round.

Meanwhile, Tuesday proved a struggle for numerous players who have won this championship. Defending champ Kevin Ott of The Club at Rolling Hills shot an 85, while David Delich of The Broadmoor Golf Club carded an 84, Bill Fowler of Rolling Hills an 83, Charlie Post of Colorado Golf Club an 82 and Kent Moore of Cherry Hills Country Club and Harry Johnson of Eagle Ranch Golf Course a pair of 80s. And 2017 CGA Senior Match Play winner Pat Bucci of West Woods Golf Club opened with an 82.

The 54-hole championship, limited to players 51 and older, will continue through Thursday. The field will be cut to the low 40 players and ties after two rounds.

For all the scores from the CGA Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.