Jeff Gallagher may owe Denver resident Tom Krystyn a dinner for inadvertently jogging Gallagher’s memory about a month ago.

Gallagher, a former PGA Tour player who’s now a golf instructor in Henderson, Nev., had meant to enter the CoBank Colorado Senior Open, but put it off because he wasn’t sure how the tournament would fit in with his schedule.

But it was a phone call with Krystyn that reminded Gallagher to sign up on May 3, just a couple hours before the entry deadline.

“I’m good friends with Tom Krystyn, who lives here, and we were on the phone,” Gallagher explained on Friday afternoon. “I’m like, ‘Dang, that reminds me, I’ve got to register for the tournament.’ I think I did it about two hours before the deadline, and I’m sure glad I did. I nearly air-balled it.”

Gallagher, a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour, parlayed that entry into a victory Friday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. The younger brother of five-time PGA Tour champion Jim Gallagher Jr., Jeff fended off Steve Jurgensen of The Woodlands, Texas, to earn the Senior Open title, the $8,500 that goes with it, and a berth into next month’s $250,000 CoBank Colorado Open.

The 52-year-old took a two-stroke lead into the final hole, then had to sweat out a nail-biting finish. After Jurgensen was on the front fringe in two on the par-5 18th, Gallagher put his third shot about 35 feet behind the flagstick. After Jurgensen putted up to about 6 feet from the hole, Gallagher could clinch the win with a two-putt par. But his birdie putt ran past the hole and over a ridge, leaving him about 20 feet for par. He left that one short, meaning he had three-putted for bogey. Jurgensen, who plays right-handed but putts left, had a 6-foot birdie attempt to force a playoff, but pushed it a bit, assuring Gallagher (above and left) of the victory.

“I played for a little bit of break,” noted Jurgensen (pictured below in green), himself a former PGA Tour player who has won on the Web.com Tour. “I thought there was some slope off there, but there was nothing there.”

That let Gallagher off the hook for a final-hole three-putt.

“It was the weirdist thing. (My first putt) was uphill and a little downhill, and I’d been leaving everything short,” Gallagher said. “I probably got a little too aggressive. So I was thinking, ‘Playoff. Let’s go do it.’ I didn’t think he’d miss the putt. It all worked out. I played really well and Steve played really well as well. I hate to see him miss that putt, but I hate to see myself three-putt the last hole, too, to give him a chance. But I hit a lot of good shots over the course of the round and it was fun to do it.”

Gallagher closed with a 1-under-par 71 on Friday, leaving him with a winning total of 11-under 205. Jurgensen, who held a one-stroke lead after the 13th hole, came in at 206 after a final-round 73. Robin Byrd of Satellite Beach, Fla., was another stroke back, in third place, after a 72.

Four Coloradans posted top-10 finishes, but they were all in the six-to-10 range. Rick Cole of Eaton posted his best showing ever in a Colorado Senior Open — or a Colorado Open — by placing sixth at 212 (72-69-71), earning a grand total of $2,700 in the process. Dale Smigelsky of Fort Collins (213) tied for seventh, and Doug Wherry of Lakewood and former champion Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West (214) were among the seven players who shared ninth place.

At 63, Cole not only finished sixth overall but was the low super-senior (60-plus) player.

“My goal at this time in my life is just trying to make the cut,” said Cole, who played his final 10 holes in 3 under par. “So I was very happy with the way I played. It feels really good.”

But it was Gallagher, playing in the Colorado Senior Open for the first time, and Jurgensen who would battle it out of the title on the back nine on Friday.

Gallagher was two ahead after 10 holes, but his bogey on No. 11 combined with Jurgensen’s 12-foot birdie made them all square. And Jurgensen two-putted the par-5 12th for a second straight birdie, taking the lead outright.

Gallagher evened it up again by sinking a 3 1/2-foot birdie on the 14th after driving it over the green on the short par-4.

But it was the 15th hole that proved pivotal. There, from ideal position in the middle of the fairway, Jurgensen left his approach in the front bunker, where the ball buried. His next shot stayed in the bunker and he then missed a 6-foot putt to take a double bogey, leaving him two behind with three holes left.

“I was in between clubs,” Jurgensen said. “I was trying to hit the longer club softer to the left of the bunker. I knew you couldn’t aim at that flag. I should have hit the shorter club hard. For us sea-level guys (playing at altitude), when you don’t hit the ball up in the air, it’ll fall out of the sky a little bit quicker than what we’re used to. It was a bad mistake. In hindsight I would have played way left and get my two-putt and get out of there and still be even.”

Said Gallagher, who’s known Jurgensen for more than 20 years: “In this game anything can happen. He was playing great, then all of a sudden, ‘Boom’. It could have happened to me just as easy. I’m glad it didn’t. But it was definitely a big turning point.”

From there, Gallagher and Jurgensen parred 16 and 17, then the Nevadan prevailed despite his 18th-hole three-putt bogey.

Gallagher said the win is his biggest since his second Web.com Tour victory, in the 2000 South Carolina Classic.

“It’s been a long time,” said Gallagher, who competed in 134 PGA Tour events, mostly between 1996 and 2003. “It’s nice to be able to hit the shots under the pressure. I’m nervous. Everybody’s nervous. Obviously it’s not a PGA Tour event, but it’s competition. And it doesn’t matter if you’re playing for $1,000, $500 or $100,000,000. The competition gets me doing. I don’t enjoy playing golf unless I’m playing in competition. Competition just does something to me. It’s satisfying if you can perform under the heat.”

Gallagher, who has played very little Tour golf since 2010, attributed his success this week to a different mindset than he had during his Tour days.

“I don’t take it as serious as I used to,” he said. “I just have fun. I could have shot 80-80-80 and been just as happy as shooting 11 under this week. There’s a lot of worse things in this world than bad golf or losing a tournament. I’ve kind of changed my outlook on life as far as golf goes. I think that’s why I play so well now. When I played, I made it a job. It shouldn’t be a job. I wish I had that attitude for 20 years playing because I’d probably still be playing.”

Former Military Champion Takes Low-Am Honors: Albert Johnson Jr., of Lawton, Okla., has won several notable titles in golf, including three All-Army Championships and the Armed Forces Golf Championship in 2007 shortly before retiring from the military.

On Friday, he added low-amateur honors in the Colorado Senior Open to his list of golf accomplishments.

But it wasn’t easy, despite going into the final round seven strokes ahead of the next-lowest amateur. Johnson (left) struggled to a 7-over-par 79 in the final round to post a 4-over 220 total (70-71-79), prevailing by one over Ray Makloski of Pueblo, the 2012 CGA Senior Match Play champion.

“It’s always good to win, wherever you can win, by whatever means you can win. I’m excited about that,” said the 59-year-old Johnson, who was competing in the Senior Open for the first time.

“My goal today wasn’t to be low amateur; my goal was to play well. Unfortunately, I didn’t, but there’s some consolation in a gift certificate and a trophy, so I’m happy for that.”

Aces High: The last two rounds of the Colorado Senior Open each featured a hole-in one. A day after Duane Lorio of Luling, La., aced the fifth hole, Mike Grob of Billings, Mont., did the honors on Friday. Grob used a hole-in-one on the 13th hole — 8-iron from 172 yards — to shoot a 3-under-par 69 and finish fifth despite closing with a double bogey.

 
For scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
  

A Colorado resident has won the CoBank Colorado Senior Open just once in the past seven years, but Dale Smigelsky of Fort Collins might have hit upon a reason why.

“I’m heading home now to do all my scoresheets for my (Collindale) invitational for this weekend,” Smigelsky said after shooting a 2-under-par 70 on Thursday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

Indeed, Smigelsky’s situation isn’t unusual for many of the Colorado competitors. In his case, he’s the director of golf at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins, and the workload doesn’t stop when he’s competing in a tournament.

But, so far, Smigelsky (pictured) is juggling the situation quite well. The 56-year-old stands at 5-under-par 139 and shares holds sixth place, six strokes behind leader Steve Jurgensen of The Woodlands, Texas and five back of Jeff Gallagher of Henderson, Nev. Both of the top two on the leaderboard are former PGA Tour players who have won on the Web.com Tour.

“I’m a golf professional,” said Smigelsky, the 2015 Colorado Senior PGA Professional Champion. “The other guys, the good players, are professional golfers — and that’s what the difference is. For those of us that work in the business, it’s kind of fun to compare ourselves against the good players. So it’s nice to play well.”

Smigelsky was actually 7 under par overall through 14 holes on Thursday, but bogeyed Nos. 15 and 17 to drop back a little.

“I’m a normal working pro so I got a little uncomfortable with it,” he said. “Then the wind came up and played around with the ball the last couple holes.

“I’m happy with where I’m at. I wish I could have brought it in once I got to 7 (under), but you look at the leaderboard and you’re not used to seeing it (and) you get a little anxious.

“But I’m excited because I’ve played so little golf. If you had asked me before I started if I was going to be 5 under after two rounds, I’d say, ‘Sure, I’ll take it.'”

But as solid as Smigelsky has been, he has quite a bit of ground to make up in Friday’s final round. Jurgensen shot a 6-under-par 66 on Thursday — matching the best round of the tournament — and will take a one-stroke lead into the last round of the $50,000 tournament with an 11-under-par 133 total. One back is Gallagher, who also fired a second-round 66. Gallagher is the younger brother of five-time PGA Tour winner Jim Gallagher Jr.

Jurgensen, a one-time winner on the Web.com Tour who has posted three top-10 finishes in 93 PGA Tour starts, carded an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys on Thursday. On the par-5 second hole (his 11th), he hit a 3-wood from 255 yards to 2 feet for his 3.

“You want to be up there somewhere (on the leaderboard) if you can,” the 55-year-old said. “(Friday’s final round) is just another day where you find your game when you get out there on the course. It’s either going to be a struggle or a day you feel like you can do something really special. Every round of golf is a wait-and-see kind of thing.

“But I like the golf course (and) I’ve played well in Colorado before. I don’t know if it’s just the atmosphere, but you feel real good. The greens are really good and I’ve made some putts this week. Usually that’s the difference when somebody scores low — they’re making some putts.”

Gallagher (left) — who has two Web.com Tour victories to his credit, and has played in 134 events on the PGA Tour — made an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys bogeys on Thursday. He was 4 under par through five, then chipped in from 90 feet for eagle on the par-5 12th. And, mind you, this is Gallagher’s first time competing in the Colorado Senior Open — or the Colorado Open, for that matter.

“I haven’t been playing a whole lot,” the 52-year-old instructor said. “This is probably my third round of golf in about three months. I quit playing the Web.com Tour in 2011. I’ve been teaching the last (six) years. I spend most of my time on the driving range watching kids and grownups hit golf shots.

“It’s strange that I play better now that I don’t play (regularly) than I did when I was playing. It’s a different attitude; that’s pretty much all it is. The nerves are there, but I don’t take it like I used to. It’s not a job anymore. It’s fun.”

Longtime fans of golf in Colorado might remember Jeff’s older brother Jim and his feat at the now-defunct International at Castle Pines Golf Club. In 1990, Jim Gallagher made a double eagle on the par-5 17th hole, marking one of two recorded at Castle Pines that day — a rare happening indeed. These days, Jim Gallagher spends much of his time working for the Golf Channel.

Jeff didn’t have the success that Jim did on the PGA Tour, but he did play the world’s top circuit on and off from 1996 to 2003, including competing at The International several times. More recently, he finished 18th at last year’s U.S. Senior Open.

Back at the Colorado Senior Open, Robin Byrd of Sattelite Beach, Fla., holds third place at 135 after a second-round 67.

Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah, winner of the 2016 national Senior PGA Professional Championship, shares fourth place at 137 with Texan Tim Thelen after both posted 70s on Thursday.

By his own estimate, Schneiter has competed in the Colorado Open and Colorado Senior Open 25-30 times between them. And though he’s contended for the title — most notably, he lost a playoff to Bill Loeffler in the last Open played at Hiwan Golf Club, in 1991 — he’s yet to take home the trophy.

“I’d like to win one of them,” said Schneiter, who owns state open titles in Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming. “At least I have a chance going into tomorrow. Hopefully things will keep going good.”

Notable: Tee times for Friday’s final round will begin at 8:15 a.m., with the leaders going off at 9:55. … A total of 60 players, all of whom stand at 149 or better, made the 36-hole cut. … Albert Johnson Jr., of Lawton, Okla., opened up a seven-stroke lead in the low-amateur competition as he’s gone 70-71–141. … The low super-senior (60 and older) after two days is five-time PGA Tour winner Danny Edwards (69-75–144). … Duane Lorio of Luling, La., made a hole-in-one on Thursday afternoon, draining a 9-iron shot on the fifth hole. But Lorio (78-74) missed the cut with a 152 total.

For scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
 

Danny Edwards will turn 66 in two weeks, so there are people in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open field who were just being born when he was starting to drive a car.

But that didn’t keep the five-time PGA Tour winner from finding a spot on the leaderboard after round 1 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

Edwards (pictured) shot a bogey-free 3-under-par 69 Wedneday to share sixth place with two rounds left at GVR. He sits just two strokes out of the lead.

“There’s a lot of difference between 50 and 66 (years old),” Edwards said. “You don’t hit it as far, your nerves aren’t as good. Name about anything, there’s a big difference. It’s hard to believe I’m that old, but I am. It’s definitely a challenge.

“But it’s nice to play well — whether I was 10th (place) or 30th. I hit some really good shots. That’s what you enjoy — hitting really good shots and making a few saves. I hit 16 greens in regulation, which isn’t bad.”

On a day that featured good scoring conditions — though there were two lightning suspensions in the afternoon lasting a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes — 22 players were under par Wednesday before play was suspended due to darkness at 8:15 p.m. A total of 30 players hadn’t yet completed round 1 and will do so on Thursday beginning at 7:30 a.m. Scheduled second-round tee times won’t be affected.

Leading the way when play concluded Wednesday night were Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah, the 2016 winner of the national Senior PGA Professional Championship, and a couple of Texans, Tim Thelen of College Station and Steve Jurgensen of The Woodlands. All three fired 5-under-par 67s.

“We had perfect conditions,” said Thelen, a two-time winner of the national PGA Professional Championship and a five-time champion on the European Senior Tour. “I guess it rained out here a little last night. It softened the course up a little so you could go after it.”

Edwards is no stranger to being in contention at the Colorado Senior Open. He finished second in the tournament in 2009, third in 2005 and fifth in 2011 at age 60.

On Wednesday, Edwards kept his bogey-free round intact by getting up and down from the front bunker on No. 18, sinking a 6-foot par putt.

Shooting rounds in the 60s is always a good thing, but especially when a player like Edwards isn’t competing nearly as much as he used to.

“I play maybe once a month” tournament-wise, he said. “If you’re playing the (PGA) Tour, you’re playing virtually every week. It’s a lot more difficult (now), there’s no question about it. You’re not playing as much. I’m just a part-time player and an older guy. But I can still play a little bit, so it’s nice to have a round like today.”

Thelen (left), a college teammate of Colin Montgomerie at Houston Baptist, made seven birdies in his round of 67 on Wednesday.

“I hit it well. I drove it well, hit my irons well and made a few putts,” said the 55-year-old Thelen, who placed fourth in the Senior Open in 2014, the only other year he’s competed in the event. “I played a practice round here yesterday and didn’t hit it very well. I was on the range this morning before we played and I just felt something. I went out there and did it. I haven’t been putting very well, and I guess the hole got in the way a few times today. Hopefully the next two days are good.”

Joining Thelen in the first-round lead was Schneiter, who in addition to winning the national Senior PGA Professional Championship in November has captured the PGA Professional Championship in 1995. Schneiter made six birdies on the day and played his final six holes in 4 under. Also sharing the lead was Jurgensen, a one-time winner on the Web.com Tour. The 55-year-old carded six birdies and a bogey on Wednesday.

Sharing fourth place at 68 were Jeff Gallagher of Henderson, Nev., who went bogey-free, and Robin Byrd of Satellite Beach, Fla., whose lone bogey came on his final hole of the day.

Notable: The low amateur after Wednesday’s action was Albert Johnson Jr., of Lawton, Okla., who carded a 2-under-par 70. … The field will be cut to the low 55 players and ties after Thursday’s second round. … Defending champion John Ross of Bramwell, W. Va., opened with a 73. … Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, who competed in the Senior PGA Championship last week, posted a 71 on Wednesday.

For scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.