Both Wood, from Highlands Ranch, and Kupcho, from Westminster, shot 6-over-par 78s Friday at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., and missed the 36-hole cut at arguably the most prestigious women’s golf tournament in the world.

Wood, the 2014 CWGA Stroke Play champion, was on pace to make the cut after a first-round 73, but back-to-back double bogeys on her fourth and fifth holes Friday put her behind the 8-ball and she finished at 7-over-par 151. That was good for 92nd place. The top 60 and ties — all those at 148 or better — survived the cut and earned spots into the weekend field.

Wood carded three birdies, five bogeys and two doubles in round 2.

Kupcho, the CWGA Player of the Year in 2014 and ’15, had a similar second round. The Wake Forest sophomore-to-be recorded three birdies, seven bogeys and a double. Overall, that left her with a 155 total, in 130th place in the 156-player field.

While the two Colorado residents exited after two days, former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim made the cut on Friday. She shot a 1-under-par 71 to check in at 3-over 147, good for a share of 48th place.

Kim played her final seven holes in 3 under par on Friday.

Sung Hyun Park leads the U.S. Women’s Open at the halfway point as rounds of 70-66 left her at 8-under-par 136.

(July 10 Update: Kim posted scores of 76-77 on the weekend for a 12-over-par 300 total, which left her with a 65th-place finish.)

For all the scores from the U.S. Women’s Open, CLICK HERE.

Wood, who along with Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster have won CWGA Stroke Play titles and are former Hale Irwin Elite Players, opened with a 1-over-par 73 Thursday in her first round ever at the U.S. Women’s Open. That left her in 52nd place — nine strokes behind leader Mirim Lee — but just one shot back of the top amateurs after round 1. Wood stands in fifth place among the amateurs.

The University of Oklahoma sophomore-to-be (pictured in a USGA photo) made two birdies and three bogeys in Thursday’s round.

Kupcho, meanwhile, posted a 5-over-par 77 in round 1 and shares 118th place out of the 156-player field. Kupcho, the CWGA Player of the Year in 2014 and ’15, had an up-and-down round, finishing with three birdies, eight pars, six bogeys and a double bogey. Uncharacteristically, she was 2 over par on the par-5s, making a double bogey, a bogey, a par and a birdie.

In Friday’s second round of the 72-hole tournament, Wood will tee off at 8:16 a.m. (MT), while Kupcho will go at 1:30 p.m. (MT).

Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim, who opened with a 76 on Thursday and is tied for 106th place, will tee off at 10:12 a.m. (MT) on Friday.

FS1 will televise the U.S. Women’s Open on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. (MT).

For all the scores from the Women’s Open, CLICK HERE.

Former University of Colorado golfer Jessica Wallace was in position for the victory, sharing the lead in the IOA Championship heading into the final hole in Beaumont, Calif. But a long three-putt from the fringe left her with a runner-up finish, one stroke behind champion Erynne Lee, a former UCLA golfer who won in her Symetra Tour debut. Lee eagled the 16th hole to give herself the opportunity to win. She closed with a 65.

Wallace (pictured) carded rounds of 69-67-70 for a 10-under-par 206 total. She earned $9,649 for her runner-up showing.

A former CU teammate of hers, Jenny Coleman, tied for third place at 207 (68-71-68), picking up $6,243. And former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim placed fifth at 208 (72-69-67), receiving $4,413 in prize money.
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s the rundown:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now that we’ve flipped the calendar to 2014, perhaps a good New Year’s wish for fans of Colorado tour players is that this year turns out to be as successful for local competitors as 2013 was.

Last year proved to be arguably the best collectively in at least the last handful of seasons for tour players with strong Colorado connections.

There were six victories on top-level tours in 2013 by current or former Coloradans, plus several more another level or two down.

Making it to the winner’s circle were former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird (PGA Tour Valero Texas Open), Aurora’s Mark Wiebe (Champions Tour Senior British Open and Pacific Links Hawaii Championship), former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo (Champions Tour Insperity Championship and Montreal Championship) and Evergreen’s Craig Stadler (Champions Tour Encompass Championship).

Also gaining big victories were onetime Golden resident Andrew Svoboda (two on the Web.com Tour), former Denverite Mark Hubbard (one on PGA Tour Canada), former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim (one on the Symetra Tour), and former University of Colorado player Emily Talley (Big Break NFL on the Golf Channel).

Add it all up and it was hardly a typical year for Colorado’s “local” tour players.

The 2014 tour golf schedule begins this weekend as the PGA Tour’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions runs Friday through Monday (Jan. 3-6) in Maui, Hawaii. The LPGA and Champions Tours get rolling later this month.

Here’s some of what’s new on the major tours in 2014 from the perspective of players with strong Colorado ties:

— This week marks just the third time Laird (pictured above) has competed in the Tournament of Champions. After all, the event is limited to winners of PGA Tour events the previous year, with this week’s field numbering just 30.

Laird, who qualified by winning the 2013 Valero Texas Open, has made the most of his two previous T of C appearances, finishing fourth in 2010 and second in 2012.

Unlike previous years, the Tournament of Champions isn’t the PGA Tour season opener this time. With the newly instituted wraparound schedule, this will be the seventh event of the 2013-14 season.

— When the Web.com season begins in 2014, it will have two new faces familiar to many Colorado golf fans. Hubbard, who grew up in Denver, and Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch, winner of two HealthOne Colorado Opens, will compete on the circuit on a regular basis for the first time this year.

Hubbard earned a card by finishing third on the PGA Tour Canada 2013 money list and improved his status by placing 15th in the Web.com qualifying finals. Tolan will have conditional status after ending up 105th in the final stage of Q-school. Both are former CGA champions.

Meanwhile, new Colorado resident Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, will return to the Web.com Tour after finishing 11th in qualifying last month.

— Mike Reid, who played part of his high school golf career at Cherry Creek, will be back on the Champions Tour full time in 2014 after ending up second in the tour’s national qualifying tournament.

Reid, winner of two Champions Tour majors, competed in just seven official Champions events in 2013.

— Two “local” players regained top tour status by virtue of their season-long showings in golf’s versions of the high minors.

Kim (pictured at left) is back for her second season on the LPGA Tour after finishing sixth on the Symetra money list as the top 10 automatically earned LPGA cards. And Svoboda returned to the PGA Tour after placing 25th on the Web.com Tour’s 2013 regular-season money list and fifth on the Web.com Tour finals priority rankings.

For a rundown on all players with strong Colorado ties who are competing on major golf tours in 2014, CLICK HERE. (Note: This rundown is updated on a weekly basis throughout the year.)

Four players with strong Colorado ties have won significant tour events in the first six months of the year, one leads a 2013 tour money list, and one competed on Golf Channel’s “Big Break” series.

One Colorado Golf Hall of Famer returned to the LPGA Tour after a two-year absence, and another lost his fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour.

In short, “locals” have crammed a year’s worth of notable events into six months.

Here’s the rundown:

— Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird ended a two-year PGA Tour victory drought by shooting a course-record-tying 63 in the final round of the Valero Texas Open, where he overcame runner-up Rory McIlroy. It was the third PGA Tour win of Laird’s career.

The Scotsman, who later finished in the top five at The Players Championship for the second consecutive year, stands 23rd on the 2013 PGA Tour money list.

— Evergreen resident Craig Stadler (pictured), in the same month he turned 60, won his first Champions Tour event in eight years and nine months when he prevailed in the Encompass Championship last month.

The former Masters champion won three times in 2003 and five times in 2004 on the Champions Tour, but hadn’t hit pay-dirt again until this year. His feat marks the longest time between victories in Champions Tour history.

— Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo has had a stellar rookie season on the Champions Tour, capped by a victory in the Insperity Championship, where the native of Mexico prevailed in a three-man playoff on Cinco de Mayo.

With five top-10 finishes — and eight top-20s — Toledo sits seventh on the 2013 Champions Tour money list.

— Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim likewise won a playoff for her victory this year. The Canadian posted her win last month in the Symetra Tour’s Decatur-Forsyth Classic.

Kim, who is conditionally exempt on the LPGA Tour, leads the Symetra Tour money list in 2013. She’s posted three top-three finishes this year.

— Former University of Colorado golfer Emily Talley was picked to compete in this year’s Golf Channel “Big Break Mexico”, which featured 12 professionals vying in various skills challenges for the right to play in a PGA or LPGA Tour event, plus other prizes.

But Talley, who competes on the Symetra Tour, was one of the first players eliminated from the show. At 22, she was the youngest Big Break competitor this year.

— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jill McGill has won $2.34 million in her LPGA Tour career but hadn’t competed on the circuit in two years. That changed in May when she placed 61st in the Bahamas LPGA Classic. McGill, winner of two USGA amateur championships, has played in three LPGA events so far this year, and is entered in this week’s Manulife Financial LPGA Classic.

— Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Brandt Jobe, lost his fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour in May. As part of his major medical extension, he needed to earn at least $303,178 in his first 10 Tour events of the year to keep his full status.

Jobe missed that mark, and now he’s relying on veteran members’ status and sponsor exemptions to get into tournaments.

For a weekly update on tour players with major Colorado ties, CLICK HERE.

It happens at the start of every year in football, baseball, basketball and other team sports, but it’s certainly there for golf as well.

The bottom line is, when everyone begins fresh, hope springs eternal.

This week will mark the first event of 2013 for tour players with major Colorado ties. Specifically, Kent Denver High School graduate Kevin Stadler and one-time Golden resident Andrew Svoboda are entered in the Sony Open, the first full-field tournament of the season on the PGA Tour. The event is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday (Jan. 10-13) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As a Colorado-oriented preview for the 2013 season on the various tours around the world, it’s worth taking a look at the changes in store for some of the top players with in-state ties. We’ll also examine which local golfers may be on the verge of bigger things.

For a regularly-updated list of local golfers on the world’s top tours — and how they’re faring, CLICK HERE.

Moving Up in the World

— Former Longmont resident Kelly Jacques (pictured) earned an LPGA Tour card for the first time, though she’ll only have conditional status in 2013. The two-time Colorado girls state high school champion landed her tour card by finishing 17th in the final stage of LPGA Tour qualifying last month. Jacques appeared on Golf Channel’s “Big Break Ireland” in 2011, and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open last year.

— One-time Golden resident Andrew Svoboda gained his PGA Tour card for the first time by finishing among the top 25 on the season-long Web.com Tour money list in 2012. By earning $203,717 on the Web.com last year — his third straight season on that circuit — Svoboda placed 21st on the 2012 money rankings.

— Former University of Denver golfer Espen Kofstad landed a spot on the 2013 European Tour in stellar fashion by winning the 2012 money title on the European Challenge Tour. Kofstad won twice on the Challenge Tour last year, including the season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final. After the first two events of the “2013” European Tour season, which actually began in December, Kofstad ranks 37th on the money list.

— Sue Kim, who played just one semester at DU before turning pro, will be a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2013, though she only has a conditional exemption. She earned that status by finishing 32nd in the final stage of tour qualifying after placing 23rd on the Symetra money list in 2012.

— One-time Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo turned 50 in September and earned a spot on the Champions Tour by placing fourth in the final stage of qualifying. Toledo won more than $3.7 million in his PGA Tour career and another $900,000 (with a victory) on the Web.com Tour.

Moving Down

— Shane Bertsch of Parker missed regaining his fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour by two strokes in the final stage of qualifying last month. Bertsch will still get some PGA Tour starts in 2013, but the majority of his time figures to be spent on the Web.com Tour, where he’s won twice in his career.

On the Mend

— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe will begin 2013 on the PGA Tour’s major medical extension list. After sitting out the last half of 2012 with a herniated disc in his neck, the Kent Denver High School graduate must earn at least $303,178 in his first 10 starts of the year to retain his fully-exempt status on Tour.

— David Duval of Cherry Hills Village was sidelined for much of the fall after breaking a toe on his right foot while chasing his kids early in September. But he did return in mid-December to finish fourth — along with stepson Nick Karavites — in the PNC Father-Son Challenge. Once again, Duval will rely on his past-champions status and sponsor exemptions to get into Tour events.

Looking to Take the Next Step

— Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird owns two PGA Tour victories, but he hasn’t won in 22 months. And after five career runner-ups, he’d like to get back into the win category soon.

— Kent Denver High School graduate Kevin Stadler will turn 33 years old next month and has won more than $6 million on the PGA Tour, but he’d like nothing better than to break through for his first Tour victory. So far, his best finishes in 208 Tour starts are two second places.

— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Steve Jones is 54 years old, but has played in just 22 Champions Tour events after having his career derailed by elbow problems. After finishing 11th in the final stage of qualifying in November, the former University of Colorado golfer has conditional status in 2013. A victory by the 1996 U.S. Open champion would solve a lot of issues.

— Former University of Denver golfer Stephanie Sherlock will be starting her third year on the LPGA Tour after finishing 10th in the final stage of qualifying last month. But she has yet to post a top-10 showing in any official LPGA Tour event, so that should be a high priority.
 

When Jacques (pictured at left) landed a spot on “Big Break Ireland” last year, it led to an opening of the floodgates for her golf career.

Besides receiving some national and international exposure on the golf skills show, Jacques has seen her golf fortunes improve immeasurably over the last year and a half, and particularly the last six months.

She finished third in the 2012 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open and posted three top-20 showings on the Symetra Tour.

And then there’s the biggest development. On Sunday, the former Longmont resident earned conditional status on the 2013 LPGA Tour thanks to finishing 17th in the final stage of qualifying in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Though Jacques birdied the final hole of regulation from 15 feet to move into the top 20, she lost in a seven-person playoff for the final four full exemptions available. The playoff lasted five holes — a three-hole aggregate, then sudden death — and Jacques’ even-par total wasn’t good enough to join the top 20, who receive “Category 12” exempt status.

Instead, she’ll get the Category 17 status given to the players who finish between 21st and 45th (and ties).

“I’m excited to have some status, but it stings” to fall just short of a full exemption, Jacques said in a phone interview Sunday night.

Meanwhile, former University of Denver golfer Stephanie Sherlock landed a Category 12 spot.

Sherlock, who’s played the LPGA Tour each of the last two years, finished 10th in the qualifying finals, as a final-round 74 left her at 5-under-par 355 in the five-round tournament. She earned $2,250.

Jacques, who opened with a double bogey on Sunday when she hit a ball into the water after a disagreement with her caddie about which club to hit, carded a 75 to check in at 357. That was good for $1,242.

Former DU golfer Sue Kim also landed conditional LPGA status — Category 17 — by placing 32nd on Sunday. Her final-round 69 left her at 360.

Former University of Colorado golfer Emily Talley, after making a run at an LPGA spot on Sunday, fell back to finish 59th, which leaves her with Symetra Tour status for 2013. She shot a 71 Sunday for a 364 total.

For the 26-year-old Jacques, finally earning a spot on the LPGA Tour is a dream come true.

“My game has come really far the last one or two years,” she said. “It’s neat to see my hard work pay off.”

Still, coming up just short of full status was hard to swallow.

“I was in the top 10 all week, and for my worst day to be the last day was frustrating,” Jacques said.

The issue is that by ending up with Category 17 status instead of Category 12, it will mean getting into fewer LPGA tournaments next year, and possibly a significant amount fewer. But the number will depend on how Jacques performs in her early season events.

As it stands, she anticipates that she’ll split her tournament starts between the LPGA Tour and the Symetra Tour, which is a level lower than the LPGA circuit.

“I have no other choice,” she said. “The problem is, sometimes if you play seven events on each tour, you can’t do well on either. But I plan to play in the LPGA events I can get in, get experience and see how it goes.”

Perhaps it was a good omen for Q-school when, on the very first hole of the finals on Wednesday, Jacques eagled a par-4, holing a 3-wood into the wind from 191 yards. The Skyline High School graduate shot under par every round except Sunday’s.

As it turns out, Jacques indicated that being a contestant on Golf Channel’s Big Break Ireland last year helped her deal with the pressure of big-time golf.

“At first, when you find out you’re going to be on the show, you’re overwhelmed with excitement and joy and then you get so deathly scared,” Jacques said this past week. “You’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to be on TV’ and if you hit a bad shot, it’s going to be shown to everybody. So it was really neat to be a part of that and to see how your game holds up under pressure.”

Sherlock, winner of seven individual tournament titles at DU, earned the right to play the LPGA Tour for a third consecutive season. She lost her fully-exempt status in 2011 after finishing 101st on the money list, and in 2012 by placing 139th on the money rankings.

But, by virtue of finishing 10th in Q-school on Sunday, Sherlock has better status for 2013 than she had in 2012. This marks her third straight year of placing 20th or better in the Q-school finals.

The former Canadian women’s amateur champion has made seven cuts in 22 LPGA Tour events over the last two years. She finished the 2012 season strong with a win in the SunCoast Ladies Series Tournament in Daytona Beach.

Kim, who played at DU only one semester before deciding to turn pro, earned conditional LPGA status for 2013 by shooting 70-69 the final two rounds to move up to 32nd. Kim, who made the cut in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, will be an LPGA Tour rookie next season after placing 23rd on the 2012 Symetra Tour money list.

Talley was inside of the top 45 after shooting a 3-under-par 33 on her front nine Sunday. But the winner of the 2012 California Women’s (Amateur) Championship carded a 2-over 38 on her back side to finish 59th. That leaves her with a spot on the Symetra Tour in 2013.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the players with Colorado ties who competed in the Q-school finals:

10. former University of Denver golfer Stephanie Sherlock 71-70-71-69-74–355; 17. Kelly Jacques of Longmont 70-71-71-70-75–357; 32. former DU golfer Sue Kim 76-71-74-70-69–360; 59. former University of Colorado golfer Emily Talley 74-74-73-72-71–364.
 

And after successfully negotiating the second stage of qualifying earlier this month, the Parker resident will take another crack at the 108-hole finale this week and early next. The tournament runs Wednesday through Monday (Nov. 28-Dec. 3) at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.

Meanwhile, the third and final stage of LPGA Tour qualifying also is on tap this week, with the five-round tournament set for Wednesday through Sunday in Daytona Beach, Fla. There, the competitors with Colorado ties include Kelly Jacques of Longmont, former University of Denver golfers Stephanie Sherlock and Sue Kim, and former University of Colorado standout Emily Talley. More on that event later.

And, to complete the trifecta, the final stage of European Tour qualifying is wrapping up this week. After Monday’s third round of the six-round tournament, Colorado resident and former CU golfer Matt Zions is tied for 118th place out of a 156-man field after rounds of 74-73-74 for a 211 total in Girona, Spain, where the top 25 finishers will be fully exempt next year. A cut to the low 70 and ties will be made after round 4. Zions, winner of a 2011 event on the European Tour, is trying to improve his 2013 status after finishing 146th on the money list this year.

As for Bertsch (pictured above in a USGA photo), he’ll join onetime Golden resident Andrew Svoboda in the finals of PGA Tour Q-school. Svoboda already has a 2013 Tour card secured by virtue of finishing 21st on the 2012 Web.com Tour money list, but he’s hoping to improve his status with a strong showing in La Quinta.

Bertsch, a PGA Tour veteran, knows how it feels to finish just inside or outside the cut line in the finals of Q-school. (The top 25 finishers and ties earn PGA Tour exemptions, while the rest of those in the field have to settle for Web.com Tour status.)

Bertsch, the 1998 Colorado Open champion, has snuck in by three shots or less twice in his career at the finals of Q-school (1996 and 2009). Conversely, last year’s qualifying finals were a heartbreaker for the now-42-year-old Evergreen High School graduate.

Going into the final hole of Q-school last December, Bertsch put himself in position to be fully exempt by playing his previous 35 holes in 8 under par. All he needed was a par on his 108th hole to regain his full status on Tour. But a shot into the water and a closing double bogey left Bertsch with conditional standing on Tour in 2012, and though he still got into 17 Tour events, that was probably 10 fewer than he would have if he finished strong in Q-school.

And this year, there’s even more on the line in the qualifying finals for Bertsch. After he finished 215th on the Tour money list this year, he’d be relegated to playing Web.com events for most of next season if he failed to finish in the top 25 in La Quinta.

Bertsch has won more than $2.3 million in his PGA Tour career, but even though he’s played professionally for more than 15 years, he’s had only five seasons (1996, ’97, 2006, ’08 and ’11) where he’s competed in at least 20 Tour events. His best finish out of 172 starts on the big circuit is a fourth-place at Frys.com Open in the fall of 2011. He’s won twice on the Web.com Tour.

 As for the situation in this week’s LPGA Tour qualifying finals, the top 45 finishers and ties after 90 holes will earn 2013 Tour cards (with the top 20 getting preferred status), while the rest of the field will receive Symetra Tour exemptions. Sherlock has earned LPGA Tour status each of the last two years, but lost her card each time, including by finishing 139th on this year’s money list. A seven-time winner individually at DU, Sherlock recently notched her first professional victory in a SunCoast Ladies Series Tournament in Daytona Beach. The win was worth $3,000.

While Sherlock was exempt into the final stage of qualifying this year, Jacques, Kim and Talley made it there after strong showings in stage II of Q-school. Jacques, a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier this year, finished third out of 157 players there, while Kim was 20th and Talley 28th.

At this week finals, the field will be cut from 122 to the low 70 players and ties after four rounds.
 

This week, eight golfers with significant Colorado ties hope to take the next step on the path to fulfilling their LPGA Tour dreams. The second of three stages of Tour qualifying will take place Tuesday through Friday (Oct. 9-12) in Venice, Fla.

A total of 157 players are in the stage II field, and the top 70 and ties after four rounds — with no cut — will advance to the final stage. That final qualifying tournament, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 2 in Daytona Beach, Fla., will determine the players who earn LPGA Tour cards for 2013.

The number of exemptions available hasn’t been set, but last year the top 40 finishers and ties in stage III earned some status on the LPGA Tour.

The eight local players vying to advance to the final stage are Kelly Jacques (pictured) of Longmont, Dawn Shockley of Denver, Ashley Tait of Littleton and Kristin Walla of Aspen, along with former University of Denver golfers Katie Kempter and Sue Kim (Shockley is also a former Pioneer), and ex-University of Colorado players Emily Talley and Jessica Wallace.

The group includes two 2012 U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers (Kim, who made the cut, and Jacques), three top-10 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open finishers this year (Jacques, Kempter and Tait; champion Joy Trotter of Chino Hills, Calif., is also entered), and two former CWGA Stroke or Match Play champs (Tait and Walla). In addition, Kempter earned a spot on the 2010 LPGA Tour, but lost her card after that year.

Jacques and Talley have already survived one stage of LPGA Tour qualifying this year, finishing 18th and 30th, respectively, last month to advance. Jacques has posted three top-20 finishes on the Symetra Tour since Aug. 1, while Talley won the California Women’s (Amateur) Championship over the summer just before turning pro.

Kim, who played golf at DU for just one semester before going pro, recorded four top-10 finishes on the Symetra Tour this year. And Kempter recently placed a season-best fourth in the Symetra Tour’s 2012 finale.

Shockley was exempt this year on both the Ladies European Tour and the Symetra Tour. She had a fourth-place showing in the spring in a Symetra event, but she’s made only two cuts on the LET this year.