Players from Texas have made themselves right at home competing for the CGA women’s major championships.

When Kennedy Swann from Austin defeated Mary Weinstein from Highlands Ranch 5 and 3 in a scheduled 36-hole final at the 103rd CGA Women’s Match Play on Friday, it marked the third straight CGA women’s major to have been won by a golfer from Texas.

Emily Gilbreth started the trend by winning last year’s CGA Women’s Match Play three months after moving from her lifelong home in Houston to Denver. Then Kristin Glesne of San Antonio claimed the title in the CGA Women’s Stroke Play last month. And Swann made it a Texas trifecta on Friday at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

Swann, a junior-to-be on the Clemson golf team who is doing a P.J. Boatwright USGA internship with the Wyoming State Golf Association this summer, trailed 2 down after three holes on Friday. But the 19-year-old rallied by making 11 birdies in her next 30 holes to defeat Weinstein, a University of Denver golfer and the 2017 CWGA Player of the Year.

“This is my first win in a while,” Swann said. “I grew up coming in second a lot to a lot of really good girls from Texas. So I think this is definitely in my top five tournament accomplishments.”

Swann, winner of the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in the girls 14-year-old age group in 2013, didn’t take the lead on Friday until she birdied the 15th hole. That started a stretch in which she made seven birdies in 13 holes, after which she led 4 up through 27 holes. And on the 33rd hole, she closed out Weinstein with a two-putt birdie.

“Finally I got my putter rolling and I made probably four or five putts between 20 and 40 feet that I drained for birdie,” said Swann (above and left). “That was definitely the best match I played (this week). 

“On the putting green (before the round), my dad and I talked about making sure that everything was square (to the target line). I did that this morning and it fixed everything right up (with her putting stroke). That little inch I was missing putts by in earlier matches, I just started making them today.”

Swann finished 7 under par for 33 holes, while Weinstein was 2 under.

“The bottom line is Kennedy Swann is an amazing player. She’s phenomenal,” said Weinstein (below). “She played her best game today and if I had to lose to anyone, I’m glad it’s Kennedy. She played amazing. Toward the end, it wasn’t my best game, but I gave it my all. It wasn’t enough today, but that’s OK.

“Match play is a different kind of golf. I’m not the best match-play player. I get a lot of pars and I feel like if you want to win in match play you have to make a lot of birdies and a lot of putts. 

“But to make it this far, I’m still proud.”

Swann defeated two 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifiers — Weinstein and the University of Colorado’s Gillian Vance — en route to claiming the title.

The Clemson golfer, ranked No. 720 in the world in women’s amateur golf, often competes in the same college events as Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster and Wake Forest, the top-ranked player in women’s amateur golf. Kupcho is a two-time winner of the CGA Women’s Match Play.

“We see Jennifer Kupcho at pretty much every (college) tournament and we see her win pretty much every tournament,” Swann said with a smile.

Afterward Friday’s match, Swann dedicated the victory to her grandmother, who passed away in late May.

“I really wanted to play well for her,” she said. “She was definitely one of my No. 1 supporters and biggest fans. She always wanted the live scoring link (for tournaments) even if she couldn’t figure out how to work it. I think she would have been really proud of me this week. I got a couple of lucky bounces out there and I definitely think some of them were from her.”

This summer marks the first time Swann has ever played golf in Colorado. And she’s taken a shine to it.

“It is gorgeous and I hit the ball about 30 yards further, which is amazing,” she said.

For the 20-year-old Weinstein, this week marked her fourth straight top-four finish in a CGA women’s major championship. She’s placed fourth at each of the last two CGA Women’s Stroke Play and lost in the semifinals to Gilbreth last year in the Match Play.

“If (winning a major CGA women’s title) is going to happen, it’s going to happen in stroke play. Next year, I’m ready,” said a determined Weinstein.

For a story on the senior championship match, CLICK HERE.

CGA Women’s Match Play

At The Fox Hill Club in Longmont
TITLE MATCHES

Championship Flight (36 Holes) — Kennedy Swann def. Mary Weinstein, 5 and 3

Championship Flight Consolation — Jaylee Tait def. Jennifer Hankins, 2 and 1

Senior Championship Flight — Tiffany Maurycy def. Kristine Franklin, 20 holes

Senior Championship Flight Consolation — Jennifer Hocking def. Susan Hartwell, 4 and 3

First Flight — Megan Vernon def. Marin Halvorsen, 19 holes

First Flight Consolation — Maddie Kern def. Madison McCambridge, 2 and 1

Second Flight — Haejeong Son def. Jennifer Cassell, 8 and 7

Second Flight Consolation — Amanda Westrick def. Sheila Schroeder, 2 and 1

Third Flight — Veronica Crain def. Amy Hicks, 1 up

Third Flight Consolation — Kelly McCormick def. Jennifer Tempas, 2 up

To view all the brackets from the CGA Women’s Match Play, CLICK HERE.
 

It was the longest final in the senior championship flight of the CGA Women’s Match Play in over a decade, and it ended in fitting fashion.

Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 20th hole to defeat Kristine Franklin of Colorado National Golf Club and earn her first individual title in a CGA women’s championship.

“I’m over the moon,” Maurycy said. “I’ve now won state championships in New York, Vermont and Colorado. It’s a real feather in my cap. My dad is a golf pro and I come from a golfing family.

“This is a big deal, there’s no doubt. The high quality of the players here … This is it. I can’t believe that I won.”

In a match in which neither player was ever more than 1 up and in which both led on the front nine and the back nine at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont, Maurycy (left and below) played her final six holes in 2 under par to prevail.

Franklin, a former pro who gave up the game for 23 years until being talked into dusting off the clubs in 2017, was trying to win her first CGA/CWGA title in 32 years. She competed in last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and made match play, but her performance in that match convinced her she didn’t want to end her competitive career on a down note.

“For not playing for 23 years, it’s fun to be back playing,” said the 52-year-old Franklin, who won the 1986 CWGA Stroke Play (as Kris Hoos) . “But oh my gosh, I’d forgotten how nerve-wracking it is. But it was a treat.

“To be coming back, it feels good. It really does. It makes me almost want to continue to play. … Now I feel like I’m going to play for maybe a year or so until I can feel good enough to quit again. I just want to quit on a high.”

Maurycy was 1 down in the final after bogeys on the 12th and 13 holes. But she squared the match with a 12-foot birdie on No. 15.

Franklin extended Friday’s match with a couple of nifty recoveries on the 18th and 19th holes. On No. 18, she made a 10-foot putt to save par after thinning her bunker shot over the green. And on the first extra hole, Franklin’s second shot went through a tree and bounced over a bunker to eventually set up another one-putt par. Maurycy got up and down from that same bunker for a par of her own.

On the decisive 20th hole, Franklin (below) missed the green short and left as she wasn’t happy with her iron play on Friday. She subsequently left her pitch on the fringe and missed her long par putt. Just needing to two-putt for the victory, Maurycy drained her 15-foot birdie putt to decide the matter.

“I realized I just needed to get it close,” she said. “I just relaxed and had the pace right. I didn’t remember that it went in. I guess it did. But I really didn’t want to go more holes. After all these days (of matches), I was pretty tired.

“It was all about being present and staying with each shot and not getting ahead of myself and definitely not thinking about an outcome,” added Maurycy, who won her opening match of the week after being 4 down through eight holes to Jennifer Hocking. “… That was the trick through all the matches.”

Indeed, in some respects Maurycy (below) willed herself to win.

“It’s the perseverance and that commitment to believing,” she said. “I’d say ‘believe’ before I hit a lot of shots.”

To get to the final, Maurycy had avenged a 2017 match play loss to now-four-time champion and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton by beating her in Thursday’s semifinals.

“She’s amazing. I so admire her game,” Maurycy said of Eaton. “That was a big win, a really big win. She just didn’t have the magic she normally has. And I made the putts at the right time that really put the pressure on.”

Friday marked Maurycy’s second victory in a CGA/CWGA championship, having teamed with Kristin Feil to win the 2003 CWGA Brassie title. The 51-year-old from Denver, who has lived in Colorado for two decades, has also won the 1989 New York Women’s State Amateur and the Vermont Women’s Mid-Amateur four times.

For a story on the open-division Women’s Match Play final, CLICK HERE.

Swann, who hails from Austin, Texas, defeated stroke-play medalist Gillian Vance from the University of Colorado 2 and 1 in Thursday’s semifinals at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

And Weinstein (pictured in a DU photo), the 2017 CWGA Player of the Year from CommonGround Golf Course, beat Colorado Mesa golfer Hannah More from Pinehurst Country Club, 3 and 2 in the other semi.

The two NCAA Division I college players will square off in a scheduled 36-hole final on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Maurycy advanced to the senior championship final by defeating Eaton 2 and 1 in Thursday’s semifinals. It marked Eaton’s first loss in the event since the 2011 finals, when she fell to Laurie Steenrod. Eaton has won the Senior Match Play each of the last two years since returning following a brief “retirement” from CGA women’s/CWGA events.

Top-seeded Kristine Franklin of Colorado National Golf Club, the 1986 CWGA Stroke Play champion, will face Maurycy in Friday’s scheduled 18-hole senior title match. Franklin, who made match play in last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, defeated 2014 champion Deb Hughes in Thursday’s semis, 4 and 2.

All told, on the line Friday will be championship and consolation finals for the open championship, senior championship and first through third flights.

To view the results from the CGA Women’s Match Play, CLICK HERE.
 

No. 1-seeded Gillian Vance from the University of Colorado defeated teammate Jaclyn Murray 6 and 4 in the opening match, then beat Alexis Chan of The Links Golf Club 3 and 1 to make the final four.

Mary Weinstein of the University of Denver and CommonGround Golf Course, like Vance soon headed for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, scored two decisive wins — 4 and 3 over Amelia Lee of The Ridge at Castle Pines North and 6 and 5 over BYU golfer Anna Kennedy of Colorado Golf Club — to also make the semis. (Weinstein is pictured in a DU photo.)

Colorado Mesa golfer Hannah More, of Pinehurst Country Club, defeated Gilbreth in the quarterfinals, 2 and 1. Rounding out the semifinalists is Clemson’s Kennedy Swann, who needed 19 holes to beat Caitlyn Skavdahl in the quarterfinals.

Vance will face Swann and Weinstein will take on More in Thursday’s semifinals of the championship flight.

Meanwhile, in the senior championship flight, the top three seeds won their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday. That included stroke-play medalist Kristine Franklin of Colorado National Golf Club, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton and Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club, in addition to fifth-seeded Deb Hughes of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

Eaton, who is seeking to become the winningest player in CGA women’s/CWGA championship history, scored an 8 and 6 victory over Lisa Lee of Boulder Country Club. Franklin won 7 and 6 over Kathy Malpass of Hiwan Golf Club. Maurycy topped Jennifer Hocking of Cherokee Ridge Golf Couse 3 and 2, while Hughes prevailed 4 and 3 over Susan Hartwell of West Woods Golf Club, who went to the round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

In Thursday’s semifinals, it will be Franklin vs. Hughes and Eaton vs. Maurycy.

The winners of Thursday’s matches in all of the flights will play in Friday’s finals, with the championship flight title match being a scheduled 36-hole affair.

To view the results from the CGA Women’s Match Play, CLICK HERE.
 

Vance (left in a CU photo), who recently qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, shot an even-par 72, making three birdies and three bogeys on the process. She’ll play CU teammate Jaclyn Murray in Wednesday’s round of 16.

Another player who has qualified for the U.S. Women’s Am, University of Denver golfer Mary Weinstein of CommonGround Golf Course, was second-best on Tuesday with a 3-over-par 75 that included two birdies.

Four golfers shared third place in stroke play at 76, including defending champion Emily Gilbreth of Highlands Ranch Golf Club.

In the senior championship division, Franklin, the 1986 CGA Women’s Stroke Play champion and a 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur qualifier, posted the only sub-par round of the day with 1-under 71. She made three birdies and two bogeys on Tuesday.

Four-time Senior Match Play champion Kim Eaton, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer who is trying to become the all-time winningest player in CGA women’s/CWGA championships, placed second in stroke play at 75. She carded three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.

Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club was the only other senior championship player to break 80 on Tuesday, shooting 76.

Match play will begin on Wednesday for the 16 women in the open championship flight and for the eight each in the senior championship and the first, second and third flights. The competition will conclude on Friday with championship matches, including a 36-holer for the open-division finalists.

For scores from Tuesday’s stroke-play round and to view the brackets, CLICK HERE.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who won her first CGA/CWGA championship at the 1977 Colorado Junior Match Play, will attempt to make the CGA Women’s Senior Match Play title No. 26 on her Colorado state resume. If she does prevail at The Fox Hill Club, she’ll break the career record of Carol Flenniken, another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer.

The Women’s Match Play will begin with a stroke-play qualifying round on Tuesday (July 10) for players attempting to qualify for the championship or senior championship divisions. Then match play begins on Wednesday, with 16 players advancing to the open championship bracket and eight to that of the senior championship. The competition will conclude on Friday with championship matches in each flight, including a 36-holer for the open-division finalists.

Eaton, now a full-time resident of Arizona, tied Flenniken’s all-time mark by teaming up with Janet Moore to claim the title in the CGA Women’s Brassie in May. In addition to that being Eaton’s 25th career CGA/CWGA title, it was Moore’s 21st. But the latter won’t be competing in the Match Play as she qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club.

Eaton has won four Stroke Plays, one Match Play, five Senior Stroke Plays, four Senior Match Plays, one Junior Match Play, seven Brassies, one Mashie, one Chapman and one Mixed.

Joining Eaton in the senior field in Longmont will be 2014 champion Deb Hughes; Susan Hartwell, who made the round of 32 — along with Eaton — at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur; and Kristine Franklin, who likewise advanced to match play at the national Senior Women’s Am in 2017.

As for the open division, Emily Gilbreth, a former University of Houston golfer, will be back to defend her title, while 2017 runner-up Maddie Kern will also return.

Likewise in the open field are University of Denver golfer Mary Weinstein and University of Colorado player Gillian Vance, both of whom recently qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur; and former Match Play runner-up Jaylee Tait.

For Tuesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.

They went about it in totally different ways, but Gage Messingham of Arvada and Sofia Choi of Littleton arrived at the same outcome on Tuesday afternoon at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

Messingham (below in orange) prevailed in a sudden-death playoff to earn the boys title in the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 11-13 Junior Series Championship, while Choi lapped the field in claiming victory in the girls division.

Choi (left), 13, became the first player to win the girls 11-13 tournament twice. That’s no small accomplishment considering the likes of Jennifer Kupcho — who recently finished 21st in the U.S. Women’s Open — have claimed the title.

“It’s pretty big,” said Choi, who’s part of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course. “I was just trying to play the best I could.”

This time around, Choi birdied two of the last three holes on Tuesday to win by 18 strokes after rounds of 74-77 left her at 7-over-par 151. It marked her fourth Junior Golf Alliance victory of the season.

“I was just trying to shoot better than yesterday,” said Choi, who recently placed 13th in her age division at the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Florida. “That was my goal.” Though she didn’t quite meet that standard, she finished with the only two rounds in the 70s in the girls field.

Placing second at 169 was Kaylee Chen of Highlands Ranch, the points leader coming into this event. And 9-year-old — and that’s no typo — Hadley Ashton of Erie finished third at 171 after a Tuesday round which featured a pitch-in par on No. 10 and a 7-foot birdie at No. 12.

“It feels good” to place third against girls much older than herself, “but I wish I could have played better today,” said Ashton, whose instructor is Colorado National Golf Club PGA general manager Matt Schalk. He’s the father of Hailey Schalk, who won the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by Transamerica as a 15-year-old this year.

For the record, at age 9, Ashton (below at left, with Choi and Chen) has already shot a 3-under-par 69 in a practice round for the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in San Diego, where she finished 28th in her age division.

On the boys side at Fox Hill, the 13-year-old Messingham rebounded from back-to-back double bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes on Tuesday to finish par-birdie in regulation, making a 15-foot putt on 18. Traejan Andrews of Windsor, the 2014 winner of the 10 & under title in this event, went birdie-par-birdie down the stretch to force a playoff. Both players went 77-76 to tie at 9-over-par 153.

In sudden death, with each player facing a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 first hole, Messingham left his attempt about 2 feet short, while Andrews went 3 feet past. Then Andrews, the season-long points leader entering the week, lipped out his par putt, opening the door for Messingham to make his par for the victory.

“This means a lot to me,” said Messingham, who finished second to Andrews in a 10 & under Junior Series Championship three years ago. “I didn’t play too well, but I recovered well, made some putts and shot pretty good.

“This pretty much is the biggest thing I’ve won. My confidence was high. I just went into it thinking I could win.”

The victory was the third of the season in Junior Golf Alliance events for Messingham, who recently competed at the Optimist International Junior. (Messingham is pictured at left with Andrews.)

Liam Wood of Boulder, who won the 10 & under Junior Series title in 2015, finished third at 155 at Fox Hill after closing with a 79 on Tuesday.

The Junior Series Championships for other age divisions will take place later this week, with the 10 & under event set for Wednesday (Aug. 9) at Pinehurst Country Club’s Pfluger 9, and the 14-18 tournament scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 12-13) at Pelican Lakes in Windsor.

JGAC 11-14 Junior Series Championship
At Par-72 The Fox Hill Club in Longmont
BOYS
T1 Gage Messingham Arvada, CO 77-76–153 +9
T1 Traejan Andrews Windsor, CO 77-76–153 +9
3 Liam Wood Boulder, CO 76-79–155 +11
T4 Maxwell Lange Golden, CO 83-73–156 +12
T4 Nicholas Pevny Aspen, CO 78-78–156 +12
6 Blake Sullivan Castle Pines, CO 82-76–158 +14
T7 Ryan Falender Colorado Springs, CO 78-83–161 +17
T7 Alex Chitkoksoong Aurora, CO 76-85–161 +17
9 Christopher Gunlikson II Longmont, CO 80-82–162 +18
10 Benjamin Chin Jr Greenwood, CO 80-83–163 +19
11 Jake Chesler Firestone, CO 76-88–164 +20
12 Charlie Flaxbeard Greenwood Village, CO 83-82–165 +21
13 Yusuke Ogi Arvada, CO 85-85–170 +26
14 Hunter Swanson Denver, CO 87-86–173 +29
15 Luke Cushman Castle Rock, CO 89-85–174 +30
16 Trey Kirschner Arvada, CO 86-89–175 +31
17 Matai Naqica Centennial, CO 92-87–179 +35
18 Will Balliet Thornton, CO 97-97–194 +50

GIRLS
1 Sofia Choi Littleton, CO 74-77–151 +7
2 Kaylee Chen Highlands Ranch, CO 87-82–169 +25
3 Hadley Ashton Erie, CO 86-85–171 +27
4 Bead Boonta Centennial, CO 90-82–172 +28
5 Timbre Shehee Mead, CO 88-85–173 +29
6 Abigail Aeschleman Highlands Ranch 90-88–178 +34
7 Emily Cheng Colorado Springs, CO 93-93–186 +42
8 Amira Badruddin Parker, CO 98-91–189 +45
9 Gisella Lagrimas Castle Rock, CO 98-92–190 +46
10 Brooke Hudson Parker, CO 95-106–201 +57
 

Cynthia Elsener and Marita Rhea (pictured, with Elsener at left) from Walnut Creek Golf Preserve shot a 9-over-par 81 in the four-ball (aka best-ball) stroke-play format to earn the title by six shots in the first flight. They made two birdies on Thursday.

Other flight winners in the gross division were Vicki Ponce/Janet Squires (90 in second flight), Tammy Hitchens/Margie Miller (89 in third flight), Nancy Sproule/Michelle Sullivan (94 in fourth flight), and Gwen Grace/Dana Rinderknecht and Virginia Mcglinn/Dawn Zalone (97 in fifth flight),

Also, an overall low net team champion was crowned on Thursday, with Elsener and Rhea claiming that trophy with a 13-under-par 59 total at Fox Hill, which was hosting the Niblick for the first time.

Other net champions in their flights: Bonee Barecki/Lori Scruggs and Ponce/Squires (65 in second flight), Hitchens/Miller (62 in third flight), Sproule/Sullivan (64 in fourth flight) and Grace/Rinderknecht (63 in fifth flight).

The Niblick is limited to competitors with handicap indexes between 20 and 36.

Niblick Tournament
At Par-72 The Fox Hill Club in Longmont

GROSS RESULTS

First Flight

Elsener/Rhea “” 40-41″“81

Eddy/Stonehocker “” 41-46″“87

Chonka/LaRoche “” 43-46″“89

Ellen/Russell “” 45-47″“92

Paul/Saltarelli “” 45-47″“92

Gamberg/Perez “” 44-49″“93

Dauner/Patton-Mallory “” 46-48″“94

Paone/Schnitzer “” 47-47″“94

Micus/Sugar “” 46-50″”96

Second Flight

Ponce/Squires “” 43-47″“90

Barecki/Scruggs “” 44-47″“91

Bellows/Reester “” 45-47″“92

Gray/Micheal “” 46-46″“92

Kolb/Strand “” 42-51″“93

Lind/Reeves “” 46-47″“93

Goldberg/Hall “” 51-44″“95

Laux/Smith “” 49-46″“95

De Bord/Comer “” 49-50″”99

Third Flight

Hitchens/Miller “” 41-48″“89

Ross/Yates “” 43-48″“91

Rodgers/Yamada “” 45-50″“95

Borgeson/Reinig “” 48-48″“96

Hiler/Moreno “” 51-46″“97

Moreno-Peacock/Surbrugg “” 50-49″”99

Fourth Flight

Sproule/Sullivan “” 48-46″“94

Doss/Rismanchi “” 46-50″“96

Boyka/King “” 45-53″“98

Amys/Eakin “” 48-51″“99

Hart/Irwin “” 50-52″“102

Maul/Sparlin “” 50-52″“102

Johnson/McNerney “” 56-52″”108

Fifth Flight

Grace/Rinderknecht “” 45-52″“97

Mcglinn/Zalone “” 46-51″“97

Hedahl/Jones “” 50-50″“100

Beard/Goll “” 53-51″“104

Coppola/Osborne “” 50-56″“106

Wegley/Wright “” 51-56″“107

Dinkel/Smith “” 54-54″“108

NET RESULTS

First Flight

Elsener/Rhea “” 29-30″”59 (Overall Low Net Winners)

Eddy/Stonehocker “” 29-34″“63

Chonka/LaRoche “” 31-34″“65

Ellen/Russell “” 33-34″“67

Paul/Saltarelli “” 33-35″“68

Dauner/Patton-Mallory “” 33-36″“69

Paone/Schnitzer “” 35-35″“70

Gamberg/Perez “” 33-38″“71

Micus/Sugar “” 33-38″”71

Second Flight

Barecki/Scruggs “” 31-34″“65

Ponce/Squires “” 30-35″“65

Gray/Micheal “” 34-33″“67

Lind/Reeves “” 33-34″“67

Bellows/Reester “” 32-36″“68

Kolb/Strand “” 29-39″“68

Goldberg/Hall “” 38-32″“70

Laux/Smith “” 36-34″“70

De Bord/Comer “” 36-38″”74

Third Flight

Hitchens/Miller “” 27-35″“62

Rodgers/Yamada “” 30-37″“67

Ross/Yates “” 31-36″“67

Borgeson/Reinig “” 33-35″“68

Hiler/Moreno “” 37-33″“70

Moreno-Peacock/Surbrugg “” 37-35″”72

Fourth Flight

Sproule/Sullivan “” 32-32″“64

Doss/Rismanchi “” 31-35″“66

Boyka/King “” 30-38″“68

Amys/Eakin “” 33-37″“70

Hart/Irwin “” 34-38″“72

Maul/Sparlin “” 35-38″“73

Johnson/McNerney “” 41-38″”79

Fifth Flight

Grace/Rinderknecht “” 28-35″“63

Mcglinn/Zalone “” 30-35″“65

Hedahl/Jones “” 32-34″“66

Coppola/Osborne “” 33-39″“72

Beard/Goll “” 37-36″“73

Dinkel/Smith “” 38-38″“76

Wegley/Wright “” 36-41″“77

Let’s count the ways:

— Perhaps the most notable alteration will be that the qualifying tournament will be reduced from the 36 holes it long had been, to 18 holes starting this year.

— Also, the maximum age for competitors has been raised from 17 to 18.

— And the maximum Handicap Index allowed for players has been lowered from 6.4 to 4.4.

But the bottom line in all this is the same: There will be three national berths at stake on Tuesday, with the top finishers out of the field of 84 advancing to the Junior Am, set for July 17-22 at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan.

One Coloradan who qualified for the U.S. Junior Am each of the last two years — Davis Bryant of Aurora (2015 at Fox Hill), who recently won the Colorado Junior PGA Championship, and Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction (2016 at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve) — are aiming for a return trip.

Also entered on Tuesday are Kyle Pearson, the 5A state high school champion who just finished runner-up in the CGA Match Play; former 4A champ Jackson Solem, who just won his third straight Big I Junior Classic state title and who will be competing on his home course; 3A state champ Oliver Jack; and other NCAA Division I signees Daniel Pearson and Cole Krantz.

For Tuesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
 

With all due respect to Jeff Oneth of Colorado Golf Club — who put on a nice display of golf in winning the CGA Senior Match Play, particularly down the stretch — his performance wasn’t the most impressive happening Thursday at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont.

And it also wasn’t the afternoon hailstorm that left much of the course looking like it had just been subjected to a mid-winter snowfall.

No, the most impressive site was the lightning that hit a tree (below) near the 14th green, within an hour after the senior finalists had stopped play on that hole due to dangerous conditions. Not only did the lightning strike leave a big mark on the tree, but large shreds of the torn-off bark were spread across the fairway as far as 40 yards away from the base of the tree.

Oneth and his opponent in the final of the CGA Senior Match Play, Robert West of Cherry Creek Country Club, marveled at the lightning damage when they returned to the hole, 90 minutes after exiting, to determine who would be crowned champion.

That turned out to be Oneth, who made a 6-foot birdie at the formidable 18th hole to score a 2-up victory at Fox Hill.

“I’m thrilled,” the Greenwood Village resident said. “I turned 50 in August. I played in the (2015) Senior Stroke Play at Colorado Golf Club and finished third in that, then finished second in the Senior Four-Ball (this month). This is my third CGA event and I’ve gone third, second, first.

“It’s fantastic. I just love playing the game. I played in college, then didn’t play a whole lot after that. I spent most of my time working and didn’t play in any CGA events. But when my son decided he was getting into golf — he’s playing a little college golf now — I promised him if he’d start playing in the events then I would too. I’m really enjoying it.”

Though Oneth built a 4-up lead through eight holes Thursday afternoon, West’s rally that spanned both sides of the lightning delay cut Oneth’s lead to 1 up after 15 holes. But both players missed short birdie putts on 16 — Oneth from 7 feet and West from 5 — and Oneth almost holed a pitch on 17 and also halved that hole with a par. Then Oneth clinched his first CGA championship by trickling in his 6-footer for birdie on the 448-yard closing hole.

“I thought that I had (West) for a while, but all of a sudden he played very, very, very strong. It was a great match and he’s a great competitor, but I hit a lot of good shots coming in,” said Oneth (left).

“I was kind of proud of the fact that I did battle back,” said West (below), a 58-year-old Denver resident. “I think that putt on 16 just got away from me. If I got it to even then I might have … (But) I was happy coming out of the rain delay and parring all the holes. I parred all the holes on the back. I just struggled to make birdie (he didn’t convert any in the final), which I needed to make. I just couldn’t get the putter hot for birdie. That was the difference.

“But I won four matches to get to this point, and I feel pretty good about that.”

As for Oneth, in his last three matches, he took down two former Senior Match Play winners — Ray Makloski of Pueblo Country Club in 20 holes in the quarterfinals and Fox Hills’ own Guy Mertz in 19 in Thursday morning’s semifinals, before going the distance to prevail in the finals. Mertz won the first two holes of the semifinal match, but Oneth prevailed with a 19th-hole par while Mertz couldn’t get up and down from the bunker.

“I had to beat two Fox Hills guys (Mertz and Greg Thiesen) — they were ganging up on me,” Oneth said with a smile. “It felt good. I didn’t really have any easy matches. Everybody is a big competitor. Everybody wants to win and plays hard.”
 

CGA Senior Match Play

At The Fox Hill Club in Longmont
ROUND OF 32
  Jay Gomer, Indian Peaks GC def. David Delich, Broadmoor GC 1 up
  Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor CC def. Craig Kirscht, Buffalo Run 7 and 5
  John Ingram, Hiwan GC def. Harry Johnson, Eagle Ranch GC 1 up
  Gary Driber, Ridge at Castle Pines North def. Bruce Hogg, Patty Jewett GC 19 holes
  Brian Woody, Ridge @ Castle Pines N def. Mark Inboden, Raccoon Creek 20 holes
  Bob Chandler, Foothills GC def. Michael Larson, Boulder Country Club 4 and 3
  Robert West, Cherry Creek CC def. Thomas Roos, Spring Valley GC 2 up
  Owen Ellis, Flatirons GC def. Gary Fox, CC at Castle Pines 1 up
  Guy Mertz, Fox Hill Club, the def. Jim Fucillo, Inverness GC 4 and 3
  Bradley Becker, Plum Creek GC def. Richard Kelly, Foothills GC 19 holes
  Jim Jagels, Hiwan GC def. Tom Sweetman, Omni Interlocken Resort 1 up
  Robert Polk, Colorado GC def. Mark Armistead, Highlands Ranch GC 6 and 4
  Ray Makloski, Pueblo CC def. Jeff Anderson, Perry Park CC 5 and 3
  Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor def. Patrick Horvath, Murphy Creek GC 6 and 4
  Jeff Oneth, Colorado GC def. Greg A Thiesen, Fox Hill Club, the 4 and 3
  Jeff Slupe, Highland Meadows GC def. Dennis Fields, Heritage at Westmoor 19 holes
ROUND OF 16
  Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor CC (16) def. Jay Gomer, Indian Peaks GC (32) 2 up
  Gary Driber, Ridge at Castle Pines North (9) def. John Ingram, Hiwan GC (25) 1 up
  Brian Woody, Ridge @ Castle Pines N (29) def. Bob Chandler, Foothills GC (13) 19 holes
  Robert West, Cherry Creek CC (5) def. Owen Ellis, Flatirons GC (12) 19 holes
  Guy Mertz, Fox Hill Club (2) def. Bradley Becker, Plum Creek GC (15) 6 and 4
  Robert Polk, Colorado GC (10) def. Jim Jagels, Hiwan GC (7) 1 up
  Ray Makloski, Pueblo CC (3) def. Robin Bradbury, Heritage at Westmoor (14) 7 and 5
  Jeff Oneth, Colorado GC (27) def. Jeff Slupe, Highland Meadows GC (22) 2 and 1
QUARTERFINALS
  Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor CC (16) def. Gary Driber, Ridge at Castle Pines North (9) 7 and 6
  Robert West, Cherry Creek CC (5) def. Brian Woody, Ridge @ Castle Pines N (29) 2 and 1
  Guy Mertz, Fox Hill Club (2) def. Robert Polk, Colorado GC (10) 3 and 2
  Jeff Oneth, Colorado GC (27) def. Ray Makloski, Pueblo CC (3) 20 holes
SEMIFINALS
  Robert West, Cherry Creek CC (5) def. Kary Kaltenbacher, Glenmoor CC (16), 1 up
  Jeff Oneth, Colorado GC (27) def. Guy Mertz, Fox Hill Club (2), 19 holes
FINAL
  Jeff Oneth, Colorado GC (27) def. Robert West, Cherry Creek CC (5), 2 up