Olkowski, a former Grand Junction resident who now lives in Las Vegas, posted rounds of 73-69-67 for a 4-under-par 209 total at Sewailo Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. Olkowski made five birdies and one bogey in Wednesday’s 67.

In the last two rounds of the tournament, the CU golfer (left) recorded a combined 10 birdies.

Olkowski, who tied for first place but lost in a playoff at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational two months ago in Erie, finished five strokes behind Gobbler champion Daniel Gurtner of Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday. Gurtner is a former Texas Christian University golfer.

For all the scores from the Gobbler Amateur, CLICK HERE.
  

The fall portion of the college golf season wrapped up last week for the Division I programs based in Colorado.

There were plenty of highlights for teams and players with major connections to the Centennial State and, probably not coincidentally, many of those superlatives took place in tournaments held in Colorado.

As we enter intermission for a 2018-19 season that won’t resume in earnest until February in most cases — or late January at least — we’ll revisit some of the top local moments from the fall Division I schedule:

— The University of Colorado men’s squad claimed two team titles in September — at the season-opening Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy, and at their own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in Erie.

— Not to be outdone, the Colorado State University men also won twice team-wise in the fall. The Rams claimed their fifth straight title as they hosted the Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins, then prevailed in winter-like conditions at the Paintbrush Invitational in Parker.

— On the women’s side, CSU accomplished a momentous feat by earning a team victory at a major invitational for the first time in over eight years. It came at the University of Denver’s Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, the Rams’ third tournament under new head coach Laura Cilek.

— At that same event, CSU junior Ellen Secor claimed the first individual victory of her college career. Secor subsequently was named the Mountain West Conference’s Women’s Golfer of the Month for October. And notably, one of the two players who tied for second in Highlands Ranch, a stroke behind Secor, was CSU’s Katrina Prendergast, Secor’s teammate when the two won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball national championship in May. (The two are pictured, with Secor at left.)

— Kyler Dunkle, who grew up in Colorado and won the CGA Amateur in August, had a stellar fall individually as a senior at Utah. Dunkle won the individual title at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational for the second straight year. And this time, it was his second college win in eight days. Dunkle finished the fall with three top-four finishes.

— Also at CU’s Simpson Invitational, Buffs sophomore Trevor Olkowski technically tied for the individual title — and it will go down as a victory — though Dunkle beat him in a playoff by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole. (Below, Olkowski is pictured with Dunkle, in the red shirt.)

— Junior Daniel O’Loughlin, a CU teammate of Olkowski, recorded an outright individual victory at the season opener at the Air Force Academy. O’Loughlin notched four top-10 finishes in five fall tournaments.

— One of the more remarkable performances of the fall was by CSU freshman Oscar Teiffel, from Sweden. In a final round of the Paintbrush Invitational in which temperatures hovered in the mid-30s and it was snowing more than a little, Teiffel carded a stellar 5-under-par 67 at Colorado Golf Club. The three-stroke victory was the first for Teiffel in his young college career.

Add up all of the above, and local schools recorded five team victories in the fall, and local players posted six individual wins — or, in Olkowski’s case, a tie for first.

— Junior Robyn Choi, the top player for the CU women, didn’t manage an individual victory in the fall, but certainly made a few runs at it. In all, she had three top-six finishes in three fall tournaments. And, perhaps most impressively, she earned her LPGA card for 2019 by finishing 45th in the final stage of Q-school, the Q-Series.

— Coby Welch, a junior at the University of Northern Colorado who went to the U.S. Amateur in August, had a strong fall, notching three top-five individual finishes — all coming in Colorado. He was third at both the Gene Miranda and Ram Masters, and fifth at the Paintbrush Invite.

— Freshmen had the top two stroke averages for CSU in the fall: Teiffel (70.77) and Aurora resident Davis Bryant (72.13).

— Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch, a junior at the University of Denver, shot a program-record 8-under-par 64 to close out the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. The stellar final round gave Weinstein her best individual finish — third place — since transferring from Regis to DU in the summer of 2017.

— Luke Trujillo, a freshman from Colorado Springs, leads the Air Force Academy golf team in stroke average after the fall season with a 74.4 norm.

— Beah Cruz, a sophomore from Vacaville, Calif., recorded two top-10 individual finishes for the University of Northern Colorado women in the fall — a sixth and a ninth.

— Meanwhile, in a matter not directly related to performance, this season a DU women’s player is carrying a golf bag at each tournament that honors Danny Dietz, a Navy Seal and former Littleton resident who was killed in combat in 2005 during the war in Afghanistan. Coach Lindsay Kuhle went to Heritage High School with Dietz, knows his family, and came up with the idea to pay tribute to Dietz through the Folds of Honor Foundation program. Dietz’s story was part of the book and movie “Lone Survivor”.

Below are the rankings for the Colorado-based NCAA Division I teams as of the end of the fall season (updated Nov. 14):

Men
Colorado State ( 47th Golfstat, 51st Golfweek)
Colorado (73rd Golfstat, 81st Golfweek)
Northern Colorado (118th Golfstat, 122nd Golfweek)
Denver (137th Golfstat, 149th Golfweek)
Air Force Academy (203rd Golfstat, 204th Golfweek)

Women
Colorado (36th Golfweek, 42nd Golfstat)
Colorado State (69th Golfstat, 74th Golfweek)
Denver (79th Golfweek, 81st Golfstat)
Northern Colorado (149th Golfstat, 150th Golfweek)

And here are the rankings of local players in the top 250 in the nation:

Men
91. Longtime Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (Golfweek)
110. Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (Golfstat)
118. Oscar Teiffel, CSU (Golfweek)
120. Coby Welch, UNC (Golfstat)
189. Davis Bryant, CSU (Golfweek)
238. Trevor Olkowski, CU (Golfstat)

Women
11. Robyn Choi, CU (Golfstat)
57. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest (Golfweek)
72. Kirsty Hodgkins, CU (Golfweek)
87. Mary Weinstein, DU (Golfweek)
97. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, Harvard (Golfweek)
192. Katrina Prendergast, CSU (Golfstat)
 

The Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational has proven to be a college tournament where teams and individuals from the Centennial State have thrived over the years.

From 2010 through ’17, a Colorado-based school won or tied for the team title six times, while a Colorado resident claimed the individual championship on five occasions.

The ninth edition of the event, which wrapped up Tuesday at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, took that to another level.

Let’s count the way:

— The host University of Colorado won the team title — for the seventh time, but the fourth time outright. The Buffs have tied for the top spot three times, including last year, which is technically considered a shared title though Utah won a team playoff. But on Tuesday, it was CU who edged the Utes by two strokes.

— And for the second straight year, the top two individual finishers were golfers who grew up in Colorado. University of Utah senior Kyler Dunkle, who lived in Colorado until his parents moved to San Francisco just after Kyler won the CGA Amateur last month, captured the Simpson title for the second straight year, becoming the first two-time individual champion at the event.

“This is a golf course that sets up really well for me,” said the 22-year-old senior. “I’ve played here a lot over the years, including in high school when they let some high school players come compete out here (against one another on the Simpson tournament setup). I love this place and I’ve had success here. So it’s an incredible feeling.”

Dunkle and CU sophomore Trevor Olkowski, who grew up in Grand Junction, were tied for the top spot at the end of regulation. And technically, each will be able to claim the individual victory, though Dunkle sank a 6-foot birdie to win the playoff over Olkowski, who lipped out a 7-foot birdie attempt. (The two are pictured above, with Dunkle in red.)

It’s the first time Olkowski has a first-place showing on his college golf resume.

— And while all that is impressive enough from a Colorado angle, Tuesday marked CU’s second team title in three tournaments to start the season as the Buffs also won the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy. It’s the first time in Roy Edwards’ 13 seasons as CU’s head coach that the Buffs have recorded two outright team victories in the same month, though in 2011 CU tied for first at Air Force, losing in a playoff, and won the Simpson Invite outright. (Edwards is pictured at left with his team.)

— As for Dunkle, he’s not only won this event for two straight seasons, but he’s claimed individual titles two weeks in a row. On Sept. 18, he prevailed at the Showdown in the Rockies tournament in Driggs, Idaho. Dunkle, who transferred to Utah from Colorado State, now owns three individual college victories for his career.

In the team race, CU came into the final round with a three-stroke lead and shot a 6-under-par 282 on Tuesday, leaving the Buffs at 14-under 850 for the three rounds. That was two strokes better than fellow Pac-12 team Utah,
which had beaten CU by 38 strokes in Idaho last week.

“We’re really pleased,” Edwards said. “We played poorly, especially the second round, last Monday (in Idaho), but the guys responded really well (this week). It’s a pretty young team, so to see them do that was what we were hoping. The credit goes to those (CU players).

“It’s not easy playing at home a lot of times. Utah has a really good team, so to beat them and beat a lot of the other teams by quite a bit was really satisfying and hopefully a good springboard to finish off the fall.”

The team victory was CU’s 15th in major Division I tournaments in Edwards’ 13 seasons at the program’s helm. Mark Simpson, his predecessor for whom this week’s tournament is named, won 16 team titles in his 29 years as CU’s coach. (The victorious Buffs are pictured at left.)

Victories “don’t happen very often, so you enjoy them as a team,” Edwards said.

“It was a good month for us,” said Olkowski, whose family recently moved from Grand Junction to Las Vegas. “We have momentum going into the rest of the fall season and hopefully we’ll keep it up through the spring, even though that’s a long time from now.”

The only other Colorado-based team that fielded a team for the Simpson Invite, Northern Colorado, placed ninth out of the 16 teams at Colorado National. UNC had the third-lowest score of the final round, a 9-under-par 279, leaving the Bears at 889 overall.

Individually, several local players besides Dunkle and Olkowski — who finished at 9-under-par 207 — placed in the top 10 on Tuesday. That includes CU’s Daniel O’Loughlin (third at 211), Ross Macdonald (sixth at 214) and Andre Leveque (10th at 216); UNC’s Joshua Matz (sixth at 214); and Colorado State’s Oscar Teiffel (10th at 216).

But it came down to Dunkle and Olkowski for the individual title. They both shot 4-under-par 68s on Tuesday. Dunkle almost aced the 180-yard 16th with a 9-iron as his ball hit the pin and finished 5 feet away for a birdie. And he backed that up with another birdie by hitting it 30 feet past the flag with a 3-wood on the 345-yard, par-4 17th hole, then two-putting. Dunkle, who made six birdies on Tuesday, called the 3-wood he hit on 17 his best shot of the tournament.

As for Olkowski, he also made a half-dozen birdies on Tuesday, with the last come on 17, where he pitched to 3 feet.

Then in the playoff on the 18th hole, Dunkle added one more birdie, while Olkowski slightly misread his putt and his ball lipped out on the right side of the cup.

And with that, Dunkle (at left with Edwards) had his second college victory in a week.

“You can’t foresee those kinds of things because every time you show up at one of these tournaments, you’ve got to play some really good golf to beat all the good players out here,” he said.

Dunkle has been on quite a roll since his junior season at Utah ended. He won the CGA Amateur, finished second in the Utah State Amateur, qualified for the U.S. Amateur and earned low-amateur honors in the CoBank Colorado Open by placing ninth. And since starting up his senior season of college golf, he’s racked up two victories in three tournaments.

“I would definitely say my game is in a groove,” he said. “My swing feels great. Last spring I didn’t feel that comfortable with my game because I was battling some (back) injuries and trying to get over that. During the summer, I started worrying less about what my body felt like and more about enjoying the game. When I did that, I stopped paying attention to bad rounds and focused on the good rounds and the good shots. I built that memory bank of things going positively. It’s put me in a position where I am — where if I step on a golf course and stick to my game plan and stay confident, most of the time I’m going to play pretty good. Then it’s a matter of if it’s good enough that week.”

As for Olkowski, despite the playoff loss, he notched his best individual finish ever in a college tournament.

“I’m still happy,” he said. “I lost the trophy, but I still get a tie for first. Being a competitive guy, I hate losing like that. But I’m happy with the way I played all week. I fought hard and it was a good week.”

Said Edwards of Olkowski: “To me, he didn’t make any mistakes that cost him. When he does that, he hits it good enough that he’s going to be in the hunt. He’s just become a really, really solid player. And he’s a smart kid. We’re happy for him.”

Elsewhere in Local College Golf — The University of Denver women remained in fourth place in its title defense at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

With one round remaining, DU sits at 12 over par, 27 strokes behind leader UCLA.

Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch continues to lead the Pioneers as she sits in sixth place individually at 2-under-par 142, which leaves her four shots out of the lead. …

Meanwhile, at the Coeur d’Alene Collegiate in Idaho, Colorado State University sophomore Haley Greb finished a college career best fifth individually. Greg posted a 1-over-par 214 total (75-69-70) to end up three strokes behind champion Abegail Arevalo of San Jose State. As a team, CSU placed seventh in the 18-school field.

Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
Sept. 24-25, 2018 (final) at Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie
1. (out of 16 teams) Colorado 279-289-282–850
T1. Trevor Olkowski 68-71-68–207
3. Daniel O’Loughlin 68-71-72–211
6. Ross Macdonald 72-73-69–214
18. John Paterson 71-74-73–218
75. Cole Krantz 73-80-77–230
Competing Only As Individuals
10. Andre Leveque 70-78-69–216
14. Kristoffer Max 74-73-70–217
31. Victor Bjorlow 70-77-74–221
35. Wilson Belk 73-75-74–222

9. Northern Colorado 296-314-279–889
6. Joshua Matz 70-75-69–214
18. Coby Welch 74-77-67–218
64. Jack Castiglia 79-79-70–228
83. Marcus Tait 75-85-73–233
87. Li Chen 77-83-75–235

Also
T1. (won playoff with a birdie) Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 66-73-68–207
Competing Only As Individuals
10. Oscar Teiffel, CSU 74-73-69–216
31. Cullen Plousha, CSU 74-75-72–221
75. Coloradan Tyler Severin, Wyoming 73-80-77–230
83. Colter Baca, Air Force 78-81-74–233
86. Luke Trujillo, Air Force 82-76-76–234

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge
At Par-72 Fazio Course at Red Sky GC in Wolcott
4. (out of 18 teams) Denver 293-295–588
6. Mary Weinstein 68-74–142
19. Sophie Newlove 70-76–146
32. Alyson Bean 78-72–150
40. Camille Enright 79-73–152
82. Alison Armstrong 77-85–162
Competing Only As Individual
28. Trussy Li 77-72–149

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Coeur D’Alene Collegiate
Sept. 24-25, 2018 (final) at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
7. (out of 18 teams) Colorado State 294-288-300–882
5. Haley Greb 75-69-70–214
25. Katrina Prendergast 72-72-75–219
58. Sydney Smith 73-77-77–227
63. Jessica Sloot 74-75-79–228
68. Ellen Secor 79-72-78–229

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

The host Buffaloes stand at 8-under-par 568 for the first two rounds. Utah, which won last year’s playoff with the Buffs, trails by three going into the last day at CNGC (pictured in a CU photo).

Northern Colorado, the only other school from the Centennial State fielding a full team for this year’s event, sits in 13th place in the 16-team field, at 610.

Several local players are in contention for the individual title with one round remaining. Kyler Dunkle of Utah, a longtime Coloradan until moving away after winning last month’s CGA Amateur, shares the lead with CU’s Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction and Daniel O’Loughlin. The three are at 5-under-par 139. Dunkle won the individual title at Colorado National last year.

Tee times for Tuesday’s final round will run 7:55 to 8:35 a.m.

For scores from the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, CLICK HERE.
 

DU’s Weinstein Tied for Lead at Red Sky: In another NCAA Division I tournament being held in Colorado, the defending champion University of Denver women are in fourth place after Monday’s first round of the 54-hole Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.

The Pioneers opened with a 5-over-par 293 and trail leader UCLA by 16 strokes.

DU’s Mary Weinstein, from Highlands Ranch, shares the individual lead after making six birdies in a round of 4-under-par 68.

Also at that figure are UCLA’s Clare Legaspi and Patty Tavatanakit, and Campbell’s Stacey White.

For all the scores from the Golfweek Conference Challenge, CLICK HERE.
 

Since then, it had been close but no cigar for the Buffs, who finished second twice and third three times at Eisenhower Golf Club. But on Sunday, they weren’t to be denied.

After trailing by one stroke after each of the first two rounds, CU overcame 2017 champion Wyoming to win by five at the 50th annual Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational. (The victorious team is pictured in a CU photo.)

It was the first outright team title for the Buffs in almost two years. CU technically tied for a championship last year at its own Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, though Utah won a team playoff.

The Buffs also took home the individual title on Sunday as Daniel O’Loughlin, a junior from England, earned the top spot for his first individual college championship. 

CU, the Pac-12 runner-up last year, shot a 1-under-par 287 in Sunday’s final round at the Blue Course, posting a three-day total of 9-under 855, which was five better than Wyoming.

The Buffs dedicated the victory to recruit Oliver Jack, the 2016 3A state high school champion from Kent Denver, who is recovering after being involved in an auto accident in July. He’s deferred his enrollment at CU until the spring semester.

Host Air Force placed fourth on Sunday at 862, while Northern Colorado was sixth at 867.

CU put three players in the top five individually — O’Loughlin; and Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction and Cole Krantz of Windsor, who tied for fifth place at 212. Krantz was competing only as an individual at Eisenhower.

Joining O’Loughlin and Olkowski on the Buffs’ victorious team were Ross Macdonald (216), Victor Bjorlow (220) and John Paterson (221).

O’Loughlin landed CU’s first outright individual title in a full-field Division I tournament since Philip Juel-Berg won this same event in 2015. In the interim, CU players have shared DI titles twice, won the three-team Ballyneal Challenge, and finished first in a Division II tournament. But this time O’Loughlin was alone atop the scoreboard in a 16-team DI event.

At the Falcon Invite, O’Loughlin was remarkably steady throughout the season-opening tournament, going 70-70-69 for a 7-under 209 total, which was one better than New Mexico State’s Tadhg Campbell. O’Loughlin, who birdied his final hole from 10 feet, finished the 54-hole event with 12 birdies and five bogeys.

“It feels good to finally win; being the first one is really special,” O’Loughlin told CUBuffs.com. “It’s such a big relief, and the team winning as well made it that much more special.”

Joining Olkowski and Krantz as Colorado residents who recorded top-five finishes on Sunday was UNC’s Coby Welch, who placed third at 211 after racking up 18 birdies for the week. In other words, he birdied 33 percent of his holes for the tournament.

Leading the way for Air Force was Joseph Crisostomo, who tied for fifth at 212 after closing with a 67, Sunday’s low round.

Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational
Sept. 7-9, 2018 (final) at Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy

1. (out of 16 teams) Colorado 285-283-287–855
1. Daniel O’Loughlin 70-70-69–209
5. Trevor Olkowski 71-67-74–212
17. Ross Macdonald 74-71-71–216
36. Victor Bjorlow 71-75-74–220
41. John Paterson 73-75-73–221
Competing Only as Individuals
5. Cole Krantz 71-71-70–212
30. Wilson Belk 73-73-73–219
56. Anson Kuznik 76-74-74–224
76. Kristoffer Max 75-80-74–229

4. Air Force 288-288-286–862
5. Joseph Crisostomo 72-73-67–212
17. Andy Germann 74-67-75–216
17. Joshua Wu 69-74-73–216
36. Turner Howe 73-74-73–220
41. Tate Tatom 74-74-73–221
Competing Only as Individuals
23. Luke Trujillo 74-70-73–217
69. Colter Baca 74-78-75–227
82. Jonathan Farmer 73-82-78–233

6. Northern Colorado 292-283-292–867
3. Coby Welch 72-67-72–211
17. Li Chen 71-71-74–216
36. Joshua Matz 75-73-72–220
50. Marcus Tait 77-72-74–223
63. Jack Castiglia 74-77-74–221
Competing Only as Individual
76. Nick Sharp 77-74-78–229

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

For all the local Division I golf results, CLICK HERE.

In addition, all three of the Colorado-based teams competing in the 50th annual Falcon Invite are in the top five out of the 16-school field.

The University of Colorado remained in the same place it was after round 1 — in second place, one out of the lead. The Buffs shot a 5-under-par 283 on Saturday to check in at 8-under 568, one behind defending champion Wyoming.

In fourth place with one round left is Northern Colorado (575), while host Air Force (576) is in fifth.

CU sophomore Trevor Olkowski (left in a CU photo), of Grand Junction, shot a bogey-free 5-under-par 67 on Saturday and moved into a share of second place at 6-under 138. He trails only Mike McGilton of New Mexico State, who stands at 135.

Other Coloradans in the top 10 individually are UNC’s Coby Welch (139, fifth place, after a 67) and Li Chen (142, 10th place) and CU’s Cole Krantz (142, 10th place). Krantz is competing as an individual at Eisenhower Golf Club.

Also in the top 10 from local teams are Daniel O’Loughlin from CU (140, sixth place) and Andy Germann from Air Force (141, seventh place).

Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational
Sept. 7-9, 2018 at Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy

2. (out of 16 teams) Colorado 285-283–568
2. Trevor Olkowski 71-67–138
6. Daniel O’Loughlin 70-70–140
22. Ross Macdonald 74-71–145
30. Victor Bjorlow 71-75–146
48. John Paterson 73-75–148
Competing Only as Individuals
10. Cole Krantz 71-71–142
30. Wilson Belk 73-73–146
61. Anson Kuznik 76-74–150
81. Kristoffer Max 75-80–155

4. Northern Colorado 292-283–575
5. Coby Welch 72-67–139
10. Li Chen 71-71–142
48. Joshua Matz 75-73–148
57. Marcus Tait 77-72–149
63. Jack Castiglia 74-77–151
Competing Only as Individual
63. Nick Sharp 77-74–151

5. Air Force 288-288–576
7. Andy Germann 74-67–141
15. Joshua Wu 69-74–143
22. Joseph Crisostomo 72-73–145
39. Turner Howe 73-74–147
48. Tate Tatom 74-74–148
Competing Only as Individuals
19. Luke Trujillo 74-70–144
69. Colter Baca 74-78–152
81. Jonathan Farmer 73-82–155

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

For all the local Division I golf results, CLICK HERE.

Murdock, a University of Wyoming golfer from Laramie, shot a 4-under-par 68 at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster to lead the way out of 84 players in the first of three U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournaments that will be held in Colorado this year.

Also advancing to the second and final stage of qualifying — 36-hole Sectionals — on Monday were professional Steven Kupcho of Westminster, college golfers Josh Seiple of Castle Rock and Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction, and pro Zahkai Brown of Golden. Kupcho, Seiple and Olkowski matched 69s in favorable weather conditions, while Brown carded a 70 and prevailed in a three-man playoff for the final Sectional berth.

(Pictured are, from left, Kupcho and Murdock.)

It was the second consecutive year of advancing to Sectionals from Walnut Creek for Seiple and Brown, the medalist at this site last year and the 2013 CoBank Colorado Open champion.

The 36-hole Sectional Qualifying in the U.S. will be contested on June 4 at 10 sites in the U.S., plus one in England that day and one in Japan on May 21. From there, the top finishers will land berths in the Open itself, set for June 14-17 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

To earn medalist honors, Murdock made an eagle (on his ninth hole, No. 18), four birdies and two bogeys on Monday.

Seiple, a University of Mississippi golfer, chalked up six birdies and three bogeys. Olkowski, a University of Colorado freshman, punched his ticket into Sectionals with a four-birdie, one-bogey day.

Kupcho, the former CGA Amateur of the Year and now a pro since 2016, successfully negotiated a USGA qualifier for the first time after numerous tries at events including the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links, U.S. Junior Amateur, etc.

“This should open some floodgates and give me confidence,” said Kupcho, who finished eighth last summer in the CoBank Colorado Open. “I haven’t been sucessful in qualifiers in my career; it’s different than playing a four-round tournament. So this is a pretty big day for me. I gotten over the first hurdle.”

On Monday, Kupcho advanced to Sectionals with a day that featured an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys. The eagle came on the 554-yard, par-5 sixth hole (his 15th of the day). He hit an 8-iron to 10 feet and drained the putt.

“That was big,” the 25-year-old said. “Otherwise I would have been in a playoff.”

In the three-man playoff for the final Sectional berth, Brown and Colorado State University golfer AJ Ott of Fort Collins birdied the first extra hole, while professional Anthony Aguilar from Arvada made par and was eliminated, ending up the No. 2 alternate.

On the third playoff hole, the par-5 18th, Brown two-putted for birdie, while Ott missed a 10-foot birdie attempt and was slotted in as first altenate.

In regulation, Brown eagled the sixth hole and added three birdies and two bogeys.

The U.S. Open is the only USGA championship that utilizes a two-stage qualifying process, with most entrants having to successfully negotiate Local and Sectional Qualifying in order to make it into the field for the second men’s major of the year.

Two more 18-hole Local Qualifying tournaments are scheduled in Colorado, with five more players at each site advancing to Sectionals. There’s one at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora on Wednesday and one at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins on May 15.

U.S. Open Local Qualifying
At Par-72 Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster
ADVANCE TO SECTIONALS
John Murdock, Laramie, Wyo. 68
Steven Kupcho, Westminster 69
Josh Seiple, Castle Rock 69
Trevor Olkowski, Grand Junction 69
Zahkai Brown, Golden 70
ALTERNATES (In Order)
AJ Ott, Fort Collins 70
Anthony Aguilar, Arvada 70

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

The University of Colorado sophomore recorded two top-10 finishes during the break, including his 10th-place showing out of a 135-player field on Saturday at The Goodwin at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

The performance comes on the heels of the Englishman’s career-best second-place finish last weekend at the Kansas State Bighorn Invitational.

O’Loughlin (pictured in a CU photo by Chip Bromfield), carded scores of 73-66-70 in San Francisco, which gave him a three-day total of 4-under-par 209. He made 13 birdies over the course of 54 holes. It was his third top-10 of the season for the sophomore, who also ended up fifth in the season-opening Miranda Invitational in September. Norman Xiong of Oregon claimed the individual title Saturday with a 198 total.

CU put three players in the top 30 as the Buffs tied for sixth in the 26-team field. Also finishing highly for Colorado were senior Yannik Paul of Germany (20th place at 212) and freshman Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction (27th place at 213).

Northern Colorado, led by Joshua Matz, finished 25th as a team on Saturday.

The Goodwin
March 29-31, 2018 (final) in San Francisco
6. (out of 26 teams) Colorado 287-278-288–853
10. Daniel O’Loughlin 73-66-70–209
20. Yannik Paul 70-72-70–212
27. Trevor Olkowski 71-66-76–213
92. Spencer Painton 73-76-74–223
101. John Souza 77-74-74–225

25. Northern Colorado 302-303-294–899
92. Joshua Matz 72-79-72–223
99. Coby Welch 78-71-75–224
101. Sam Marley 75-78-72–225
118. Andrew Romano 77-77-75–229
133. Li Chen 80-77-80–237

Also
65. Coloradan Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 70-75-74–219
101. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 76-73-76–225
 

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.
 

Hailey Schalk of Erie, who just a couple of weeks ago became the first freshman since 2002 to win a girls state high school championship in Colorado, didn’t take long to add another major accomplishment to her golf resume.

On Thursday, the 15-year-old not only notched her first American Junior Golf Association victory, but she became the first Coloradan to win the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by Transamerica.

Schalk (pictured) came from four strokes behind entering the final round at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster to post a one-stroke victory in the girls division of the tournament.

“It’s really special,” said Schalk, who called it her biggest accomplishment in golf. “Just to win my first one in Colorado is cool. I’ve been playing really well this year so I thought it was a good tournament to try to win.”

Schalk, who just completed her freshman year at Holy Family High School, shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round to finish at 4-under 212. She made five birdies on the final day, including an 8-footer on the 17th hole that put her ahead for good. Then she overcame a poor third shot on the 18th hole to get up and down for par.

“I just played aggressive today and I was making more putts,” said Schalk, the girls 2016 Colorado Junior Match Play champion. “I was making sure I got them to the hole even if they went 10 feet by. And I made three birdies in a row (4-5-6), which gave me confidence.”

Charlotte Hillary of Cherry Hills Village, who led after each of the first two rounds, missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have forced a playoff (left). Hillary, also 15, closed with a 74 after a 16-par, two-bogey day.

“I’m just super disappointed in myself,” said Hillary, who also was runner-up to Schalk in the 3A state tournament. “I had about five lip-outs so it was really hard because if at least one of them had dropped I would have been in a playoff or something. But that was the difference between today and yesterday and the day before when all of those dropped. Today not one did. 

“I could have avoided the bogeys I had — just some mental errors. But bogeys happen and you need to have birdies to even those out and I couldn’t execute. That’s why the title goes to Hailey.”

Still, it was by far the best performance in an AJGA event by Hillary, the 2016 girls JGAC Tour Championship winner. 

“My goal was top three (going into the week), but I had such an advantage going into today, it’s just really hard for me to give it up,” she said.

Trussi Li, a Chinese-born Californian, set the women’s course record with a 7-under-par 65 on Thursday to tie Hillary for second place at 213.

“That’s my best round ever,” said the 16-year-old Li. “My low was 68 before today. The front nine (a 6-under-par 30), I honestly didn’t expect that. Someone said I was bored and just throwing darts at the pin. And I made basically every putt today.” Indeed, she needed just 25 putts on the day.

In the boys tournament, Coloradans were 1-2 entering the final round, but Artem Yalovenko, a 15-year-old Russian who now lives in Florida, closed with a 67 to score his first AJGA victory.

Yalovenko made seven birdies in his final round to rally from five behind on Thursday to record a one-stroke win. He posted a 7-under-par 209 total.

Trevor Olkowski (left) of Grand Junction, a University of Colorado signee, finished second for the second straight year at the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior by Transamerica. This time, he had an 18-foot birdie attempt on No. 18 that would have forced a playoff, but he left it 2 feet short. The 18-year-old, winner of the boys JGAC Tour Championship last fall, parred his final 15 holes for an even-par 72. His 210 total gave him a share of the runner-up spot with Carson Griggs of Sand Springs, Okla., who closed with a 67.

“I wanted to win. That’s why we play it,” Olkowski said. “Second place is just not the same. I don’t like losing. 

“I’m kind of angry. I didn’t hit the ball well on the back nine today. And I missed every single putt that I looked at. It was just really frustrating.”

Second-round leader Griffin Barela of Lakewood, who’s signed to play college golf at the University of Wisconsin, placed fourth at 212 after a final-round 75.

As for Yalovenko (below left), who finished his round about 25 minutes before Olkowski and Barela, he could hardly believe that he came out on top.

“I’m speechless,” he said. “I’m so thankful for everything that happened. I didn’t really expect to win, to be honest. There’s no way that I thought the winning score would be 7 under. That’s for sure.

“This is by far the biggest win I’ve ever had in my life.”

For final results from the tournament, CLICK HERE.