After posting finishes of ninth and fifth place in Series events over the last seven months, the CU sophomore on Friday won the 112-player Saguaro Amateur at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.
Olkowski, a former Grand Junction resident who now lives in Las Vegas, carded rounds of 71-67-70 for an 8-under-par 208 total, good for a one-stroke victory over Sean Carlon of Albuquerque, N.M. In the final round, Olkowski made five birdies, giving him 16 for the three rounds. (Olkowski is pictured at left with Edwards in September at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, where the sophomore tied for first place but lost in a playoff.)
This week’s performance gave Olkowski the overall championship in the Troon Saguaro Amateur Series.
Olkowski was one of three players who grew up in Colorado to post top-10 finishes in the Saguaro Amateur on Friday. Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village, a senior at Colorado State, and Tyler Severin of Johnstown, a University of Wyoming freshman, tied for fourth place. Staiano, the 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, went 73-69-71 for a 3-under-par 213 total. He birdied two of his last three holes. Severin carded scores of 70-73-70 for his 213. He made the top five despite a 42 on the front nine on Thursday.
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For all the scores from the Saguaro Amateur, CLICK HERE.
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Jack Castiglia of Lakewood capped off his junior golf career in fine fashion on Wednesday, rallying from 3 down on the back nine in the boys final to claim the title in the Colorado Junior Match Play, a victory that
narrowly eluded him the past two years.
And Lauren Lehigh (left) of Loveland defeated two of the state’s top girls golfers on the same day to earn the girls championship at Plum Creek Golf Club in Castle Rock.
Making it all the sweeter, it was the first Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado major title for both Castiglia and Lehigh, who won four matches in two days to earn the trophy.
“It was all I could really ask for” in his final junior tournament, said Castiglia, who will begin playing golf at the University of Northern Colorado in about a month. “I had never won a major, so it’s definitely nice to finally get one under my belt before I go off to college. It feels good. It was a lot of fun playing out here.”
Said Lehigh, a senior-to-be at Loveland High School who will play her college golf at New Mexico starting in 2019: “This (win) definitely ranks pretty high up there for me, especially considering the field. There were a lot of good players here. Playing as well as I did this week gives me a lot of confidence.”
Castiglia (pictured above) was a semifinalist in this event in 2016 and a finalist last year, losing to the eventual champion in each case. But on Wednesday, he defeated Tyler Severin of Johnstown, 2 and 1 in the boys final as Severin hit two balls into the water at both 16 and 17 after the match was all square through 15.
On the girls side, Lehigh (left) beat 2017 JGAC Girls Player of the Year — and 2016 Colorado Junior Match Play champion — Hailey Schalk of Erie in the title match, 4 and 3. Lehigh, 17, finished off the match by hitting a 4 hybrid from 210 yards to inches from the cup for an eagle on the 15th hole, where the match ended.
Earlier Wednesday in the semifinals, Lehigh posted another 4 and 3 victory over Charlotte Hillary of Englewood, who went to the match play round of 32 at the California Women’s Amateur Championship last week.
“It definitely feels good knowing that I came out here and played as well as I did and I was able to beat those (top-flight) girls,” Lehigh said. “We’re both friends and competitors. We’re still going to be great friends afterward, but everybody out here knows we’re playing to win.”
In the boys final, Severin made three birdies on the front nine, including a 45-footer on No. 8, to make the turn at 3 up. And Castiglia didn’t help his cause by missing a 2-foot par putt on No. No. 7.
But things turned on the back nine. Severin (below), a University of Wyoming signee who played in the CoBank Colorado Open last week, three-putted the 10th and 14th holes, and Castliglia made eagle on 11 with a 55-foot putt. That evened the match after 14.
“I knew I needed to start getting some putts to go in” after the first nine holes, said Castiglia, who earlier this year advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. “I missed a lot of putts inside 4-5 feet on the front nine. And he was making some good birdies. Once I finally got that long (eagle) to drop on 11, that’s where I knew I could get some confidence going.”
After the match was all square, both players two-putted for birdie on No. 15 for a halve. Then Severin pushed his tee shot and his third shot into the water that borders the entire right side of No. 16, falling behind for the first time in the match. And after Castiglia hit a good tee shot on the par-3 17th, Severin put two more balls into the water short of the green and conceded the match to his 17-year-old opponent.
“I played well the front nine, but a couple of three putts on the back nine didn’t help much,” said Severin, who like Castiglia was playing in his final junior event. “Jack played really good on the back nine. It’s a learning experience. I’ve got college coming up. It’s going to be helpful knowing it’s happened to me before. Hopefully I’m going to learn from this and hopefully never do this again. … I’m definitely not happy about it.”
The girls final was a matchup of two of the four players who represented Colorado last week in the Girls Junior Americas Cup at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. Schalk had won the last four JGAC majors in which she had competed, but the streak ended on Wednesday.
“I played pretty good all day,” Schalk said after her 38-hole marathon on Wednesday. “You can’t win everything obviously. It’s a little disappointing, but good for her.”
The finalists (left) were all square after four holes, but Lehigh won the next three, making 15-foot birdie putts on Nos. 5 and 7 and prevailing with a par on No. 6.
Schalk cut the deficit to 1 down by winning No. 9 with a par and No. 11 with a birdie. But Lehigh, the 2017 4A state high school champion, won 12 and 13 with pars. Then she closed out the match on No. 15, where her 210-yard 4 hybrid from the rough ended up a couple of inches from the hole for an eagle.
“I finished three of my four matches on that 15th hole and I was 4 under on that hole alone,” Lehigh noted. “I won two matches with birdies on that hole and then stuck it close for eagle today.”
Lehigh finished 2 under par for 15 holes in the final. All told for the week, he won her matches 5 and 4, 4 and 3, 4 and 3, and 4 and 3. In other words, she wasn’t ever pushed to the limit.
“I was only ever down in a match once,” Lehigh said, noting Hillary birdied the first hole against her on Wednesday morning. “I was playing pretty well this whole week. I felt really good coming in here. There’s not a lot of pressure. It’s a lot easier to just take a deep breath and go, ‘You know what, that hole didn’t matter'” given that it’s match play.
“But Hailey is an incredible competitor. She played really well. We both played our hearts out today, no doubt.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Schalk had needed 23 holes to defeat 14-year-old Kaylee Chen of Denver. Chen three-putted the 18th hole, missing a two-foot par putt, to prolong the match. Then after halving the first four extra holes with par, Schalk won on the fifth with a par when Chen got into trouble down the left side.
Colorado Junior Match Play
At Plum Creek GC in Castle Rock
Boys Semifinals
Tyler Severin of Johnstown def. Jack Hughes of Aspen, 5 and 4
Jack Castiglia of Lakewood def. Christopher Kennedy of Aurora, 4 and 3
Boys Final
Jack Castiglia of Lakewood def. Tyler Severin of Johnstown, 2 and 1
Girls Semifinals
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland def. Charlotte Hillary of Englewood, 4 and 3
Hailey Schalk of Erie def. Kaylee Chen of Denver, 23 holes
Girls Final
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland def. Hailey Schalk of Erie, 4 and 3
For the Colorado Junior Match Play brackets, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS.
Eighth-seeded Jack Hughes of Aspen defeated top-seeded Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, winner of last week’s Junior America’s Cup, 5 and 3 in Tuesday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, 12th-seeded Tyler Severin of Johnstown topped fourth-seeded Connor Jones of Westminster, 3 and 2. And Christopher Kennedy of Aurora, who played in the U.S. Junior Amateur earlier this month, beat second-seeded Jake Welch, winner of the 2018 Colorado Junior Amateur, 3 and 1.
Jack Castiglia of Lakewood, runner-up in this event last year, kept some semblance of order by defeating 11th-seeded Ty Findlow of Lone Tree, 7 and 5.
In Wednesday morning’s semifinals, Hughes will face Severin and Kennedy will meet Castiglia.
On the girls side, most of the favorites made the final four on Tuesday by winning two matches. That includes top-seeded Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, No. 2 Hailey Schalk of Erie and No. 4 Charlotte Hillary of Englewood, along with No. 6 Kaylee Chen of Denver. In the semis, Lehigh will face Hillary and Schalk will play the 14-year-old Chen.
In perhaps the best matchup of Tuesday’s girls quarterfinals, Hillary defeated Katie Berrian of Castle Rock, winner of the girls title in the Colorado Junior Amateur earlier this month, 3 and 2. Hillary is fresh off making the match play round of 32 at the California Women’s Amateur Championship.
Earlier in the day, Hillary beat Natasha Brandy McClain of Denver 9 and 8.
Lehigh and Schalk were teammates — along with Kelsey Webster of Boulder and Emma Bryant of Aurora — last week on the Colorado squad that finished fifth out of 18 at the Girls Junior Americas Cup at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. And Hillary and Schalk were partners that made the round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in late April. Schalk won the Colorado Junior Match Play title in 2016.
At the conclusion of Wednesday morning’s boys and girls semifinals, the winners will meet in the afternoon for the Junior Match Play titles.
For the Colorado Junior Match Play brackets, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS.
Perhaps the cold, windy, raw first day at the 5A boys state high school tournament brought out the best in the best.
But for whatever reason, the three golfers who represented Colorado on the Junior America’s Cup team this year — and are in still in high school — find themselves at the top of the leaderboard after Monday’s first round of the 36-hole tournament at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.
With temperatures in the 40s all day — and the wind making it feel even colder — junior Dillon Stewart (left) of Fossil Ridge took the lead with a 2-under-par 69. And right on his heels going into Tuesday’s final round are Junior America’s Cup teammates Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest and Cal McCoy of Regis Jesuit, along with Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction.
Those were the only players who broke par in challenging weather conditions at CommonGround as Bryant, McCoy and Olkowski posted 1-under 70s.
In the other state tournaments, day 1 of the 3A meet at Indian Peaks Golf Course in Lafayette was canceled due to rain, with the tournament being reduced to an 18-hole event, set for Tuesday. And at the 4A tourney at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton, three players share the lead at 1-over-par 73: Jake Welch of Valor Christian, Darren Edwards of Thompson Valley and Tyler Severin of Roosevelt. For more details on the 4A meet, see below.
At the 5A tournament, with stocking caps and several layers of clothing being commonplace for the players — and heavy jackets and mittens for many spectators — breaking par was no small feat.
“It wasn’t fun, but it was fun, obviously,” Stewart said after grabbing the 18-hole lead. “(The conditions) really tested your mental game. The ball isn’t going very far because it’s so cold. Conditions are hard, it’s windy. It’s not fun, but it really brings the best player out of everybody.
“I’m really proud of myself (for shooting 69). My goal was to be the leader after day 1, and I accomplished that. Hopefully it will continue tomorrow.”
Stewart has had a strong 2017 to date. He led the Rocky Mountain Open — competing against many pros as well as amateurs — after the first day. He finished 35th in the national Boys Junior PGA Championship, 52nd in the IMG Academy Junior Worlds, and was runner-up to Bryant at the Colorado Junior PGA. And Stewart, Bryant, McCoy and current University of Denver golfer Jackson Solem teamed up to finish fourth out of 18 teams in the Junior America’s Cup. During the high school season, Stewart has won four times.
On Monday at CommonGround, the junior finished with four birides and two bogeys on the day to grab the lead.
As good a year as Stewart has had in 2017, Bryant (left) has been even more impressive. The Colorado State University-bound golfer has won both of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in which he’s competed and he’s finished ninth individually at the Junior America’s Cup, 14th at the national Junior PGA and made it to the round of 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur.
On Monday, Bryant had it to 3 under par through 11 holes, but bogeyed the next two and played the last five in even par.
“It could have been better, but it also could have gotten away from me and been a 75 very easily,” the senior said. “You can definitely shoot yourself out of it but you can’t win it on the first day. I was just trying to make some birdies and make a lot of pars and see how it went after 18 holes.”
Bryant, the 5A runner-up at state last year, has not been beaten in a high school tournament this season, winning six titles outright and tying for a victory in regionals.
“I’ll be disappointed if I don’t win (state), obviously,” he said. “That’s been my goal since I finished second to Kyle (Pearson of Highlands Ranch) last year. But if you’re thinking about that too much, you’re not going to play well, so I just take it one shot at a time and try to be as positive as possible.”
McCoy (left), a senior who will play his college golf at DU, was paired with Stewart on Monday and played his front nine in 3-under 33, but bogeyed 15 and 18 on the way in. McCoy, who finished sixth at state last year, ended up with three birdies and two bogeys on Monday.
Olkowski, a future University of Colorado golfer and the younger brother of current Buff Trevor Olkowski, finished strong to shoot his 70. He was 2 over par through 14 holes, but birdied three of his last four.
In the 5A team race, Regis Jesuit shot a 4-over-par 217 total and grabbed a four-stroke lead over Cherry Creek. Regis is seeking its seventh state title in the last eight years. Fossil Ridge is in third place at 222.
4A at Racoon Creek: Welch, younger brother of 2015 4A runner-up Coby Welch, shares the individual leader with Edwards and Severin after day 1. Welch was 1 under par through 16 holes, but triple bogeyed the par-3 17th and birdied 18 to finish at 73. He ended the day with four birdies, two bogeys and the triple.
Edwards, who placed fourth at state last year, birdied his final hole on Monday to shoot 73 and posted two birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. Severin, sixth at state in 2016, carded two birdies and three bogeys.
Defending individual state champion Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon shares fourth place at 75 with Roger Nakagawa of Thomas Jefferson, Jordan Jennings of Montrose and Bridger Tenney of Evergreen.
In the team competition, Montrose, the state runner-up last year, recorded a 17-over-par 233 total and holds a one-stroke lead over perennial power Valor Christian. Evergreen is in third place, five back of Montrose.
Class 5A Leaders
At Par-71 CommonGround GC in Aurora
TEAM
Regis Jesuit 217
Cherry Creek 221
Fossil Ridge 222
ThunderRidge 224
Fairview 226
Grand Junction 226
INDIVIDUAL
Dillon Stewart, Fossil Ridge 69
Davis Bryant, Eaglecrest 70
Cal McCoy, Regis Jesuit 70
Canon Olkowski, Grand Junction 70
Carter Kovarik, Cherry Creek 71
Sam Blackwood, Heritage 71
Evan Kalac, ThunderRidge 71
Brandon Bervig, Liberty 71
Cameron Kirke, Regis Jesuit 71
Tommy Parker, Arapahoe, 72
Connor Jones Mountain Range 72
Ryder Heuston, Fairview 72
For complete 5A results, CLICK HERE.
Class 4A Leaders
At Par-72 Raccoon Creek GC in Littleton
TEAM
Montrose 233
Valor Christian 234
Evergreen 238
Palmer Ridge 240
Mullen 242
INDIVIDUAL
Tyler Severin, Roosevelt 73
Darren Edwards, Thompson Valley 73
Jake Welch, Valor Christian 73
Jordan Jennings, Montrose 75
Roger Nakagawa, Thomas Jefferson 75
Bridger Tenney, Evergreen 75
Luke Trujillo, Discovery Canyon 75
Micah Stangebye, Montrose 76
Jacob Smith, Rifle 77
Wes Weber, Mountain View 77
For complete 4A results, CLICK HERE.