It was a day more than 20 years ago, but Ben Portie recalls the details as if it were yesterday.

Long before Portie won the 2011 HealthOne Colorado Open, a few hours he spent at the International PGA Tour event helped set him on the path toward becoming a professional golfer.

At the end of a weather delay at Castle Pines Golf Club when he was 12 or 13 years old, Portie was sitting behind the practice tee. Out of the blue, Tour player Russ Cochran invited Portie — a lefty like himself — out on to the range to hit a few balls.

“He actually let me hit some of his clubs,” Portie recalled on Tuesday. “I remember hitting a 6-iron and it was the heaviest club that I’d ever swung. He let me hit three balls. After the rain delay I followed him around for the last nine. Most of the people had left, so I got to chit-chat with him for about nine holes. I still remember it to this day. And that’s what kind of (got me thinking), ‘this is what I want to do — play professional golf.'”

And on Tuesday, Portie — along with nine fellow professionals with strong ties to Colorado — had an opportunity to pay it forward. With a few hundred people in attendance — many of them kids — Portie (pictured above) thought he might be doing for some youngster what Cochran did for him way back when.

The International episode “was a little different, but it was kind of similar to this,” he said.

The “this” Portie was referring to was the U.S. Amateur Alumni Day the CGA and CWGA held Tuesday at CommonGround Golf Course as a way of promoting next month’s U.S. Amateur, and getting kids involved in the game. CommonGround will serve as the second stroke-play course for this summer’s Amateur, while Cherry Hills Country Club will be the primary host course for the Aug. 13-19 championship.

A total of about 30 past U.S. Amateur qualifiers from Colorado showed up to participate in the Alumni Day, including Jim English, who competed in the event about five times from 1947 to 1961. English hit a shot on the CommonGround practice tee to start a Skills Challenge in which 10 U.S. Amateur alums competed against one another and put on a show for the kids and adults in attendance.

For the record, Gunner Wiebe won the “Phlop” shot contest (named in honor of Phil Mickelson). Scott Petersen was tops in accurately curving the ball around an obstacle to a designated target (a la Bubba Watson at the Masters). Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney earned the distance title with a 342-yard drive. And Tom Glissmeyer, who qualified for the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old in 2003, landed the overall title with the best combined score in the three contests.

Besides the “Skills Challenge” per se, there was some trick-shot freelancing by some of the players, including hitting drives off their knees and whacking balls in mid-air. (Charlie Soule is pictured above.)

“To see the guys interacting with all the kids and interacting with each other, and giving each other a little grief when they hit a bad shot, that was fun,” said Wiebe, whose dad, Mark, was in attendance and signed autographs a couple of days after finishing eighth in the U.S. Senior Open. “I have never been to something like this on such a wide scale.” (Mark Wiebe is pictured below signing autographs.)

Combined, the Skills Challenge contestants have won a couple of Colorado Opens, five state high school titles and eight CGA Stroke Play or Match Play championships. They’ve also competed in four U.S. Opens.

At the end of the day, the “alumni” seemed to be having just as much fun as the kids and adults who watched the show.

Besides seeing some skillful demonstrations, the kids received a free lunch and a U.S. Amateur hat for autographs and got an up-close-and-personal look at the U.S. Amateur replica trophy that was on hand.

“Personally I wish we had the opportunity to do this more often,” said Steve Ziegler, a quarterfinalist in the 2009 U.S. Amateur. “This is the kind of thing that inspired all the guys here who are performing to get to the higher levels of golf. Seeing all these kids … it’s a special opportunity. I think it’s wonderful.”

Gunner Wiebe, who like Ziegler grew up honing his skills on the Colorado junior circuit, spoke with CGA executive director Ed Mate six or seven months ago about the possibilities for what eventually became Tuesday’s Alumni Day. And the end result left a big smile on Wiebe’s face.

“I think this is one of the coolest things we could do as part of the CGA, the U.S. Amateur or anything,” said Wiebe, who won a CGA Match Play Championship at CommonGround. “We don’t get enough opportunities to come back and have fun with a bunch of kids who just want to see golf. We might not be Tiger Woods or Phil (Mickelson), but to them we might be more than just your normal everyday (golfer).

“I just wanted to come back and say thanks really more than anything because I think I owe these guys (at the CGA) a lot. And since I don’t have enough money yet to donate back, I can at least donate my time. I wish I could do it more.”

Mate, who came up with many of the ideas that led to the Alumni Day, thinks such events could become mainstays at other venues set to host USGA championships.

“I think this is a perfect model for every state and regional golf association anytime they’re the host association for a USGA championship,” he said. “It makes sense to do an event like this where you invite all your past qualifiers from the event and make sure there’s lots of activities for the kids to keep them entertained.”

The festivities will be held Tuesday, July 17 at CommonGround Golf Course, which will serve as the second stroke-play course for the U.S. Amateur. The CGA and CWGA own and operate CommonGround, which is located at Havana and 1st Ave., in Aurora.

Cherry Hills Country Club will be the host for the U.S. Amateur, with competitors playing one stroke-play round each at Cherry Hills and CommonGround Aug. 13-14 before all of the match-play portion of the event is held at Cherry Hills Aug. 15-19.

The July 17 U.S. Amateur Alumni Day at CommonGround, which runs from noon to 2 p.m., is open to the public, free of charge. Youngsters age 17 and under are especially encouraged to attend. In fact, any adult who brings kids will receive a ticket to the U.S. Amateur.

Free lunches, courtesy of King Soopers, will be given to the kids at noon, and Imperial Headwear will provide them a U.S. Amateur hat and pen for autographs. In addition, the youngsters will be eligible for prize drawings.

The Skills Challenge will begin at 1 p.m., with 10 Coloradans who have competed in the U.S. Amateur demonstrating their golf abilities to those in attendance. Among the players expected to participate are Steve Ziegler, who made it to the quarterfinals of the 2009 U.S. Amateur, and past HealthOne Colorado Open champions Ben Portie and Scott Petersen.

Also planning to be on hand are Tom Glissmeyer, who qualified for the 2003 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old; two-time U.S. Open qualifier Jason Allen; Gunner Wiebe; brothers Zen and Zahkai Brown; former Air Force Academy golf standout Tom Whitney; and one other player to be determined.

Combined, the confirmed participants have won two Colorado Opens, a Web.com Tour event, eight CGA Stroke or Match Play Championships and five state high school titles, and they’ve competed in four U.S. Opens.

All of the attending U.S. Amateur “alumni” from Colorado will be presented Alumni Day commemorative medals, and they’ll be available to sign autographs after the Skills Challenge.
 

In short, they’ve got some serious golf skills.

And the skills of those participating golfers will be on display July 17 when the CGA holds its U.S. Amateur Alumni Day Skills Challenge and related activities at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. CommonGround, which the CGA and CWGA own and operate, will be the second course for the stroke-play portion of this year’s U.S. Amateur. Cherry Hills Country Club is the host club for arguably the world’s top amateur championship, which is set for Aug. 13-19.

The public is invited to attend the July 17 festivities — free of charge — from noon to 2 p.m., and youngsters are especially encouraged to come. In fact, any adult who brings kids will receive a ticket to the U.S. Amateur.

Free lunches, courtesy of King Soopers, will be given to kids (17 and under) at noon, and Imperial Headwear will provide them a U.S. Amateur hat and pen for autographs. In addition, the youngsters will be eligible for prize drawings.

One of the highlights of the day will be a Skills Challenge exhibition put on by Coloradans who have qualified for the U.S. Amateur in years past. Eight golfers who fall into that category have indicated they plan to participate in the Skills Challenge, which begins at 1 p.m. on July 17.

That’s where all of the earlier-mentioned golf credentials come in.

Among those expected to demonstrate their skills is Steve Ziegler (pictured above), who not only qualified for the 2009 U.S. Amateur, but made it to the quarterfinals before losing in 21 holes to the eventual champion. Barring changes to the July 17 lineup, joining him will be players ranging in age from teenager to 40-something: Wyndham Clark, Gunner Wiebe, Scott Petersen, Tom Glissmeyer, Ben Portie, and brothers Zen and Zahkai Brown.

Here’s a brief rundown of some of the top golf accomplishments for each expected participant:

— Wyndham Clark: Won the 2010 CGA Stroke Play Championship at age 16, becoming the youngest winner of that event since 1971. The Oklahoma State-bound golfer also claimed two 4A state high school titles and was recently named the Denver Athletic Club’s male high school student-athlete of the year. He’s qualified for the U.S. Amateur each of the last two years.

— Gunner Wiebe: Won the CGA Match Play title in 2010, the same year he placed second in the HealthOne Colorado Open, the best finish by an amateur in that event since 1997. He was named the CGA’s Player of the Year that season. The son of Champions Tour regular Mark Wiebe, Gunner competed in the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Amateur, making it to match play in 2010.

— Scott Petersen: In 2000, he won both the Colorado Open and the Nationwide Tour’s Inland Empire Open. The year before, he claimed the title in the Canadian PGA Championship. In the early 1990s, Petersen won two CGA Stroke Play Championships and two Division I college tournaments while playing for the University of Colorado. He was medalist in U.S. Amateur qualifying in both 1990 and ’92.

— Tom Glissmeyer: Qualified for the 2003 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old, a year after fellow Coloradan Derek Tolan managed a similar feat. Glissmeyer won two 4A state high school titles and finished third individually at the 2009 NCAA Championships while competing for the University of Southern California.

— Ben Portie: Was the CGA Player of the Year in 2001, a year before qualifying for the U.S. Open. The former University of Colorado golfer won the Colorado Open last summer and the Enstrom’s Rocky Mountain Open in 2010.

— Zen Brown: Won the CGA Match Play title in 2007. The following year, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur along with his brother Zahkai.

— Zahkai Brown: Won the 2011 CGA Stroke Play en route to being named the association’s Player of the Year. The former 5A state high school champion qualified for the 2008 U.S. Amateur at the same site as older brother Zen. He also earned a spot in the 2011 U.S. Am, where he advanced to match play. Brown won two individual college titles while at Colorado State University.

— Steve Ziegler: Had one of the best performances ever by a Coloradan at the U.S. Amateur, making it to the final eight in 2009 before losing on the third extra hole of his quarterfinal match to Byeong-Hun An, who went on to win the national title. Earlier that year, Ziegler won the CGA Match and Stroke Play Championships, becoming the first person to sweep the titles in the same calendar year since 1985. (As you might imagine, he was named CGA Player of the Year in 2009.) The two-time 5A state high school champ also qualified for the 2008 U.S. Amateur.

All of the attending U.S. Amateur “alumni” from Colorado will be presented Alumni Day commemorative medals, and they’ll be available to sign autographs after the Skills Challenge.

To access a PDF of a CGA promotional flier on the U.S. Amateur Alumni Day, CLICK HERE.