Each year has its own distinctive makeup. That’s true regarding life in general, or in Colorado golf.

And so it was in 2018, which is quickly coming to a close.

Since 2009, we’ve made it an annual habit to go back through the golf stories of the year, pick out the most prominent ones and rank them for a retrospective on the CGA website.

For most of the last several years, we’ve broken the list into two installments to keep things a little more manageable. We go in reverse order, for the sake of suspense, and add an honorable-mention list that will be included with Part II, which will be published in the coming days.

Today, we’ll cover Nos. 25 through 13.

So, without first ado, here’s our 10th edition of Colorado golf-related stories of the year:

25. Second Colorado Topgolf Site Gearing Up: Since August 2015, there’s been one Topgolf location in Colorado — the one in Centennial. But three months ago, ground was broken at a second site — at I-25 and 60th Ave., in Thornton. The 65,000-square-foot, three-level facility is scheduled to open to the public in late 2019. It will have 102 climate-controlled hitting bays — where players hit microchipped golf balls at targets with varying point values — in addition to a restaurant and three bars. There will be 250 HD televisions, a rooftop terrace with fire pits and 3,000 square feet of space devoted to private events. The Centennial Topgolf employs about 500 people, the same number that is expected in Thornton.

24. Annika Returns to Colorado for First Tee Event: Over the last three years, the folks who run the CoBank Colorado Open Championships and The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch have brought in tour players to conduct exhibitions and chat with kids from The First Tee programs in the state. During the first two years, doing the honores were Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer, Paula Creamer, David Duval, Lexi Thompson and Mark O’Meara. This year, there was no letdown in talent as Matt Kuchar came for a late June exhibition at GVR, and World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam (above) for a CoBank PEAK Performers event in August at The Broadmoor, where Sorenstam won her first LPGA title — the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open. The PEAK Performers event was particularly unique as nine kids from First Tee programs around the country had the opportunity to play golf with Sorenstam for six holes each as part of a four-day, all-expenses-paid outing. READ MORE

23. Sibling Sweep for Bryants: A year after Davis Bryant and younger sister Emma completed the “Bryant Slam” by jointly winning all four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in 2017, they posted a “Sibling Sweep” when they prevailed at both the boys and girls 5A state high school tournaments in the same school year. Almost eight months after Davis Bryant claimed the 5A boys crown as a senior at Eaglecrest, Emma held up her end by capturing the 5A girls title as an Eaglecrest freshman in May at Boulder Country Club. It’s the first time two players with the same surname have won the boys and girls state individual prep championships in one school year. READ MORE

22. High Honor for Irwin: Hale Irwin (left) had to contend with Jack Nicklaus on the golf course plenty of times over the course of their careers. But in June, it was Nicklaus and the Captains Club that honored Irwin — a three-time U.S. Open champion and World Golf Hall of Famer who grew up in Boulder — as the 2018 Memorial Tournament honoree. And it’s no small tribute. Others who have received similar status since 2010 include Seve Ballesteros, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson, Ray Floyd, Annika Sorenstam, Nick Faldo, Johnny Miller and Greg Norman. “I have a hard time putting myself in that category with the greats of the past, so I am absolutely delighted.” Irwin said.

21. Schalk Still Undefeated in High School Ranks: When then-Holy Family sophomore Hailey Schalk won the girls 3A state high school tournament in May, it gave her two titles in two seasons of high school golf. But even more impressively, Schalk remained unbeaten in her two years of high school tournaments and kept alive her chances for an unprecented four Colorado girls state high school golf titles. Schalk became the eighth player to win at least two Colorado girls state high school championships, joining Lynn Ann Moretto (3), Ashley Tait (3), Jennifer Kupcho (2), Becca Huffer (2), Kelly Jacques (2), Jennifer McCormick (2) and Emily Wood (2). Schalk, now a junior, later verbally committed to play her college golf at the University of Colorado beginning in 2020.

20. 25 and Counting for Eaton: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton wasted no time in 2018 tying Carol Flenniken’s record for career CGA/CWGA women’s titles. In May, she teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Janet Moore in winning the Brassie Championship, giving her 25 such victories in her career. Though Eaton came up short — in a playoff — of notching No. 26 at the CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play at her own home course at Greeley Country Club, she’ll have additional opportunities at the outright record in 2019. READ MORE

19. Spiranac Continues to Make a Splash: It’s hard to fathom how big a social media sensation 2015 CGA Women’s Match Play champion Paige Spiranac has become. At last check, the former Colorado resident had 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 215,000 on Twitter. Before largely giving up competitive golf, Spiranac not only won the 100th CWGA Match Play, but finished ninth in the 2016 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open and won the 2010 CWGA Junior Stroke Play as well as the 2006 CJGA Tournament of Champions — all in Colorado. Spiranac, who appeared in the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, is now a periodic columnist for Golf.com. READ MORE

18. 25 Years and Counting for Denver Golf Expo: What started out relatively modestly at the Colorado Convention Center in the early 1990s has turned into quite an annual affair. In 2018, the Denver Golf Expo, now run by Mark and Lynn Cramer, celebrated its 25th anniversary. The Cramers, who bought the show from Colorado PGA professional Stan Fenn in 2000, will be honored in June by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award. READ MORE

17. Memorable Year for Andonian-Smith: It was a year of “firsts” for Colorado PGA professional Sherry Andonian-Smith. She, along with fellow Coloradans Janet Moore and Marilyn Hardy, qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The Centennial resident became the first woman to qualify for the national Senior PGA Professional Championship and ended up finishing 29th out of a field of 264 there. She was named the Colorado PGA’s inaugural Women’s Player of the Year after tying for second place in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship and winning the Section’s West Chapter Championship for the second time in three years. And Andonian-Smith and Alexandra Braga became the first women from the Colorado PGA to qualify for the national PGA Professional Championship.

16. And Love-ing It: After getting advice from World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III, son Dru (left) made an eagle in a playoff to win the CoBank Colorado Open. The younger Love carded an eagle and nine birdies in his final 19 holes of the tournament. It was the biggest win of Dru Love’s career, and he made $100,000 in the process. Davis Love III won the PGA Tour’s International twice in Colorado, while Davis Love II claimed the title in the CGA Junior Match Play in both 1953 and ’54. READ MORE

15. Kevin Stadler, Kaye Make Long-Awaited Returns to ‘The Show’: The year 2018 marked the return to PGA Tour action for two Colorado-based veterans who hadn’t competed in golf’s top circuit for quite a while. Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye, a two-time PGA Tour winner, had last played in a PGA Tour event in 2011, but in March he landed a spot in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, where he missed the cut. And part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler, who hadn’t competed on the PGA Tour since 2015 due to a broken hand, returned for the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, but likewise missed the cut. Stadler is expected to be a regular in PGA Tour events in 2019 as he plays on a major medical extension.

14. ‘Youth on Course’ Debuts in Colorado: A year ago, CGA executive director Ed Mate predicted that the Youth on Course program could become a “game-changer for player development” in Colorado. The initiative, which makes golf more accessible to juniors by capping their cost for a round at $5 at participating facilities, came to Colorado in 2018. Fifteen Colorado courses participated this year, and many more are expected to be on board in 2019. READ MORE

13. Web Tournament Formalized for TPC Colorado: Colorado last hosted an open-age PGA Tour-affiliated event in 2014, when the BMW Championship PGA Tour playoff tournament was held at Cherry Hills Country Club. But in a September announcement, the Web.com Tour confirmed what had long been known — that a Web.com Tour event would be conducted at the new TPC Colorado course (left) in Berthoud for at least five years, starting in 2019. The event, known as the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, will debut the week of July 8-14, with 156 players competing for a $600,000 purse. The Web circuit — then known as the Nike Tour — previously had a tournament in Colorado in 1996 and ’97, when Riverdale’s Dunes Course in Brighton hosted the Nike Colorado Classic. READ MORE

Also on the subject of new courses in Colorado, Fred Funk said in late June that the Raindance National Golf Club course in Windsor that he’s co-designing may open as soon as the fall of 2020.

During a Thursday morning chat over an outdoor breakfast at The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Annika Sorenstam, surrounded by nine kids from First Tee programs around the country, confided that she was “extremely shy growing up.”

How shy?

Knowing that junior tournament winners had to give a speech, Sorenstam intentionally missed putts coming down the stretch so that other kids would win and have to do the public speaking.

It’s hard to believe that the Annika Sorenstam at The Broadmoor on Thursday for the inaugural CoBank PEAK Performers event is that same person. For half a day at the site of her 1995 U.S. Women’s Open triumph, she regaled the teenagers with all sorts of stories with valuable life lessons, shared laughs with the kids, made sure to personally connect with every one of them and chatted it up with media folks and with her caddie, a guy familiar to folks at The Broadmoor — aside from the caddie bib — longtime director of golf Russ Miller (below).

“She’s a talker. That’s pretty cool,” said 14-year-old Hunter Swanson from The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch, one of two Coloradans who had the chance to play six holes with Sorenstam, who switched off among three threesomes of kids. (Swanson is pictured above with Sorenstam.)

Sorenstam is one of the greatest players in the history of women’s golf, with the ’95 U.S. Women’s Open win at The Broadmoor being the first of her 72 LPGA Tour victories as well as the first of her 10 wins in major championships. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame 15 years ago.

But it’s been almost a full decade since the Swede ended her competitive career, even though she’s still only 47. But a year before exiting the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam founded the ANNIKA Foundation “with the goal of developing women’s golf around the world and encouraging children to lead healthy, active lifestyles.” Sorenstam has long worked with The First Tee to help accomplish that goal.

“The thing I do with my foundation is I tell people there’s no other sport like golf where you have great ambassadors like these young kids,” Sorenstam said during a brief Q&A with ColoradoGolf.org prior to her round. “These are the next generation of leaders or influencers — or whatever you want to call them. It’s so cool that they play golf. I think we really need to take advantage of these opportunities. I love being part of it — to see how focused these young kids are.

“I think they inspire me as much as hopefully I inspire them.”

If the reaction of the Colorado kids who took part in the CoBank PEAK Performers event is any indication, Sorenstam certainly hit the mark.

“It was kind of surreal. She’s so nice,” said 15-year-old Colorado Springs resident Sarah Abercrombie, who’s been part of The First Tee of Pikes Peak since it was founded. “When I opened up the email (saying she’d been selected to participate in Thursday’s event), I just freaked out.”

Added Swanson, a First Tee GVR regular for nine years and a varsity golfer at Northfield High School: “Once I figured it out at the beginning — that we’re actually going to meet her and play with her — the best women’s golfer ever … It was COOL. It’s way different seeing her in real life. You see how good she is in real life and see how far she hits it. It’s crazy.”

Sorenstam spoke with the kids as a group for about 20 minutes during breakfast (left), hitting on all sorts of topics through personal stories — from her childhood, from her playing career … you name it.

So what is her primary message to the kids?, she was asked later.

“You have nine kids from different parts of the country, different ages, different walks of life so to speak,” she said. “I don’t know what would stick in (a given) kid’s head. But a lot of it is just follow your dreams, do what you like, work hard, no shortcuts to success and learn from your mistakes. That’s some of the things that I have done. It’s kind of finding your own journey. There’s no set journey. Create your own and make it worthwhile.”

For instance, that same Sorenstam who was “extremely shy” growing up, she not only learned to talk in front of a group after winning tournaments. Later, she accepted an invitation to speak to an audience of 10,000.

She wasn’t thrilled with the exercise, “but that’s how you get better — not by running away,” she told the kids on Thursday.

All this — the planting of little seeds if the minds of kids such as these — is part of a plan “to inspire the next generation to be on the right path. But these kids, they’re extremely mature and very determined and very accomplished already.”

Sorenstam (pictured directing Abercrombie) seemed to leave competitive golf while she was still in the prime of her career. She was asked if the decade since has been what she imagined it would be.

“I don’t compete, but I’ve been a lot busier than I thought,” she said. “I’ve been lucky. I’m still able to do fun stuff and be relevant after 10 years. A lot of people just kind of fall off the earth. I’m glad my phone is still ringing.”

And, of course, she still manages to fit in some relaxation. That was part of plan in coming to The Broadmoor, in addition to inspiring The First Tee kids.

“I’ve been back here a few times (since her 1995 victory), but not that many. This is my third time (back),” she said. “This brings back some great memories for sure. This is kind of where my career started. It’s a beautiful spot and it’s neat to be out here. This time I’ve got my family with me, which makes it even more special to be able to share with them kind of where I started.”

Thursday was a culmination of a four-day, all-expenses-paid golf event for the nine First Tee kids, who visited some of the spectacular sites around the Colorado Springs area, in addition to staying at the five-star Broadmoor Resort. The event was sponsored by Denver-based CoBank, The Broadmoor and The First Tee of GVR.

The teenagers were selected after submitting applications that were judged based on the kids’ academic and leadership records, playing resumes and essays about their experience at The First Tee and the impact the program has had on their lives.

The CoBank PEAK Performers winners that played with Sorenstam on Thursday were , in addition to Abercrombie and Swanson, Jackson Boldt and Luke Boldt, both 16 and from The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas; Andrew Santiago Caldwell, 16, from The First Tee of Pine Mountain in Kentucky; Nina Goodrich; 16, from The First Tee of Greater St. Louis; Joshua Lim, 17, from The First Tee of Greater San Antonio; Victoria Slawinski, 17, from The First Tee of Pittsburgh; and Borina Sutikto, 14, from The First Tee of Silicon Valley.

The PEAK Performers event was the brainchild of the folks who conduct and sponsor the CoBank Colorado Open Championships each year at GVR and who run The First Tee of GVR.
 

The nine juniors include two from Colorado — 15-year-old Sarah Abercrombie of The First Tee of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, and 14-year-old Hunter Swanson from The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch in Denver.

The PEAK Performers event — co-sponsored by Denver-based CoBank, The Broadmoor and The First Tee of GVR — was open to First Tee members nationwide. Applicants were judge based on their academic and leadership records, playing resumes and essays about their experience at The First Tee and the impact the program has had on their lives.

Those selected will play golf on Aug. 23 at The Broadmoor with Sorenstam, who won the 50th U.S. Women’s Open at the resort in 1995. After a breakfast meeting with the kids, she’ll play six holes each with three threesomes at the East Course. Also on the agenda for The First Tee kids will be a four-day, three-night stay to The Broadmoor (Aug. 21-24), including visits to the Air Force Academy and Pikes Peak, and leadership instruction oriented around The First Tee’s nine core values.

“I am honored to meet and play golf with these nine wonderful participants from The First Tee on the course that really kick-started my championship career at the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open,” said Sorenstam, a national spokesperson for The First Tee. “The Broadmoor means a lot to me and sharing this experience with these kids on this beautiful property is very special indeed.”

The CoBank PEAK Performers winners that will play with Sorenstam on Aug. 23 are, in addition to Abercrombie and Swanson, Jackson Boldt and Luke Boldt, both 16 and from The First Tee of Coastal Carolinas; Andrew Santiago Caldwell, 16, from The First Tee of Pine Mountain in Kentucky; Nina Goodrich; 16, from The First Tee of Greater St. Louis; Joshua Lim, 17, from The First Tee of Greater San Antonio; Victoria Slawinski, 17, from The First Tee of Pittsburgh; and Borina Sutikto, 14, from The First Tee of Silicon Valley.

The PEAK Performers event was the brainchild of the folks who conduct and sponsor the CoBank Colorado Open Championships each year at GVR and that run The First Tee of GVR.
 

Obviously, the main event is going to be the U.S. Senior Open that The Broadmoor Resort will host June 28-July 1.

But while the best golfers in the 50-and-older set will be in Colorado Springs, a high-profile PGA Tour player, Matt Kuchar, will be putting on an exhibition for kids on June 30 from 11 a.m. to noon at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. The event — sponsored by CoBank, the title sponsor for the Colorado Open Championships — will be open to all kids, free of charge. And junior attendees can play the GVR par-3 course after the exhibition and autograph session. The First Tee of GVR is hosting the festivities.

Kuchar (pictured), who will also participate in other functions on June 29 as part of the event, owns seven PGA Tour victories in his career, including the 2012 Players Championship, the 2013 WGC Match Play Championship and the 2013 Memorial. Last week, he made a hole-in-one at this year’s Match Play, were he advanced to the round of 16. All told, the affable 39-year-old has won more than $42 million on golf’s top circuit. Kuchar, the 1997 U.S. Amateur champion, is currently No. 20 in the World Golf Rankings.

Kuchar’s appearance will be one of two hosted in Colorado in 2018 by The First Tee of GVR and sponsored by CoBank.

Annika Sorenstam — who won the first of her 72 LPGA Tour titles (third most all-time) at the 50th U.S. Women’s Open, held at The Broadmoor in 1995 — will return to the Colorado Springs resort to participate in the “CoBank PEAK Performers” event on Aug. 23. On that day, she’ll play a round of golf at the East Course with nine selected First Tee members (six holes each with three threesomes). Sorenstam, a national spokesperson for The First Tee, also will have a breakfast meeting with the kids. Eight of those nine First Tee members will be selected from the eight First Tee regions in the continental U.S., with the final participant coming from The First Tee of GVR.

In previous years, tour players who have conducted CoBank-sponsored junior exhibitions in Colorado have included Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer and Paula Creamer in 2016, and David Duval, Lexi Thompson and Mark O’Meara in 2017.

To register for the Kuchar exhibition, CLICK HERE.
 

The lineup in 2016 featured Hale Irwin, Ryan Palmer and Paula Creamer. Last year, David Duval, Lexi Thompson and Mark O’Meara were brought in by CoBank and The First Tee of GVR.

Put those years together and you had two World Golf Hall of Famers (Irwin and O’Meara) and the winners of 52 events on the PGA Tour, 47 on PGA Tour Champions and 19 on the LPGA Tour.

But there will be no resting on laurels in 2018. Officials expect to host at least one exhibition in Colorado — with a to-be-determined tour player — this year. But beyond that, one of the game’s all-time greats will be coming to the Centennial State to participate in an event that will be different than usual and bigger in scope.

Annika Sorenstam — who won the first of her 72 LPGA Tour titles (third most all-time) at the 50th U.S. Women’s Open, held at The Broadmoor in 1995 — has agreed to return to the Colorado Springs resort to participate in the “CoBank PEAK Performers” event on Aug. 23.

On that day, she’ll play a round of golf at the East Course with nine selected First Tee members (six holes each with three threesomes). Sorenstam, a national spokesperson for The First Tee, also will have a breakfast meeting with the kids. (Sorenstam is pictured above with two kids at the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.)

Eight of those nine First Tee members will be selected from the eight First Tee regions in the continental U.S., with the final participant coming from The First Tee of GVR. Applicants are limited to kids age 14-18.

“The impetus (for the event) came from last year with Mark O’Meara coming to The Broadmoor” for a First Tee exhibition, said Kevin Laura, CEO of The First Tee of GVR and of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. “It made a big impact on Mark and on the kids. CoBank got great feedback and The Broadmoor is such a great setting. (CoBank officials) said afterward they want something bigger and broader after what we’ve done the last two years.

“The Broadmoor liked this idea and The First Tee thought it was a great idea. And Annika loves The Broadmoor. Besides winning a U.S. Women’s Open there, she vacations there” on occasion.

CoBank, The Broadmoor and The First Tee of GVR are co-sponsoring and hosting “CoBank PEAK Performers”.

First Tee kids from across the country — boys with handicaps of 10 or less and girls with 12 or less — can apply if they’re interested in playing with Sorenstam as part of the all-expenses-covered event, which runs Aug. 21-24. Included for the participants will be three nights at The Broadmoor. The First Tee is expecting 200 or more applications.

Participants will be chosen on the basis of an essay, their answers to various questions, their golf resume, their schoolwork and activities, and letters of recommendation. The First Tee national home office will forward worthy candidates to the Colorado Open Golf Foundation selection committee, which will pick the winners and announce them on June 27.

Besides playing with Sorenstam, the participants will spend a day visiting some of the top landmarks in the Colorado Springs area, including the Air Force Academy.
 

This year, those reflections have particularly come into focus.

With the CGA celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, there’s been a concerted look back on the past century of golf in Colorado. That includes a 10-part series of stories on notable people and events from the last hundred years.

Writing that series was illuminating, which brings us back to Thanksgiving. A better understanding of the past can lead to increased appreciation for all we have to be thankful for in Colorado golf.

To wit, here are 10 things that come to mind:

— Rich History of Golf. The Century of Golf Gala held recently at The Broadmoor particulary brought this home, with Jack Nicklaus reminiscing about his strong links to Colorado over the last 60 years. Nicklaus is one of golf’s all-time pantheon to have won significant tournaments in the state, with others being Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Kathy Whitworth, Babe Zaharias, Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson. For much more about Colorado golf history, CLICK HERE.

— Teamwork. Another thing that the Century of Golf Gala — 1,250 attendees strong — and related activities reinforced is that big things can happen when the Colorado golf community joins forces. Teaming up with the CGA in making it all a major success were the CWGA, Colorado PGA and the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association.

— Great Venues. The day of the Century of Golf Gala, a golf outing held at The Broadmoor (pictured) demonstrated yet again what stellar golf courses Colorado has produced. On a mid-November day, temperatures reached the mid-60s, and the setting was enough to make any golfer take pause. The same can be said for countless other courses in the state — Sanctuary, Arrowhead, Castle Pines, Ballyneal, Red Sky, Eisenhower, etc., etc. Golfers in Colorado are indeed fortunate.

— Good of the Game Partnerships. The recent creation of a partnership between the CGA and the Colorado PGA will result in a new Colorado Junior Tour and many other advantages for all levels of junior golfers in Colorado (READ MORE). It’s yet another example of how the game can be well served by constructive cooperation.

— Local Players Who Excel. Colorado has a long history of homegrown players hitting it big — with Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Dale Douglass, Jill McGill, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman, Kevin Stadler, Shane Bertsch, Bill Loeffler and to some extent Mike Reid, to name some. It’s always fun for Coloradans to have one of their own to root for on the national or international level. And we also have some very promising young players potentially in a similar pipleline with the likes of Mark Hubbard, Jennifer Kupcho, Wyndham Clark and Hannah Wood.

— Highly Regarded PGA Professionals. There are oustanding PGA professionals throughout the country, but members of the Colorado PGA have proven to be high achievers as the Section or its members have won national PGA of America awards eight times in the last nine years. And highly respected instructor Ann Finke was recently voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, along with Colorado-based Champions Tour player Craig Stadler. And Vic Kline was honored as Colorado Golf Professional of the Century during the Century of Golf Gala.

— Foundations to Support Good Causes. Numerous golf foundations in Colorado do considerable and commendable work in bolstering good causes through the game of golf. Among them are the Colorado Golf Foundation, Colorado PGA Reach, the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Environmental Golf Institute.

— Volunteers. While the staffs of the major golf organizations in Colorado do yeoman’s work, those organizations would be a shell of what they are were it not for volunteers. Such volunteerism came to the forefront this past year with the passing of Joe Salvo, and the departure from the Colorado tournament golf scene of Rich Langston and Joan Scholes. Each of them made major contributions — in terms of both time and dediction — to the likes of the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA over the years. And many, many others do likewise each year.

— Another Senior Major on the Horizon.This year it was announced that the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will be contested at The Broadmoor the year the resort celebrates its 100th birthday. It will mark the third U.S. Senior Open held in Colorado, meaning only Ohio (with six) will have hosted more. The Centennial State also was home to another senior major, the Senior PGA Championship contested at Colorado Golf Club in 2010.

— Good People. I’ve always marveled at the number of good people you meet through the game of golf. Perhaps it’s part of the significant “self-policing” aspect of the sport that tends to attract people of high character. But whatever the case, it’s refreshing.

And yet another reason to give thanks.
 

Editor’s Note: With the CGA celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1915, this is the ninth monthly installment of a series of stories looking back on the last century of golf in Colorado. All the articles are being published on coloradogolf.org. This chapter focuses on the period from 1995-2004. For the previous installments, CLICK HERE.

There have been many groundbreaking and pivotal moments for women in the history of golf in Colorado and beyond, but it hasn’t gotten much bigger in the Centennial State than in the mid- and late-1990s.

It started with The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs hosting the 50th U.S. Women’s Open in 1995, marking the first time arguably the top championship in women’s golf has come to Colorado — or the Mountain time zone, for that matter. And though no one realized it at the time, one of the sport’s all-time greats was to emerge, as Annika Sorenstam made that tournament the first of what would become 72 LPGA Tour victories before she unexpectedly retired in 2008.

In the first of her 10 major championship wins, Sorenstam (below) finished a stroke ahead of Meg Mallon and two in front of Pat Bradley and Betsy King at The Broadmoor’s historic East Course. That was the first year the U.S. Women’s Open featured a purse of at least $1 million.

While all that was huge from a historical perspective, the next year was even more unique.

That was when Colorado Springs resident Judy Bell was elected president of the USGA, becoming the first female to hold that post. In fact, Bell’s two-year term beginning in January 1996 remains the only one in which a woman has served as USGA president since Theodore Havemeyer became the first president of the association in 1894.

“I bet that’s the first time the incoming president kissed the outgoing president on the way to the dais,” Bell memorably joked after it was announced she would succeed Reg Murphy.

But, as former USGA president Stuart Bloch noted, “Judy’s gender, I don’t believe, was a consideration in her election. Her abilities, I think, were the consideration that caused her to be selected as the first woman president. If she were a man, she would have been elected.”

Overall, Bell was the third Coloradan to become USGA president, following Denver residents Frank Woodward (1915-16) and Will Nicholson Jr. (1980-81). (Bell is pictured at top in a USGA photo presenting the low-amateur award to Cristie Kerr at the 1996 U.S. Women’s Open.)

During Bell’s presidency, the USGA started the “For the Good of the Game” program, a $50 million initiative which aimed to increasingly spread the game to groups such as youth, minorities and the disabled.

Bell had had a long, distinguished career as both a player and a volunteer golf administrator leading up to her presidency. She had served on the USGA Women’s Committee starting in 1968 and chaired that committee from 1981 to ’84. Then in 1987, she became the first woman elected to the USGA Executive Committee.

On the playing end, Bell won three Kansas women’s amateurs, starting at age 15, and three Broadmoor Ladies Invitation titles, competed in 38 USGA championships and was both a player and captain on U.S. Curtis Cup teams. And in 1964, she shot the lowest round in the history of the U.S. Women’s Open, a 6-under-par 67, a standard which stood for 14 years.

For all this and much more, Bell was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.

But Bell wasn’t the only woman from Colorado in USGA volunteer leadership roles around this time. Colorado Springs’ Barbara McIntire, winner of two U.S. Women’s Amateurs and a British Ladies Amateur, served as USGA Women’s Committee chair in 1995-96, and Denver’s Joan Birkland, another accomplished athlete, followed McIntire in that role in 1997-98.

On a more local level, 1995 marked the debut of the Colorado Women’s Open.

Here are some of the other Colorado golf highlights of the period from 1995-2004:

— Steve Jones (left), who grew up in Yuma, Colo., and played golf at the University of Colorado, won the 1996 U.S. Open, overcoming runners-up Davis Love and Tom Lehman. The victory culminated a remarkable comeback after Jones was off the PGA Tour for almost three years following a dirt-bike accident in November 1991. The victory gave former CU golfers four U.S. Open titles — three for Hale Irwin and one for Jones.

— In 1996, the CGA entered into an agreement with the Lowry Redevelopment Authority to purchase the former Lowry Air Force Base golf course. The CWGA became partner with the CGA in the purchase of the course. The site is now home of CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA.

— From 1996 to ’98, Ken Krieger won three consecutive Colorado PGA Professional Championships, becoming the second player in the 1990s to do so, joining Ron Vlosich (1991-93).

— In the five-year period from 1997-2001, an amazing 42 courses opened in Colorado.

— Cherry Hills Country Club hosted the 1998 Trans Miss, won by Dan Dunkelberg. Coloradan John Olive was the runner-up.

— CU graduate Hale Irwin won two U.S. Senior Opens in three years, in 1998 and 2000. That gave the former Buff a total of five USGA championships, including his three U.S. Opens.

— In 1998, The Broadmoor hosted the biennial PGA Cup matches, which pits the top club professionals from the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland. In Colorado Springs, the U.S. defeated GB&I 17-9.

— In the period from 1999 to 2002, Kevin Stadler won the CGA Match Play title twice, along with the 2002 Colorado Open championship in his pro debut. During the decade 1995-2004, Stadler and Jonathan Kaye (1996) won the Colorado Open en route to becoming PGA Tour champions.

— John Olive, winner of the 1977 CGA Match Play, became one of the top senior players in Colorado history. In addition to claiming titles in five CGA Senior Stroke Plays and four Senior Match Plays during this decade, he won the inaugural Colorado Senior Open (1999) and remains the only amateur to earn the title in that event.

— Colorado PGA members received four more PGA of America national awards in this decade: Alan Abrams (1997 Junior Golf Leader), Mike McGetrick (1999 Teacher of the Year), Charles “Vic” Kline (2000 Golf Professional of the Year) and Russ Miller (2003 Resort Merchandiser of the Year).

— In 2000, Coloradan Kaye Kessler won the PGA of America’s National Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism.

— Also in 2000, Warren Simmons retired as CGA executive director, with Ed Mate succeeding him. Mate continues in the position to this day.

— Nicki Cutler won the CWGA Stroke Play three times in a four-year period from 2000-03.

— Rick DeWitt, the 1999 CGA Stroke Play champ, won the last of his record seven CGA Mid-Amateur titles in 2002 before being inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and later turning pro. He was named CGA Player of the Year a record six times.

— With financial issues and mismanagement burdening the Colorado Open, the 2003 championship was called off during tournament week. Thanks in large part to developer Pat Hamill, the event was resurrected in 2004.

— The International at Castle Pines saw two future World Golf Hall of Famers — Phil Mickelson (1993 and ’97) and Davis Love III (1990 and 2003) win the PGA Tour event for the second time.

— Les Fowler, a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame player and a former CGA president who had a key role in the CGA acquiring the golf course at Lowry, passed away in 2003.

— In 2004, Steve Irwin, a former pro who regained his amateur status, joined his father Hale (1966) as a winner of the CGA Match Play.

— Jamie Lovemark won the prestigious 2004 Western Junior at Denver Country Club. Lovemark later became the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world.
 

When it comes to Colorado hosting USGA championships, The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs and Cherry Hills Country Club run virtually neck and neck.

Cherry Hills has been the home of nine such championships, dating back to the 1938 U.S. Open. And The Broadmoor, which like Cherry Hills will celebrate its 100th “birthday” within the next decade, is on a similar pace.

With the USGA announcing Tuesday that The Broadmoor’s East Course will be the site of the 2018 U.S. Senior Open — the dates will be June 28-July 1 — the venerable resort at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain will be hosting a USGA championship for the eighth time. It’s scheduled to be No. 6 for the East Course, including the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, which drew 128,714 fans — and at least one bear (pictured below) — to The Broadmoor.

Appropriately, the 2018 Senior Open will be held at The Broadmoor in the summer it celebrates its 100th “birthday”.

“The Broadmoor has a rich and vibrant history in hosting tournament golf,” two-time U.S. Senior Open champion Hale Irwin noted in an email to coloradogolf.org on Tuesday. “The facilities (are outstanding) and, more importantly, the people there are gracious and accommodating hosts who proudly welcome anyone to one of our nation’s greatest resorts. The USGA has chosen a wonderful place to once again play the USGA Senior Open Championship as proven by the last time the tournament was played there in 2008.”

Overall, it will be the third time Colorado has hosted a U.S. Senior Open, which dates back to 1980. Jack Nicklaus won at Cherry Hills in 1993 and Eduardo Romero prevailed in 2008 at The Broadmoor. The resort’s East Course is combination of holes designed by Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones Sr.

“The Broadmoor has been a great partner with the USGA and a friend to golf on the international, national and collegiate levels since the 1920s,” said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “The U.S. Senior Open is senior golf’s most coveted championship and we know the East Course will test the players thoroughly.”

By the time the 2018 championship is completed, only Ohio (with six) will have hosted the U.S. Senior Open more times than Colorado, which will be tied with Michigan and Pennsylvania with three each.

“The Broadmoor is thrilled to have the opportunity to host its eighth USGA championship,” said Russ Miller, The Broadmoor’s director of golf. “Not only will it be a time to watch and enjoy the greatest senior golfers in the world, it is a tremendous accolade to the city of Colorado Springs and the state of Colorado to be chosen as its site. We are privileged to once again stage such a prestigious and highly reconizable worldwide golf championship.”

All eight of The Broadmoor’s USGA championships will have been held since 1959, when Nicklaus defeated Charlie Coe in the final to claim the first of his two U.S. Amateur titles. Two U.S. Women’s Opens are among the events that have been contested on the East Course, including the one Annika Sorenstam won in 1995 for her first LPGA Tour victory. Another World Golf Hall of Famer who has won an USGA individual title at The Broadmoor is Juli (Simpson) Inkster, who in 1982 claimed her third consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur championship at what was then the South Course.

Overall, the 2018 U.S. Senior Open will mark the 32nd USGA championship played in Colorado, with The Broadmoor and Cherry Hills combined having hosted more than half of those.

Not only has Colorado been home to more than its share of U.S. Senior Opens, players with strong ties to the Centennial State have captured the title on several occasions. Irwin, a former University of Colorado golfer who grew up in Boulder, won the Senior Open in 1998 and 2000 to go with his three U.S. Open championships. Another former Buff, Dale Douglass, who grew up in Fort Morgan, landed the Senior Open title as a 50-year-old in 1986. And Orville Moody, who was once stationed at Fitzsimons while in the Army, won in 1989.

With the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, Colorado will add to the extensive and diverse list of significant golf championships it has hosted since The International PGA Tour event ended its 21-year run after the 2006 tournament.

That list includes:

— The 2008 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor
— The 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Murphy Creek
— The 2009 Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills
— The 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club
— The 2010 Trans-Mississippi at Denver Country Club
— The 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor
— The 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills and CommonGround
— The 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club
— The 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills

Other upcoming U.S. Senior Opens are scheduled for Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio (2016) and Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass. (2017).
 

Who would have thought that an event summarized in two newspaper paragraphs — fewer than 60 words — would have such a longstanding and ever-growing impact?

On Aug. 21, 1915, a small item appeared in the Denver Post under the headline, “M’LAUGHLIN HEADS GOLF ASSOCIATION”. The “short” — as it is often referred to by newsroom staffers — notes the events of Aug. 20, detailing a newly formed organization called the Colorado Golf Association and the election of its officers, including president M.A. McLaughlin.

The story further reports on the other officers elected and says, “The organization will control the state tournaments, give the cups and appoint the officers, and the winner will be the recognized champion of the association and state.”

One hundred years after that humble beginning, the CGA’s mission has expanded dramatically over the decades, and the association moves forward as a steward for the traditions and future of golf in the state. And now the CGA is gearing up to celebrate its centennial throughout 2015. That will culminate with a Century of Golf Gala, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 14. At that event, a number of Colorado golf’s all-time luminaries will be honored, and both the history and future of golf in the state will be celebrated.

During the coming year, the CGA plans to unveil a new logo along with artwork that will highlight a century of golf in Colorado. Also on the docket are a monthly series of articles — published on COgolf.org and in the first-of-each-month CGA Revision newsletters throughout the year. A decade at a time since the CGA’s founding — 1915-24, 1925-34, etc. — will be focused on in each of the series of stories, with the last article of the year being a look-ahead.

In addition, the CGA will hold a season-long fundraising event that will support the Colorado Golf Foundation and benefit its many programs that foster youth development through golf. That event will be called “100 Holes for 100 Years”, and participants will raise money through donations pledged for a personalized golf-related activity centering around the number 100. For instance, a person could play 100 holes in a day, or in another set period of time. Or participants can add any twist they’d like to the event, as long as it involves the number 100.

“The goal is to raise awareness and engage the golf community to play golf for a purpose,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate. “It will get the whole state involved.”

The CGA plans to set up an internet portal in which the financial aspects of 100 Holes for 100 Years will be handled. Details about that will be forthcoming.

“Why we’re doing all this is to advance golf in Colorado,” Mate said. “It’s not just a celebration, but that’s the driving force behind it all. We want to seize on the centennial to position the CGA, the community of golf and the Colorado Golf Foundation for the next 100 years. We want to make sure that the game not only will be around, but will be thriving.”

As for the upcoming series of stories focusing on the last century of Colorado golf, there is certainly no lack of history having been made in the Centennial State. Just consider this list of golf “firsts” that occurred in Colorado:

— Arnold Palmer won his only U.S. Open in Colorado, in 1960 at Cherry Hills Country Club. (Palmer is pictured at left tossing his visor in celebration on the 18th green.)

— Jack Nicklaus won the first and last of his eight USGA championships in Colorado, prevailing in the 1959 U.S. Amateur at the Broadmoor and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open at Cherry Hills.

— Phil Mickelson won his only USGA event (to date) in Colorado, the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills.

— Annika Sorenstam made the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor the first of her 72 LPGA Tour victories.

— Frank Woodward of Denver, who won the first CGA championship ever in 1901, was elected the first president of the United States Golf Association from the western U.S.

— In 1959 at Wellshire Golf Course, Bill Wright became the first African-American golfer to win a USGA championship, in his case the U.S. Amateur Public Links title.

— In 1996, Judy Bell of Colorado Springs became the only female president in the history of the USGA.

— And just recently, Colorado Golf Club was the site of the first victory on U.S. soil by a European team in the Solheim Cup.

Winners of big tournaments in Colorado have included a who’s who of golf: Besides Palmer, Nicklaus, Sorenstam and Mickelson, that list features Babe Zaharias, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Kathy Whitworth, Hale Irwin, Greg Norman, JoAnne Carner, Judy Rankin, Juli Inkster, Pat Bradley, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Hubert Green, Betsy King, Amy Alcott and Davis Love.

The centennial series will explore all that and much, much more. After all, a lot has happened, golf-wise, in Colorado since that two-paragraph story appeared in the Denver Post during World War I.