Both University of Denver teams will be in action before the month ends, and by this time in Feburary all nine NCAA Division I programs based in Colorado will have started their spring schedules. The DU women, recently picked to finish No. 1 in the Summit League by its coaches, will be the first local team to tee it up in competition as the Pioneers will face Arizona State and Georgia in a three-school match on Sunday (Jan. 27) in Gold Canyon, Ariz.

This spring will be notable in several respects from a Colorado perspective, including:

— Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster will be defending her NCAA Division I women’s individual title in May as a Wake Forest senior before she begins her LPGA Tour career. This week, Kupcho regained the No. 1 spot in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, a position she held for 15 weeks in 2018.

— Former University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in the Centennial State the past two years, likewise earned her LPGA Tour card in November through her performance in the Q-Series. But, unlike Kupcho, Choi elected to forego her remaining college eligibility to join the LPGA circuit as soon as possible. That will leave CU without its top player going into the spring.

“That’s a tough one to lose, but it’s exciting she gets to start her LPGA career,” CU coach Anne Kelly said recently on CUBuffs.com regarding Choi.

Junior Kirsty Hodgkins, like Choi an Australian, will likely take over the No. 1 position for the Buffs.

— Dawn Shockley, who grew up in Estes Park and played her college golf at DU, seems to be making an impression as the women’s coach at Oregon State. At midseason, the Beavers are ranked No. 25 in the nation, according to Golfstat.

While there are plenty of college veterans that figure to shine for Colorado-based DI teams, several freshmen demonstrated great promise in their first semester as college golfers, in the fall. That includes Colorado State University players Oscar Teiffel and Davis Bryant, who had the Rams’ top two scoring averages in the autumn. Another promising freshman is former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, who posted a 71.25 scoring average in her first semester at Harvard.

Looking ahead to the spring, here’s a brief preview of the Colorado-based DI programs, broken into several categories:

SPRING SEASON OPENERS

— DU Women: Jan. 27 dual match vs. Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.
— DU Men: Jan. 28-29 at Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz.
— CU Women: Feb. 3-5 at Northrop Grumman Invitational in Palos Verdes, Calif.
— CU Men: Feb. 7-9 at Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Waikoloa, Hawaii.
— UNC Men: Feb. 11-12 at Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah.
— CSU Women: Feb. 18-19 at The Rebel Beach in Las Vegas, Nev.
— CSU Men: Feb. 20 dual match vs. Denver in Palm Desert, Calif.
— UNC Women: Feb. 23-24 at GCU Invitational in Phoenix.
— Air Force Academy Men: Feb. 23-25 at Loyola Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz.

NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS

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

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

NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (in top 250)

Men
91. Former Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (Golfweek; 202nd Golfstat)
111. Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (Golfstat; 139th Golfweek)
118. Oscar Teiffel, CSU (Golfweek; 145th Golfstat)
120. Coby Welch, UNC (Golfstat; 160th Golfweek)
150. Davis Bryant, CSU (Golfstat; 189th Golfweek)
241. Trevor Olkowski, CU (Golfstat)

Women
11. Robyn Choi, CU (Golfstat; 20th Golfweek; will not compete in spring as she’s become an LPGA Tour member)
57. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest (Golfweek 72nd Golfstat)
72. Kirsty Hodgkins, CU (Golfweek; 73rd Golfstat)
87. Mary Weinstein, DU (Golfweek; 121st Golfstat)
97. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, Harvard (Golfweek; 179th Golfstat)
190. Katrina Prendergast, CSU (Golfstat)

TEAM VICTORIES IN FALL
— CU Men (2): Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational; Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.

— CSU Men (2): Ram Masters Invitational; Paintbrush Invitational.

— CSU Women (1): Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate.

INDIVIDUAL VICTORIES IN FALL
— Former Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (2): Showdown in the Rockies; Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.  

— Ellen Secor, CSU (1): Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate.

— Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (1): Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

— Oscar Teiffel, CSU (1): Paintbrush Invitational.

— Trevor Olkowski, CU (1): Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (tied for title before losing to Dunkle in a playoff, though both are officially credited with a win.)

TOP INDIVIDUAL FALL STROKE AVERAGE FOR EACH TEAM

CSU Men: Oscar Teiffel 70.77
UNC Men: Coby Welch 70.83
CU Men: Daniel O’Loughlin 71.2
CU Women: Robyn Choi 71.44
DU Women: Mary Weinstein 72.42
CSU Women: Katrina Prendergast 72.67
DU Men: Jun Ho Won 73.22
Air Force Academy Men: Luke Trujillo 74.4
UNC Women: Beah Cruz 75.0

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

CU Women: Pac-12 in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., April 15-17.
CSU Women: Mountain West in Rancho, Mirage, Calif., April 15-17.
UNC Women: Big Sky in Boulder City, Nev., April 19-21.
DU Women: Summit League in Newton, Kan., April 21-23.
CU Men: Pac-12 in Eugene, Ore., April 22-24.
CSU and Air Force Men: Mountain West in Tucson, Ariz., April 26-28.
UNC Men: Big Sky in Boulder City, Nev., April 26-28.
DU Men: Summit League in Newton, Kan., April 28-30.

NCAA REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Women: May 6-8, sites TBD (must earn selection).
Men: May 13-15, sites TBD (must earn selection).

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.

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)
 

CSU has won the Ram Masters team title four consecutive years, and it appears primed to make it five in a row.

The Rams posted a stellar 14-under-par 266 total in round 2 on Monday afternoon at Fort Collins Country Club to open up an 11-stroke lead in the 17-team event.

CSU, which set a tournament record with a 17-under-par total in last year’s Ram Masters, is already at 13-under 547 with one round remaining. Illinois State checks in second at 558.

The University of Northern Colorado shares third place with South Dakota at 568, while the University of Denver is in seventh place at 573 after its first day of competition for the season.

CSU has four players in the top 11 in the 96-player field. Parathakorn Suyasri holds second place at 6-under-par 134, which leaves him one back of leader Dan Starzinski of Wyoming. Three Colorado residents are also in the top 11 for CSU: Jake Staiano (136, third place after a second-round 65); AJ Ott (138, seventh place) and freshman Davis Bryant (139, 11th place).

Ott and Staiano finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in last year’s Ram Masters.

Meanwhile, Joshua Matz is leading the way for UNC at 138 (seventh place), while Coloradan Coby Welch checked in at 139 (11th place).

Pacing DU individually is freshman Cal McCoy (142, 19th place), another Colorado resident.

Also in Fort Collins: The host CSU women, in their season opener, sit in 10th place out of 13 teams after Monday’s opening round of the Ptarmigan Ram Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. The Rams shot a 17-over-par 305 and trail leader Boise State by 12. Northern Colorado stands in 12th place at 309. Haley Greb is leading CSU individually (16th place, 74), while Beah Cruz shares sixth place at 72 for UNC.
 

RAM MASTERS INVITATIONAL
Sept. 17-18, 2018 at Par-70 Fort Collins CC
1. (out of 17 teams) Colorado State 281-266–547
2. Parathakorn Suyasri 68-66–134
3. Jake Staiano 71-65–136
7. AJ Ott 72-68–140
11. Davis Bryant 72-67–139
27. Cullen Plousha 72-71–143
Competing Only as Individual
27. Jack Ainscough 71-72–143
42. Andrew Lafferty 74-71–145
42. Oscar Teiffel 75-70–145
61. Akedanai Ponghathaikul 74-74–148

3. Northern Colorado 288-280–568
7. Joshua Matz 68-70–138
11. Coby Welch 72-67–139
49. Marcus Tait 77-69–146
55. Li Chen 73-74–147
85. Jack Castiglia 75-78–153

7. Denver 288-285–573
19. Cal McCoy 70-72–142
27. Jun Ho Won 74-69–143
42. Esteban Missura 72-73–145
42. Carson Griggs 74-71–145
55. Jackson Solem 72-75–147
Competing Only as Individual
27. Roy Kang 71-72–143
42. Eric Hagen 73-72–145
80. John Sand 75-77–152

Also
19. John Paterson, Colorado 74-68–142
61. Andre Leveque, Colorado 73-75–148

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

PTARMIGAN RAM CLASSIC
Sept. 17-19, 2018 at Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins
10. (out of 13 teams) Colorado State 305
16. Haley Greb 74
22. Jessica Sloot 75
41. Katrina Prendergast 78
41. Ellen Secor 78
60. Sydney Smith 81
Competing Only as Individual
55. Saga Traustadottir 80

12. Northern Colorado 309
6. Beah Cruz 72
27. Morgan Sahm 76
55. Marisa Hisaki 80
60. Nicole Polivchak 81
60. Aili Bundy 81
Competing Only as Individuals
55. Jenna Chun 80

Others
27. Coloradan Erin Sargent, Wyoming 76
55. Coloradan Sarah Hankins, Wyoming 80

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Neither played anywhere close to his best on Friday at Valhalla Golf Club, but both can say they easily made the cut in the national Boys Junior PGA Championship.

The University of Denver-bound McCoy finished 29th out of 144 players, while Bryant was 60th.

McCoy went into the final round in 10th place, but shot a 6-over-par 78 on Friday, which left him at 3-over 291 overall. He made two double bogeys and five bogeys in the final round, along with three birdies, including one on his final hole. He ended up 14 strokes behind champion Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C., who closed with a 68.

Bryant, a teammate of McCoy’s on the Colorado team that won the Junior America’s Cup last week, posted a final-round 79 for a 299 total. The future Colorado State University golfer, who placed 14th in this event last year, made one birdie and eight bogeys on Friday.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the Coloradans:

29. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 69-75-69-78–291
60. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-73-76-79–299

For all the scores from the Boys Junior PGA, CLICK HERE.
 

The University of Denver golf signee shot a 3-under-par 69 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday and will go into the final round of the event in 10th place out of the 144-player field.

After going 69-75-69, McCoy stands at 3-under-par 213, which leaves him four strokes behind leaders William Moll of Houston and Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C. The 18-year-old Coloradan made four birdies and one bogey on Thursday in round 3.

Meanwhile, Davis Bryant of Aurora, who finished 14th at this event last year, sits in 40th place at 4-over 220 after a third-round 76 in which he bogeyed his final three holes. (McCoy, in the Titleist cap, is pictured with Bryant earlier this year.)

McCoy and Bryant teamed up with Dillon Stewart and Walker Franklin last week as Colorado won the team title for the first time ever at the boys Junior America’s Cup. McCoy placed 14th individually at that event, while Bryant was 17th.

In the last two months, McCoy has also qualified for the CoBank Colorado Open, though he couldn’t play because it conflicted with the JAC; finished first alternate at Fort Collins Country Club in U.S. Amateur qualifying; and placed second to Bryant at the Colorado Junior PGA Championship.

The national boys Junior PGA will conclude on Friday.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the Coloradans:

10. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 69-75-69–213
40. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-73-76–220

For all the scores from the Boys Junior PGA, CLICK HERE.
 

Following a first-round 69, McCoy was 1 under par for his first nine holes of the second round, leaving him at 4 under overall and two strokes out of the lead after two days.

McCoy (left) made one birdie and eight pars to start round 2.

Meanwhile, Davis Bryant of Aurora did complete his second round on Wednesday and shares 28th place in the 144-player field at even-par 144. The Colorado State University-bound Bryant, one of McCoy’s teammates on the Colorado team that won last week’s Junior America’s Cup title, fired a 73 on Wednesday, making one birdie and two bogeys.

The tournament will continue through Friday.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the Coloradans:

5. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 69 (-1 through 9 holes of round 2)
28. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-73–144

For all the scores from the Boys Junior PGA, CLICK HERE.
 

Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, a University of Denver signee, shot a 3-under-par 69 and shares ninth place in the 144-player field. McCoy played his first nine holes in 4 under par and finished round 1 three strokes behind co-leaders Ryan Grauman of Alamo, Calif., and Campbell Kremer of hometown Louisville.

Meanwhile, Davis Bryant of Aurora, who finished 14th in this event last year, opened with a 1-under 71, good for a share of 21st place. The future Colorado State University golfer was 3 under through 15, but bogeyed 16 and 17. He finished the day with four birdies and three bogeys.

McCoy and Bryant (pictured together at left) were teammates on last week’s Colorado team that won the boys Junior America’s Cup team title for the first time. Also on that team were Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins and Walker Franklin of Broomfield.

For all the scores from the Boys Junior PGA, CLICK HERE.
 

After 44 years of competing annually in the boys Junior America’s Cup competition, Colorado’s representatives finally had the pleasure of having the team trophy presented to them on Thursday afternoon.

Colorado, which had never before finished better than third place in the prestigious junior event, won the JAC team championship this week after competing in the event since 1975. The Junior America’s Cup now features 18 teams from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.

And to add icing to the cake for Colorado, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins captured the individual title out of the field of 72 on Thursday.

“When I signed my scorecard, (captain Dustin Jensen) came over said, ‘I think we did it,'” Stewart relayed later by phone. “It just shocked me and we were really excited after that and I gave all the boys hugs.”

Team-wise, the Coloradans overcame a three-stroke deficit entering the final round at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Golf Course in Anaconda, Mont., rallying to overcome Utah and Mexico. The foursome representing the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado posted a 7-under-par 209 on Thursday, giving the team a three-day total of 26-under-par 622. That was one better than Mexico, three better than Utah and four better than fourth-place Arizona.

Joining Stewart on Colorado’s JAC championship team were Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, Davis Bryant of Aurora and Walker Franklin of Broomfield. Bryant was playing on his fourth JAC team, Stewart and McCoy their second and Franklin his first. (The champions are pictured, from left: Franklin, Jensen, Stewart, McCoy and Bryant.)

Prior to Thursday, Colorado’s best showings at the JAC were third places in 2011 (at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen) and in 2015. The JGAC team was fourth last year.

Bryant competed on that team in 2015 — and every year since — so he has some perspective on Thursday’s accomplishment.

“It feels awesome,” said the 18-year-old, who will soon begin his college golf career at Colorado State University.

“We worked well together this week and we didn’t let a bad hole affect us. We hit a shot and forgot about it, which was great. We were able to make a lot of birdies (55 in all, plus two eagles) and take advantage of the shorter holes when we had them. We all made mistakes, but we were able to capitalize on our opportunities. We all helped in some way throughout the week. To bring (the title) back to Colorado, it feels awesome.”

Down the stretch, after Stewart made a double bogey and Franklin a triple bogey early on the back nine on Thursday, the team finished just strongly enough to claim the championship. Stewart played his final seven holes in 3 under and McCoy his final five in 3 under.

Captaining the team once again this year was Jensen, the former CGA managing director of operations, who is now an associate dean at the University of Jamestown (N.D.), his alma mater. Jensen has captained or co-captained every Colorado boys JAC team but three since 2005. Though he’s back in North Dakota full time now, he volunteered for duty in Montana with the CGA and Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado staffs busy with the Girls Junior Americas Cup in Evergreen and the CoBank Colorado Open in Denver.

“It’s crazy. There’s so many years with so many great players. You just never know if and when (winning a title) is going to happen,” Jensen said on Thursday. “These guys were awesome this week. They continued to score constantly. It was just birdie after birdie after birdie. They didn’t complain about anything; they just got in and played.

“We made our par for the course this week 69 and we ended up shooting 1 stroke over par for what we hoped. Twenty-seven under par was the hope and we shot 26 and won by one. I guess we guessed right before the tournament.”

As for Stewart (left), the senior-to-be at Fossil Ridge High School prevailed by two strokes for the individual title. Stewart, who will play his college golf at perennial national power Oklahoma State starting in 2019, carded rounds of 64-68-68 for a 16-under-par 200 total. Last month’s AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior champion finished the week with an eagle, 20 birdies, four bogeys and one double bogey for 54 holes.

Stewart gained the upper hand early in the round when 36-hole leader Zachary Jones of Utah pumped two shots out of bounds and took a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 4.

“That kind of flipped everything,” Stewart said. “But I tried not to think about that too much because there was so much golf left to play. … But I’m just happy we won as a team.”

Stewart placed 13th individually at last year’s JAC. He qualified for this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur, which was contested this month.

The University of Denver-bound McCoy placed 14th on Thursday, closing with a 69 for a 212 total. Bryant, who finished ninth individually in last year’s JAC, tied for 17th this week at 213.

The 16-year-old Franklin shared 27th place at 215.

All in all, you couldn’t get a much better week for the Coloradans, who emerged with both the team and individual titles and had a great time in the process.

“It’s a really fun tournament because we don’t really get to play many team events like this one until we get to college,” Bryant said. “It’s a fun time to spend with your buddies. We jack around and have fun, but also played some pretty good golf while we were at it. It was a really fun week and we’re really glad to finish it off this way.” 
 

1. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 205-208-209–622
1. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 64-68-68–200
14. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 71-72-69–212
17. Davis Bryant, Aurora 70-70-73–213
27. Walker Franklin, Broomfield 73-70-72–215

For all the scores from the JAC, CLICK HERE.

Colorado will go into Thursday’s final day of the JAC just three strokes out of the lead in Anaconda, Mont. The With a 19-under-par 413 total after Wednesday’s second, Coloradans hold third place out of the 18-team field, trailing leader Mexico (410) and second-place Utah (412). The JAC features squads from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Colorado backed up a first-round 205 with a 208 on Wednesday, and every team member is in the top 25 individually out of the 72-player field.

Dillon Stewart (left) of Fort Collins, who shared the individual lead with a first-round 64, is in second place after Wednesday, three back of Utah’s Zachary Jones, who shot a course-record 63 at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Golf Course. Jones made an eagle and eight birdies on Wednesday, offset by one bogey.

Stewart, the 2018 AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior champion, carded a 4-under-par 68 on Wednesday, recording an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.

Davis Bryant of Aurora, a Colorado State University-bound golfer who’s competing in his fourth JAC, moved up to 14th place with his second straight 70. He played his final four holes in 4 under par, with one eagle and two birdies.

And Walker Franklin of Broomfield and Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch share 24th place at 143, with Franklin firing a 70 on Wednesday and McCoy a 72.

3. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 205-208–413
2. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 64-68–132
14. Davis Bryant, Aurora 70-70–140
24. Cal McCoy, Highlands Ranch 71-72–143
24. Walker Franklin, Broomfield 73-70–143
   
For all the scores from the JAC, CLICK HERE.