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).

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)
 

Colorado State University men’s golf coach Christian Newton didn’t mince words or equivocate when asked about the performance of freshman Oscar Teiffel in brutal weather conditions this week at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

“That’s the best competitive round I’ve ever seen — under pressure, playing for the lead, shoot 67 in blowing snow and 35 degrees. That’s as good as I’ve ever seen,” Newton said.

And it’s hard to argue.

Teiffel shot a 5-under-par 67 on a very tough golf course with snow flying and temperatures in the mid-30s to win the individual title at the Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club.

And to add to the accomplishment, Teiffel and the Rams (pictured below) also took home the team title while competing against a field that included three Pac-12 Conference schools, including the University of Colorado, which has won twice already this season.

Like CU, CSU has now claimed two team titles in the fall portion of the schedule — one in a tournament it hosts and another in Colorado. The Rams won the Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins in September.

This one, though, likely will be etched indelibly in the memory of the CSU players and coaches, given the conditions. All three rounds were played in temperatures between 35-40 degrees, with snow adding an especially unusual element on Tuesday.

“I think it’s the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in,” said Teiffel, who hails from Sweden. “It was snowy for nine holes and it was super cold. I have like three pairs of pants on me right now.”

Teiffel finished with a remarkable — given the conditions — 10-under-par 206 total, which was good for a three-stroke victory. On Tuesday, when eight players shot in the 80s, his 67 was the only score below 70.

“I had no idea what to expect before I went out,” said Teiffel, who notched his second top-10 finish of the season in major tournaments. “At first I was thinking 3 over was going to be a good score. But I got into a good flow, made a few putts and played pretty good. I’m happy with my score.

“I knew it was going to be tough for everyone. I didn’t have any expectations of myself. I was just going to accept whatever happened.”

Teiffel’s victory marks the first individual win by a CSU player since Blake Cannon won two events in a row two years ago.

As for capturing a title so early in his college career, Teiffel said, “It feels fantastic. You don’t get wins very often in this sport. When you do it’s pretty special. To do that so quickly after coming over here to college is also pretty cool. It’s an individual sport, but you’re playing as a team and it’s nice to win as a team as well.”

Indeed, on two days that very few golfers would even consider playing, the Rams finished with a 6-over-par 870 total for three rounds, which earned them an eight-stroke team victory over Oregon.

“Today was one of the better rounds that I’ve ever seen out of a team,” Newton said of his CSU squad, which shot a 1-over 289 on Tuesday. “We preached resiliency this whole week. (The CSU players) did a wonderful job. I’m very proud of them.”

Perhaps it has something to do with the makeup of the five players who constituted the Rams’ team this week. Four of the five are from places where it’s not unusual for golfers to battle the elements. As noted, there was Teiffel (left) from Sweden. And then there were three Coloradans — AJ Ott, Davis Bryant and Jake Staiano. And Californian Cullen Plousha rounded things out.

“When it starts getting windy, rainy and this cold, I think it really gives us an advantage,” said Bryant, who like Teiffel is a freshman. “I know Oscar has played in a lot of weather like this. And Jake, me and AJ have in similar stuff to this throughout our time living in Colorado. So I think it definitely helped us. And we’re a tough team mentally.”

As for the aforementioned Coloradans, Ott (below) finished ninth individually at 1-over-par 217, while Bryant was 17th at 221 and Staiano 32nd at 227. But they weren’t the top Colorado resident on the final Paintbrush scoreboard. That honor went to the University of Northern Colorado’s Coby Welch, who placed fifth on Tuesday at 2-under 214.

Remarkably, Welch was 5 under par through 11 holes of Tuesday’s round, but bogeyed three of his last seven to shoot 70.

“I just keep going as if it weren’t snowing,” Welch said. “I keep playing. There’s nothing I can do about it. I try to stay as focused as I can.

“I’m very happy with (the finish). I felt like I played well. Everyone was going to miss some short putts because of the greens and the snow — and I missed a few of those — but that’s OK. I felt like I played well. I hit the ball well and my short game was very good at this tournament.”

It was Welch’s third top-five individual finish of the season, with all three coming in Colorado as he placed third in both the Ram Masters and the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

Meanwhile, Welch’s UNC squad placed an impressive third out the 12 teams at the Paintbrush. The Bears checked in at 19-over-par 883, 13 behind CSU. Joining Welch in the top dozen individually for UNC were Joshua Matz (sixth at 215) and Li Chen (12th at 219).

CU, meanwhile, tied for fourth at 887 in its fall season finale. Daniel O’Loughlin had another strong showing for the Buffs, placing sixth individually at 215.

The host University of Denver ended up 12th on Tuesday with a 929 total. DU’s Roy Kang, competing only as an individual this week, finished 10th individually at 218.

Teiffel became the second Scandinavian player to win the individual title in the two years the Paintbrush Invitational has been held. DU’s Petter Mikalsen, of Norway, claimed the top spot two years ago. Last year’s Paintbrush was canceled due to snow.

With the U.S. Mid-Amateur being held at Colorado Golf Club next September, the Paintbrush Invitational will take a one-year hiatus from the schedule before an anticipated return in 2020.

This year’s Paintbrush marks the seventh and final NCAA Division I invitational — men’s and women’s combined — that is being held in Colorado during the fall college season.

Paintbrush Invitational
Oct. 8-9, 2018 (final) at Colorado GC in Parker
1. (out of 12 teams) Colorado State 287-294-289–870
1. Oscar Teiffel 70-69-67–206
9. AJ Ott 73-74-70–217
17. Davis Bryant 71-76-74–221
32. Jake Staiano 74-75-78–227
39. Cullen Plousha 73-78-78–229
Competing Only as Individuals
25. Andrew Lafferty 80-71-73–224
30. Akedanai Ponghathaikul 74-75-77–226
47. Jack Ainscough 75-76-80–231

3. Northern Colorado 298-291-294–883
5. Coby Welch 71-73-70–214
6. Joshua Matz 73-70-72–215
12. Li Chen 73-70-76–219
60. Nick Sharp 81-78-79–238
68. Marcus Tait 90-78-76–244
Competing Only as Individual
23. Jack Castiglia 79-74-70–223

4. Colorado 295-293-299–887
6. Daniel O’Loughlin 69-70-76–215
17. Trevor Olkowski 74-73-74–221
28. Kristoffer Max 73-73-79–225
39. John Paterson 79-77-73–229
51. Ross Macdonald 79-78-76–233
Competing Only as Indivdual
17. Andre Leveque 77-73-71–221

12. Denver 312-309-308–929
30. Jun Ho Won 75-74-77–226
44. Esteban Missura 81-73-76–230
60. Cal McCoy 79-73-86–238
68. Carson Griggs 77-89-78–244
72. Jackson Solem 82-90-77–249
Competing Only as Individuals
10. Roy Kang 72-72-74–218
32. Eric Hagen 78-74-75–227
57. John Sand 83-76-76–235

Also
39. Coloradan Tyler Severin, Wyoming 76-78-75–229
 
For complete results, CLICK HERE.