Not long ago, any list of top golf stories of the year in Colorado had to have a locally-based tour event featured prominently.
However, 2009 was unusual in that it marked just the second year since 1972 that Colorado didn’t host a tournament from at least one of the three major U.S.-based pro tours. But despite the PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour not paying a visit in the last 12 months, 2009 produced some of the most outstanding Colorado golf stories in the last few years.
So without further ado, here’s a rundown of one person’s opinion of the top 10 Colorado golf stories of the year:
1. Steve Ziegler’s breakout season. The golfer from Broomfield (pictured) put together one of the best years for an amateur in recent Colorado golf history. Ziegler became the first player since Brandt Jobe in 1985 to sweep the CGA’s Stroke Play and Match Play titles in the same year. He also advanced to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals, where he lost in 21 holes to the eventual champion; won his first college tournament (at Stanford); played on the U.S. team for the Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills; and made it to the round of 16 at the British Amateur.
2. Derek Tolan’s record-setting Colorado Open. Less than two months after turning pro, the Highlands Ranch resident became one of the youngest champions in the history of the HealthOne Colorado Open (23 years old). But it was the way he did it that made this such a big story. The Colorado Open dates back to 1964, but Tolan demolished the previous 72-hole scoring record for the tournament by five strokes. The former University of Colorado golfer led wire-to-wire and finished at 22-under 262 — a total 15 strokes better than the winning total in 2008 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
3. Kim Eaton’s stellar year. In winning the CWGA Senior Stroke Play, the Greeley resident became the first player in history to earn CWGA individual titles at the junior, open-age and senior levels. In another age-defying accomplishment, Eaton was the first golfer to be named the CWGA’s Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year in the same season. And Eaton’s accomplishments didn’t stop at the state border as she won the Arizona Women’s Golf Association State Amateur Seniors Championship and stood out at national tournaments as well. She made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, beating World Golf Hall of Famer Carol Semple Thompson in the process; advanced to the round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur; and helped Colorado place sixth in the U.S. Women’s State Team Championship.
4. David Duval finishes second at U.S. Open. The Cherry Hills Village resident had to qualify just to compete in the U.S. Open, but he made the most of his opportunity. Duval was tied for the lead with two holes left and ended up sharing second place, two strokes behind champion Lucas Glover. It was Duval’s best finish on the PGA Tour since 2001, and his first top-10 since 2002. Alas, the former No. 1-ranked player in the world made only one cut for the remainder of the Tour season and lost his fully-exempt status. Still, he’s expected to play in about 20 events in 2010 as a partially-exempt player.
5. Cherry Hills to host 2012 U.S. Amateur. The USGA announced it will bring the U.S. Amateur to the historic Denver-area course for the second time (Phil Mickelson won his only USGA title there in 1990). It will be the ninth USGA championship for Cherry Hills, a record for any Colorado course. In anticipation of hosting such high-profile events, Cherry Hills underwent a $7.6 million renovation a year ago that restored many of its original design features.
6. Colorado Golf Club to host 2013 Solheim Cup. The LPGA said in August that it will take the Solheim Cup — the Ryder Cup of women’s golf — to Colorado Golf Club in Parker, which will host the 2010 Senior PGA Championship in May. The Solheim Cup matches a dozen pros each from the U.S. and Europe in a biennial competition that was first held in 1990.
7. Recession puts a damper on golf business. Like just about everything else it touched, the recession took a toll on golf in Colorado. Though the number of rounds played remained fairly steady overall, revenue took a dip at many facilities. A longer-term indicator of how tough the golf business is these days is that only one 18-hole course — the CGA/CWGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora — opened in Colorado this year. To put that into perspective, the last time just one course opened in Colorado in a calendar year was 1990.
8. Youngest U.S. Women’s Amateur champ joins DU team. The University of Denver women pulled off a coup of sorts by landing arguably the biggest-name women’s golf recruit ever to choose a Colorado school. Kimberly Kim, who became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2006 when she was 14, joined the Pioneers in the fall. In the months before coming to DU, Kim finished second in both the U.S. Women’s Amateur Publinks and the U.S. Girls’ Junior, and she won the prestigious Rolex Girls Junior Championship.
9. Arnie plays big part in Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills. Though the U.S. lost to Europe in June in the Palmer Cup — college golf’s version of the Ryder Cup — the event was one of the highlights of the year in Colorado golf. Besides the competition featuring many of the world’s top college players, including Broomfield’s Steve Ziegler, Arnold Palmer himself was present at Cherry Hills throughout the week, attending functions and sharing stories with the players. Palmer, of course, won his only U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, in 1960.
10. Wyndham Clark makes national impression at age 15. The Greenwood Village resident not only won two major junior tournaments in the state — the CGA Junior Stroke Play (by 11 strokes) and the Class 4A state high school title — but he proved quite a player on a national and international level. He tied for third in the 15-17 age division of the Callaway Junior World Championships and made the round of 16 at the U.S. Junior Amateur. He finished 2009 ranked 30th nationally by the American Junior Golf Association and 37th by Junior Golf Scoreboard, and was named an honorable-mention all-American by the AJGA.
A DOZEN HONORABLE MENTION STORIES
Former Colorado State golfer Martin Laird wins his first tournament on the PGA Tour in October at Las Vegas.
Penny Zavichas and Pat Lange, who have spent much of their lives in Colorado, are inducted into the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals Hall of Fame.
Robert Polk of Parker wins both the CGA Senior Stroke Play and Senior Match Play, becoming the first player to pull off the senior double since 2002.
Somin Lee of Denver sweeps the CWGA junior titles, winning both the Junior Stroke Play and the Junior Match Play.
Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock, who had already captured three Colorado Open titles, wins the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open for the first time.
Gunner Wiebe of Aurora qualifies for both the 2009 U.S. Amateur and the PGA Tour’s 2010 San Diego Open.
The USGA announces that its Grants Program, a philanthropic fixture in Colorado Springs for the last dozen years, will leave the state in 2010 and be administered out of USGA headquarters in New Jersey.
At Q-school, Parker’s Shane Bertsch regains his fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour, while Katie Kempter earns her LPGA card 6½ months after wrapping up her University of Denver career.
David Oraee of Greeley wins an American Junior Golf Association event in Aspen by 18 strokes, setting an AJGA record in the process.
Denver native Jonathan Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, and another Tour veteran, Kent Denver High School graduate Brandt Jobe, lose their fully-exempt status on Tour.
Kyle Heyen, head professional at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, is named the winner of a national PGA of America award, the President’s Plaque for extraordinary contributions in player development.
Tom Watson receives the Will Nicholson Award in Denver a month before almost becoming the oldest winner of the British Open.
