Just a few days remain in what has been a memorable year in Colorado golf.
The past 12 months have given us remarkable feats, notable retirements, the emergence of very promising young players, and some trying economic times.
So in the final week of the year, it’s worth taking a look back at the top 10 Colorado golf stories of 2010, plus many others that fall into the honorable-mention category.
1. CLARK, KNOUS AND THE CGA STROKE PLAY: In the same week that he qualified for the U.S. Amateur as a 16-year-old, Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village (pictured) became the youngest winner of the CGA Stroke Play Championship since Bob Byman in 1971.
That was remarkable enough, but what transpired on the final day of the Stroke Play at Boulder Country Club made it even more so. Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous started the final round 10 strokes out of the lead, but a 10-under-par 60 — by two strokes the lowest round in the history of BCC — forced a playoff with Clark.
Fittingly, Clark ended a remarkable day by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole for the victory.
2. LEHMAN FENDS OFF COUPLES, FROST AT SENIOR PGA: After a riveting final couple of hours at the Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Tom Lehman emerged with his first individual victory on one of the major U.S.-based tours since 2000.
Fred Couples made back-to-back eagles coming down the stretch, and David Frost carded three straight late birdies to put the heat on, but they folded up like cheap card tables in the sudden-death playoff. While Lehman recorded a regulation par on the extra hole, Couples and Frost both made double bogeys to hand the title to the former British Open champion.
“The playoff was just a bizarre playoff,” Lehman said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced anything like that. I turned to my caddie and said, “˜How many shots have they taken?'”
3. LONGTIME U.S. OPEN SECTIONAL QUALIFIER IN COLORADO NIXED: A Colorado tournament institution was held in the state — apparently for the final time — when Columbine Country Club hosted the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying in early June. Columbine, home of the 1967 PGA Championship, has been a U.S. Open Sectional site for roughly three decades, but the USGA decided to consolidate some Sectional sites and opted to eliminate the tournaments at Columbine and in St. Louis. Among the longtime PGA Tour players who have competed in the Columbine event over the years are Tom Kite, Craig Stadler, Mike Reid, Brandt Jobe, Danny Edwards, Gary Hallberg, Brandel Chamblee and Kevin Stadler.
Columbine went out on a high note in that regard in 2010 as World Golf Hall of Famer Kite competed in the Colorado Sectional. The 60-year-old, who has won 19 PGA Tour events in his career, shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 137 for two rounds, but fell one stroke shy of the two players who qualified for the U.S. Open.
4. GUNNER WIEBE’S BIG YEAR: Gunner Wiebe of Aurora put together a stellar year in 2010, setting himself up nicely for a professional career that likely will begin next summer.
Gunner — son of Mark Wiebe, winner of two PGA Tour and two Champions Tour events — claimed his first CGA championship, the Match Play, with Mark caddying for him at CommonGround Golf Course. The University of San Diego golfer also notched wins in three college tournaments, played in a PGA Tour event, earned medalist honors in a U.S. Amateur qualifying tournament for the second straight year, and made it to match play at the Amateur itself.
In addition, Gunner finished second in the HealthOne Colorado Open, marking the best showing by an amateur in the tournament since 1997. Add it all up and it’s little wonder why Wiebe was named the CGA’s Les Fowler Player of the Year.
5. ONE YEAR AND DONE FOR KIM AT DU: Kimberly Kim, winner of the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur and runner-up in three other USGA championships, was certainly one of the biggest-name recruits ever signed by a college golf team in Colorado — male or female. But she lasted just one season at the University of Denver before deciding college wasn’t for her.
Kim led the Pioneers in stroke average as a freshman, won the Sun Belt Conference tournament and placed 27th in the NCAA Finals. Then she earned medalist honors in U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
As for DU, she said, “I enjoyed it and appreciated the experience, but in the end I just knew it wasn’t the right place for me. (Playing college golf) was a lot different than what I expected. You really don’t realize how difficult it is to balance academics and athletics until you’re doing it. It was a huge adjustment for me because I’m used to just doing golf. It was weird to have both combined. Academically I don’t think I did great.”
Kim will play on the LPGA Tour in 2011 after successfully negotiating the qualifying process in the fall of 2010.
6. TOUGH TIMES FOR COURSES: The economy continued to take a toll on business at Colorado golf courses in 2010.
A rounds and revenue survey of Colorado public course operators, which took into account the first eight months of 2010, confirmed that many facilities are struggling to make ends meet. With 60 facilities completing the survey, average rounds were down 11.7 percent from the same period in 2009, and green-fees revenue dropped 10.2 percent.
7. GIESENHAGEN, LYON BOWING OUT: The end of 2010 will bring the departure of two longtime golf administrators who made a big impact in Colorado golf.
Maggie Giesenhagen of Highlands Ranch served as the CWGA’s first executive director and has been a respected USGA director for the last 19 years. She”˜s also a member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
Another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, Dennis Lyon, worked for the city of Aurora’s golf division for 37½ years, including the last 31 as the city’s manager of golf. Early in 2011, Lyon will receive the national USGA Green Section Award for his contributions to golf through work with turfgrass over the years.
8. LASHLEY’S REMARKABLE RUN: When Nathan Lashley won the HealthOne Colorado Open in July, it capped a stellar stretch of golf for the Arizona professional. In the course of 15 days, he claimed three significant tournament titles, played nine rounds in a combined 47 under par, and picked up checks worth a total of $80,000.
Prior to winning in Colorado by two strokes, Lashley finished first in the Wyoming Open and the Waterloo Open.
9. LOCAL TOUR-BOUND PLAYERS: A couple of veteran players with local ties regained full exemptions on the PGA Tour late in 2010, and three local professional rookies earned their 2011 LPGA Tour cards.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe finished sixth in the PGA Tour qualifying finals to regain his PGA Tour card after nearly two years. At 45, he was the oldest player to successfully negotiate Tour qualifying this year.
Meanwhile, David Duval of Cherry Hills Village earned back his fully-exempt status after being partially exempt in 2010. Duval finished 106th on the 2010 PGA Tour money list, his best showing since 2002.
On the women’s side, former University of Denver golfers Stephanie Sherlock and Kimberly Kim qualified for the LPGA Tour through Q-school, while part-time Denver resident Alison Whitaker earned partially-exempt status. Immediately before turning pro, Sherlock made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Whitaker went out with a bang in Colorado, winning her second CWGA Match Play Championship. In defeating Dana Zamprelli 9 and 7 in the finals at CommonGround Golf Course, Whitaker played the 29 holes in 11 under par.
10. FINKE BREAKING NEW GROUND: Ann Finke, director of instruction at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, was named the winner of the PGA of America’s national Junior Golf Leader award, becoming the first female member of the Colorado PGA to earn a major national PGA of America honor.
This marked the fourth straight year a Colorado PGA professional has won a national PGA of America award.
Honorable mention picks
Teaching professional Jason Preeo of Highlands Ranch stood in 16th place at the halfway point of the U.S. Open before faltering on the weekend at Pebble Beach. “¦ University of Colorado junior Jessica Wallace, a transfer from Pepperdine, won her first individual college title the day after being involved in a multi-car accident with four of her teammates. Despite the accident, the Buffs ran away with the team title in the CU Heather Farr Memorial Invitational. “¦ Gary Hallberg of Castle Rock shot an 11-under-par 61 in the final round to win his first Champions Tour event, the Ensure Classic, overcoming Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer in the process. “¦ Shane Bertsch of Parker missed most of the PGA Tour season after breaking his right hand in early February. “¦
CWGA executive director Robin Elbardawil was elected president of the International Association of Golf Administrators, becoming just the second woman to hold that post. “¦ In the first year since 1986 that players under 25 have been allowed to compete at the Trans-Mississippi Championship, Arizona State golfer Scott Pinckney beat one of the world’s top amateurs, Oklahoma State’s Kevin Tway, in a playoff to claim the title at Denver Country Club. “¦ Chris Johnson of Castle Rock won the Colorado PGA Professional Championship after playing the 18th hole at Meridian four times on the final day, including three in a playoff against Caine Fitzgerald. “¦ Melissa Martin of Grand Junction won her second straight CWGA Stroke Play Championship, becoming the first back-to-back winner since Nicki Cutler in 2000 and 2001. “¦
A teenager from Massachusetts, Dylan Dethier, played CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora during his successful quest to play golf in each of the 48 contiguous states over the course of the 2009-10 school year. “¦ Former Broncos quarterback John Elway competed in a CGA championship and the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open for the first time, as well as the HealthOne Colorado Open for the fourth time. Elway finished second in the CGA Four-Ball and the Charlie Coe Invitational (both with Tom Hart), as well as in the American Century Championship celebrity tournament in Stateline, Nev. “¦ Pepperdine-bound Somin Lee won her first state high school title, but Lindsay McGetrick rallied to beat the two-time defending champion in the CWGA Junior Match Play. “¦
The Colorado State University men’s golf team captured the Mountain West Conference title for the second time in the last three years, while CSU’s Ryan Peterson claimed the individual championship. “¦ Twenty-two years after winning his only other CGA individual championship, Longmont dentist Guy Mertz captured the CGA Senior Match Play title. “¦ Becca Huffer of Denver qualified for her 10th and 11th USGA championships. “¦ On a day that 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Bill Loeffler caddied for him, Tom Krystyn of Denver shot 63 at Flatirons Golf Course for medalist honors in U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying. Krystyn would go on to advance to the round of 32 at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, along with fellow Coloradan Keith Humerickhouse. “¦ Kim Eaton of Greeley won her ninth individual CWGA championship by claiming the CWGA Senior Stroke Play title. Eaton, who made it to the round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, was named both CWGA Player of Year and Senior Player of the Year for the second straight season. “¦
Using a first-round 64 — one of the lowest scores in the history of the Colorado state high school tournament — John Ahern of D’Evelyn fends off nationally-ranked Wyndham Clark of Valor Christian to win the 4A title. In the same week, Ahern claimed the CJGA Tournament of Champions in a five-hole playoff. “¦ The Division II University of Colorado-Colorado Springs men’s golf team won the Division I Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, beating all of the state’s large golf programs in the process. “¦ For the first time in the 72-year history of the tournament, the Enstrom’s Rocky Mountain Open didn’t use Lincoln Park as one of its championship courses. Ben Portie of Westminster won the tournament held at Tiara Rado and Bookcliff in Grand Junction. “¦
Mark Hubbard of Denver, a senior at San Jose State, notched his first individual college victory, and it came in his home state, at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in Erie. “¦ In his final CGA championship before turning pro, Riley Arp of Fort Collins won the CGA Public Links title. “¦ After having to qualify for the championship, Scott Radcliffe won the CGA Senior Stroke Play title. Days later, he qualifiedfor the USGA Senior Amateur. “¦ The Ranch Country Club defeated Indian Tree Golf Course to win the inaugural CGA Team Interclub Championship.
