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While the competitive golf season is beginning to wind down in many respects, the college golf year is just in its infancy. Nevertheless, for Colorado, it’s prime time.
Almost every NCAA Division I tournament that will be held in the state during the 2011-12 season will take place within the next few weeks. Specifically, four large D-I invitationals, plus a dual meet between the University of Colorado and Colorado State University men’s teams, are scheduled locally in September.
The one Colorado-based Division I tournament that’s set for a month other than this one will have national significance, though: the women’s NCAA West Regional that will be played in May at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, with CU hosting.
All of the nine Division I teams in Colorado — four women’s and five men’s — will appear in at least one tournament in Colorado this season.
Here is the rundown for the D-I events that will be held in the Centennial State during the 2011-12 school year:
Sept. 12-13 — Mark Simpson CU Invitational (men), Colorado National GC in Erie (Participating local teams: CU, CSU, Air Force, Northern Colorado).
Sept. 12-13 — Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic (women), Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins (Participating local teams: CSU, CU, UNC).
Sept. 18-19 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational (men), Eisenhower GC in Colorado Springs (Participating local teams: Air Force, CU, CSU, DU, UNC).
Sept. 19-21 — Golfweek Conference Challenge (women), Fazio Course at Red Sky GC in Wolcott (Participating local team: DU).
Sept. 26 — Colorado Cup dual (men), Ballyneal in Holyoke (Participating teams: CU vs. CSU).
May 10-12 — NCAA West Regional (women), Colorado National GC in Erie (Participating local teams: To be determined; CU will host).
With the new season at hand, here are some of the notable happenings regarding various D-I programs in Colorado:
CU Men: With four incoming freshmen from Colorado — John Ahern of D’Evelyn, Tyler Engel of Regis, David Oraee of Greeley West and Drew Trujillo of Montrose — the Buffs will play their first three events in the state (the Simpson Invite, Falcon Invitational and Colorado Cup). Over the summer, Ahern won the CGA Junior Match Play and Trujillo qualified for the U.S. Amateur.
CSU Men: The Rams will open the season at the Simpson Invite at Colorado National, where CSU finished second at both the CU tournament and the NCAA regionals last season. The latter earned the Rams a spot in the NCAA Finals for just the second time in program history. Coloradan Zahkai Brown (pictured above) is coming off an August in which he won the CGA Stroke Play title and advanced to match play at the U.S. Amateur.
DU Men: Sophomore C.J. Kim won the CGA Public Links Championship in June, and coach Eric Hoos claimed low-amateur honors in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open last week.
UNC Men: Coloradan Steven Kupcho will begin his freshman season in Greeley after winning the 2011 CGA Junior Stroke Play Championship at Greeley Country Club.
CU Women: Two Buffs — seniors Jessica Wallace (pictured at left) and Emily Talley — appear on Golf World magazine’s list of the top 50 female college players to watch. Wallace won a tournament on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour in late June and earned a spot in the Canadian Women’s Open LPGA Tour event. Wallace finished 16th individually in the World University Games in China last month. And with the addition of sophomore Alex Stewart, a transfer from Purdue who was runner-up in the 2011 Women’s Trans-National Amateur, the Buffs are ranked 33rd in the preseason coaches’ poll. Because CU is hosting an NCAA regional tournament at Colorado National this season, it is not holding its Heather Farr Memorial tournament in 2011.
DU Women: After having to sit out one year after transferring from Colorado State, two-time CWGA Stroke Play champion Melissa Martin from Grand Junction will be eligible to play for DU this season. This will be the second straight year the Pioneers have hosted the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Red Sky. Reigning CWGA Match Play champion Somin Lee of Denver is expected to play her first college tournament — for Pepperdine — in her home state at the Conference Challenge. DU coach Sammie Chergo is serving on the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee this season.
