Denver resident Mark Hubbard set a precedent last year that a couple of fellow Coloradans hope to follow.
Hubbard, then a senior at San Jose State, won the individual title at the inaugural Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in 2010, and this year two other Colorado high school products are in great position to defend their home turf in the same manner.
Beau Schoolcraft, a Coloradan competing in his first tournament for the University of Colorado after transferring from UCLA, posted back-to-back 6-under-par 66s Monday to build a three-stroke lead heading into Tuesday’s final round of the Simpson Invite at Colorado National Golf Club.
And teammate Derek Fribbs, another former Colorado state high school champion, stands in third place, four behind Schoolcraft. In between them is one of the best college players in the nation, San Diego’s Alex Ching.
“That’s the way you want to start it off; that’s for sure,” said Schoolcraft, a former Kent Denver standout who now is a redshirt junior at CU. “Obviously the goal is to win and keep getting better. So I’m going to go out (Tuesday) and try to go lower.”
Even though Schoolcraft is playing only as an individual this week — so his score doesn’t count toward CU’s team total — the Buffs also hold down the top spot in the team standings at their own tournament. CU, which leads San Diego by seven strokes, is seeking its first team title since 2008.
“We certainly wanted to come out and get off to a good start this year,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “The guys were all fired up to make a statement. We did a good job with the first two chapters of that today. Obviously if play good (Tuesday) we’ll be real excited.”
Fribbs led the way for the players whose score counted toward CU’s team total, which reached 16-under-par 560 for two rounds. After a first-round 71, he carded a 7-under-par 65, the lowest round of the day.
“Derek played great,” Edwards said. “We’ve kind of been waiting for him to do that. He started showing some of that this summer. Today he was fired up and ready to go.”
The same was certainly true of Schoolcraft, who last played an official college tournament almost two years ago at UCLA.
“He played incredibly well today,” Edwards said. “He really started playing well the last two or three qualifying rounds. I didn’t necessarily expect 66-66, but he has a history of shooting extremely good scores on any golf course you can imagine.”
A prime example of that was the 65 Schoolcraft carded at a formidable Broadmoor East Course last year as he qualified for the U.S. Amateur.
But Schoolcraft and Fribbs are hardly the only former Colorado high school players doing well at the Simpson Invitational. Colorado State’s Zahkai Brown (67-74–141) is in 10th place, while Alex Gutesha of Kansas (69-74–143) is in 15th along with Oklahoma’s Michael Schoolcraft (71-72–143), Beau’s younger brother.
As for the team standings for Colorado schools, while the Buffs are in the lead at 560, CSU is sixth at 578, Air Force 10th at 587 and Northern Colorado 14th at 596.
Before the tournament, CU announced the hiring of Jon Levy as Edwards’ assistant coach for the men’s program. Levy, the head coach at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College when it won the 2007 junior college national title, replaces former CU player Jim Grady, who left coaching after a three-year stint on the CU staff.
In the collegiate high school championship conducted by the CGA, Connor Klein of Highlands Ranch (73-74–147) holds a three-stroke lead over Jimmy Makloski of Pueblo South (73-77–150) after two rounds.
Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational
At Par-72 Colorado National Golf Club in Erie
Team scores — 1. Colorado 282-278–560; 2. San Diego 285-282–567; 3. (tie) New Mexico 286-282–568; Oklahoma 283-285–568; 5. Wyoming 291-282–571; 6. (tie) Colorado State 284-294–578; New Mexico State 290-288–578; 8. Nevada 289-294–583; 9. Kansas 294-292–586; 10. Air Force 296-291–587; 11. Gonzaga 293-295–588; 12. Texas-El Paso 294-301–595; 12. (tie) Houston Baptist 297-298–595; 14. Northern Colorado 304-292–596; 15. Utah 302-297–599.
Top individuals — 1. Beau Schoolcraft*, CU, 66-66–132; 2. Alex Ching, San Diego 69-66–135; 3. Derek Fribbs, CU, 71-65–136; 4. (tie) Justin Shin, New Mexico State 67-70–137; Abraham Ancer, Oklahoma, 66-71–137; 6. (tie) Clinton Boutelle, Wyoming, 69-69–138; John Catlin, New Mexico, 71-67–138; 8. Kevin Kring, CU, 69-70–139; 9. Grant Forrest, San Diego, 71-69–140; 10. Zahkai Brown, CSU, 67-74–141.
Other CU individuals — 15. Jason Burstyn 70-73–143; 27. Johnny Widmer* 70-75–145; 31. Sebastian Heisele 72-74–146; 61. David Oraee 81-70–151; 83. John Ahern* 76-86–162.
Other CSU individuals — 22. Kirby Pettitt 72-72–144; 31. Cameron Harrell 73-73–146; 37. Mike Sorenson 72-75–147; 58. Steve Sorenson* 77-73–150; 73. Mike Wuertz 79-76–155.
Air Force individuals — 22. Caleb Leestma 74-70–144; 31. Kyle Westmoreland 72-74–146; 43. Phil Colwell 74-74–148; 48. Andrew Hoops 76-73–149; 70. Wes Denny* 76-77–153; 75. Blake Jones 79-77–156.
UNC individuals — 37. Charlie Mroz 72-75–147; 43. Steven Kupcho 75-73–148; 48. Jake Hutton 78-71–149; 70. Ben Krueger 80-73–153; 82. Kevin Collignon 79-80–159.
* — competing only as an individual.
CGA COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP
Connor Klein, Highlands Ranch, 73-74–147; Jimmy Makloski, Pueblo South, 73-77–150; Cole Nygren, Alexander Dawson, 77-74–151; Ben Moore, Kent Denver, 73-78–151; Chris Beabout, Cherry Creek, 77-76–153; Jake Staiano, Valor Christian, 73-81–154; Ryan Pettegrew, Highlands Ranch, 82-75–157; Hayden Nicholaides, Lutheran 79-82–161.
