You know it’s been an eventful year for Colorado golf when it becomes quite a task to narrow down the biggest stories of the year to a manageable 18 — a number appropriate for the game.
The most prestigious tournament in women’s golf came to the state, another Coloradan was selected for induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, a PGA Tour playoff event was scheduled for Colorado in a few years, and a major growth-of-the-game initiative gained traction.
And that just scratches the surface of what transpired in 2011. So with the year quickly coming to a close, here’s one golf writer’s ranking of the top stories in Colorado golf over the last 12 months. (Note: Because we’ve previously chronicled the biggest moments for local tour players in 2011 — CLICK HERE — we left them off this list).
1. U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor. Though the tournament was plagued by turbulent weather much of the week, the Broadmoor Golf Club attracted 130,485 spectators for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open. That means the only two Women’s Opens to exceed 120,000 occurred in Colorado, with Cherry Hills Country Club drawing more than 131,000 in 2005.
The Broadmoor continued Colorado’s recent tradition of being very hospitable to foreign-born players in major USGA championships. In the first three-hole aggregate playoff in U.S. Women’s Open history, South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu (pictured celebrating) defeated countrywoman Hee Kyung Seo to claim the title.
Previously, Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor, South Korea’s Birdie Kim claimed the 2005 Women’s Open at Cherry Hills, and Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam prevailed in the 1995 Women’s Open at the Broadmoor.
2. Stacy Lands Spot in World Golf Hall of Fame. Only four people with major Colorado connections are already in the World Golf Hall of Fame, but Hale Irwin, Judy Bell, Paul Runyan and Babe Zaharias will soon have company.
Hollis Stacy, a part-time resident of Lakewood since 1995, will be inducted through the veterans category on May 7 in St. Augustine, Fla. Stacy won four major championships and six USGA titles during her career, with the most notable victories coming in three U.S. Women’s Opens.
3. BMW Championship Set for Cherry Hills. Cherry Hills Country Club was already in line to host the 2012 U.S. Amateur — with CommonGround Golf Course serving as the second course for the stroke-play portion of the event — but now the storied Cherry Hills Village layout has two major tournaments on the agenda in the foreseeable future.
In April, the announcement came that the BMW Championship, one of the PGA Tour playoff events, will be contested at Cherry Hills Sept. 4-7, 2014. That will be the first time the state has hosted a PGA Tour event since The International ended its run in 2006.
4. Golf in Schools Gears Up. With the number of golfers in the country dropping, it’s important to lay the grass-roots foundation for growth in the future. That was the impetus behind the Colorado Section PGA Golf in Schools Program, a major initiative of the Colorado PGA, CGA, CWGA, the Colorado Open Golf Foundation and other Allied Golf Associations.
The program, which puts golf professionals in physical education classes to provide instruction, has a goal of bringing golf to 9,000 students in 60 schools by 2015, and it’s ahead of pace after Year 1.
5. Closing of Green Gables Country Club. Green Gables had operated continuously for more than 80 years and had hosted six events on the LPGA Tour and one on the Senior Tour, but that didn’t stop the end from coming in late October. The financially-troubled club closed its doors after being purchased by a group of investors which plans to develop the property in west Denver.
The situation was stark proof that in tough economic times like these, no one in the business is immune.
6. National Leadership Roles for Coloradans. There’s certainly no lack of Colorado residents who held national leadership posts in 2011, or will do so in 2012.
Among those who headed up national golf organizations this year were CWGA executive director Robin Jervey (president of the International Association of Golf Administrators) and Rick Phelps (president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects).
Meanwhile, Denver’s Jim Bunch will become chairman of the Western Golf Association on Jan. 1, and Christie Austin of Cherry Hills Village will take over as treasurer of the USGA Executive Committee on Feb. 4.
7. Nicholson Bound for Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. It isn’t every year that a person with a golf background gets elected to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In fact, it’s more the exception than the rule.
However, Denver resident Will Nicholson Jr., recently received the support necessary to gain a spot in the Hall effective in April of 2012. Nicholson is a former USGA president and a former chairman of both the Competition and Rules Committees at Augusta National, home of the Masters.
8. Steve Irwin Qualifies for U.S. Open. Arvada resident Steve Irwin is no stranger to the U.S. Open — after all, his father Hale won the Open three times — but the younger Irwin had never competed in the event before this year.
That changed when the former CGA Player of the Year successfully beat the odds by making it through the Local and Sectional qualifying tournaments. And to add icing to the cake, Hale was part of Steve’s gallery at the Open.
9. Jensen’s Departure. By all accounts, longtime CGA director of youth programs Dustin Jensen had a knack for making a significant impact on many young golfers in Colorado over the years. If there was any doubt about that, watching Jensen interact with the youngsters at tournaments was proof enough. Many a junior player learned valuable lessons — both about golf and life — through the time they spent with Jensen.
After a decade of working for the CGA, Jensen left the association late in the summer to become the associate director of alumni relations and the booster club at his alma mater, Jamestown College in Jamestown, North Dakota.
10. Death of Dave Hill. Colorado lost one of the most successful and storied players in state golf history in the fall when Dave Hill died after battling emphysema.
Hill won a record four Colorado Opens and also claimed the second title of his PGA Tour career at the 1961 Denver Open. To show Hill’s stature in Colorado golf history, he was in the first class to be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, in 1973.
11. Lefty’s Fast Sunday Start Nets Colorado Open Title. Westminster resident Ben Portie ran off six straight birdies to start the final round and won the HealthOne Colorado Open and the biggest paycheck of his career ($23,000). The victory came seven days after Portie claimed the South Dakota Open title.
Portie was one of several left-handers to win significant Colorado tournaments in 2011. Keith Humerickhouse claimed his second consecutive CGA Mid-Amateur title, while John Ahern prevailed in the CGA Junior Match Play.
12. CGA Hosts Junior America’s Cup. Due to safety concerns about holding the Junior America’s Cup in Mexico, the prestigious tournament was moved to Colorado — Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, specifically — just 4 ½ months ahead of time.
The event, which features 17 four-person teams of top-level junior golfers from the western U.S., western Canada and Mexico, was held in Colorado for just the third time.
The team representing the CGA posted its best recorded finish ever, placing third, behind only perennial powers Northern and Southern California.
13. Brown’s August to Remember. Coloradan Zahkai Brown went out on a high note in what is likely to be his final summer as an amateur. In August, Brown was medalist in U.S. Amateur qualifying, won the CGA Stroke Play by rallying from six strokes down going into the final round, then made it to match play in the national Amateur.
The 75th CGA Stroke Play Championship was particularly memorable as third-round leader David Schroeder took a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 15th hole at CommonGround and Brown shot a final-round 66 to change the complexion of the tournament.
14. Clark’s 64-64 in High School Finale. Wyndham Clark was certainly the favorite going into his final high school tournament, but the way he went about winning his second 4A state title was still eye-opening. The Valor Christian senior shot 64-64 — likely the best two-day total in state high school history — at Pelican Lakes to win by a whopping eight strokes.
Clark has signed to play his college golf at Oklahoma State, winner of 10 national team titles.
15. Eaton a USGA Quarterfinalist. For the second time in three years, Kim Eaton of Greeley made it to the quarterfinals of the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. This time, she lost in the final eight to Terri Frohnmayer of Salem, Ore., who went on to win the national title.
16. Famous Caddie at Colorado Women’s Open. A couple of very famous people in the sports world — neither of them competitors in the open tournament — made headlines in the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open. First, Jody Conradt, the second-winningest coach in the history of Division I women’s college basketball, made a hole-in-one in the pro-am competition.
Then 2010 PGA Champion Martin Kaymer showed up to caddie in the tournament for his girlfriend, Allison Micheletti. Kaymer, then the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, went largely unnoticed at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
17. Sixty-Somethings Make Their Mark. Age appeared to be no object to several competitors in 2011. At 63 years old, Jerry Kidney tied the competitive course record at Valley Country Club en route to winning the CGA Senior Stroke Play — and the super-senior title in the same event.
Meanwhile, John Olive, just short of his 66th birthday, claimed medalist honors in USGA Senior Amateur qualifying. And Harry Johnson, just shy of his 63rd birthday, nearly won the CGA Mid-Amateur, an event for players 25 and older. He finished a stroke behind Keith Humerickhouse, who birdied the final hole for the victory.
18. Urman’s Cherry Creek Team Wins State. Dani Urman, who battled back from bone cancer to qualify for the girls state high school tournament, helped her Cherry Creek team win the 5A state title in May.
Urman had both of her scores (90-79) count toward the team total, and the then-sophomore finished 16th individually.
