The fall portion of the college golf season often can be a blur. In a period of five to seven weeks in September and October, teams usually play between four and six tournaments, the great majority of which consist of three rounds each.
Suffice it to say it’s a lot of competitive golf in a relatively short stretch. A 54-hole tournament every nine or 10 days is a pretty hectic run, especially considering the travel involved and that the players also are going to school full-time.
With the fall schedule having recently concluded for the Colorado-based NCAA Division I teams, it’s time to bring that blur into focus.
All told, the nine local D-I programs posted a couple of team victories and four individual wins in multi-team tournaments held during the last two months. (Among the individual champs was Colorado State’s Kirby Pettitt, pictured above with assistant coach Bret Guetz.)
After a winter break, most teams will return to tournament action in February.
Here are how the Colorado-based Division I teams and individuals fared in the fall season. (Note: Only multi-team tournaments results are included.)
Air Force Academy Men
National Rankings: 150th (Golfweek), 162nd (Golfstat).
Best Team Finish: Won Service Academy Championship.
Top-Five Team Finishes: Two in five events. One win and one fourth.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: Three. Second (Andrew Hoops), third (Philip Colwell), fifth (Kyle Westmoreland).
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 25-26 at Snowman Getaway in Goodyear, Ariz.
Notable: In tying for first place with Army, Air Force claimed its 16th consecutive title in the Service Academy Golf Classic. Westmoreland owns the top stroke average for the Falcons, at 73.1.
University of Colorado Men
National Rankings: 66th (Golfstat), 69th (Golfweek).
Best Team Finish: Won Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
Top-Five Team Finishes: Three in five tournaments. One win and two seconds.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: Three. One win (Jason Burstyn), two thirds (both Derek Fribbs).
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 6-8 at Hawaii-Hilo Intercollegiate in Waikoloa, Hawaii.
Notable: The Buffs went first, second and second in their opening three invitationals before placing 12th in two October tournaments. Including the season-opening Ballyneal Challenge, Burstyn leads the team in stroke average at 71.65 and is ranked 84th in the nation individually, according to Golfstat. He won the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational title by three shots.
CU Women
National Rankings: 84th (Golfstat), 84th (Golfweek).
Best Team Finish: Eighth in Dick McGuire Invitational.
Top-Five Team Finishes: None in five tournaments.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: One. One win (Jennifer Coleman).
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 11-13 in Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Notable: The Buffs, who lost three of their top four players from a team that went to the NCAA Finals last season, are rebuilding. But Coleman is ranked 82nd in the nation individually by Golfweek and 86th by Golfstat. She won the Dick McGuire Invitational by a whopping eight strokes.
Colorado State University Men
National Rankings: 59th (Golfstat), 60th (Golfweek)
Best Team Finish: Second in Ram Master Invitational.
Top-Five Team Finishes: Four in six events. One second, two thirds and one fourth.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: Four. Two wins (Jordan Wetsch and Kirby Pettitt), third (Pettitt), fourth (Parker Edens)
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 20-22 in John Burns Intercollegiate in Oahu, Hawaii.
Notable: With three top-four finishes, CSU was knocking on the door of a team title a lot in coach Christian Newton’s first season. But the Rams broke through on the individual end with two victories, one each by senior Pettitt and freshman Wetsch.
CSU Women
National Rankings: 118th (Golfstat), 122nd (Golfweek)
Best Team Finish: Fourth.
Top-Five Team Finishes: One in five events. One fourth.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: One. One fifth (Betsy Kelly).
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 24-25 in Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz.
Notable: The Rams struggled for most of the fall, but placed fourth in the Give ‘Em Five Intercollegiate. Former assistant coach Susan Jennings is running things this season as interim head coach.
University of Denver Men
National Rankings: 96th (Golfweek), 101st (Golfstat).
Best Team Finish: Third in Lone Star Invitational.
Top-Five Team Finishes: Two in four tournaments. One third and one fourth.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: One. One second (ChunJi Kim)
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 11-12 at Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah.
Notable: The Pioneers posted two top-four team finishes in four fall events, but they placed in the bottom half of the field in the other two tournaments.
DU Women
National Rankings: 27th (Golfstat), 32nd (Golfweek), 36th (Coaches).
Best Team Finish: Third in Susie Maxwell Berning Classic.
Top-Five Team Finishes: Two in four events. One third and one fifth.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: One. One fifth (Tonje Daffinrud).
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 18-19 in Central District Invitational in Parish, Fla.
Notable: Tonje Daffinrud had an October to remember, posting three top-10 finishes in three events and being named the Western Athletic Conference women’s Golfer of the Month. Daffinrud is ranked 23rd in the nation individually by Golfweek and 29th by Golfstat. Teamwise, DU had a solid fall against good competition, recording two top-five finishes.
University of Northern Colorado Men
National Rankings: 129th (Golfstat), 137th (Golfweek).
Best Team Finish: Seventh three times.
Top-Five Team Finishes: None in five events.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: None.
Begins Spring Season: Feb. 11-12 in Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah.
Notable: All of UNC’s seventh-place team finishes came in September in Colorado. Eleventh-place individual performances by Ben Krueger and Charlie Mroz are UNC’s best of the fall.
UNC Women
National Rankings: 178th (Golfstat), 188th (Golfweek).
Best Team Finish: 10th in Colby Invitational.
Top-Five Team Finishes: None in four events.
Top-Five Individual Finishes: Two. One third and one fifth, both by Carleigh Silvers.
Begins Spring Season: TBA.
Notable: Senior Carleigh Silvers had a solid fall for UNC, opening the season with two consecutive top-five finishes.
