Barring something completely unforeseen, Ian Davis will earn his first paycheck as a professional golfer on Sunday at the 50th HealthOne Colorado Open.
And he’s in position to make it a substantial one.
Davis (left), who turned pro the day after his Oklahoma State team fell to Alabama in the title match at the NCAA Championships in late May, will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.
The former All-American could receive a cool $23,000 for his first professional payday if things go well Sunday.
“If you start thinking about the outcome and what it could do for your career to win and stuff, you’re not going to play very well,” Davis said after shooting an even-par 71 on Saturday. “I’m going to try to stay in the moment, keep hitting solid shots and I’ll see what happens.”
Perhaps not coincidentally, another big-time college player who just wrapped up his amateur career likewise will be looking for his biggest financial windfall from a tournament. That would be Brandon Hagy, a first-team All-American from Cal in the just-concluded season. Hagy, a semifinalist in the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, shares third place at the Colorado Open, trailing only Davis and McKinney, Texas-based professional Chris Ward, who played his final 10 holes in 6 under par on Saturday.
Hagy turned pro less than a month ago, and his only check so far came in the Web.com Nova Scotia Open, where he placed 40th.
If Hagy and Davis are experiencing any problems transitioning into the professional ranks, they certainly aren’t showing it this week. Both are competing at the Colorado Open for the first time and each just had one practice round at GVR before their three-round runs to the top of the leaderboard.
“This doesn’t feel a lot different” than playing a high-level amateur event, Hagy said. “I think there was more pressure trying to beat my (Cal) teammates the last four years than playing for money.”
Davis, from Edmond, Okla., stands at 10-under-par 203 through 54 holes. Ward, 27, posted Saturday’s best score, a 5-under-par 66 and trails by one. Hagy, 2010 champion Nathan Lashley of Scottsdale, Ariz., Brock MacKenzie of Yakima, Wash., and Nick Killpack of St. George, Utah share third place at 206.
Former University of Colorado golfer Luke Symons (left), from Aurora, made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday to be the top Coloradan through three rounds. His 71 left him in seventh place at 207.
“With a good low score tomorrow, I still might have a chance. Who knows?” said Symons, who has twice shot 64 or under in competition this month.
Devin Schreiner of Durango, who led after each of the first two rounds, followed up scores of 64 and 66 with an 8-over-par 79 on Saturday, putting him in 11th place at 209. Schreiner double-bogeyed his first hole on Saturday and finished the day with two doubles, five bogeys and a birdie on No. 16.
Davis can attribute his lead, in part, to an amazing string of 43 consecutive holes without a bogey or worse. He started the tournament by going bogey, par, double bogey on Thursday, then didn’t make another bogey until No. 11 on Saturday.
“That’s got to be up there (near his personal best),” the 22-year-old said. “That might be the best. I really didn’t notice I wasn’t making any bogeys but I did pretty good there for a while. That’s not bad. It’ll work.”
In Sunday’s final tee time, at 9:36 a.m., Ward will be joined by Davis and Hagy, who not surprisingly have played in the same groups at college tournaments.
Given that at one point early in the back nine on Saturday, Davis led by five strokes, but that he ended up ahead by just one, nothing is near settled yet.
“I’ve played in a lot of tournaments and I’ve seen (advantages of more than three or four shots) vanish quickly,” Hagy said. “It’s obviously in (Davis’) hands. But if I can make a few birdies and play solid, I think I would be right there.”
Harrell 5 Ahead in Amateur Competition: The two previous times Cameron Harrell played in the Colorado Open, he missed the cut, albeit barely. This time around, the Colorado State University golfer is in considerably different position.
Harrell (left), who grew up in Colorado Springs, leads the amateur competition by five strokes heading into Sunday’s final round. After falling just a shot shy on Monday of qualifying for his second consecutive U.S. Amateur, Harrell has posted rounds of 68-70-70 for a 5-under-par 208 total. The next-best amateur after three days is Jacob Holt of Tooele, Utah (213).
Harrell capped his Saturday round in style after making four birdies and five bogeys through 17 holes, hitting a 3-wood from 265 yards on the par-5 18th to 15 feet and draining the eagle putt.
“That helps a lot to finish that way,” he said.
Harrell is one of just three players in the field — along with MacKenzie and Lashley — who have been under par each round this week.
“This is a tournament I’ve always wanted to play well in,” he said. “I’m an amateur, this is a pro tournament. That’s always fun to do.
“The last month or so I’ve been hitting the ball awesome. I’ve been very pleased with everything.”
The low-amateur honor is obviously on Harrell’s mind, but at five strokes out of the overall lead, he still has an outside shot at the championship.
“You never know,” he said. “You could shoot 6, 7, 8 under easily. Anything can happen.
“I’m looking to get the low amateur. That’s the first goal. The second goal is to see what I can do to this top field. I’m really looking up the leaderboard to the guys in front of me. I’m going to try to make as many birdies as I can to see how much I can chase those guys down.”
Hip-Hip Hooray? It’s a collossal understatement to say that former CU golfer Luke Symons has had some hip issues over the years.
After going under the knife in 2009, ’10 and ’11, the Aurora resident recently underwent additional surgeries in October and December of last year. For those keeping count, that makes five hip operations in less than five years — three on the right side, two on the left. Torn labrums are consistently the problem.
“If I knew (the issue) I probably wouldn’t have to keep having them done,” said Symons, who sits in seventh place after three rounds of the Open. “I feel a lot better about the last couple I’ve went through. “
Notable: The run of Colorado Opens with a Colorado winner is in jeopardy of coming to at end at three, with the top Coloradan four out of the lead heading into Sunday. Going back further, seven of the last eight Colorado Open champions have had major Colorado ties: Dustin White of Pueblo West (2006), former CU golfer John Douma (2007), former Coloradan Brian Guetz (2008), Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (2009 and ’12), Ben Portie of Westminster (2011) and Zahkai Brown of Arvada (2013). Only Arizonan Nate Lashley (2010) interrupted the streak. … The top two money winners in Colorado Open history — Jim Blair (5 over par after two rounds) and Bill Loeffler (6 over) — both missed the 36-hole cut. So Blair ($112,859) will remain about $15 ahead of Loeffler ($112,844) for the career money lead. … For Sunday’s final round, tee times will range from 7:30 to 9:36 a.m., with players going off both the first and 10th tees. The leaders will tee off on No. 1 at 9:36 a.m.
Scores: For all the scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
