Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster struck a blow for the young.
Michael Harrington (left) of Colorado Springs struck one for the not-quite-so young.
When the CGA and CWGA hold their Colorado Golf Awards Brunch on Nov. 23 at Pinehurst Country Club, Kupcho and Harrington will go where no one before them has gone.
Kupcho will be the first golfer to be named both the CWGA Player of the Year and Junior Player of the Year in the same season. And Harrington will pull off a similar feat, becoming the first golfer to earn both the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year award and the Mid-Amateur Player of the Year honor in a single season.
Moreover, at 17 years old, Kupcho will be the youngest CWGA Player of the Year in the new millennium. Former Fort Collins High School golfer Nancy Abiecunas was slightly younger when she gained the honor in 1999.
In the same vein, the 42-year-old Harrington will be the oldest CGA Player of the Year since 2006, when a 50-year-old, Rick DeWitt, earned the award. In fact, Harrington is believed to be the second-oldest CGA Player of the Year since the award was first given out in 1978. Typically, college-age golfers have landed the CGA Player of the Year honor.
Below is the rundown of the various player of the year awards that will be given out on Nov. 23:
CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year — Michael Harrington of Garden of the Gods Club. Harrington’s most eye-catching feat of this year was advancing to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur. It was his best showing in nine USGA championship appearances. Harrington lost in the quarterfinals to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, Mich., who won the 2013 Michigan Open title as an amateur and subsequently was elected into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. By making it to the final eight, Harrington will be exempt into next year’s national Mid-Am.
Harrington also qualified for his third U.S. Amateur since 2009. And at age 42, he was the top Colorado finisher in the championship, at 134th place.
The Colorado Springs resident also won another CGA championship, capturing the title in the Mid-Amateur Match Play Invitational. He also placed fifth in the CGA Mid-Amateur and represented Colorado at the Pacific Coast Amateur.
CWGA Player of the Year — Jennifer Kupcho (left) of CommonGround Golf Course. Kupcho, a senior at Jefferson Academy who will play in college at Wake Forest, had a year to remember, particularly considering she accomplished what she did as a 17-year-old.
A member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player program at CommonGround, Kupcho won three CWGA championships, a couple of major CJGA titles and a state high school crown. She also qualified for two USGA national championships and finished second in the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open.
Here are some of the specifics:
Kupcho not only won numerous tournaments, but she posted huge margins of victory. She prevailed in the 4A state high school meet by 14; the CWGA Junior Stroke Play by nine, the CJGA Tournament of Champions by 12; the CJGA Junior Series Championship by eight; the 99th CWGA Match Play by 6 and 5 in the final, and took low-amateur honors in the Colorado Women’s Open by 12.
Kupcho also posted victories in the CWGA Chapman (with Jaclyn Murray) and qualified for the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (with Gillian Vance). At the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Kupcho finished eighth in the stroke-play portion of the event before falling in the round of 64 of match play.
Kupcho’s runner-up showing in the Colorado Women’s Open marked the best finish by an amateur in that event since 2008. She also placed eighth in the Girls Junior America’s Cup and 29th in the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships, marking the best finish ever by a Coloradan in the girls 15-17 girls age division.
CGA Senior Player of the Year — Kent Moore (left) of Cherry Hills Country Club. It’s been eight years since Moore last won this award, as a senior “rookie”, but an impressive season as a 58-year-old made him a two-time honoree in this category (he also was named the CGA’s Les Fowler Player of the Year in 1989).
The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer won the CGA Senior Stroke Play by six shots, matching the largest margin in the event since 2007. With that victory, he’s accomplished the remarkable feat of winning CGA championships in five consecutive decades. He captured the Junior Match Play in 1973, the Stroke Play in ’86, the Match Play in ’89, the Mid-Amateur in ’95, the Senior Match Play in ’06 and the Senior Stroke Play in ’14.
Moore earned low-amateur honors in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open for the second time (he first managed the feat in 2006). This time, Moore placed sixth overall in the Senior Open.
CWGA Senior Player of the Year — Christie Austin (left) of Cherry Hills Country Club. Austin also captured this honor in 2007, when she was a senior “rookie”. This time ended a five-year run of winning this award by Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton, who “retired” from CWGA championships at the end of the 2013 season. Austin will join Eaton in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on May 31 after recently being voted in.
The former USGA Executive Committee member won two CWGA championships and qualified for two USGA national tournaments.
Austin won the CWGA Senior Stroke Play for the second time, this one in a playoff with Lynn Larson. And she placed second in the senior division of the CWGA Match Play, losing 1 down to champion Deb Hughes. In a team event, Austin and Tori Glenn earned the trophy in the CWGA Brassie.
In qualifiers, Austin landed spots in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, advancing to match play in the latter.
CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year — Michael Harrington of Garden of the Gods Club. Harrington captures this award for the second time in the last six seasons. See the CGA Player of the Year entry for Harrington above.
CGA Junior Player of the Year — Ross Macdonald (left) of the Country Club at Castle Pines. Macdonald, a member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, won the CGA Junior Stroke Play for the second straight year, becoming the first competitor since Scott Petersen in the 1980s to capture consecutive Junior Stroke titles.
The Valor Christian senior, who has committed to play college golf at the University of Colorado, also won the CJGA Junior Series Championship this year. And he placed third in the 2014 4A state high school tournament.
CWGA Junior Player of the Year — Jennifer Kupcho of CommonGround Golf Course. Kupcho becomes just the second player to win this award for three consecutive years, joining Becca Huffer (2005-07). See the CWGA Player of the Year entry for Kupcho above.
CWGA Most Improved Junior of the Year — Anna Kennedy of Denver Country Club. Kennedy’s USGA handicap index dropped from 7.4 at the beginning of the season to 0.7 as of the Nov. 1 revision.
While the CGA and CWGA will hold their awards brunch on Nov. 23, the Colorado PGA’s Awards Gala is set for Friday at Colorado Golf Club. Here’s an earlier rundown on the award winners: CLICK HERE.
