A group of about 220 gathered on Sunday at Pinehurst Country Club to celebrate a rather remarkable year in Colorado golf.
Among those in attendance at the Colorado Golf Awards Brunch were seven Colorado Golf Hall of Famers — along with another person who will be inducted next year — and an eclectic group of award winners ranging from young kids to retirees.
Among the honorees were:
— Jennifer Kupcho of CommonGround Golf Course, who was named the CWGA Player of the Year two years after her brother, Steven, received the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year award. At 17, Kupcho is the youngest CWGA POY since 1999. And for good measure, she earned the CWGA Junior Player of the Year honor for the third straight year. That matches a record and thus Kupcho becomes the first winner of the CWGA Player of the Year and Junior POY in the same season.
— Michael Harrington of Kissing Camels at Garden of the Gods Club became, at age 42, the second-oldest CGA Player of the Year since the award was first given out in 1978, with only Rick DeWitt (age 50 in 2006) being older. Like Kupcho, Harrington also won another major award on Sunday as the CGA’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year.
“I take a look at the people who are on this Player of the Year award — the Steve Joneses (twice), the Derek Tolans and the Kevin Stadlers — and I’m honored that my name is going to be etched on the same trophy,” Harrington said.
— Christie Austin of Cherry Hills Country Club received the CWGA Senior Player of the Year honor roughly six months before she’ll be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame along with PGA life member Ron Vlosich.
“I hope you appreciate the great game that we all play,” Austin said on Sunday. “I didn’t start golf until I was 26. It has brought me incredible joy, dear friendships and life-changing experiences that I never could have even imagined.”
— Organizers of the BMW Championship, held in September at Cherry Hills, earned special recognition after the record-setting and award-winning PGA Tour playoff event they put on.
— The CWGA’s Most Improved Junior Player of the Year, Anna Kennedy of Denver Country Club, lowered her USGA Handicap Index from 7.4 to 0.7 in less than six months, thus earning a spot on the roster for the Brigham Young University women’s golf team next year. Kennedy was among a half-dozen players honored on Sunday who will play NCAA Division I golf starting next year. That includes Kupcho (Wake Forest) and CGA Junior Player of the Year Ross Macdonald (University of Colorado).
Here’s a rundown of the various awards that were given out on Sunday:
CWGA Player of the Year — Jennifer Kupcho (left) of CommonGround Golf Course. Kupcho, a senior at Jefferson Academy who recently signed to play college golf 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 she took low-amateur honors in the Colorado Women’s Open by 12.
“Winning three CWGA championships this year (was memorable), especially the 99th Match Play,” Kupcho said on Sunday. “To have my name on that trophy with women’s names all the way back to 1916 is pretty awesome.”
Kupcho also posted a victory 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 Les Fowler Player of the Year — Michael Harrington (left) of Kissing Camels at 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 placed fifth in the CGA Mid-Amateur and represented Colorado at the Pacific Coast Amateur.
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 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.
CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year — Michael Harrington of Kissing Camels at Garden of the Gods Club. Harrington captured 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 signed 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.
CGA Jim Topliff On-Course Official of the Year — Cope and Judy Bradford (left) of Colorado National Golf Club. This marks the first time a joint award in this category has been given out.
Special Recognition — 2014 BMW Championship team at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Program Partner of the Year — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado.
CWGA Volunteer Award — Karla Harding (left) of Collindale Golf Course.
CJGA Junior All-Stars (pictured at bottom) — Christian Agelopoulos, Pierce Aichinger, Traejan Andrews, Katie Berrian, Chunya Bead Boonta, Jack Castiglia, Jake Chesler, Alex Chitkoksoong, Amy Chitkoksoong, Sofia Choi, Andrew Jang, Jordan Jennings, Anna Jordaan, Caroline Jordaan, Marie Jordaan, Christopher Kennedy, Cade Kilkenny, Elijah Knudsen, Jennifer Kupcho, Maxwell Lange, Katelyn Lehigh, Lauren Lehigh, Ross Macdonald, Gage Messingham, Sarah Murphy, Jaclyn Murray, Brittlynn O’Dell, Canon Olkowski, AJ Ott, Morgan Sahm, Amisha Singh, Jackson Solem, Gillian Vance, Mary Weinstein, Coby Welch, Jake Welch, Ashleigh Wilson, Liam Wood.
CJGA Academic All-Stars (honorees must carry at least 3.0 grade-point average) — Christian Agelopoulos, Drew Anderson, Dietrich Berning, Katie Berrian, Aili Bundy, Cole Bundy, Caden Campbell, Jack Castiglia, Cole Chalmers, Sofia Choi, Mariah Ehrman, Delaney Elliott, Ty Findlow, Carly Gallant, Daniel Gallant, Sydney Gillespie, Freddie Gluck III, Kacey Godwin, TJ Hicks, Mark Hillary, Nicholas Hughes, Jordan Jennings, Clara Jeon, Jake Johnson, Max Johnson, Trey Jones, Caroline Jordaan, Marie Jordaan, Anna Jordaan, Cade Kilkenny, Brett Krants, Cole Krantz, Jennifer Kupcho, David Leede, Lauren Lehigh, Katelyn Lehigh, Nick Leibold, Charles Markel, Madison McCambridge, Trevor McCord, Peyton Mogavero, Hannah More, Tyler Mulligan, Lauren Murphy, Roger Nakagawa, Brittlynn O’Dell, Trevor Olkowski, Andrew Reppe, McKenna Reppe, Ashlee Sample, Ryan Sangchompuphen, Erin Sargent, Hailey Schalk, Tim Scherman, Gary Schlatter Jr., TJ Shehee, Parker Skiles, Jackson Solem, Jake Staiano, Amisha Singh, Emilee Strausburg, Sam Taylor, Brady Wilson, Ryan Zetwick, Ben Zimmerman.
