Changes are afoot in the CGA Senior and Super-Senior Match Play Championships.
When the tournaments take place next week — May 23-26 — it will mark the first time that the Senior Match Play and Super-Senior Match Play take place at different sites. The Senior Match is set for The Fox Hill Club in Longmont, while the Super-Senior Match will take place at West Woods Golf Club in Arvada.
In addition, this will be the last year in which 50-year-olds will be eligible for the Senior Match Play and that 60-year-olds will be eligible for the Super-Senior Match Play. Starting in 2017, the age requirement for each event will go up by one year each year through 2021, when no one younger than 55 (Senior) and 65 (Super-Senior) will be allowed to compete.
As for this year, David Delich (pictured) will defend his championship and seek his fourth title in the Senior Match Play at The Fox Hill Club. Other former champions in the field include Harry Johnson (2013), Ray Makloski (2012), Guy Mertz (2010) and Robert Polk (2009). Mertz will be competing at his home club for next week’s event.
A stroke-play qualifiying round will be held Monday at Fox Hill to finalize the 32-man match play portion of the event, which will begin on Tuesday. As the defending champion, Delich will be the No. 1 seed.
In the Super-Senior event at West Woods, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer John Olive is scheduled to defend his title and will be the No. 1 seed in the 32-man bracket. No stroke-play qualifying round will be played, so the round-of-32 matches will be contested on Monday.
Other former Super-Senior champs in the field at West Woods include Roger Gunderson (2008 and ’09), the runner-up the last two years, and Patrick Mooney (2010 and ’13).
The championship matches for both the Senior Match Play and the Super-Senior Match Play are scheduled for May 26.