It’s that time again. Each year, after covering golf in Colorado for the CGA and CWGA, yours truly compiles a roundup of the top golf-related stories from the Centennial State.
And because there are so many worthy candidates, the list comes out in a two-part series — and in reverse order, to maintain a little suspense. We also throw in an honorable-mention rundown, included with Part II.
So without further ado, here are the Colorado golf stories of the year, Nos. 25 through 13. The top dozen will be published shortly after Christmas.
25. Kent Denver Boys Set Record: In late September, the Kent Denver boys high school team went where no Colorado golf program has gone before. By capturing the 3A state title, the Sun Devils earned their ninth state championship, a record for the state. Bob Austin, who as a player helped Cherry Creek claim two titles, coached Kent to eight of its championships. READ MORE.
24. Weinstein’s Junior Dominance: Mary Weinstein (pictured above) of Highlands Ranch played her final year of junior golf in 2016 — and what a year it was, both statewide and nationally. In Colorado, Weinstein captured the 5A state high school individual title, then added victories in the first two “majors” ever held by the new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. Then in nationwide events, she finished fifth in the Optimist International Junior and 15th in the Junior PGA Championship. And, for good measure, Weinstein won a college tournament in her first semester at Regis University. It’s little wonder why Weinstein was named the JGAC Girls Player of the Year a year after earning CWGA Junior Player of the Year honors.
23. NCAA Division II Players Show Their Stuff: While Colorado-based NCAA Division I schools boast plenty of golf talent, two golfers from the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference won the CGA’s top two open-division championships in 2016. Nathaniel Goddard, who wrapped up his Colorado Christian golf career last spring, prevailed in the CGA Match Play, while current University of Colorado-Colorado Springs golfer Colin Prater won the CGA Amateur by five shots.
22. USGA Championship Performances: Coloradans made inroads at several USGA championships in 2016. Two advanced to the quarterfinals, with Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton doing so in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and Alex Buecking of Columbine Valley in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with Jason Enloe of Dallas). Then Kyler Dunkle of Parker made it to the round of 16 out of 312 players at the U.S. Amateur a year after placing 311th in the same event.
21. 2 College Titles in a Week: Colorado State University senior Blake Cannon accomplished one of the most impressive feats of the fall college season — not just locally but nationally. After not winning an individual title in his first three-plus seasons of college golf, Cannon captured two victories in the course of five days in September. First, he prevailed at the Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club, then later in the week he won the prestigious William H. Tucker tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. READ MORE.
20. Amateur Colorado Cup Sweep: The Colorado Cup matches between some of the best Colorado PGA professionals and CGA and CWGA amateurs usually are a mixed bag in terms of results. But this year, for the first time, one group swept all three divisions — open, seniors and women’s. The amateurs prevailed 13-5, 9.5-8.5 and 6-3, respectively, in the three separate competitions. READ MORE.
19. Duval Ends Prolonged Win Drought: It took 15 years, but Denver-area resident David Duval got back in the win column in a nationally televised event in 2016. The former top-ranked player in the world teamed with stepson Nick Karavites to claim the title in the PNC Father/Son Challenge this month in Orlando, Fla. READ MORE.
18. NCAA Championship Finals Return to Colorado: When both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division II Championship Finals were contested in Colorado in 2016, it marked the first time NCAA Golf Finals from any division were held in the state since 1969. Green Valley Ranch Golf Club hosted the DII men and CommonGround Golf Course the DII women, with Metropolitan State University of Denver serving as the host school. St. Leo freshman Hugo Bernard claimed the men’s title with a record-setting score, his school landed the team championship, and Grand Valley State’s Gabrielle Shipley and Rollins College earned the women’s victories.
17. New Director for CWGA: In 2016 — and in the midst of the CWGA’s centennial year, Laura Robinson joined a very small group. The Hiwan Golf Club member became just the fourth executive director in CWGA history, following Maggie Giesenhagen (1988-1991), Robin Jervey (1992-2014) and Ann Guiberson (2014-15). READ MORE.
16. Top-5 National Showing Gives Northern Senior PGA Berth: In November, Mike Northern of Colorado Springs recorded one of the best finishes ever by a Colorado PGA member in the national Senior PGA Professional Championship by tying for fourth out of 264 players and qualifying for the 2017 Senior PGA Championship, one of the senior majors. Northern won the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship earlier in the year, and finished runner-up in the Section’s top tournament, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. READ MORE.
15. 6 Million Reasons to be Thankful: The Evans Scholars house for caddies at the University of Colorado (left) underwent a major-league renovation and expansion that wrapped up early in 2016. The project cost about $6 million, with the house dedication taking place in April. Rick Polmear, a University of Michigan Evans Scholars alum, proved a very capable project manager. READ MORE.
14. Breaking New Ground for Women: There were several notable female firsts in Colorado golf in 2016. Among them were Janene Guzowski and Tracy Zabel becoming the first female members of the CGA Board of Governors; Alexandra Braga from Denver Country Club winning the inaugural Colorado PGA Women’s Championship; and Valley Country Club instructor Sherry Andonian-Smith becoming the first female to win one of the Colorado PGA’s top tournaments, in this case the Colorado PGA West Chapter Championship. All this took place the same year national plans were announced for two new tournaments, the Senior LPGA Championship and U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship.
13. Next-Level Feats for Former College Golfers from Colorado: Several former college golfers from Colorado-based schools had time in the limelight thanks to strong performances in 2016:
— Former CU golfer Jenny Coleman earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour.
— Sebastian Heisele (formerly of CU) and Espen Kofstad (DU) gained spots on the European Tour.
— Former DU golfers qualified for two of the biggest events of the year, with Oskar Arvidsson going to the British Open and Kofstad competing in the Olympics for his native Norway.
— Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Jim Knous of Englewood earned additional status on the Web.com Tour by finishing 23rd in the final stage of Q-school.
— After winning the Colorado PGA Assistant Professional title in August, former CU golfer Pat Grady finished 11th out of 132 players in the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
— Steven Kupcho, who played his college golf at Northern Colorado, teamed with fellow Colorado resident Braden Baer (formerly of Loyola Marymount) to make it to the semifinals of the national Topgolf Tour Championship.
