A Colorado resident has won the CoBank Colorado Senior Open just once in the past seven years, but Dale Smigelsky of Fort Collins might have hit upon a reason why.
“I’m heading home now to do all my scoresheets for my (Collindale) invitational for this weekend,” Smigelsky said after shooting a 2-under-par 70 on Thursday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.
Indeed, Smigelsky’s situation isn’t unusual for many of the Colorado competitors. In his case, he’s the director of golf at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins, and the workload doesn’t stop when he’s competing in a tournament.
But, so far, Smigelsky (pictured) is juggling the situation quite well. The 56-year-old stands at 5-under-par 139 and shares holds sixth place, six strokes behind leader Steve Jurgensen of The Woodlands, Texas and five back of Jeff Gallagher of Henderson, Nev. Both of the top two on the leaderboard are former PGA Tour players who have won on the Web.com Tour.
“I’m a golf professional,” said Smigelsky, the 2015 Colorado Senior PGA Professional Champion. “The other guys, the good players, are professional golfers — and that’s what the difference is. For those of us that work in the business, it’s kind of fun to compare ourselves against the good players. So it’s nice to play well.”
Smigelsky was actually 7 under par overall through 14 holes on Thursday, but bogeyed Nos. 15 and 17 to drop back a little.
“I’m a normal working pro so I got a little uncomfortable with it,” he said. “Then the wind came up and played around with the ball the last couple holes.
“I’m happy with where I’m at. I wish I could have brought it in once I got to 7 (under), but you look at the leaderboard and you’re not used to seeing it (and) you get a little anxious.
“But I’m excited because I’ve played so little golf. If you had asked me before I started if I was going to be 5 under after two rounds, I’d say, ‘Sure, I’ll take it.'”
But as solid as Smigelsky has been, he has quite a bit of ground to make up in Friday’s final round. Jurgensen shot a 6-under-par 66 on Thursday — matching the best round of the tournament — and will take a one-stroke lead into the last round of the $50,000 tournament with an 11-under-par 133 total. One back is Gallagher, who also fired a second-round 66. Gallagher is the younger brother of five-time PGA Tour winner Jim Gallagher Jr.
Jurgensen, a one-time winner on the Web.com Tour who has posted three top-10 finishes in 93 PGA Tour starts, carded an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys on Thursday. On the par-5 second hole (his 11th), he hit a 3-wood from 255 yards to 2 feet for his 3.
“You want to be up there somewhere (on the leaderboard) if you can,” the 55-year-old said. “(Friday’s final round) is just another day where you find your game when you get out there on the course. It’s either going to be a struggle or a day you feel like you can do something really special. Every round of golf is a wait-and-see kind of thing.
“But I like the golf course (and) I’ve played well in Colorado before. I don’t know if it’s just the atmosphere, but you feel real good. The greens are really good and I’ve made some putts this week. Usually that’s the difference when somebody scores low — they’re making some putts.”
Gallagher (left) — who has two Web.com Tour victories to his credit, and has played in 134 events on the PGA Tour — made an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys bogeys on Thursday. He was 4 under par through five, then chipped in from 90 feet for eagle on the par-5 12th. And, mind you, this is Gallagher’s first time competing in the Colorado Senior Open — or the Colorado Open, for that matter.
“I haven’t been playing a whole lot,” the 52-year-old instructor said. “This is probably my third round of golf in about three months. I quit playing the Web.com Tour in 2011. I’ve been teaching the last (six) years. I spend most of my time on the driving range watching kids and grownups hit golf shots.
“It’s strange that I play better now that I don’t play (regularly) than I did when I was playing. It’s a different attitude; that’s pretty much all it is. The nerves are there, but I don’t take it like I used to. It’s not a job anymore. It’s fun.”
Longtime fans of golf in Colorado might remember Jeff’s older brother Jim and his feat at the now-defunct International at Castle Pines Golf Club. In 1990, Jim Gallagher made a double eagle on the par-5 17th hole, marking one of two recorded at Castle Pines that day — a rare happening indeed. These days, Jim Gallagher spends much of his time working for the Golf Channel.
Jeff didn’t have the success that Jim did on the PGA Tour, but he did play the world’s top circuit on and off from 1996 to 2003, including competing at The International several times. More recently, he finished 18th at last year’s U.S. Senior Open.
Back at the Colorado Senior Open, Robin Byrd of Sattelite Beach, Fla., holds third place at 135 after a second-round 67.
Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah, winner of the 2016 national Senior PGA Professional Championship, shares fourth place at 137 with Texan Tim Thelen after both posted 70s on Thursday.
By his own estimate, Schneiter has competed in the Colorado Open and Colorado Senior Open 25-30 times between them. And though he’s contended for the title — most notably, he lost a playoff to Bill Loeffler in the last Open played at Hiwan Golf Club, in 1991 — he’s yet to take home the trophy.
“I’d like to win one of them,” said Schneiter, who owns state open titles in Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming. “At least I have a chance going into tomorrow. Hopefully things will keep going good.”
Notable: Tee times for Friday’s final round will begin at 8:15 a.m., with the leaders going off at 9:55. … A total of 60 players, all of whom stand at 149 or better, made the 36-hole cut. … Albert Johnson Jr., of Lawton, Okla., opened up a seven-stroke lead in the low-amateur competition as he’s gone 70-71–141. … The low super-senior (60 and older) after two days is five-time PGA Tour winner Danny Edwards (69-75–144). … Duane Lorio of Luling, La., made a hole-in-one on Thursday afternoon, draining a 9-iron shot on the fifth hole. But Lorio (78-74) missed the cut with a 152 total.
For scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
