It’s not often that two players with strong Colorado connections are simultaneously near the top of the leaderboards on two major tours in the final round, but Sunday afternoon was one of those times.
Brandt Jobe, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer who tied the lowest single-round score in U.S. Senior Open history with his 62 on Saturday, finished third outright on Sunday at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass.
Jobe has now competed in eight senior majors, and has posted top-five showings in four of them — and five top 10s. That includes two third places, a fourth, a fifth, plus an eighth in the last 14 months.
On Sunday, Jobe wasn’t a threat to Kenny Perry and Kirk Triplett. Jobe shot an even-par 70 in the final round, leaving him with a 9-under-par 271 total. The former Coloradan, who last month won for the first time on PGA Tour Champions, ended up seven strokes behind champion Perry and five back of runner-up Triplett on Sunday.
Meanwhile, former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird (pictured) tied for third place and thereby qualified for the British Open at the PGA Tour’s Quicken Loans National in Potomac, Md. It was his best PGA Tour finish since placing second in the RBC Canadian Open in July 2016. Laird is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Laird tied for the lead when he pitched in from 39 yards for birdie on No. 14 after chipping out sidewise when his tee shot ended up on a downhill lie in deep rough next to a bunker. He subsequently lipped out birdie putts on Nos. 15 and 17, then dropped back with a bogey on 18 after a short rain delay.
Laird posted a 3-under-par 67, giving him a 5-under 275 total, leaving him two back of Charles Howell III and Kyle Stanley, who prevailed in a playoff.
The top four finishers in the Quicken Loans National — aside from anyone already exempt — earned berths into the British Open, which will be played at Royal Birkdale July 20-23. Laird, a Scotsman, also qualified for the U.S. Open this year.
Meanwhile, Coloradan Wyndham Clark made his first cut as a pro at the Quicken Loans National, finishing 51st in his second PGA Tour start. Clark shot rounds of 72-70-71-73 for a 6-over 286 total.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Coloradan Becca Huffer finished 11th at the Symetra Tour’s Tullymore Classic in Canadian Lakes, Michigan. The former CoBank Colorado Women’s Open winner carded rounds of 68-71-69 for an 8-under-par 208 total, which put Huffer eight strokes behind champion Yu Liu.
Also placing 11th on Sunday was Tom Whitney of Fort Collins in the Web.com Tour’s Nashville Golf Open. The showing comes a week after the former Air Force Academy golfer finished fifth in the Lincoln Land Charity Championship. This time, he went 67-71-67-71 for a 12-under-par 276 total, putting him four strokes behind winner Lanto Griffin.
