For obvious reasons, the spring portion of the college golf schedule is far more important than the fall. After all, conference championships and NCAA Regionals and Finals come at the end of the spring schedule.
But for Colorado-based fans of college golf, there’s a lot to be said for the fall schedule. It has everything to do with proximity.
During the 2017-18 college season, seven NCAA Division I tournaments will be held in the fall in Colorado — four men’s and three women’s. There will be none in the spring. So anyone who has an interest in witnessing the high level of golf that comes with the D-I college ranks, that time is at hand. Starting this weekend, all seven of those Colorado-based DI tournaments will take place in a five-week stretch.
In fact, for the record, on Sept. 18-19, two DI tournaments will be held in the same city — Fort Collins — with all three rounds of the men’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club and the last two rounds of the women’s Ptarmigan Ram Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club.
Here’s the rundown of the Colorado-based Division I tournaments:
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational (men), Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Sept. 17-19 — Ptarmigan Ram Classic (women), Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.
Sept. 18-19 — Ram Masters Invitational (men), Fort Collins CC.
Sept 25-26 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (men), Colorado National GC in Erie.
Sept. 25-27 — Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott.
Oct. 6-8 — Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, Highlands Ranch GC.
Oct. 9-10 — Paintbrush Invitational (men), Colorado GC in Parker.
Here’s a brief look at what awaits the nine Colorado-based Division I golf programs in Colorado:
AIR FORCE ACADEMY MEN
Season Opener
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Sept. 18-19 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.
Sept 26-25 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie.
Oct. 9-10 — Paintbrush Invitational, Colorado GC in Parker.
Conference Championship
April 20-22 — Mountain West Championship, Gold Mountain GC in Bremerton, Wash.
Notable — Air Force will host the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course for the 49th time this weekend. The 54-hole event runs Friday through Sunday (Sept. 8-10). … Each of the Falcons’ first four tournaments will be in Colorado. After the Falcon Invite, there’s the Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 18-19 at Fort Collins Country Club, the Mark Simpson-Colorado Invitational Sept. 25-26 at Colorado National in Erie, and the Paintbrush Invitational Oct. 9-10 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. … Air Force’s top player, scoring average-wise, Sunwoo Choi, was lost to graduation in the spring.
CU MEN
Season Opener
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenwower GC at Air Force Academy.
Sept 25-26 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie.
Oct. 9-10 — Paintbrush Invitational, Colorado GC in Parker.
Conference Championship
April 23-25 — Pac-12 Championship, Los Angeles.
Notable — The Buffs, who posted eight top-five finishes in all-stroke-play events last season, are ranked 42nd in the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek NCAA Division I Coaches Poll. … CU lost two of its top three players, scoring-average-wise, from last season as they were seniors: Jeremy Paul and Ethan Freeman. Paul, who competed on the Web.com Tour this summer, owned a 71.75 scoring average, while Freeman checked in at 72.43, the same as then-junior Yannik Paul, Jeremy’s twin brother. … CU’s two freshmen are Coloradans — Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction and Cole Krantz of Windsor. … CU will host the Mark Simpson-Colorado Invitational for the eighth time. This year’s event is set for Sept. 25-26 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. Colorado has won the event for the past four years. … Overall, CU will play three of its first four tournaments in Colorado — the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational Friday through Sunday at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy, the Simpson Invite and the Paintbrush Invitational Oct. 9-10 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. … The Buffs will play two consecutive tournaments in Hawaii — albeit separated by three months as they bookend the winter break. The Hawaii Warrior Princeville Intercollegiate is in Kauai Oct. 29-31, with the Amer Ari Intercollegiate is in Waikoloa Feb. 1-13.
CU WOMEN
Season Opener
Sept. 11-12 — Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.
Tournaments in Colorado
None.
Conference Championship
April 22-24 — Pac-12 Championship, Seattle.
Notable — The CU women are the only local DI team that won’t play any tournaments in Colorado in the coming season. … The Buffs will play a fair amount of island golf this season as trips to Hawaii and Puerto Rico are planned. The Pac-12 Preview at Nanea is set for Oct. 23-24 in Kona, Hawaii, while the Lady Puerto Rico Classic is scheduled for Feb. 11-13 in San Juan. … CU lost its top player, according to scoring average, Esther Lee, who wrapped up her college career in the spring. Lee recently advanced through stage I of the three-stage LPGA Tour qualifying process. … Sophomore Robyn Choi from Australia competed in the U.S. Women’s Open over the summer after qualifying in Colorado. … The Buffs have three players from outside the U.S. on their seven-person roster: Choi (Australia), Kirsty Hodgkins (Australia) and Alisha Lau (Canada).
CSU MEN
Season Opener
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Sept. 18-19 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.
Oct. 9-10 — Paintbrush Invitational, Colorado GC in Parker.
Conference Championship
April 20-22 — Mountain West Championship, Gold Mountain GC in Bremerton, Wash.
Notable — The Rams will play three of their first four tournaments in Colorado — the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational Friday through Sunday at Eisenhower Golf Club, their own Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 18-19 at Fort Collins Country Club, and the Paintbrush Invitational Oct. 9-10 at Colorado Golf Club. … CSU will host the Ram Masters Invitational for the sixth time at Fort Collins Country Club, this year on Sept. 18 and 19. The Rams will be the defending team champions. … Three CSU players competed in the U.S. Amateur in August: Jake Staiano, AJ Ott and 17-year-old freshman Parathakorn Suyasri, all of whom qualified in Colorado. … Staiano owned the team’s best scoring average last season, 71.81. … Suyasri is one of two incoming freshmen from overseas, joining Jack Ainscough of England. … CSU’s Max Oelfke won the German Amateur in his home country over the summer. … CSU will play the University of Denver in a dual match on March 23 at Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton, Wash., site of the Mountain West Conference Championship April 20-22. Jordan Spieth won the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur at Gold Mountain.
CSU WOMEN
Season Opener
Sept. 17-19 — Ptarmigan Ram Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.
Tournament in Colorado
Sept. 17-19 — Ptarmigan Ram Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.
Conference Championship
April 16-18 — Mountain West Championship, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Notable — Colorado State will begin its season in a host role as the Ptarmigan Ram Classic will take place Sept. 17-19 at Ptarmigan Country Club. … CSU teammates Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor both qualified for — and competed in — the U.S. Women’s Amateur this summer. … The Rams will make a trip to Hawaii for the March 13-14 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. … Prendergast, a junior, led CSU in scoring last season with a 74.31 average.
DU MEN
Season Opener
Sept. 18-19 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept. 18-19 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.
Oct. 9-10 — Paintbrush Invitational, Colorado GC in Parker.
Conference Championship
April 29-May 1 — Summit League, Newton, Kan.
Notable — Head coach Erik Billinger added highly-regarded coach Brian Guetz, a two-time Colorado Open champion, as a DU assistant. Guetz’s last coaching stint was with Oklahoma State, perennially one of the top programs in the nation. … Denver hosts the second annual Paintbrush Invitational Oct. 9-10 at Colorado Golf Club, home of the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, 2013 Solheim Cup and 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur. … DU doesn’t open its season until the Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins Sept. 18 and 19. … Senior Chris Korte of Littleton won the CGA Match Play title over the summer. … With the addition of Jackson Solem of Longmont, four DU players are from Colorado. The others: Korte, Jake Kelley of Littleton and Isaac Petersilie of Colorado Springs.
DU WOMEN
Season Opener
Sept. 11-12 — Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept. 25-27 — Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge, Red Sky GC in Wolcott.
Oct. 6-8 — Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, Highlands Ranch GC.
Conference Championship
April 22-24 — Summit League Championship, Nebraska City.
Notable — Head coach Lindsay Kuhle won’t coach the team this fall as she’s on maternity leave. Assistant Kolton Lapa will oversee the squad in Kuhle’s absence… Once again this year, the Pioneers will host the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate at Highlands Ranch Golf Club. … Former Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado female Player of the Year Mary Weinstein joins the Pioneers after transferring from Regis University. Weinstein qualified for the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur and finished 35th in the recent CoBank Colorado Women’s Open. … DU lost its top two players, scoring average-wise, to graduation, Jessica Carty and Mariell Bruun. … The Pioneers have won titles in their last 14 consecutive league championships.
UNC MEN
Season Opener
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept 8-10 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC at Air Force Academy.
Sept. 18-19 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.
Sept 26-25 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie.
Oct. 9-10 — Paintbrush Invitational, Colorado GC in Parker.
Conference Championship
April 27-29 — Big Sky, Boulder City, Nev.
Notable — UNC will play its first four tournaments in Colorado — the Falcon Invitational Friday through Sunday at Eisenhower Golf Club, the Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 18-19 in Fort Collins, the Mark Simpson-Colorado Invitational Sept. 25-26 at Colorado National in Erie, and the Paintbrush Invitational Oct. 9-10 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. … Then-freshman Coby Welch won the Simpson-CU Invitational individual title last year. … Junior Li Chen recently competed in the U.S. Amateur after being medalist in a qualifying tournament. … Two UNC freshmen are Coloradans: Marcus Tait of Littleton and Owen Pasvogel of Colorado Springs.
UNC WOMEN
Season Opener
Sept. 11-12 — Hobble Creek Fall Classic, Salt Lake City.
Tournaments in Colorado
Sept. 17-19 — Ptarmigan Ram Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins.
Oct. 6-8 — Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, Highlands Ranch GC
Conference Championship
April 20-22 — Big Sky, Boulder City, Nev.
Notable — Ben Portie, former head coach of the Metro State University of Denver women’s team, is taking over the UNC program, succeeding Stephen Bidne. … Northern Colorado will play two of its four fall tournaments in Colorado, at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic Sept. 17-19 in Fort Collins, and the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate Oct. 6-8 in Highlands Ranch. … UNC has two Coloradans on its roster, sophomore Morgan Sahm of Centennial and freshman Aili Bundy of Fort Collins. … The Bears lost former 4A state high school champion Kala Keltz of Montrose to graduation.
