The proverbial cream — which in this case refers to PGA Tour veterans — rose to the top Friday in the final round of the CoBank Colorado Senior Open.
On a day only three players shot in the 60s at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, two of them were guys who have played more than 200 PGA Tour events in their career. And of the top five finishers, three fall into the same category, including the champion.
John Riegger of Henderson, Nev., who has made 224 starts on the PGA Tour and has won once on PGA Tour Champions, rallied from three down going into the final round to score a one-stroke victory in his first time playing the Senior Open.
“Winning is winning,” said Riegger (left), a 54-year-old. “I’ve won on the Champions Tour. I’ve won everywhere in the world except for the PGA Tour. Winning is winning. It’s always good for the confidence.”
Another PGA Tour veteran, Skip Kendall, tied for second with 2017 Arizona Senior Open winner Brian Cooper of Pittsburgh, who’s qualified for this month’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor. And sharing fourth place was one-time PGA Tour winner Guy Boros and two-time Colorado Open champion Jim Blair.
Overall, Friday wasn’t a stellar day scoring-wise, despite the good weather aside from some wind. Cooper shot a Friday-best 4-under-par 68, though he left a 10-foot birdie attempt an inch or two agonizingly short. Had it dropped it would have forced a playoff. He’d birdied 15, 16 and 17 to make a run at the title.
The other two sub-70 rounds were 3-under-par 69s by Rieger and Boros. Guys like Mike Northern of Colorado Springs (two eagles on the front nine) and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Loeffler (4 under through 12) surged before rough finishes.
Riegger’s 9-under-par 207 score was the highest by a CSO winner since 2014.
“It was probably just nerves,” Blair said of the relatively high final-day scores. “That always happens. I was surprised that 9 under won it. Our group, we weren’t very good. John (Riegger) just hung in there and made a couple of putts.”
Indeed, he did. Riegger ended up draining five putts between 10 and 20 feet on Friday and was especially on target during the back nine. He made a 12-footer for bogey on 10 after hitting his tee shot into the left hazard, sank a 15-foot birdie on 11, a 15-foot par on 13 and a 20-foot birdie on 15. But he did miss a 5-foot birdie try on No. 18, though he didn’t know exactly where he stood at the time — and it didn’t end up costing him.
“To be honest with you that one on 18 was the only putt I missed all day” that he’d regularly expect to make, Riegger said. “I made a lot of putts. This is the best I’ve putted in five years.”
Two groups in front of Riegger, Cooper could have gotten to 9 under by getting up and down for birdie from just off the green. But as noted earlier, he couldn’t believe it when he left his 10-foot birdie attempt just short (left).
Then 18- and 36-hole leader Kendall could have forced a playoff with a final-hole birdie after making one on 17. But his 35-foot attempt fell short.
That gave Riegger the $8,500 first prize, while Cooper and Kendall settled for $4,250 each for tying for second place a stroke back. Kendall was 1 under par for the day through 11 holes, but played his final seven in 2 over en route to a 73.
“I’m disappointed,” said Kendall, who was playing in just his second tournament of the year. “I had it. I really did. I just got into some bad spots on the back side and made some bogeys because of it. I made some errors in judgment. But you know what? It was great to be in the thick of things again and to feel that. I know it’s going to help me this year and in the long run. I’m going to take positives out of it.”
Boros and Blair checked in at 209, two back of Riegger, to tie for fourth place. With his best finish in a Colorado Senior Open, the 63-year-old Blair also had the top showing by a super-senior this week, adding a $1,000 prize to his $2,150 payday in the overall purse breakdown.
As for Riegger, he should give some credit for the victory to 2017 champion Jeff Gallagher, a fellow resident of Henderson, Nev., who told Riegger it would be worth his while to play in the CSO. And this week’s performance gave Riegger his first tournament victory since he won the 2013 Boeing Classic in his fifth start on PGA Tour Champions.
“When I won on the Champions Tour, I’d won twice on the Web Tour in my 40s,” he said. “I beat Bernhard Langer down the stretch to win when I won the Boeing Classic. You have the same emotions.”
Lindstrom Posts Best Overall Finish by Am in CSO Since 2014: At age 50, Broomfield resident Jon Lindstrom is a rookie in senior golf. But he adapted quickly this week in his first CoBank Colorado Senior Open.
Not only did the three-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion earn low-amateur honors by 10 shots, but he tied for the best finish overall by a Coloradan, sharing sixth place. And that sixth-place showing was the best by an amateur in this event since Kent Moore did the same in 2014.
Lindstrom went 71-69-70 for a 6-under-par 210 total, leaving him just three strokes behind overall champion John Riegger.
“Being low amateur is a nice way to start,” Lindstrom said. “I hit it pretty good and made some putts, but I felt like I left a bunch out there.
“It’s fun being low amateur. I don’t want to say that’s my goal, but it’s probably one of them.”
On Friday, Lindstrom played his front nine in 2 under, but he double bogeyed No. 10. Then he rebounded with birdies on 14 and 15.
“I really did” think about getting in contention for the overall title “because I was surprised that scores weren’t lower,” Lindstrom said.
Finishing second in the amateur competition on Friday was reigning CGA Senior Amateur champion Steve Ivan of Colorado Springs, who posted a 220 total.
As for the best finish by a Coloradan, regardless of pro or amateur, Lindstrom shared that honor by tying for sixth place with Jeff Hanson (left) of Edwards, the PGA director of golf at Red Sky Golf Club. Hanson went 68-71-71 for his 210 total. Like Lindstrom, Hanson double bogeyed the 10th hole on Friday, but he added four birdies and one bogey.
Four Coloradans were among those who tied for 10th place at 211: 2013 champion Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, Rick Cole of Eaton, Mike Northern of Colorado Springs and Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West. Zaremba, the 2005 CSO champion, was near the top of the leaderboard through 11 holes, but played his final eight in 4 over en route to a 75.
For scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
