Don’t look for any formal proclamation from the governor, but September should be known as College Golf Month in Colorado.
The overwhelming majority of college golf tournaments played in Colorado take place in September, for an obvious reason: It’s the best month in the state, weather-wise, during the college golf season.
And this year, more than ever, September will be prime time for college golf in Colorado. In the Division I ranks alone, five multi-team invitational tournaments will be played this month in the Centennial State — three on the men’s side and two on the women’s. Four of the events have been held in previous seasons, but the Colorado State men’s Ram Masters Invitational will be contested for the first time.
And the good news for local golf fans is that in many of the Colorado-based tournaments, several of the state’s teams compete against one another.
Here’s the lineup of Division I invitationals being held in Colorado this month:
— Sept. 9-10: Men’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by Air Force at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, UNC.
— Sept. 10-11: Women’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic hosted by Colorado State at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: CSU, CU, UNC.
— Sept. 17-18: Men’s Ram Masters Invitational hosted by Colorado State at Fort Collins Country Club. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, DU, UNC.
— Sept. 24-25: Men’s Mark Simpson Invitational hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, DU, UNC.
— Sept. 24-26: Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge hosted by the University of Denver at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. Div. I team from Colorado participating: DU.
Colorado College Golf Chip Shots: The Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club Sunday and Monday (Sept. 9-10) will mark the first event in his new job for CSU men’s head coach Christian Newton. Newton was hired after longtime CSU head coach Jamie Bermel took the same position at the University of Kansas. … The CU women, who in the spring went to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history, are ranked 16th in the nation in the preseason coaches’ poll. … Also ranked nationally are the Colorado School of Mines men, who are 20th in the Div. II coaches’ poll after placing 11th in the Div. II national finals last season. … Both the University of Denver men and women will be in a new conference this season, moving from the Sun Belt to the Western Athletic. The Pioneer women won the last nine Sun Belt Conference championships. … Former DU golfer Erik Billinger is the new assistant golf coach for the women’s team at his alma mater. Billinger was an assistant for the university’s golf programs from 2002 to 2004. Billinger replaces Lindsay Hulwick, who became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. … UNC sophomore Steven Kupcho is coming off a stellar summer in which he won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, was low amateur at the HealthOne Colorado Open and placed second in the CGA Public Links. … In addition to the Mark Simpson Invitational, the CU men will host a 36-hole one-day tournament at Colorado National this season — the Colorado Spring Invitational on April 22. UNC will be among the teams competing. … The DU men recently announced the addition of two freshmen to their roster: Arti Edelman of Switzerland and Trey Pflug of Portland, Ore.
