It was like a Gunn went off — twice.
Two eagles by Jimmy Gunn in the course of three holes Sunday afternoon propelled the native of Scotland — now a resident of Phoenix — to the title in the HealthOne Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
And, at the same time, they shot down the hopes of Arvada’s Zahkai Brown for his second Colorado Open championship in three years.
Gunn, a former Web.com Tour player who finished 27th last month at the U.S. Open, teamed up with Keegan Bradley’s regular caddie, Coloradan Steve “Pepsi” Hale, and took home the $23,000 first prize in his first time playing the Coloradan Open. (Hale congratulated Gunn above.)
Gunn trailed Brown by one stroke at the turn on Sunday despite making a 5-foot birdie at No. 9. But after draining a 35-foot birdie on No. 10 and getting up and down for par on 11, the Scot sunk a 25-foot eagle putt on No. 12 and pitched in from 35 feet for another eagle at No. 14 (below).
That stretch put Gunn ahead for good and he held on for a one-stroke victory over Brown, who eagled 12 and birdied 14 but still lost a shot to Gunn on those two holes.
“When I chipped in for eagle on 14, that was like a dagger toward him,” Gunn said. “He made birdie, but you could tell the momentum swung in my favor.”
Brown, who held the 54-hole lead for the third time in the last four years, crept back within one when he holed a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 15 (below). But the former Colorado State University golfer bogeyed 17 when he missed the green and couldn’t coax in a 7-foot par putt.
“I had a perfect read on 17 because Ian (Davis) made his putt (on a similar line),” Brown said. “But I didn’t trust it broke that hard and hit it right through the break.”
So trailing by two and heading straight into the wind on the tough par-5 18th hole, Brown very nearly hit it onto the green in two, ending up just short of the putting surface. And Gunn’s 8-iron third shot ballooned in the wind and dropped into the front bunker.
Brown pitched to 10 feet from the cup, while Gunn blasted to 8 feet. But Brown couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity as his birdie putt missed right. And Gunn, now needing just a two-putt for the victory, did indeed two-putt for his only bogey of the day.
“The chip on 18 came off squirrelly and kicked right, but it was still a good chip and I had an opportunity for a birdie,” Brown said. “I figured he was going to just try and make a bogey. But I didn’t make the putt.”
Gunn, who started the day two behind Brown and Davis, ended up shooting a stellar 7-under-par 65 to post a 19-under 269 total. Brown closed with a 68 to come in at 270, earning $13,500.
Davis, the defending champ, couldn’t recover from a two-hole stretch (Nos. 8 and 9) where thinned bunker shots led to a triple bogey and a bogey. The former Oklahoma State golfer posted a 71 Sunday to place third at 273.
Joining Brown (left) as Coloradans placing in the top 10 were two-time champion Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (275, seventh place) and fellow former champion Shane Bertsch of Parker (277, 10th place).
Gunn only found out on the way to the golf course for Thursday’s first round that Hale was available for caddie duties at GVR — and that he didn’t even want to be paid.
“It’s so funny how everything worked out,” Gunn said. “I actually played a practice round at the U.S. Open with Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner and one of the amateurs, and Pepsi was there so I actually kind of knew him. So (on Thursday) it was like, ‘perfect.’ We were off and running.
“He was awesome. He knows what to say at the right time. He knows how to calm me down. His player’s results speak for themselves, but he’s a great caddie and Keegan (Bradley) is very luck to have him.”
Because Hale wouldn’t take payment for caddying, Gunn decided instead to make a $1,000 donation to The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch.
On Sunday, after Gunn had gotten off to a nondescript start, Gunn and Hale decided the Scot should change out balls to get a little better mojo working.
“I couldn’t make a putt, so we changed balls after four or five holes, and things started to go well,” Gunn said.
All in all, Gunn called the Colorado Open win “probably the biggest” of his career.
“To shoot 7 under the last day to win any tournament — it doesn’t matter where you are — but especially a tournament like this, obviously is good,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brown was left thinking back on where he could have picked up the stroke by which he lost. And the place he pointed to was No. 10 (left), where his tee shot ended up a foot inside the hazard line to the left of the fairway. And with tournament officials and fellow competitors not thinking that Brown’s ball had ever crossed the margin of the hazard, he had to take a stroke-and-distance penalty and re-tee. He managed to salvage a bogey on the par-4 by making a 5-foot putt, but with Gunn’s birdie, the two-shot swing put the Scot ahead for good.
“I think it crossed (the margin of the hazard), but it was just a bad shot,” Brown said. “I didn’t think through the wind going left and I hit it into the hazard. The bogey there was a good bogey, but it was a bad mistake.
“I made a couple of errors, but Jimmy Gunn played really well. Sixty-five, that’s tough to beat. It was fun. I like intense battles like that. It was a lot of fun even though I got second.”
Said Gunn: “Zahkai played great as well. He gave it his all. He was unfortunate. He was like yard short on 17. If it didn’t get caught in the rough, his ball is like in the leather. And that was a tough up and down.
“I was very lucky to get the win there at the end.”
Despite missing the cut last year, Brown has now earned $50,000 at the Colorado Open since 2012. During that span, he’s won once and finished second twice.
Former CU Golfer Oraee Takes Low-Amateur Honors: David Oraee (left) didn’t expect it, given that he wasn’t by any means playing his best, but he earned low-amateur honors in the Colorado Open on Sunday.
The former University of Colorado golfer, winner of two Colorado state amateurs since 2013, shot a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday to post a two-stroke victory in the amateur competition. The Greeley resident’s 7-under 281 total was two better than current CU golfer Ethan Freeman of Denver and Colorado State’s Blake Cannon, of Mesa, Ariz.
“I wasn’t really going for low am,” said Oraee, who recently qualified for the U.S. Amateur. “To start the week, I was trying to win the tournament obviously. But it feels good. … It’s kind of bittersweet because I didn’t play the way I wanted to. I missed a lot of opportunities, but to still get it done is pretty cool.”
Oraee finished 21st overall.
For scores and payouts from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
