Big-time tournaments have lined up, one or two per season, ever so nicely for Colorado golf fans over the last half-dozen years.
In 2008, there was the U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor and the U.S. Amateur Publinks — featuring Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel — at Murphy Creek.
In 2009, the Palmer Cup, pitting many of the best college players from the U.S. and Europe against one another, came to Cherry Hills.
In 2010, Colorado Golf Club hosted the Senior PGA Championship.
In 2011, the U.S. Women’s Open came to the Broadmoor, marking the championship’s third appearance in the state since 1995.
In 2012, the U.S. Amateur paid a visit at Cherry Hills and CommonGround.
And last year, the best women’s players from the U.S. and Europe battled it out at the Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club.
Looking ahead, the run is guaranteed to last at least one more year. A PGA Tour event will be contested in Colorado for the first time since 2006 as Cherry Hills hosts the BMW Championship the first week of September this year.
While that event is certainly the highlight of the 2014 Colorado golf season, it’s just one of many new or notable events on the schedule for this year.
Here’s a brief rundown:
— Return of The Show: With the BMW Championship coming to Cherry Hills Sept. 1-7, it’ll mark the first time in the eight years of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs that an event has been held in the western U.S.
As the third stop of the playoffs, the BMW Championship will feature 70 of the best players in the world. That means that in all likelihood Tiger Woods (pictured above) will compete in Colorado for the first time since 1999. Also likely in the field will be Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Jordan Spieth.
After the BMW, the top 30 from the FedEx Cup standings will advance to the Tour Championship.
Proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit the Evans Caddie Scholarship, including the E.S. Scholars at the University of Colorado.
— First and Last USGA Qualifiers: With last year’s announcement by the USGA concerning changes to its championship schedule, 2014 will feature the first-ever qualifying for the men’s and women’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championships (which will debut in 2015), and the last qualifying for the men’s and women’s U.S. Amateur Public Links (which will be discontinued after this year).
The final qualifiers for the national Publinks will be May 27 at Saddle Rock (women) and June 17 at Twin Peaks (men).
The first Colorado-based qualifying tournaments for the national Four-Ball Championships will be Sept. 8 at Colorado Golf Club (men) and Oct. 6 at Spring Valley (women).
— Tournaments Galore: The Heritage at Westmoor will be a popular site for CGA/CWGA championships and USGA qualifiers in 2014, especially in May and July.
The Westminster course will host the CGA Match Play (July 7-11), CWGA Junior Match Play (July 14-17), U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying (May 14) and U.S. Open Local Qualifying (May 12).
— Colorado Open Championships Lineup: The dates of the HealthOne Colorado Open championships are circled on the calendars of many of the state’s top players. In 2014, here is the schedule, with all three events contested at Green Valley Ranch:
Colorado Senior Open, May 28-30; Colorado Open, July 24-27; Colorado Women’s Open, Aug. 27-29.
— Top State Amateur Championships: The schedule for the top CGA and CWGA championships goes like this: CWGA Match Play, June 23-26 at Lone Tree; CGA Match Play, July 7-11 at The Heritage at Westmoor; CWGA Stroke Play, July 21-23 at Valley Country Club; CGA Stroke Play, Aug. 7-11 at Lakewood Country Club.
— Eyeing National Championships: Qualifying tournaments for the USGA’s highest-profile national championships are always key days for the state’s elite players.
Here’s the lineup this year: U.S. Open Locals May 12 at the Broadmoor and Heritage at Westmoor, and May 13 at Collindale; U.S. Women’s Open Sectionals, May 14 at Heritage at Westmoor; and U.S. Senior Open Sectionals, June 17 at Fox Hollow.
— Return of Ron Moore College Tourney: The University of Denver women’s golf team will add an NCAA Division I tournament, the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, to the Front Range lineup in the fall.
Set for Highlands Ranch Golf Club Oct. 10-12, the Ron Moore tournament will return after last being played in 2009. In the interim, the DU women have competed in the Golfweek Women’s Conference Challenge held at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott.
The Moore Women’s Intercollegiate will be a 54-hole event, with the 2014 field including DU, Colorado State and Northern Colorado.
Moore, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, was a major supporter of DU athletics. In 2011, the Moore family donated Highlands Ranch Golf Club to the university.
