What a difference a couple of wins make.
Wyndham Clark of Highlands Ranch went through his first 4 1/2 years of college golf without an individual victory, though he’d finished second five times and was the No. 1-ranked men’s college player going into the spring portion of the schedule.
But Clark (pictured), a two-time state high school champion who won the 2010 CGA Amateur as a 16-year-old, has certainly made up for lost time in the last month. A fifth-year senior for the defending national champion University of Oregon, Clark broke the ice with a victory on Jan. 24 at the Arizona Intercollegiate, then earned another win on Sunday when he shared the top spot with freshman teammate Norman Xiong at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
While starting out the spring schedule by finishing first, 10th and first has kept Clark at the top of the men’s college rankings (he’s No. 1 according to Golfstat, while Golfweek has him No. 2), the former Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State has been flying up the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
A month ago, prior to his win in Arizona, Clark was ranked No. 182 in the world. Now, he’s 84th, having made a bigger single-week jump in the rankings (35 spots) than anyone else in the top 100.
Another local player also is in the top 100 in the men’s WAGR. University of Colorado senior Jeremy Paul, who finished third at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate where Clark shared the title, sits at No. 81 in the world. Paul came close to earning exempt status on the 2017 Web.com Tour, but finished 72nd in the final stage of Q-school in December. He’s helped CU jump into the top 20 nationally as the Buffs are ranked 18th by Golfweek and 20th by Golfstat.
Both Clark and Paul figure to be among the favorites when Boulder Country Club hosts the men’s Pac-12 Conference Championships April 28-30.
Meanwhile, three players with major Colorado ties are in the top 100 in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Despite having to withdraw mid-tournament from her first college event of 2017 — due to a concussion — Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster remains in the top 20 in the world, at No. 18. CU senior Esther Lee checks in at No. 23, and Hannah Wood of Highlands Ranch is No. 80. CU freshman Kirsty Hodgkins, an Australian, is just outside the top 100 at No. 105.
Kupcho, a sophomore at Wake Forest who entered the spring schedule ranked No. 1 in women’s college golf according to Golfstat, fell to No. 36 with the WD (she’s No. 3 according to Golfweek). The CWGA Player of the Year each of the last three seasons, Kupcho suffered her concussion in a mid-round accident in Wake Forest’s spring opener, the Northrop-Grumman Regional Challenge on Feb. 12 in Palos Verdes, Calif.
After being 2 under par through 10 holes, she was among the players being shuttled from tee to green on the par-3 second hole (her 11th). With Kupcho facing backward on a motorized cart and holding onto her trailing push cart, a spectator accidentally stepped onto the cart path too soon as the motorized cart was passing. He got tangled up with Kupcho’s cart, pulling her onto the path, where she landed on her back, with her head also hitting the concrete.
Though Kupcho was temporarily cleared to continue to play, she struggled to a first-round 75. The next morning, she didn’t pass standard concussion protocol and was forced to withdraw from the tournament, leaving her with a last-place finish in the 88-player event.
After missing about a week of classes and team activity, Kupcho was fully cleared on Monday (Feb. 20) to return to the classroom and to golf, according to her dad, Mike. Her next tournament is scheduled to start next weekend (March 3-5) in Hilton Head, S.C.
