Nerves of Steel – Steelman wins 2026 Blue Championship

Ross Steelman took the title after a year of soul-searching into what went wrong last year

By Jim Bebbington

One year ago Ross Steelman stood on the Sunday first tee of the Ascendant presented by Blue Championship at TPC Colorado fighting mental demons.

He was the day-three leader and had thought a lot about how important this victory would be for him. He thought about the likelihood he would advance to the PGA Tour – his lifelong dream. He thought about the “terrors” of what was in front of him.

Then he shot the worst round of any player in the top 45 (3-over), and finished fourth.

This year, sitting on a Saturday night lead, he had a big dinner, slept like a baby, and Sunday got to the first tee box thinking about little more than the shot before him – one at a time. Five hours later he stood alone, holding the trophy over his head, a champion for the first time in four years of professional golf.

“I spent a lot of time after last year thinking about and actively working on what I didn’t have last year, and a big part of that has been the mental game for me,” he said after securing a one-shot victory in the 2026 Blue Championship. “Last year after the two early bogeys I would have gotten frustrated, kind of lost track of what I was trying to do, and then this year I just kept my head down and just kept pushing away at it, kept grinding at it, and just tried to keep hitting good shots.”

He did it in the face of the customary Sunday charge by several players in the field. This year Tommy Morrison, a recent University of Texas graduate playing in his third Korn Ferry Tour event, pushed Steelman all the way to the finish. The two dueled throughout the back nine as they played one group apart. Every birdie Morrison made, Steelman matched.

Then with a one-shot lead Steelman stood in the middle of the fairway of No. 18 facing about 1,000 spectators gathered around the green and his ball in a deep divot. This hole plagued players all week.

“I was just trying to hack it out and go onto the green,” he said.

His dug his ball out – and sent a yard of turf flying – and his ball settled about 15-feet from the pin.

“I did a great job today of not getting ahead of myself,” he said.

Steelman took home $180,000 with the victory.

This year’s tournament could turn out to be a coming-out party for several players. Morrison and his ex-roommate at the University of Texas Christian Maas, both played in just their third professional tournament and on Sunday both were near the top of the leaderboard. Morrison in particular gave the impression of a player who could be a big problem on the PGA Tour soon. At just 21, Morrison stands 6-foot-9-inches and has made just three starts on the Korn Ferry Tour; he has yet to finish outside of the top 10.

“It’s tough after four long days, one shot made a big difference,” Morrison said. “Looking back there were two doubles (bogeys) and a couple bogeys throughout the week, but if you’re going to win a golf tournament, especially on the Korn Ferry Tour, you just can’t really do that,” he said.

“Is what Tommy is doing now surprising? No,” said Maas, his former teammate. “It’s annoying.”

Former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte finished strong with three rounds in the 60s and ending up tied for 22nd, his second-best finish of the season. Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland began Sunday within a shot of the lead but fell back to 16th.

Crowds and weather for the Blue Championship this year continued to keep the tournament in a position as one of the best of the Korn Ferry season.

Surrounded by beautiful lakes and a Rocky Mountain sunset Steelman said he tried to take it all in as he walked to the 18th green.

“I was just trying to live in the moment,” he said. “For the rest of my career, you never know if you’re going to (win)… you never know what’s going to happen.”

Steelman said the man who introduced him to the game back in Missouri, his grandfather Ross Duff, died this past March and he wished he had lived long enough to see his first professional victory.

The Columbia Missourian obituary of Steelman’s grandfather, who died at 78 this past March, noted he had a substantial life.

“He was the medical director of a plasma donation center until the week prior to death,” the obituary states. “He was also a missionary doctor in Haiti, Uganda, Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America. He made 25 trips to Haiti and established a birthing center at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. He delivered over 4,500 babies and over 12,000 babies when including collaboration with nurse midwives.”

And he would have been very proud of his grandson on Sunday.

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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