10 Top Moments in Colorado Golf

Top 10 Moments of the Last Decade

Colorado Avid Golfer

2002 & 2003
Two 16-Year-Olds Qualify for the U.S. Open

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Sixteen was twice as sweet at two consecutive U.S. Open Qualifiers at Columbine Country Club. In the 2002 event, ThunderRidge High School junior-to-be Derek Tolan (right) bogeyed three of the last five holes to finish in a first-place tie with Mike Reid and Mike Zaremba. On the first playoff hole, his 50-foot birdie chip curled into the cup to send him to New York's Bethpage Black. The following year, Cheyenne Mountain High School's Tom Glissmeyer (above) rallied from a first-hole triple-bogey to shoot a 3-under 141 and punch his ticket to Olympia Fields. Tolan and Glissmeyer, friendly rivals, would each miss the cut at the Open. They went on to play, respectively, at the University of Colorado and Southern California and both continue to compete on professional tours.

2002
Steve Lowery Almost Steals The International

Say what you want about the dearly departed International's Modified Stableford Scoring System, but it could make for fabulous drama, especially on the 492-yard par-5 17th, on which players could shoot for eagles (worth five points) and birdies (worth two). Prior to 2002, the hole yielded 285 eagles and one double eagle. Then came Steve Lowery. He had won the 1994 event in a playoff after eagling the par-4 14th and the par-5 17th, but outdid himself in 2002 by eagling the par-4 15th and double-eagling the 17th. By amassing 13 Stableford points in just two holes, Lowery closed within a point of the leader, Rich Beem, who had a recordtying 19 points in the final round. Had Lowery sunk his 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole, giving him a one-point victory, his charge might have gone down as one of the greatest comeback wins in Tour history.

2004
Pat Hamill Saves the Colorado Open

On August 26, 2003, as they played their practice round at Vail's Sonnenalp Golf Club, competitors in the Colorado Open learned the state's premier event had been cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. Within months, Oakwood Homes Founder, President and CEO Pat Hamill stepped in. He galvanized leaders in the Colorado golf and business communities to re-establish the event and its credibility. They brought the men's, women's and senior events to Hamill's Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and have secured HealthONE as a title sponsor, established the charitable Colorado Open Golf Foundation and The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch and in the process created a vigorous and sustainable business model for other state opens to follow.

2005
Birdie Kim Chips In to Win the U.S. Women's Open

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Going into the final Sunday of the 60th U.S. Women's Open, the buzz at Cherry Hills Country Club swirled around third-round leaders Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel, both teenaged amateurs; and Weetabix Women's British Open champion Karen Stupples. By the time they reached the par-4 18th hole, Wie and Stupples had faded, and Pressel shared the lead with Birdie Kim, a player in the penultimate group who had made only 10 cuts in her previous 34 events. With Kim's second shot in the right front bunker, Pressel watched incredulously from the fairway as the Korean's shot exploded from the sand and trickled into the hole for the first and only birdie carded there that day. Kim, who had presciently changed her first name from Ju-Yun the year before, estimated it would take her at least 50 shots to replicate the one that secured her first major victory.

2007
The International at Castle Pines Comes to an End

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For 21 years, The International brought the world's best golfers to the rarefied air of Castle Pines Golf Club, where the Modified Stableford scoring system provided a break from the weekly stroke-play grind and Castle Pines founder Jack Vickers established a high-water mark for hospitality. But disagreements between Vickers and PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem surrounding event dates, coupled with dwindling TV ratings, the lack of a title sponsor and the absence of Tiger Woods forced Vickers to pull the plug. “If I can't put on the best damn tournament possible”  he said, “then I won't put one on at all.”

2008
A Bear Plays Through at The Broadmoor During the U.S. Senior Open

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Argentine Eduardo Romero, known as “El Gato” (“The Cat”), may have triumphed at the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, but it was “El Oso” (“The Bear”) everyone remembers; and no, not Jack “The Golden Bear” Nicklaus. During the second round, an adult black bear gamboled across the back nine of the East Course at midday, crossing the forward tee box on No. 14 soon after Mark McNulty had teed off. Television golf analyst Dottie Pepper, among others, ran the other way on the 13th fairway. Bernhard Langer froze. Amid shouts of “Bear!” the ursine invader departed as quickly as he arrived, through a drainage pipe onto the West Course, but not before being captured in images seen around the world. “You don't get that every week”, John Cook said.

2009
CommonGround Golf Course Opens

Although Tom Doak's 2006 design at Ballyneal gave Colorado another course among the world's Top 100, his work along the Denver-Aurora border could have a more lasting impact on the game. Located on the site of the old Mira Vista Golf Course and jointly run by the Colorado Golf Association and Colorado Women's Golf Association, CommonGround Golf Course opened Memorial Day “as a place for all, and all the game teaches”. The par-71 course tests golfers of all abilities, especially on the greens, and has robust junior and caddie programs. “For us it's not, 'Are we making money?' but rather 'Are we growing more golfers?'” CGA Executive Director Ed Mate said. A site for statewide amateur championships, CommonGround, will serve as the supporting course to Cherry Hills during the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship.

2009
Pioneers Finish 5th in NCAA Nationals

After the first round at Caves Valley Golf Club, site of the 2009 NCAA Women's Golf Championship, the University of Denver led the field by two shots; an amazing feat for a program that didn't exist until 1998 and lacks the competitive advantage of year-round warm weather. Led by Stephanie Sherlock, Katie Kempter and Dawn Shockley, DU would eventually finish behind Arizona State, UCLA, USC and Oklahoma State to earn a place among the country's elite.

2010
Tom Lehman Wins the Senior PGA Championship

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For one glorious week, all the drama surrounding Colorado Golf Club and its unfinished clubhouse evaporated into the type of theater course architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw envisioned when they built the 7,604-yard course in Parker. Spirited Sunday rallies by Fred Couples (back-to-back eagles on 15 and 16) and David Frost (birdies on 15, 16 and 17) propelled them into a three-way playoff at 7-under par with third-round leader Tom Lehman. But with Lehman safely in the fairway on the first playoff hole, Couples and Frost both overcooked their drives, leading to double-bogeys and a victory for Lehman, who clinched it with par.

2011
Koreans Dominate the U.S. Women's Open

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Golf fans will long remember the 66th U.S. Women's Open at The Broadmoor for two reasons: the numerous weather delays that pushed the event's final round into Monday; and the brilliant play of South Korea's So Yeon Ryu, whose dramatic birdie on the 72nd hole forced a three-hole playoff with compatriot Hee Kyung Seo. Ryu dominated Seo on the extra holes, winning handily. At her press conference, she credited as her inspiration Se Ri Pak, who won the event in 1998. She wasn't alone. South Korean players‚ including Pak, who finished 16 shots off the lead, comprised 23 percent of the total field at the event.

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