Experience rises to the top at the Inspirato Colorado Open

Day 2 of the Inspirato Colorado Open saw past champions and tour veterans vie for the lead

By Jim Bebbington

Chris Korte of Littleton, who missed the cut earlier this month at the Ascendant presented by Blue Korn Ferry tournament in Berthoud, grabbed the lead of the Inspirato Colorado Open with a Friday round of 8-under.

He lead the field at 11-under by the end of the day, but is being closely followed by a group of former champions and players with PGA Tour experience clustered at 8-under par.

Korte, of Littleton, has played in three PGA Tour events this season with his best finish a T-16 at the Puerto Rico Open in March. He played last week in the Barracuda Open, the PGA Tour event for pros who don’t qualify for the Open Championship, but did not make the cut.

Friday’s round saw the players with championship experience really rise to the top on the second day of the four-day grind.

Jhared Hack of Las Vegas is second at 9-under with some Friday night play still underway.

At 35 Zahkai Brown of Arvada already has 15-years of experience in the Colorado Open, winning in 2013 and finishing in the top-five five times already. Friday’s 9-under par round of 62 placed him briefly atop the leaderboard and put him among a group of strong competitors at 8-under for the tournament going into the weekend.

“Made a long putt on 5 and had a very lucky hole-out on 13, the par 3,” he said. “I was over the pin in the bunker short-sided and one-hopped it in the hole.”

He said he worked on his swing mid-round and on his back nine was able to place his iron shots more precisely to give him easier putts. He had nine birdies and no bogeys on the round.

Brown is working at Arvada-based Pins and Aces while he prepares to make a run this October at the Q-School process for the PGA Tour.

Sam Saunders, of Albuquerque NM, who won in 2019, is now an assistant coach of the University of New Mexico men’s golf team. He has opened the tournament with two 4-under rounds.  “I sort of got it around pretty well obviously; I made a couple of putts,” he said. “I need to hit some balls and straighten it out a little bit but overall it was pretty good.”

Not playing full-time anymore helped him regain his enjoyment of the game. “Honestly I’ve just been trying to have some fun and I’ve played really well this summer and won some other tournaments and want to keep it going and see how it goes,” he said.

Jim Knous, the former PGA Tour pro who played at the Colorado School of Mines in college, was glad to join the group near the top. His 5-under round Friday put him at 6-under overall.

“Putter was much better today than day one,” he said. “There were a couple tough pins today that you had to respect, but that’s just a good job by the grounds crew. They always do a good job out here. The greens are rolling incredibly well.”

Defending champion Davis Bryant finished with a flurry, going 4-under on the back nine of the course he grew up on. “I was kind of stuck in neutral on the front then chipped in on 15, made a 15-footer on 16 and hit it to a foot on 17 so it’s always good to finish on a high note.”

The cut Friday night took the field down to the top 60 players plus ties. Play resumes today and concludes Friday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

Click here to follow the tournament live through Sunday’s final round.

Jim Bebbington is the Director of Content at Colorado AvidGolfer and can be reached at [email protected]

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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