By Jim Bebbington
Every year the field at the Inspirato Colorado Open has several teens competing for the first time – veterans of high school and junior tournaments – who are getting their first taste of competing against professionals.
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Phil Mickelson won low-amateur honors at the Colorado Open in 1989 at the age of 19. Annually there are great high school players who are on their way to play for college teams who compete here against players who are trying to pay their mortgage with their winnings.
Players in this year’s Colorado Open who are making that transition said Friday their hopes are to compete and learn from being around the best.
Nicholas Brooks, 18, just graduated from Lutheran High School in Parker after a stellar high school and junior golf career that he capped off by winning the 3A state golf title by seven shots. He is going to Butler University in Indiana this fall to play for the golf team.
Thursday he came off a windy Green Valley Ranch Golf Course at 1-under par thanks to a birdie on his 18th hole and said he was looking forward to competing the whole tournament.
“I wouldn’t say I played fantastic but I kept it together and I didn’t take myself out f the tournament, which is the most important thing,” he said.
He caddie was a friend, Crew Fitzgerald, and for the front nine his longtime coach, Philip Linares of PEAK Golf Colorado, walked alongside.
Brooks got to 3-under at one point, gave a few back, then rallied on the final hole to go under par.
Brooks said he comes to the competition with the same goal he always has – he wants to win. “I mean I would say I feel bad but I just want to win – that’s kind of how I’ve always been.”
Gregory White, 18, of Centennial, shot 2-over for his opening round – scattering three birdies and three bogeys and one double-bogey around the 7,000 yard course. The Eaglecrest High School graduate is headed this fall to play golf at Radford University in Virginia.
“I just though that summer going into college would be fun to have an experience like this, to learn a lot about my game and what I needed to do to get better to hopefully compete on this level more often in the future,” he said.
Green Valley Ranch has hosted the Colorado Open for more than 20 years and does it up right – player’s-only areas to practice and a lot of amenities that are a step up from even the nicest junior tournaments.
“It was probably the most pressure, the most nervous I felt in a while on the first tee but it was just a really cool experience out there,” he said. “The course is in great shape.”
At the end of Friday Ethan Farnam of Illinois led the tournament with a blistering 9-under 62. He played in the morning when conditions were ideal; wind kicked up a little in the afternoon.
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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.
Day 1 of 2026 Inspirato Colorado Open sees teens doing well By Jim Bebbington Every year the field at the Inspirato Colorado Open has several teens competing for the first time – veterans of high school and junior tournaments – who are getting their first taste of competing against professionals. View this post on
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