Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC Colorado Championship Tees Off Thursday

Berthoud hosts the best players this side of the PGA TOUR

By Jon Rizzi

Thursday’s forecast calls for thunderclaps, and they’ll be coming from Berthoud, as the power hitters from the Korn Ferry Tour begin competing at the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes.

As volunteer Chris Parkes says, “Words can’t describe the sound of the ball coming off the face when these guys hit it.”

The three-year-old tournament—which has generated an enormously positive response from players, fans, organizers and the PGA TOUR—last year launched the career of Will Zalatoris, who shot a 15-under to notch his first professional win before bursting onto the national stage with a runner-up finish in the 2021 Masters.

This year’s field features no shortage of future stars: Chase Johnson, whose Sunday 63 in last year’s event left him a stroke shy of a playoff; Chad Ramey, the most recent winner on the Korn Ferry Tour; and PGA TOUR University players Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State) and Garrett Reband (Oklahoma). Then there’s Davis Riley, Jared Wolfe and Cameron Young—each of whom already has two victories in the wraparound season and would receive an automatic “battlefield promotion” to the PGA TOUR with a third win.

Also looking for a ticket to the TOUR is Stephan Jaeger, a veteran of 60 PGA TOUR starts who tops the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Others in the field with PGA TOUR experience include Robert Allenby, Robert Garrigus, Daniel Summerhays and Cherry Hills Village resident and former World No. 1 Player David Duval.

Local talent includes Cheyenne native and 2012 NCAA D-II National Champion Joshua Creel, who is coming off a career-best second-place finish in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Live and Work in Maine Open; former Air Force Academy star Tom Whitney; two-time Colorado Open and PGA Tour winner Jonathan Kaye; Colorado Mines grad Jim Knous; Andrew Svoboda; and Chris Korte, who shot a 9-under 62 at Highland Meadows Golf Club to become the only Coloradan to advance from the Monday qualifiers.

Click here for a list of all competitors.

Read more about the event here.

See the entire tournament live and up-close at Colorado’s newest home for championship-caliber golf. To buy tickets, visit https://tpccoloradochampionship.com/ticket-information/

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