TPC Colorado continues to grow on pros

Day 2 of Blue Championship finds Korn Ferry players again falling in love with TPC Colorado

By Jim Bebbington

TPC Colorado Golf Club is making a lot of fans among the players in this year’s Korn Ferry Tour Blue Championship.

 

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As player after player were interviewed after their rounds Monday the top finishers said they loved coming to the course and felt that it was putting up an appropriate challenge.

“I think it’s a great test,” said Jackson Buchanan, who was among the leaders at the end of Friday’s round. “It hasn’t been (windy) and the scores aren’t that low, so it shows you that it’s got some teeth. Pins are in good positions. That’s what we want from a golf course – some give, but some take too. And I think this course has that.”

Buchanan shot back-to-back rounds of 6-under to be at the top of the leaderboard for much of Friday.

“I feel like everyone says this when they’re playing well, but just keep doing the same thing,” he said. “Keep the same swing feels, the same mindset, just have fun with my caddy. I’m just grateful to be out here and to be able to do this.”

Buchanan is playing in his first Blue Championship and is impressed by what he’s seen.

“(Hole No.) 16 was awesome,” he said. “The tee was there with a lot of people and a lot of clapping so that always gets some players excited. We might look like we don’t care but we enjoy it.”

TPC Colorado’s 16^th hole is a short par 3 with the tee box steps away from the clubhouse patio and has players shoot straight toward the Welch Reservoir and the Rocky Mountains beyond. Crowds typically surround the tee box and cheer good shots.

Boulder’s Miles Kuhl, who received an amateur’s exemption to play, missed the cut by just one stroke.

With his future college roommate and teammate Brayden Forte or Aurora as his caddy – Kuhl caddied for Forte here last year when Forte received the amateur exemption – Kuhl played well and was in position to move to the weekend until he bogeyed the final two holes.

Kuhl is attending San Diego State University this fall and he showed grit with several in-round comebacks on Friday. Beginning the round on No. 10, he bogeyed No. 18 just before making the turn, then crushed a 3-wood tee shot on the 655-yard No. 1 to set up an eagle.

“I knew I needed to get to 4 or 5 under and just didn’t make enough good swings,” he said. “Down at the end there were some tough finishing holes and it is what it is.”

“I’m super grateful I got the exemption,” he said.

Jay Card III, 32, is on his third season on the Korn Ferry Tour and approaches TPC Colorado with a veteran’s perspective.

“I love this course and I felt a little bummed how I finished yesterday,” he said.

Card said he switched back to his “Old Faithful” putter after Thursday’s rounds – a Scotty Cameron T11 Groupstick – and putted better Friday.

Card’s best round this season was tying for 2^nd in the LECOM Classic where he learned a valuable lesson he’s trying to apply in Berthoud.

“It was also nice knowing that it wasn’t this perfect week where I didn’t miss a shot or I didn’t make a bogey,” he said. “It was, like, golf can still be messy. It doesn’t have to be perfect to compete.”

He sits at 10-under going into Saturday.

Hunter Eichorn, who has had four top-give finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour this year an is at 10-under at TPC Coloardo, said the difference for him was just seeing putts finally fall.

“I felt like yesterday I played a little bit better than I scored, and I didn’t seem many go in,” he said. “Then I got one to go in on No. 7 today and was able to keep that going.”

Ross Steelman had a solo lead until a late bogey put him back into a tie after a strong round. “You open with an eagle, hit it to about four feet on No. 1, and it’s hard to have a bad day…” he said.

With No. 1 being lengthened to 655-yards, he hit his drive intentionally onto No. 15 and was able to attack the par 5 green with his second shot.

“It’s still a really good hole; it just makes it a little trickier off the tee,” he said.

Steelman led last year’s Ascendant Presented by Blue Championship by three shots going into the final round only to be overtaken by Neal Shipley, who won.

“I’ve played well here before,” he said. “I love this golf course; I love this tournament, and it’s a lot of good memories every time I show up.”

He said he does not look at this year as any kind of redemption for missing out on the victory last year.

“I played really well last year and the final round was just a really cool learning experience for me,” he said.

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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