The last few weeks have featured three notable tournaments on the women’s golf schedule in Colorado, with an NCAA regional in Erie, and 5A and 4A state high school tourneys in Aurora and Greeley, respectively.
But this week could very well be the piece de resistance for women’s competitive golf in Colorado for 2012.
Two significant events are on the agenda.
The HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, with a total purse of $73,000, will be held Wednesday through Friday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver. Then on Sunday, the West Course at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs will host the 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying.
Many of the top female players with strong Colorado ties will compete in both events. That list includes former University of Denver golfer Katie Kempter, who competed on the LPGA Tour in 2010; recent CWGA Players of the Year Becca Huffer (2008) and Somin Lee (2011); and Jessica Wallace (pictured), who just completed her University of Colorado golf career.
Here’s a look at what’s in store in each of this week’s events:
— Colorado Women’s Open: Cindy Figg-Currier, who won a tournament on the LPGA Tour in 1997 and finished third at last year’s Women’s Open, is among the headliners in this year’s field.
Meanwhile, four players who just wrapped up their college careers will be making their pro debuts at Green Valley Ranch: Huffer (Notre Dame), Wallace (CU), Kayla Mortellaro (Idaho) and Brittany Penny (Grand Canyon).
Huffer, a two-time Colorado state high school champion at Littleton, won her first college tournament as a senior at Notre Dame. She finished second in the Colorado Women’s Open as an amateur in 2008 and ninth in 2010.
Wallace spent only her junior and senior seasons at CU after transferring from Pepperdine, but that didn’t keep her from tying the program record for college victories, with two, including one as a senior.
Meanwhile, Mortellaro won an impressive three times as a senior, including her second consecutive Western Athletic Conference championship.
Lee, who just completed her freshman season at Pepperdine, placed sixth in the Colorado Women’s Open last spring. She also finished sixth earlier this month at the NCAA West Regional that was hosted by Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.
Also playing in the Colorado Women’s Open is Anya Sarai Alvarez, who made the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open that was held at the Broadmoor last year.
Between the championship and pro-am competitions, the pros will be playing for $64,000 in prize money at the Colorado Women’s Open, while there will be another $9,000 of prizes available for the amateurs.
Last year’s Colorado Women’s Open proved memorable as 2010 PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer caddied for his girlfriend Allison Micheletti, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Jody Conradt made a hole-in-one.
— U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying: For the third consecutive year, the Broadmoor will host one of the Sectional qualifiers for the most prestigious event in women’s golf, the U.S. Women’s Open. Of course, the Broadmoor’s East Course was the site of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open itself. But Sunday’s 36-hole qualifier will be held on the West Course.
Besides Kempter, Huffer, Lee and Wallace, among the 76 competitors vying for three spots in the national championship are Alvarez, last year’s qualifying co-medalist at the Broadmoor, and CU golfer Alex Stewart. Stewart, who just completed her sophomore season, is No. 36 in the World Amateur Golf Women’s Rankings.
In all, the USGA received a record 1,364 entries for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played July 5-8 in Kohler, Wis. The Broadmoor is one of 19 sites for Sectional qualifiers this year.
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2012 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open
When: Wednesday through Friday (May 30-June 1). Tee times Wednesday and Thursday run from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Where: Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver (4900 Himalaya Road).
Format: 54 holes of stroke play. Most of the professionals will play with amateur partners, competing simultaneously in the championship and in a best-ball pro-am team event. A cut will be made after round 2.
Purse: $73,000 total — including the pro-am — with $64,000 going to the pros and $9,000 in prizes to the amateurs.
Field: Approximately 116 players for the championship, 150 overall.
LPGA Champion in Field: Among those entered is Cindy Figg-Currier, winner of an LPGA event in 1997 and more than $1.9 million in her LPGA career.
Tee Times: CLICK HERE.
Fan Information: The tournament is open to spectators free of charge.
