For a guy who hasn’t competed in the HealthOne Colorado Open in a while, Brian Guetz certainly seemed to make a major impact on this year’s tournament, the 50th Open ever held.
Guetz, of course, grew up in Littleton and has won two Colorado Opens himself (1994 and 2008), with the former making him one of just two amateurs (along with Gary Longfellow) who has claimed the Open title outright.
Now Guetz is an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State, and he played a big role in OSU product Ian Davis’ preparation for the Colorado Open — and subsequent victory on Sunday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
“I talked to coach Guetz earlier in the week before I started because obviously he’s won it twice and he knows how to go about it around here,” said Davis, who turned pro in late May immediately after Oklahoma State finished second in the NCAA Championships. “He kind of helped me out with the altitude and how that’s going to affect the ball. We went through a couple of holes, what he hit off certain tees. He’s great. He walked with me my whole junior year of college pretty much. He knows my game, so he’s a good one to talk to.”
Interestingly, in 2011 Guetz served as an assistant coach at Colorado State University, working with, among others, 2013 Colorado Open champ Zahkai Brown. Nowadays, Brian’s brother, Bret, is an assistant at CSU. And one of the Ram players Bret Guetz coaches is Cameron Harrell, who just happened to earn low-amateur honors in the Colorado Open on Sunday.
Davis (above celebrating with his caddie, and at left) put Brian Guetz’s advice to good use as he took the lead on Saturday and never relinquished it on Sunday in posting a five-stroke victory. The winning margin matched the second-largest at the Open since 1976.
Davis birdied his final two holes Sunday to post a 4-under-par 67 and a 14-under 270 total and earn his first tournament paycheck as a pro, good for $23,000.
Brandon Hagy, a first-team All-American at Cal last season who likewise is in the initial phase of his pro career, birdied No. 18 Sunday to claim second place outright at 275 after a final-round 69. He earned $13,500.
Nathan Lashley of Scottsdale, Ariz., the 2010 champion, tied for third at 276 with Brock MacKenzie of Yakima, Wash., as both players closed with 70s.
So, looking back, how much did Brian Guetz’s advice about the Open and Green Valley Ranch help Davis come out on top?
“A lot actually,” said the 22-year-old Davis, a former All-American at OSU. “The altitude here makes the ball go so much farther. He gave me a couple of different percentages to factor in when I was getting my yardages. Sometimes it’s hard to trust it when you’ve got 190 (yards) and you’re going to hit a 9-iron over water. I just tried to trust it all week. Fortunately it worked out.”
Davis, from Edmond, Okla., wasn’t challenged to any great extent on Sunday. He started the day at 10 under par and shot a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine in the final round. The only other competitor to reach 10 under par on Sunday was Hagy (left), who was 3 under par for the day through seven holes and again through nine. But Hagy pulled his approach on 10 and made bogey and three-putted from in front of the green on 11 for another bogey.
“I just kind of lost momentum on 10 and 11,” he said. “That sort of threw me out of it. I was feeling really good, then I had those few bad swings on 10 and 11. And (Davis) played really well. I wasn’t able to hit it close enough on the back nine to put pressure on.”
Interestingly, both of the top two finishers Sunday, Davis and Hagy, were playing in their first Colorado Open and had never seen GVR before the week began. By Sunday, Davis especially looked very comfortable on the layout.
“I was focused on getting off to a good start (on Sunday), and I did,” he said. “I parred the first three holes, then I told my caddie Ben it’s time to get going, and I birdied the next couple holes. That felt pretty good. After those two birdies, I felt pretty comfortable all day.
“I’ll tell you what: This is pretty special.”
Low Amateur, Low Coloradan for Harrell: About the only thing Cameron Harrell didn’t do Sunday was win the Colorado Open. The Colorado State University golfer not only captured low-amateur honors — by four strokes — but he tied for fifth overall and was the top Colorado finisher, pro or amateur.
Harrell (left), who grew up in Colorado Springs, also was one of just three players — along with professionals Nathan Lashley and Brock MacKenzie — to record sub-par rounds each day of the tournament. Harrell went 68-70-70-69 for a 7-under-par 277 total.
“I wanted to prove to myself in a pro tournament like this that I can definitely compete because this is what I’m going to be doing in a year (after completing his senior season at CSU),” Harrell said. “I’ll be in stuff like this competing and paying my own way. So it feels really good to finish this well, especially as an amateur right now. And I’ve still got another year to get better and see where I can go from there.”
Harrell, who started the day five behind leader Ian Davis, made an early surge on Sunday. He birdied the first three holes, making putts of 25, 5 and 5 feet, to get within two of Davis. And after a bogey on No. 6, he drained a tough 35-foot birdie putt on No. 8. But when Davis started to pull away, neither Harrell nor anyone else in the field could keep up.
“I closed the gap real fast, which I wanted to do early on,” the 20-year-old said. “It was just a bummer I couldn’t put any pressure on (Davis on the back nine). I was trying to do that by posting a 10 or 11 under. It was a little frustrating after such a great start to have a little drop-off. But I’ll take top five.”
Harrell’s finish was the best by an amateur at the Open since Gunner Wiebe was runner-up in 2010.
Cole Nygren of Longmont, who on Friday made a double-eagle at the par-5 ninth hole, took second place in the amateur competition, closing with a 67 for a 281 total.
Award Puts Chenoweth in Good Company: LindaSue Chenoweth, a key figure in the success of the HealthOne Colorado Open since the tournament was revived more than a decade ago, on Sunday received the Robert M. Kirchner Award, which is given to an individual who has contributed greatly to amateur golf, professional golf and/or tournament golf in the state of Colorado.
Chenoweth served executive roles for the Colorado Open from 2004-13, at different times holding the titles of executive director and chief operations officer.
“There’s no one better at the little things than LindaSue,” noted CGA executive director Ed Mate (pictured with Chenoweth), a recipient of the Kirchner Award in 2009.
Having played such an integral role in the tournament over the years, Chenoweth was all smiles in accepting the award.
“To be among that list of recipients, that’s about the coolest honor a girl in golf can get, particularly in this golf family,” she said.
Notable: Scott Petersen of Parker, winner of the Colorado Open in 2000, carded Sunday’s best round, a bogey-free 6-under-par 65, to post a 10th-place finish at 279. Another Coloradan cracking the top 10 on Sunday was fellow former University of Colorado golfer Luke Symons of Aurora, who tied for eighth at 278 after a 71. Two other former Buffs, Derek Fribbs and Kevin Kring, shared 11th place. … Speaking of former CU golfers, three of them were paired together in Sunday’s final round, with two-time Open champion Derek Tolan joining Pat Grady and Kane Webber. After all starting the day at 1 under par, Tolan and Webber (284) finished a stroke better than Grady.
Scores: For all the scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
