Finishing in the top 10 in a USGA national championship is no small feat. Ask any elite-level golfer with strong Colorado ties.
In the last half-dozen USGA seasons, fewer than 10 times has a player with major Colorado connections either placed in the top 10 in an individual USGA stroke-play national championship or made it to at least the quarterfinals of an individual USGA amateur championship.
That list includes David Duval (second in 2009 U.S. Open), Steve Ziegler (quarterfinalist in 2009 U.S. Amateur), Hale Irwin (fourth in 2011 U.S. Senior Open), Mark Wiebe (eighth in 2012 U.S. Senior Open) and Marilyn Hardy (quarterfinals in 2013 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur).
Yet in this month alone, two players with significant Colorado ties accomplished that feat. Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs made it to the final eight in the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Bethlehem, Pa., last week. And this week, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton (pictured above in a USGA photo) advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur — held this year in Deal, N.J. — for the third time since 2009.
The 2014 USGA championship season for non-team events ends today with the finals of the U.S. Senior Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. After that, all that’s left is the biennial USGA Men’s State Team Championship, set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in French Lick, Ind. Steve Irwin, Jon Lindstrom and Nick Nosewicz are scheduled to represent Colorado at that event.
As for the recent USGA quarterfinalists with strong ties to the Centennial State, both Harrington and Eaton earn exemptions into their respective 2015 national championships by virtue of advancing to the final eight this month.
Harrington (left), 42, was playing in his ninth USGA championship, and his third U.S. Mid-Am, but he had never before gotten beyond the round of 16 in match play. Ironically, when he did previously go to the round of 16, he lost to a fellow Coloradan, Rick DeWitt, in the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur. This time around, after qualifying for match play and winning his first three matches, the 2009 CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year fell 5 and 3 to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, Mich., who won the 2013 Michigan Open title as an amateur.
For the record, by the way, had Harrington won the title, he would have been the second national Mid-Am champion from Colorado. Bill Loeffler, who has gone on to win three Colorado Open titles, claimed the U.S. Mid-Am title in 1986.
At the Senior Women’s Amateur, Eaton, 55, went 19 holes in the round of 16 to defeat former U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Corey Weworski and earn a quarterfinal spot. But, just as was the case in 2011, Eaton fell in the quarters to Terri Frohnmayer of Salem, Ore.
Eaton, a native of Greeley who now lives in Tempe, Ariz., was competing in her 22nd USGA championship. Besides this year and in 2011, she made the U.S. Senior Women’s Am quarterfinals in 2009. She won 21 CWGA championships before “retiring” from those competitions at the end of the 2013 season. She’s been the CWGA Senior Player of the Year each of the past five years.
Eaton and Harrington are two of the 13 players with strong Colorado connections who in 2014 made cuts during the 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. (Note: Making cuts in this case means advancing to match play in amateur-only events, or surviving 36-hole cuts in open championships).
Here’s the rundown:
U.S. Open — Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler finished 63rd.
U.S. Women’s Open — Former University of Denver golfer Sue Kim finished 59th.
U.S. Senior Open — Former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo finished 14th.
U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links — DU golfer Elyse Smidinger advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.
U.S. Amateur Public Links — Chris Korte of Littleton, a current DU golfer, advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.
U.S. Junior Amateur — Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village advanced to match play and lost in the round of 64.
U.S. Girls’ Junior — Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster tied for eighth place in stroke play, easily advancing to match play, then lost in the round of 64.
U.S. Women’s Amateur — Former University of Colorado golfer Jennifer Coleman made match play, won one match and lost in the round of 32 to Alison Lee, the No. 3-ranked female amateur in the world at the time.
U.S. Amateur — No local players advanced to match play.
U.S. Mid-Amateur — Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs made match play, won three matches and lost in the quarterfinals, which makes him exempt from qualifying next year.
U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur — Shannon Langhardt of Lakewood made match play and lost in round of 64.
U.S. Senior Amateur — No local players advanced to match play.
U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur — Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton made match play, won three matches and lost in the quarterfinals for the third time in the last six years, which makes her exempt from qualifying in 2015. Also making match play, but losing in the round of 64 were Christie Austin of Greenwood Village, a former USGA Executive Committee member, and part-time Gunnison-area resident Marilyn Hardy.
