John Ross will be eligible for Medicare next April, but age is all a state of mind, right?
That certainly seemed to be the case this week for Ross at the CoBank Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.
By winning the tournament Friday, Ross not only earned the first-place check of $8,500, but the $1,000 payday for the top super-senior player (60 and older). In fact, the 64-year-old became the oldest champion in the 17-year history of the Colorado Senior Open.
And he did it while out-battling two-time PGA Tour winner Keith Clearwater head-to-head in Friday’s final round.
“I feel very good about this,” said the Bramwell, W.Va., resident. “Especially at 64 years of age, it’s not getting any easier. I think playing out here at this altitude where the ball goes further, it makes an old man feel a little bit better.”
A year after finishing second in his first Colorado Senior Open, Ross (left and above) landed the top prize Friday, when he was never overtaken. Ross, who has almost 100 starts between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions to his credit, closed with a 2-under-par 70 to post a 10-under 206 total, good for a two-stroke victory.
Fifty-nine-year-old Chris Starkjohann of Oceanside, Calif., placed second and earned $5,000 after carding a final-round 68. Clearwater, a veteran of 408 PGA Tour events, finished third at 209, making $3,040 after shooting 72 on Friday.
Four Coloradans placed in the top 10: Doug Wherry of Lakewood (sixth, 213), Patrick Reidy of Lone Tree (eighth, 214), Jeff Hanson of Edwards (eighth, 214) and 2013 champion Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale (10th, 215).
Clearwater, who was paired with Ross, was the only player who caught the West Virginian on Friday. When Ross made his first bogey of the week on the sixth hole Friday, that put both players at 7 under par.
But holes 8 and 9 proved pivotal as Ross birdied 8 from 12 feet, then pulled off arguably the shot of the tournament on the par-5 ninth. There, he hit his second shot from 295 yards with a 3-wood to 3 feet, and sank the eagle putt. “Don’t ask me to do that again,” he later said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Clearwater (left) attempted to drive it over the hazard that traverses the ninth fairway, but failed to carry it and posted a bogey. That was a three-shot swing, and even though Clearwater made two strokes back on the next hole, Ross never relinquished sole possession of the lead on the back nine.
“I’m disappointed obviously, but I was grateful I was able to compete all week,” said Clearwater, who played the event without a practice round. “I’ve just got to solve the putting (problems). I played beautifully, but for three days I didn’t make a putt. I had six three-putts and 15 makeable birdie putts that I didn’t make. It would have been pretty fun — a pretty easy week — (because) I hit the ball really, really well — well enough to do about anything.”
But Ross, who estimates he’s won 30 tournaments in his professional career, didn’t show many chinks in the armor, making just two bogeys in 54 holes.
“I feel very fortunate,” said Ross, who also won the West Virginia Senior Open last month. “The golf course just suits my eye, although this was a test today. I have the utmost respect for Keith Clearwater and his track record. The battle I had all day was just making sure I was playing the golf course and didn’t get wrapped up in a match-play situation with Keith. Sometime the biggest battle is yourself rather than the golf course.
“After finishing second here last year, it feels good to break through to win.”
As for the matter of prevailing at age 64, this certainly isn’t the first time Ross hasn’t acted his age. When he first qualified for the PGA Tour in 1991, he was the oldest rookie to make it through Q-school, at age 39.
“If my health is decent, I feel like I can still compete with a 50-year-old,” he said. “But the older we get, that age difference seems to be more of an issue than when I was 39 playing against 25 year olds. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep doing this.”
Final-Hole Birdie Gives Krystyn Low-Am Honors: While the overall championship Friday didn’t have much final-hole drama, that certainly wasn’t the case for low-amateur honors. Tom Krystyn of Denver, competing in his first Colorado Senior Open, was struggling in Friday’s final round, but provided a highlight on the par-5 18th hole. There, after being in the green-front bunker in two, he hit a stellar sand shot from 35 yards, over a ridge, to within a foot of the hole. The subsequent birdie gave him a one-stroke victory in the amateur competition over Broncos general manager John Elway and 2006 and ’14 low am Kent Moore.
Krystyn finished with a 4-over-par 220 total despite a final-round 77. He tied for 25th overall.
Krystyn’s not-so-secret weapon for the week was having Bill Loeffler — winner of three Colorado Opens and one Colorado Senior Open — as his caddie. Loeffler had to skip playing this week as he underwent back surgery earlier this year. (The two are pictured at left.)
“He’s a great friend (and) he knows the course probably better than anybody who’s playing in the field, and that was a huge help,” said Krystyn, a FootJoy representive in Colorado and nearby states. “When I read a putt and he sees the same (line), it gives you confidence you read it correctly, so it helps a lot. It was just fun to have him out there.”
And it was at Loeffler’s urging that Krystyn entered the Senior Open for the first time.
“I had been playing well. I won the Ute Creek Invitational in the senior division and the Twin Peaks Invitational,” noted Krystyn. “He said, ‘You’re playing good, why don’t you play in the Colorado Senior Open?’ I said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to sign up.’ He said, ‘If you sign up I’ll caddie for you.’ He was the one who pushed me to sign up.”
The 52-year-old Krystyn has had a strong amateur career, having qualified for four USGA championships — a U.S. Amateur, two U.S. Mid-Ams and a U.S. Amateur Public Links. And he won two college tournaments while at Florida State. But the one thing he failed at, golf-wise, was in a very brief stint as a professional golfer, in 1987.
“I turned pro for a couple of months,” he said. “I made $600 in six tournaments (cashing twice) and I said, ‘This isn’t for me.'”
Elway 2nd Among Ams Despite First-Hole Woes: There probably wasn’t a player in the field at the Colorado Senior Open who can’t point to a hole or two they wish they had the chance to player over. In John Elway’s case, he can point to at least four instances — a triple bogey and three doubles that made the difference between a 29th-place finish and perhaps something in the top 10.
Especially troublesome for the Pro Football Hall of Famer was the par-4 first hole, where he went double bogey, par, triple bogey. On both Wednesday and Friday, he hit low liners that didn’t clear the 230 yards necessary to avoid the hazard in front of the tee.
Bottom line: Elway (above) finished 5 over par for the week, and was 5 over par on the first hole.
“If it was 16 holes each day, I’d have been right in the hunt, but I had a couple of bad holes each day, which made it a little tougher,” he said. “I struggled with the driver getting it in the air all week.
“I played a lot of good holes; I played 16 holes a day, then had two bad holes each day. That’s the difference. You have to be able to eliminate the bad holes, and I wasn’t able to do that. But I was really happy with the way I putted. Coming back off the way I started each day, I was happy to be able to do that.”
Despite the occasional big numbers, Elway finished runner-up in the amateur competition for the second straight time (2014 and ’16).
Rules Official Langston Receives Kirchner Award: Rich Langston, a highly respected volunteer rules official who worked his craft for 23 years while based in Colorado before moving to Oklahoma in November, on Friday was surprised to receive a prestigious honor following the conclusion of the Colorado Senior Open.
Langston (left) earned the Robert M. Kirchner Award for contributing greatly to amateur golf, professional golf, and/or tournament golf in the state of Colorado. It is named for the founder of the Colorado Open.
Appropriately, Langston was serving as the chief rules official for the Colorado Senior Open.
“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve had 25 seasons of a lot of fun,” he told the assembled crowd.
Later, Langston added, “(The award) was a total surprise. The Colorado Open Golf Foundation, the (Colorado PGA) Section, the state assocation (CGA), they’ve been great to me. They have really treated me so well. I just thank all of them.”
For more about Langston and all he has contributed, CLICK HERE.
For all the Colorado Senior Open scores, CLICK HERE.
