Eight Colorado junior golfers, including two who have signed national letters of intent to play golf at NCAA Division I programs, have been awarded spots in the second class of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program.
The program, designed to nurture the budding careers of exceptional young golfers in the state, is named for the most successful golfer with Colorado roots. Irwin, a Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate, has won three U.S. Opens, 20 PGA Tour events overall, and a record 45 tournaments on the Champions Tour. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
In Colorado, Irwin claimed the 1963 state high school championship, three straight CGA Stroke Plays (1963, ’64 and ’65) and the CGA Match Play in 1966.
The second class for the program was announced this week by the CGA and CWGA. The players chosen receive free unlimited use of the practice range and Kids Course at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora — and of the championship course on a space-available basis — in 2014. CommonGround, which opened in 2009, is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA, who established and administers the Irwin Elite Player Program.
Out of 22 applicants, the young golfers who have been accepted into the program for the coming year are: Christian Agelopoulos of Denver; Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster; Ross Macdonald of Castle Rock; Roger Nakagawa of Denver; Spencer Painton of Aurora; Ryan Sangchompuphen of Denver; Jake Staiano of Englewood; and Hannah Wood of Centennial.
(Pictured above are Painton, Wood, Sangchompuphen, Nakagawa and Kupcho, who are pictured with Clayton Cole, one of the driving forces behind the initiative. Recipients not pictured are Macdonald, Staiano and Agelopoulos.)
Four of those selected also participated in the program in 2013: Agelopoulos, Macdonald, Nakagawa and Wood.
Wood, a senior at Arapahoe High School, has committed to play college golf at the University of Oklahoma beginning in the fall of 2014. And Painton, who this fall won the 5A state high school individual golf title, is headed for the University of Kansas.
All five of the high-school-age golfers chosen — Kupcho, Macdonald, Painton, Staiano and Wood — have won either a CGA/CWGA championship and/or qualified for USGA national championships.
The hope is that the junior golfers selected will demonstrate some of the same work ethic, discipline and competitiveness that Hale Irwin himself is known for.
A letter from Irwin goes to each recipient, and part of it reads: “When I was asked to lend my name to this program I did so on the condition that the program focuses on the values that I attribute to my success in golf. When I am asked what I credit to my success my answer is simple — hard work. I may not win every tournament I play in, but if I don’t it won’t be for lack of trying. My passion for the game and my drive to be the best I can be motivates me to outwork my fellow competitors. You might beat me, but you won’t out-try me!
“The Hale Irwin Elite Player Program is for young men and women, like yourself, who share this passion and determination. Talent will only take you so far — the rest you earn through hard work, determination and drive. You have been selected as someone who exhibits these qualities. The potential is there, now let’s see what you can do with it.”
Steve Irwin, Hale’s son, serves on the CGA board of governors and was instrumental in the establishment of the Elite Player Program.
Here’s a brief rundown on each of the junior players selected for the 2014 class:
Christian Agelopoulos of Denver — The sixth-grader from Colorado Academy returns for his second year in the program. The 11-year-old played on the winning team in the season-ending CJGA Junior Ryder Cup. Agelopoulos won the City of Aurora Junior Championship and tied for second in the Colorado Optimist Junior tournament.
Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster — After never competing in a USGA championship before this year, Kupcho played in four such national tournaments in 2013: the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the USGA Women’s State Team. Individually, she advanced to the round of 32 at the Girls’ Junior. She recently was named CWGA Junior Player of the Year. Along with Hannah Wood and Melissa Martin, she helped Colorado finish sixth in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship, tying the state’s best showing ever in the event. Also team-wise, Kupcho joined with Calli Ringsby, Wood and Sydney Merchant in leading the CWGA team to a third-place finish in the Girls Junior America’s Cup, tying the state’s second-best performance ever in that event. Kupcho won titles in the Colorado Junior PGA and the Big I Junior Classic state tournament, and she was runner-up in the 4A state high school meet and in the girls division of the CJGA Tournament of Champions. Kupcho, 16, is a junior at Jefferson Academy.
Ross Macdonald of Castle Rock — Macdonald won the 2013 CGA Junior Stroke Play by four shots at CommonGround, home of the Irwin Elite Player Program of which he was a part in 2013. He finished second in the same tournament in 2012. Now a 17-year-old junior at Valor Christian, Macdonald was a quarterfinalist in the CGA Junior Match Play and finished seventh in the 4A state high school tournament. Macdonald’s Valor Christian squad won the 4A state team title. He also competed for Colorado in the Junior America’s Cup.
Roger Nakagawa of Denver — Nakagawa returns for a second year in the Irwin Elite Player Program after dropping his handicap index by 4 1/2 strokes in 2013. He competed in the CJGA’s season-ending Junior Ryder Cup and posted three top-five finishes in 2013. Nakagawa, 13, attends eighth grade at the Hill Campus of the Arts and Sciences.
Spencer Painton of Aurora — Painton won three times during the course of the fall, claiming titles in the 5A state high school championship, the CJGA Tournament of Champions and the CJGA Collegiate High School Invitational. In addition, Painton made it to the round of 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur, where he fell to the eventual national champion, Scottie Scheffler of Dallas. Painton, 17, is a senior at Regis Jesuit High School, which won its fourth consecutive 5A state title last month.
Ryan Sangchompuphen of Denver — At 10 years old, Sangchompuphen is the youngest of this year’s Irwin Elite Player class. He led the CJGA 10-and-under points list in 2013, finished in the top three all but once in 12 tournaments, and won twice. Sangchompuphen is a fifth-grader at Steck Elementary.
Jake Staiano of Englewood — Staiano made his mark in 2013 by winning the CGA Junior Match Play, giving Valor Christian players a sweep of CGA junior championships in 2013 (teammate Ross Macdonald won the Junior Stroke Play). Staiano finished fourth in the 4A state tournament, helping Valor claim the team title. The junior also placed third at the CJGA Collegiate High School Invitational. He competed on the CGA team at the Junior America’s Cup competition.
Hannah Wood of Centennial — Wood will remain in the Irwin program for the second straight year after repeating as the winner of the girls division of the CJGA Tournament of Champions, this time prevailing by six strokes. Wood won the prestigious Kathy Whitworth Invitational junior tournament in Texas early this year, then competed in three USGA championships. The Arapahoe High School senior helped lead Colorado to a sixth-place finish in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship, matching the state’s best performance ever in the tournament. Wood, 17, also competed on the CWGA team that placed third in the Girls Junior America’s Cup, tying Colorado’s second-best showing ever in that event.
