Colorado remains a hot spot for amateur golf

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE ? The PGA Tour has been absent from Colorado golf courses since 2006 and won?t return until 2014, but in this gap fans in the state have had no shortage of opportunities to watch the game at its highest level.

The Broadmoor brought the U.S. Senior Open to Colorado Springs in 2008, then the U.S. Women?s Open in 2011. The Solheim Cup ? the women?s equivalent to the Ryder Cup ? will be in Parker next in Aug. 2013.

Next in line is the U.S. Amateur, which runs Aug. 13-19 at Cherry Hills Country Club, the latest attraction for a course that has hosted eight USGA championships and two PGA championships.

?You?ll see a special event,? U.S. Amateur co-director Robbie Zalzneck said. ?These guys may not be the household names yet, but they will be in a few years. And this is the only championship of its kind where we don?t rope the fairways, so you can actually walk right along with these top players.?

Colorado continues to bring the top USGA events because its history, enthusiasm and available volunteers. And the players love to explore advantages of 5,000-plus feet.

?I can?t wait to play in Denver,? said Beau Hossler, a high school senior in California who took 29th at the U.S. Open last month. ?I?ve played altitude before and I was banging it pretty long, so I?m definitely looking forward to that.?

The weather has been inconsistent at past events, even forcing a Monday finish to the Women?s Open at The Broadmoor last year; but again, the trade of this elevation is worth a few delays to the players.

?It?s like Canada compared to what I?m used to in Texas,? said Jordan Spieth, the world?s top-ranked amateur player. ?But it could get pretty interesting playing as many as 36 holes in a day in 94 degrees and light air, so you do have to be ready for it.?

Speith and several USGA officials were on hand for media day Monday at Cherry Hills. The luxurious venue seemed amateur for only a brief moment when Hossler, joining by phone, couldn?t initially be reached and all in attendance were treated to the teenager?s voicemail on consecutive tries.

That?s part of the charm of this tournament.

The Amateur is open to any non-professional golfer with a certified handicap not exceeding 2.4. The USGA accepted 6,403 entries, who then had to qualify at spots throughout the country.

This will be the 112th playing of the Amateur, making it the country?s oldest golf championship (by one day compared to the U.S. Open). Past winners include some of the biggest names in golf history ? Bobby Jones (five times), Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods (three times). Jack Nicklaus won at The Broadmoor in 1967 and Phil Mickelson took the title the last time it was held at Cherry Hills in 1990.

Cheyenne Mountain graduate Justin Spray will be part of the field. Spray led the Indians to a state championship in 2004 before playing at Colorado State. Spray was one of three to qualify from at the Country Club of Colorado.

The Amateur?s format is 36 holes of stroke play ? split between Cherry Hills and CommonGround Country Club ? to narrow the field from 312 to 64. From there, six rounds of match play will determine the champion.

The International announced the end to its 21-year stop at Castle Pines when it couldn?t find a sponsor for the 2007 event.

The PGA will return in 2014 with the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills. The tournament will be part of the season-end playoff for the FedEx Cup.

But hosting the Amateur is hardly a consolation prize in the meantime. Spieth, for example, just completed an All-American season at Texas in which he carried the Longhorns to the title. He also made the cut at two PGA stops and the U.S. Open, where his weekend score was better than all but two players ? including champion Webb Simpson. Spieth also owns a pair of U.S. Junior Amateur titles ? more than anyone but Tiger Woods.

But from his perspective, only our national championship is bigger than the event he?ll play in Colorado in a few weeks.

?Preparing for this is no different than preparing for the U.S. Open,? Spieth said. ?It means that much to the guys who play in it.?

Source: http://www.gazette.com/sports/village-142110-golf-hills.html

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