48-year-old Harrington, 2018 champ Ott advance to quarterfinals of CGA Match Play
By Gary Baines – 6/17/2020
On a day when the defending champion and the 2019 CGA Amateur winner were ousted, a 48-year-old, the 2018 champion and last year’s runner-up advanced to the quarterfinals of the 120th CGA Match Play Championship at Blackstone Country Club in southeast Aurora.
With two rounds of matches being played on Wednesday to narrow the field to the final eight, Michael Harrington of Garden of the Gods Club routed defending champion Josh McLaughlin of the Olde Course at Loveland in the round of 32, 7 and 6. Then the 48-year-old beat University of Wisconsin golfer Griffin Barela of Fox Hollow Golf Course 3 and 2. Harrington has competed in 13 USGA championships over his career.
Barela had beaten 2019 CGA Amateur champion Davis Bryant of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and Colorado State University in 19 holes in a round-of-32 match on Wednesday morning.
Among those joining Harrington in Thursday’s quarterfinals will be CSU golfer AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club, the 2018 champ; the University of Denver’s Cal McCoy of Bear Creek Golf Club, a finalist last year; and 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club. Ott and Prater played in last year’s U.S. Amateur.
On Wednesday, Ott defeated 2015 Match Play champ Nick Nosewicz of CommonGround Golf Course in 19 holes, then DU’s Jackson Solem of The Fox Hill Club 2 and 1.
In Thursday morning’s quarterfinals, Harrington will play Austin Hardman of Bear Creek GC, McCoy will face University of Colorado golfer Ross Macdonald of the Country Club at Castle Pines, Prater will square off with 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier Charles Sahlman of Cherry Creek Country Club, and Ott will meet CU golfer Jack Hughes.
Another two rounds of mathces will be contested on Thursday to get down to the final two players, who will meet up in Friday’s scheduled 36-hole final.
For the match-play bracket and the results, CLICK HERE.
The CGA Match Play is the oldest continuously-held statewide golf championship held in Colorado, having debuted in 1901.