Whitney, Gilman post top-5 finishes in separate mini-tour events
by Gary Baines
Four players with strong Colorado ties posted top-10 finishes on mini tours this week, with former Fort Collins resident Tom Whitney leading the way with a runner-up showing.
Whitney (left), a former Air Force Academy golfer, tied for second place on Friday in the Panther Trail Classic, an Adams All Pro Tour event in The Woodlands, Texas.
Whitney shot rounds of 66-72 for a 6-under-par 138 total, which left him five strokes behind champion Sean Walsh of Keller, Texas. The performance was worth $2,637 for Whitney.
Elsewhere:
— Former University of Denver golfer Chris Gilmantied for fourth place on Friday in the Golden State Tour’s Season Opener in Oceanside, Calif. Gilman went 69-67 for a 6-under 136 total. That put him three strokes behind winner Stuart Macdonald of Rancho Mirage, Calif.
— And Boulder native and former Louisville resident George Cunningham and former University of Colorado golfer Jeremy Paul tied for ninth place on Wednesday in the Outlaw Tour’s McCormick Ranch Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Cunningham carded rounds of 73-70-70 for a 3-under-par 213 total, while Paul went 69-75-69 for the same tally. Each earned $1,325. Mackenzie Brock won with a 206 total.
— Meanwhile, in the first of four qualifying tournaments in 2019 for PGA Tour Latinoamerica, AJ Morris of Aspen fell just short of earning conditional status for PTLA on Friday.
With the 13th- through 35th-place finishers and ties in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., landing conditional status, Morris placed 41st out of 112 players, two strokes shy of the final spots. He posted rounds of 68-73-73-78 for a 4-over-par 292 total.