Year after 3 Coloradans competed in Drive Chip & Putt National Finals, no DCP events will be held in 2020; nearly 70 Colorado public courses closed for a time due to coronavirus concerns
By Gary Baines – 3/27/2020
A year ago, when a record-tying three Colorado junior golfers competed at the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals at the home of the Masters — and all three posted top-five finishes in their divisions, which had never before been done by kids from the Centennial State — little did anyone know that it would be at least three more years until a Coloradan would participate in the nationally-televised Finals again.
Last September, no locals qualified for the 2020 DCP National Finals. And now that means that no Coloradans will compete in the Finals of the event in 2021 either.
On Friday, officials from Drive Chip & Putt announced that because of ongoing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Nationals Finals that were supposed to be held on April 5 of this year have been rescheduled for April 4, 2021. Qualifiers for the 2020 event will be invited to compete next spring, so the qualifying events set for this calendar year have been canceled.
That includes the eight local qualifying events originally scheduled for Colorado in 2020, plus the two sub-regionals (at Murphy Creek and Thorncreek) and the regionals at Colorado Golf Club.
So 2019 will be the last DCP National Finals any Coloradans will compete in until at least 2022, with Colorado-based qualifying for the 2022 Nationals Finals taking place in 2021.
Last April, on the eve of the Masters, Chunya Boonta of Centennial finished an all-time Colorado best second in the National Finals at Augusta National (in the girls 12-13 division). Meanwhile, Caitlyn Chin of Greenwood Village was fifth in girls 10-11 and Grady Ortiz of Colorado Springs was fifth in boys 7-9.
The only other year three Coloradans qualified for the DCP National Finals was 2016, when Chin was joined by Luke Trujillo and Arielle Keating, both of Colorado Springs. The one other Coloradan to have previously competed in the Finals was Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs, in 2018.
In all, six different Coloradans have earned spot in the DCP National Finals, with Chin appearing twice.
The 80 junior golfers who qualified for the National Finals that are now set for 2021 will compete in same age group in which they played this past year.
In DCP events, contestants score points in each discipline — driving, chipping and putting — based on how they place in each, with the points added together for a cumulative total.
There are three qualifying stages for Drive Chip & Putt: locals, sub-regionals and regionals. At each of 10 regional qualifiers, the winners of each age/gender division advanced to the DCP National Finals. There are eight age/gender divisions in each DCP event.
In all, 40 boys and 40 girls compete in the National Finals, with 10 contestants in each division.
DCP is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition typically is limited to players 7-15.
In other recent coronavirus-related developments that will affect Colorado golf:
— The USGA has delayed the opening of entries for several of its championships, including the U.S. Girls’ Junior that’s scheduled for July 13-18 at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy, until the week of April 27. Other events affected include the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur. Qualifying dates and sites remain the same.
Registration for the aforementioned events were originally scheduled to open next week.
— While some public golf courses remain open in Colorado, around 70 had closed as of Friday, the day after Gov. Jared Polis’ statewide stay-at-home order went into effect. Many other varying directives — from cities, counties and departments of health — have also been issued.
(Updated March 30) Over the weekend, several Colorado public courses reopened after briefly being closed. Among those are Colorado National, Riverdale, Applewood, Raccoon Creek and the University of Denver Golf Club at Highlands Ranch.
Here is an updated, partial list of Colorado public/resort/military golf courses and related facilities that have closed for the time being due to concerns about the coronavirus, unless otherwise noted: (To provide updates to this list, please email us at golfjournal@coloradogolf.org)
City of Arvada
Lake Arbor GC
West Woods GC
City of Aurora
Aurora Hills GC
Meadow Hills GC
Murphy Creek GC
Saddle Rock GC
Springhill GC
City of Boulder
Flatirons GC
City of Commerce City
Buffalo Run GC
City of Denver
Aqua Golf
City Park GC (closed while undergoing redesign)
Evergreen GC
Harvard Gulch GC
Kennedy GC
Overland Park GC
Wellshire GC
Willis Case GC
City of Englewood
Broken Tee GC
Foothills Parks & Recreation District
Foothills GC in Denver
Meadows GC in Littleton
City of Fort Collins
City Park Nine GC
Collindale GC
Southridge GC
Hyland Hills Parks & Recreation District
The Greg Mastriona Golf Courses at Hyland Hills (Gold, Blue, and South and North Par-3s)
City of Fort Lupton
Coyote Creek GC
City of Lafayette
Indian Peaks GC
City of Lakewood
Fox Hollow GC
Homestead GC
City of Longmont
Sunset GC
Twin Peaks GC
Ute Creek GC
City of Louisville
Coal Creek GC
City of Loveland
Cattail Creek GC
Mariana Butte GC
The Olde Course at Loveland
South Suburban Parks & Recreation District
Family Sports Golf in Centennial
Littleton Golf and Tennis
Lone Tree GC
South Suburban GC
City of Thornton
Thorncreek GC
Topgolf
Topgolf Centennial
Topgolf Thornton
City of Westminster
Legacy Ridge GC
Walnut Creek GP
Also
Antler Creek GC in Falcon
Arrowhead GC in Littleton
Bella Rosa GC in Frederick
Cattails GC in Alamosa
Cherokee Ridge GC in Colorado Springs (will reopen April 1)
Cheyenne Shadows GC at Fort Carson
CommonGround GC in Aurora and Kids Course
Devil’s Thumb GC in Delta
Eisenhower GC Blue Course at Air Force Academy
Eisenhower GC Silver Course at Air Force Academy
Fossil Trace GC in Golden
Four Mile Ranch GC in Canon City
Green Valley Ranch GC in Denver and Par-3
Gypsum Creek GC in Gypsum
Hillcrest GC in Durango
Indian Tree GC in Arvada
Monte Vista GC
Plum Creek GC in Castle Rock
Red Hawk Ridge GC in Castle Rock
Silver Spruce GC at Peterson AFB
Spring Valley GC in Elizabeth
The Broadlands in Broomfield
The Broadmoor GC East Course in Colorado Springs
The Broadmoor GC West Course in Colorado Springs
Todd Creek GC in Thornton
Walking Stick GC in Pueblo