The Club at Rolling Hills set to host historic CGA Match Play for fifth time
By Gary Baines – 06/14/2019
The last two years were an anomaly for the CGA’s oldest championship.
When The Club at Ravenna in Littleton hosted back-to-back CGA Match Plays in 2017 and ’18, it marked just the third time since 1960 that the event had been held two straight years at the same venue, following Bear Creek (2000 and ’01) and The Broadmoor’s South Course (1984 and ’85).
But this year a change is in order. The 119th CGA Match Play is set for next week at The Club at Rolling Hills in Golden, complete with its very challenging greens. It will be Rolling Hills’ fifth time hosting the Match Play, after it previously did so in 1979, ’88, ’97 and 2012.
Though there will be only three previous champions in the field, one of them will be the guy who won in 2012 at Rolling Hills, Brian Dorfman, who defeated Parker Edens in the 36-hole final that year, 2 up.
Last year at Ravenna, Dorfman advanced to the Match Play semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion AJ Ott.
Other former CGA Match Play champions who are in the field for next week at Rolling Hills are Nick Nosewicz (2015) and Steve Irwin (2004).
Also scheduled to play at Rolling Hills are 2018 finalist Ross Macdonald; 2016 CGA Amateur winner Colin Prater; 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Jake Staiano; other prominent local college golfers Davis Bryant, Coby Welch, Griffin Barela and Cal McCoy; four-time CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year Chris Thayer; and Jon Lindstrom, long one of the top amateurs in the state.
A round of stroke play qualifying on Monday will determine the 64 players who advance to match play — and their seedings. Match play begins on Tuesday, with two rounds of matches each on Wednesday and Thursday. The scheduled 36-hole final is set for Friday, June 21
For Monday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.