2-time Colorado Open & PGA Tour champ Jonathan Kaye, a Denver native and former CU golfer, adds Inspirato CO Senior Open title to list of victories; Coloradans Shane Bertsch and Matt Schalk also place in top 4; Golden’s Richard Bradsby lands low-am honors
By Gary Baines – 8/30/2024
DENVER — Mark down 2024 as the year of the locals in the men’s Inspirato Colorado Open Championships.
In July, Davis Bryant of Aurora became the first player with strong Colorado connections since 2017 to win the Colorado Open.
And on Friday, Denver native, former University of Colorado golfer and former part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye earned the title in the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open. He thus became the first player with major ties to the Centennial State since 2013 to claim the CSO championship.
With apologies to John Denver, that’s a “Colorado Rocky Mountain high.”
“It’s awesome,” said Kaye, a 54-year-old who has two PGA Tour victories to his credit. “That’s why I came here. I came to try to win and I was fortunate enough to pull it off. It was a good week.
“I was born here and I grew up here. I spent all my summers here. I’ve got all my golfing buddies here. I played college here. This is home away from home for sure.”
Kaye, with the help of wife/caddie, Jen, earned $20,000 for Friday’s victory.
In addition, Kaye became just the third golfer to win titles in both the Colorado Open and the CSO, joining Mike Zaremba and Bill Loeffler. Kate captured victories in the Colorado Open in 1996 and 2017.
“I love it,” Kaye said of his accomplishments. “It’s great, and it’s always fun to win.”
Kaye, who now lives in central Phoenix full-time after formerly spending summers in Boulder for years, went wire-to-wire for the Colorado Senior Open victory. He entered the final round with a two-stroke lead and no one got closer than that on Friday.
Steve Holmes of Simi Valley, Calif., birdied No. 16 and Kaye three-putted for a bogey there, narrowing the gap to two. But the former CU golfer got up and down for par — while Holmes made bogey — on 17, then Kaye birdied 18 from 12 feet for a four-stroke victory.
That must be the magic number for the CSO as this marks the fourth consecutive year that the winning margin has been four shots.
Kaye (left) and runner-up Steve Holmes shake hands after the final round.
On Friday, Kaye posted his second straight 3-under-par 69 to check in at 13 under overall for three rounds. The victory was worth $20,000 out of the $100,000 purse. Holmes, who played in the 2023 PGA Championship, placed second and earned $11,000 after closing with a 71.
Shane Bertsch, a regular on PGA Tour Champions and the winner of an event on that circuit in 2020, bogeyed the last hole to end up at 8 under, good for third place and $8,000.
Not only did a player with strong Colorado ties earn the title, three of the top four finishers were “locals” as 2023 runner-up Matt Schalk of Erie shared fourth place this time — at 6 under par — with Bobby Collins of North Palm Beach, Fla. Schalk carded three straight rounds of 70.
For Kaye, Friday’s win was his first since his 2017 Colorado Open victory, which also came at Green Valley Ranch. And it played out with a decent-sized rooting contingent for the Denver native.
Kaye’s wife, Jen, a good player in her own right, caddied for Jonathan all week. Also on hand were some of Jonathan’s family, including his dad, some members of Jen’s family, Jonathan’s putting coach, a teammate of Jonathan’s from his junior college days at Phoenix College, and Charlie Brown, a teammate of Kaye’s at CU.
“It was good to have family (and friends) out here,” he said.
Kaye, with assistance from wife Jen, reads a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 11, which he converted.
Jen played a very active role as Jonathan’s caddie, consistently providing input on club selection and with reading putts.
“She’s a great player,” Kaye said of his wife. “I just like to confirm what I’m seeing — and make sure it’s not fake and that she’s seeing the same thing. It’s nice to have someone to bounce it off of that you trust and you value their opinion.”
Though Jen has caddied for Jonathan on many occasions, the CSO marked the first time the team-up has produced a victory.
“She’s caddied a lot for me and we’ve had a lot of success, but never (before) in the winner’s circle,” Kaye said at the awards ceremony. “Congrats, Jen.”
Bertsch, who grew up in Colorado and is just four months older than Kaye, knows Jonathan well and played in the same threesome as him on Friday.
“All week he played great,” Bertsch said of Kaye. “He did leave the door slightly open today. He did some good things — he made an eagle on the back nine and separated himself. He did what he needed to do. I’m sure he’s happy winning, but he didn’t play lights out.”
Kaye himself certainly admitted as much as he had spurts of very good play — doing birdie-eagle on holes 11 and 12 on Friday, for instance — but faltered at other times.
On 11, he drained a 25-foot breaking downhill putt for birdie to go up by three. Then on the next hole, the par-5 12th, he hit a 6-iron from 208 yards for his second shot, with the ball finishing 3 feet for the cup for a relatively easy eagle. That gave him a five-stroke lead.
But Kaye struggled in the middle of the back nine as he bogeyed the drivable par-4 14th after having 75 yards left for his second shot. On 15, he pulled his approach far enough that it ended up on the hazard line and he needed a nifty up and down for par. (“That was a very lucky break there,” he said. “That was huge.”) He three-putted 16 for bogey, and needed an up and down for par on 17.
“Honestly I kind of got hungry on the back nine,” Kaye said by way of explanation. “I didn’t feel good this morning so I didn’t eat breakfast. It was a long day out there and when we came down the stretch, my stomach just started growling like crazy. I’m like, ‘Oh, I guess I’m ready to eat.’ Bogey, bogey.
“It was kind of a bad stretch there. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch. I started thinking about how I stood in the field — and I was hungry — which is a terrible combination because I couldn’t focus on what I was doing playing golf. I was more focused on what everyone else was doing.”
Holmes never caught Kaye on Friday, but finished second.
Still, even with those hunger issues, and his speed being off with his putter for much of Friday (he missed two putts inside of 4 feet on the front 9), Kaye still shot 69 and won by four.
“I had opportunities on so many holes (and failed to convert on numerous occasions),” he said. “I made it really difficult on myself. But all in all, I drove it really good. I kept it in play. I never was in trouble. I didn’t have any penalty strokes and I putted good overall.”
In addition to earning the title and $20,000, Friday’s victory lands Kaye an exemption into the final stage of qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Senior Open, which will be held at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
Matt Schalk of Erie placed fourth on Friday, a year after being the CSO runner-up.
Shane Bertsch of Parker blasts from a bunker on the 18th hole Friday en route to his third-place showing.
Bertsch Can’t Parlay Early Eagle Into Run at Title: Bertsch started out the final round four out of the lead, and a bogey at No. 1 didn’t help. But he bounced back with a birdie on 2, then he drove the green on the par-4 fourth hole, where he sank a 22-foot putt for eagle.
Suddenly, he was just two out of the lead. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t spark a further charge. Instead, Bertsch played the remaining 14 holes in even par, and a bogey on the last dropped him out of a tie for second and he placed third, five back of Kaye.
One odd stat for Bertsch: he drove it into the water — or the edge of it — twice on par-5s in a four-hole stretch (9-12) and still made par on each occasion.
“My driver has been a real good weapon for me lately but it got me today on the two par-5s (with shots in or near the water),” said the 1998 Colorado Open champion. “Luckily I scrambled for two pars, but those are two should-be birdies. I just didn’t take advantage of some things.
“I put myself in position to make a good run, but I didn’t do the couple somewhat simple things I should have. I did alright for being a little tired. I had a chance. When I made that eagle I knew I had a chance early in the round. I needed to put some pressure on by making some birdies after that, and I just didn’t. I didn’t make any birdies after (that eagle) for a long time.”
Richards Bradsby of Lakewood CC prevailed by one in the low-amateur competition.
Coloradan Richard Bradsby Breaks Through for Low-Am Honors: Three years ago, Richard Bradsby of Golden tied for seventh-place overall in the Colorado Senior Open, but still didn’t manage low-amateur honors as his fellow Lakewood Country Club member, Jon Lindstrom, placed fourth a year after losing the overall title in a playoff.
But on Friday, Bradsby wouldn’t be denied, even though his overall finish (20th) didn’t match his 2021 showing.
Bradsby — coming off his first USGA championship appearance, at the U.S. Senior Amateur — rallied on Friday to prevail in the low-am competition by one over Bill Severin of Johnstown. Bradsby and Severin matched 3-under-par 69s in the final round, with Bradsby ending up at 1 under par for the tournament.
“It’s something I’ve always targeted to accomplish,” Bradsby said of CSO low-am honors. “I was runner-up among the ams a few years ago and finished top 10 in the tournament, but Jon (was fourth). He increased the opportunity by deciding (the CSO) was not going to stay on his schedule this week (Lindstrom withdrew). So I’m really thrilled.”
Bradsby finished at 1 under par for three rounds at GVR.
Bradsby and Lindstrom have teamed up to win the CGA Four-Ball title twice, and individually Bradsby has won the open-age CGA Western Chapter Championship and he added the senior division victory in that same event this year.
“My iron play was quite good (this week),” said the 56-year-old Bradsby, who works in the oil and gas industry. “I gave myself a lot of chances. The tee ball was a little suspect but I didn’t put it in too many trouble spots. And I putted solid.”
Jerry Walters (left) with longtime Colorado Open Golf Foundation board member Chris Nordling.
Second Time Around for Jerry Walters: Jerry Walters — who earlier this year ended his more-than-30-year run as host of a Colorado-based golf show, long known as “In the Fairway” — on Friday was presented the Ralph Moore Golf Journalism Award for the second time. He became just the third two-time recipient of the honor, which is dedicated to “forwarding the pursuit of excellence in golf reporting.” It’s presented by the Colorado Open Championships and was first awarded in 1989.
“The real reward is getting to know all of you and all the people I’ve had on the radio and on the podcast over the years,” Walters said at the awards ceremony on Friday.
“I’ll leave you with this thought: Some people play a good game. Some people talk a good game. I bet you can figure it out,” he said with a smile.
Walters previously won the Moore Award in 2012.
Moore was a longtime sports writer at the Denver Post, with one of his main beats being golf. He’s a member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.
Blake Sims, PGA head professional at GVR, puts the final touches on Kaye’s victory check on Friday.
Notable: In the CSO super-senior competition for players 60 and older, Stephen Mondshine of Sugarland, Texas, took home first place, earning $1,000. He posted rounds of 71-71-74 for an even-par total. … Two other longtime PGA Tour players joined Kaye and Bertsch in finishing in the top 10 overall on Friday at the CSO: 2022 champion Guy Boros (eighth place, 4 under par) and Skip Kendall (10th, 3 under). … Tom Kalinowski, who grew up in Durango, tied for eighth on Friday at 4 under (70-73-69).
Results: For all the scores from the CSO, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com