The Colorado Golf Association’s Match Play Championship begins Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at CommonGround Golf Course. The tournament is the oldest in the CGA’s history, with Frank Woodward winning the honors at the inaugural Colorado State Match Play in 1901, and Mrs. M.A. McLaughlin winning the first Women’s Match Play in 1916. The men’s and women’s events were first held concurrently and on a shared course in 2021.
The match play format has changed little over the years, but 2021 did bring PGA TOUR-style pod play to the tournament. Play opens with sixteen pods of four for the men and eight pods of four for the women, guaranteeing each golfer at least three matches. Pod winners advance and the rounds continue in a single elimination basis. Play begins at CommonGround Golf Course and continues at this venue until play has advanced to the Round of 8. At that time, the championship moves to the Broadmoor Golf Club where the quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled to take place on Friday, June 17th, and the 36-hole championship matches will play out on Saturday, June 18th.
Last year’s defending men’s champion, Cole Nygren, beat Carson Griggs 3 & 1 while women’s champ Leigha Devine beat Lauren Lehigh in a tie-breaking 38 holes. Like the CGA’s 2021 Match Play, this year’s championship is held in memory of 2011 champion Michael Lee, who passed away in December, 2020 of complications from Covid-19. Click here to learn more about or donate to the Michael Ray Lee Foundation.