Dillon Stewart becomes third Coloradan in last 4 years to win Sinclair Rocky Mountain Open in Grand Junction
By Gary Baines – 8/24/2024
For the third time in the last four years, a Colorado resident has landed the title in the Sinclair Rocky Mountain Open in Grand Junction.
Following in the footsteps of Jake Staiano (2021) and Jackson Solem (2023), Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins claimed the championship on Saturday as a rookie pro, earning $25,000 in the process.
Stewart, the 2023 CGA Amateur champion, shot rounds of 64-65-67 at Tiara Rado Golf Course for a 17-under-par total of 196, which was good for a one-stroke victory. Stewart closed with a birdie on Saturday, one of six he made in the final round to go along with two bogeys.
For the tournament, Stewart finished with two eagles, 16 birdies and three bogeys.
Stewart is a former Colorado junior standout who went on to play his college golf at Oklahoma State. The former Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado boys player of the year won the 2018 individual title in the Junior America’s Cup, which features some of the top junior golfers from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico, and he led Colorado to its first team title ever in the boys JAC. Also that year, he became the first Colorado boy to win the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior, and also earned a second AJGA title. In addition, Stewart captured the 5A state high school individual championship and led Fossil Ridge to its first team title in boys golf.
At the RMO, Stewart prevailed by one over pro Jere Pelletier of El Paso, Texas and low amateur Jaren Calkins from the University of Wyoming, who closed with 70 and 68, respectively. Staiano (15 under par) was fourth, earning $6,500, while fellow Coloradan Tristan Rohrbaugh and Californian Josh Anderson shared fifth (14 under), good for $3,250 each.
For all the scores from the 2024 RMO, which has been held annually since 1939, 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