Home-course favorite Davis Bryant becomes just 2nd Coloradan to win the Colorado Open in the last decade; former CSU golfer overcomes fellow local Jim Knous in playoff; Parker Edens goes back-to-back as low-am
By Gary Baines – 7/28/2024
DENVER — Davis Bryant estimated earlier this week that he’s played Green Valley Ranch Golf Club a thousand times, but this was different than all the others.
Oh, how much it was different.
On Sunday, the title in the Inspirato Colorado Open — arguably the top state golf open in the country — and the $100,000 first prize that goes with it were on the line.
If there was any question how unique this was, you could tell by the size of the gallery following the leaders down the stretch — certainly one of the largest for the Colorado Open since its days at Hiwan Golf Club.
Whatever the case, Bryant could certainly feel the difference.
“It was a lot of pressure. I’ll be honest with you: I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep the last two nights,” the 24-year-old from Aurora said later.
Bryant celebrates his victory with (from left) sister Emma, mom Julie and dad/caddie Matt.
So when Bryant tapped in a par putt on the first hole of a playoff to defeat fellow Colorado native Jim Knous for the victory, he stopped for a few seconds, looked up in the sky to savor the moment, and hugged his dad Matt, who caddied for him the entire week.
Asked what he said to his dad during that hug, Davis relayed, “There were some words you probably can’t (print). I told him I knew I could do it. I think I said something like, ‘Dad, I told you I could do it’ and I knew he believed me. To have that father-son moment, then have my sister (Emma) and my mom (Julie) come in, that was a bonus. I let out a couple of ‘F-yeahs’. I was just overjoyed with emotion and love and support — and a bunch of adjectives. It’s super special.”
And special for others as well, as Bryant became the first Colorado resident — full-time or part-time — to win the Colorado Open since Jonathan Kaye in 2017. Before that you have to go back to Zahkai Brown in 2013.
So there was a certain sense of Coloradans regaining ownership of the state open — especially with Knous also having grown up in the state as he’s lived in Basalt and Littleton and went to college at the Colorado School of Mines. Bryant, meanwhile, played his college golf at Colorado State.
On top of everything else, Sunday’s victory was very lucrative for Bryant.
“That’s very cool actually to have two Coloradans in (the playoff),” said Knous, a former PGA Tour player who now works for Ping as a fitting and education engineer. “I played with Davis the first two days — and again today; he’s an awesome guy. We just had a blast out there. I’ll be rooting for him in the future. He wins (this month) in the Wyoming Open and here. He’s obviously feeling it and playing well. The future is bright for him.”
Knous forced the first Colorado Open title-determining playoff since 2018 by draining a 23-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 72nd hole of regulation after hitting a bunker shot heavy from a tough lie.
Then in sudden death — again playing the par-5 18th hole — both players went for the green in two, with Knous ending up in the back bunker and Bryant just beside the left greenside bunker. Bryant hit a nifty pitch that rolled about 6 feet from the hole. Then Knous, facing a formidable sand shot onto a downhill slope to a back pin placement, left his shot in the bunker. His fourth shot ran about 30 feet past the pin and he missed the par putt. That left Bryant needing just a 2-putt from 6 feet to secure the title. He lagged it to tap-in range and his par putt gave him the victory.
“I had a great opportunity this week,” said Bryant, who earlier this month made the Wyoming State Open his first pro victory, then finished fifth last week in the Waterloo Open. “I was playing some of the best golf I ever have played in my life. And I closed it out, which is very special.”
Jim Knous forced a playoff with a 23-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of regulation.
What made it even more so is that Bryant became the first player in the 21st century to win the Colorado Open at his home course.
Bryant’s parents have long both worked at GVR, Matt as the PGA general manager and Julie as the tournament director for the Inspirato Colorado Open Championships, the COO of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation and the executive director of the First Tee GVR. Which is why Davis has played his estimated thousand rounds at the northeast Denver course.
At the Colorado Open, Davis has served as a standard bearer, caddied, helped with First Tee-related duties and did countless other jobs and tasks over the years. And he’d played in the tournament three previous times, but this was his first in contention, and he brought home the goods. That made his family, the staff at GVR, and many other supporters very happy on Sunday.
“I’ve always dreamt of walking up to this green and having a chance to win this tournament. To be able to do that today is pretty special,” Bryant said at the awards ceremony. “It’s something I’ve wanted to experience since I was about 6 years old.”
Knous’ first bunker shot in the playoff proved costly as it led to a bogey.
And it certainly was satisfying as well for Matt, who served as Davis’ caddie; Emma, a University of Denver golfer and the standard bearer for Davis’ group on the weekend; and Julie, who followed her son as much as possible while also tending to many duties as the tournament director.
“It’s kind of the family thing that we all four really support each other,” Matt Bryant said. “And that’s how (Davis and Emma) grew up. I started (at GVR) when Davis was 6 and Emma was 3 and they used to sleep on my (office) floor for naps and sleep on Julie’s floor. They grew up here. So it’s really special to see a lot of staff members who have been here for several years — or Davis’ supporters through college, through high school, ex-coaches — those sorts of people (root him on this week). This is one of the biggest crowds I can remember in a long time (for the Colorado Open). There was a Jim Knous group, which is great, and there was a Davis Bryant group. It was a great Colorado battle. For Davis to come out on top, I can’t tell you how special it is.”
Bryant led wire-to-wire this week, though he spent a fair amount of Sunday’s final round tied for the top spot. He and Knous ended up at 19 under par overall, with Davis posting rounds of 65-64-66-70, giving him an average score of 65.1 for his last 10 rounds of tournament golf.
Knous, playing his first multi-day tournament since the WM Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour in February, went 61-67 on the weekend to catch Bryant. He earned $20,000 on Sunday.
“I’m bummed to not get the trophy but if you would have told me I was going to get second place coming into the week, I would have been ecstatic,” the 34-year-old said. “I’m very happy with how I played. I was just happy to have a good week.”
Bryant and dad/caddie Matt talk over strategy down the stretch on Sunday.
Another former PGA Tour player, Luke Guthrie of Jacksonville, Fla., birdied the last two holes to secure third place, two back of Bryant and Knous. BJ Bigley, who shared the lead for a time early on the back nine, and Josh Anderson tied for fourth at 16 under.
Bryant’s $100,000 payday — plus the $15,300 total he earned in Wyoming and Iowa earlier this month — gives him a nice little war chest as he gets close to wrapping up his first year as a pro.
Thinking back on the playoff, Bryant noted, “It’s hard to believe that was an $80,000 difference right there (between first and second place).
“I think I’m in a good (financial) position for the next few years. But this will help kind of ease (the pressure) and pay for some things I’ve wanted. And I can maybe play in some more bigger events and try to get to a bigger stage; maybe get over to Europe or something like that. Depending on how Korn Ferry Tour Q-school goes, maybe try DP World Tour Q-school. It just opens up a lot of avenues to have the funds necessary to try to play against the best players in the world. There’s different routes you can take.
“But I’m very proud of what I’ve done the last month. It’s been really good — a fun ride so far.”
On Sunday, after starting the day three back of Bryant, Knous caught him with three straight birdies starting on hole 4. They went back and forth the rest of the way, with Bryant making a double bogey on 10, where he hit his approach shot into the penalty area, while Knous posted a bogey on the same hole; and with Knous barely missing a flop-shot for eagle on 12 as his ball did the equivalent of a basketball in-and-out shot.
Knous caught Bryant again with a 12-foot birdie on 15, but fell a stroke behind when he missed the green on 16 and failed to convert a 6-foot par putt. After matching pars on 17, that set the stage for Knous’ 18th-hole birdie in regulation, then the playoff.
The sand shot in sudden death that Knous left in the bunker proved costly after he saved himself in regulation after another sub-par bunker shot on 18.
“They were kind of both bad lies,” he said. “Earlier in the day I had hit a bunker shot and there was very little sand (under the ball), so I’m kind of expecting that sort of reaction and they both had lots of sand. So I kind of just chunked both of them. I was a little bit disappointed with both of those. They were hard shots, especially the second one. Downhill, the closest I was going to get was where my ball ended up after my next sand shot (about 30 feet from the cup). But I’m still a little bit bummed about it.
“I haven’t hit a practice bunker shot in five months so I can’t expect to hit them too close. But I was in the zone, if you will, and thought I could hit a little better shot than that. It’s a little bit frustrating.”
Bryant, who knows the areas around the 18th green oh so well, knew Knous’ bunker shot in the playoff was going to test all his skills.
“I saw that lie in the bunker. I know to that pin you can’t miss it right (with your approach),” Bryant said. “You’re better off being 70-80 yards away and hitting a wedge shot to that pin. … It’s just a really difficult place to get it up and down. And I hit one of the best chip shots I think I’ve hit in the last month — of all the really good golf I’ve played.”
The Colorado Open victory gives Bryant another very important entry on his golf resumé. The former CGA Player of the Year has won at almost every level locally throughout his young career, claiming a state high school title, four state junior majors and a CGA Amateur, plus recording an individual victory in a college tournament, prevailing in two Southwestern Amateurs and in the recent Wyoming State Open before Sunday’s win.
Jake Staiano of Englewood rebounded after a poor start to finish sixth on Sunday.
Ram Tough at Colorado Open: Led by Bryant’s victory, three former CSU teammates finished in the top 10 at the Colorado Open.
Joining Bryant at the top end of the scoreboard were fellow former Rams Jake Staiano of Englewood (sixth place at 19 under par, four back of Bryant and Knous) and AJ Ott of Fort Collins (ninth place at 14 under after going bogey-free for both of his weekend rounds). Staiano, who also has top-10 Colorado Open finishes in 2017 and ’21, played his final 10 holes in 4 under on Sunday.
Former CSU golfer AJ Ott placed ninth at GVR.
Other Coloradans to post top-10s on Sunday were University of Colorado men’s golf assistant coach Derek Tolan, a two-time Colorado Open champion (10th place at 13 under par) and 2023 CGA Amateur champion Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins (also 10th at 13 under).
Two-time Open champion Derek Tolan posted another top-10 at the event.
Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, last year’s CGA Amateur champ, also notched a top-10.
Rare Back-to-Back Low-Ams for Parker Edens: The last time someone had claimed low-amateur honors at the Colorado Open in back-to-back years, a guy named Bill Clinton was about six months into his first term as U.S. president.
Yes, it was that long ago.
But on Sunday, 31 years after Brian Kortan claimed the honor for two straight years in 1992 and ’93, Parker Edens made it two in a row.
The golfer who grew up in Greeley, finished up his college career at Colorado State and now serves as South Dakota State’s men’s golf head coach pulled off the feat.
Parker Edens rolled to another low-am title on Sunday.
A year after contending for the overall title at the Open and tying the tournament’s amateur scoring record — eventually finishing second — the 34-year-old prevailed by two over Steven Burak of Boston in this year’s amateur competition. Edens, a quarterfinalist in the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur, went 73-68-70-67 for a 6-under-par total. (Edens finished at 19 under par at GVR last year.)
“It was something that was on my goals this year to be the low-am here,” said Edens, a former CSU assistant coach. “Obviously I would have loved to play a little bit better earlier in the week. I just didn’t putt very good. I hit it really good, had a couple of bad breaks. But I’m super happy to be the low-am again and check off one of the goals I had for this year.”
Edens’ winning low-am total was 6 under par at GVR.
Asked what the difference was between his sizzling play at GVR last year and his still-impressive performance in 2024, the former pro said, “I’ve played very similar this year as I did last year. I just haven’t putted as well. I’ve struggled a little on the greens everywhere I’ve been. This week they didn’t go in as often as they did last year for sure.”
Edens placed 39th overall on Sunday.
For all the results from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
Helping Knous navigate GVR this week was his former Colorado School of Mines coach, Tyler Kimble.
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