Colorado residents Shane Bertsch and Chris DiMarco join former Aspenite Justin Leonard in posting top-6 finishes in PGA Tour Champions event in St. Louis
By Gary Baines – 9/8/2024
Not one, not two, but three.
That’s how many golfers with significant Colorado connections finished in the top six at the PGA Tour Champions’ Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis, Mo., on Sunday.
Shane Bertsch of Parker, a week removed from a third-place showing in the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open, tied for fourth place with former Aspen resident Justin Leonard, while Cherry Hills Village resident Chris DiMarco shared sixth place.
It marked Bertsch’s top Champions showing since placing fourth in the TimberTech Championship last November, and Leonard’s best since losing in a playoff and ending up second in the PURE Insurance Championship almost a year ago. DiMarco posted his best finish since also tying for sixth at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in May.
In St. Louis, Bertsch carded rounds of 70-70 and a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 on Sunday to check in at 9 under overall, four back of winner Y.E. Yang. Leonard went 67-70-67 to also come in at 9 under, while DiMarco shot 68-71-66 for an 8-under total.
For all the scores from the Ascension Charity Classic, CLICK HERE.
Elsewhere in high-level competitive golf:
— Sydney Gillespie of Highlands Ranch tied for 64th place in the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in West Newton, Mass., and will participate in a playoff for the final berth in match play, which begins on Monday. Gillespie (79-84 in stroke play) will tee it up early Monday with the other three women who checked in at 19 over par, and the winner of that playoff will advance to match play.
Scores and standings for Coloradans from the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in West Newton, Mass.:
64. Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch 79-84–163
Missed cut. Shannon Lubar, Denver 83-89–172
Missed cut. Janet Moore, Greenwood Village 86-95—181
For all the scores, 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