Home-course favorite Davis Bryant extends lead to 4 at Inspirato Colorado Open; also in top 10 are Cherry Hills PGA assistant Tristin Goodwin, 2-time Open champ Derek Tolan (despite recently having his clubs stolen) and AJ Ott, who made 2 eagles in round 2
By Gary Baines – 7/26/2024
DENVER — Davis Bryant has been part of the Colorado golf community his entire life and he’s always been a likable young man.
Want proof?
Matt Schalk, the longtime PGA general manager at Colorado National Golf Club, was competing in the Inspirato Colorado Open this week. And his daughter Hailey, a three-time girls state high school champion and a former University of Colorado golfer, was caddying for him.
On Friday, Matt relayed a story. “Before the (second) round, Hailey says, ‘I really hopes Davis wins,’” Schalk said in mock disbelief while holding his hands as if to say, ‘What about your dad, Hailey?’”
So while blood may be thicker than water, Bryant most definitely has his supporters.
And those backers were no doubt very happy on Friday as the 24-year-old golfer from Aurora built a four-stroke lead at the halfway point of the 60th Colorado Open, played at Bryant’s home course of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
The former Colorado State University golfer backed up his first-round 65 with a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 on Friday.
That means Bryant’s last eight competitive rounds have gone 64-62-64-67-62-67-65-64, for an average of 64.38. In the process, he won the Wyoming State Open for his first pro victory and placed fifth last week in the Waterloo Open. And now he leads the Colorado Open — a tournament with a $100,000 first prize — by four. His 13-under-par total was just two off of the tournament’s 36-hole record.
“I don’t remember (ever) being that consistent over the course of five to 10 rounds,” he said. “If you put a tournament together of three or four rounds and are 15-20 under like I’ve been doing pretty good the last three weeks, that’s impressive in itself.
“I don’t know what it is. I’ve just kind of gotten in a good groove. I’ve got a good routine of what I do before shots and in practice. I just feel really comfortable with where my game is at. It’s one of those things where when you’re playing well you kind of ride the high and keep playing as well as you can.”
And, in the case of the Colorado Open, it doesn’t hurt that Bryant estimates he’s played GVR 1,000 times over his lifetime.
On Friday, he eagled the par-5 12th hole — hitting a 4-hybrid from 230 yards to 20 feet and sinking the putt — and added five birdies, ranging from a 1-footer on No. 7 to a 30-footer on No. 2.
Suffice it to say that the former CGA Player of the Year has set himself up nicely to possibly become the first player who grew up in Colorado to win the Colorado Open since Jonathan Kaye in 2017.
“That would mean a lot,” Bryant said of the prospect. “It would be really special to pull this off. Hopefully two more days of what I’ve been doing will get the job done.
“We’ll keep the pedal down this weekend.”
Bryant has been a formidable player at many different levels in Colorado, winning a state high school title, four state junior majors and a CGA Amateur, plus notching an individual victory in a college tournament and prevailing in two Southwestern Amateurs.
In three previous Colorado Open appearances, Bryant’s best showing is 15th place in 2021.
Two-time champion Derek Tolan acknowledges the applause after a birdie on his final hole Friday.
“Davis is obviously a really good player — and has proven it in his short career as a pro so far,” said two-time Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan, a University of Colorado men’s assistant golf coach who sits six strokes behind Bryant after two days. “He’s won at all levels, so I think if he realizes that it’s the exact same mentality, you’ve just got to go out and focus on what you can do. Then (if he does that) I don’t see what’s stopping him from winning. The kiss of death is paying attention to stuff you can’t control.”
A former CSU teammate of Bryant’s, AJ Ott of Fort Collins, shares ninth place at 7 under par with Tolan and others. Tolan posted a 67 on Friday and Ott a 68.
“I always root my friends on,” Ott said of Bryant. “It’s nice to get some Colorado guys up there. I’m definitely glad he’s a Ram — best school in the state. I’m happy that the Rams are up on top right now. He’s playing great. I’ll be rooting him on and trying to chase him down.”
AJ Ott, a former CSU teammate of Bryant’s, is also on the leaderboard.
Bryant’s closest pursuers heading into the final two rounds are 2020 U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci of Davie, Fla. (66-67); Paul O’Hara of Scotland, who made the cut in last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour (65-68); and Carson Lundell of Alpine, Utah, a former BYU golfer who is coming off an eighth-place finish in last week’s Bromont Open on PGA Tour Americas (67-66).
Four Coloradans, including Bryant, are in the top 10 heading into the weekend at GVR.
Tristin Goodwin, a PGA assistant professional from Cherry Hills Country Club, has carded back-to-back 67s and shares fifth place at 8 under par. The 28-year-old from Englewood went bogey-free on Friday.
Tolan won Colorado Open titles in 2009 and 2012 and has three other top-10s in the event to his credit.
This week, the 38-year-old is back in the hunt — despite the fact that he had his golf clubs stolen from the trunk of his vehicle last week.
“I was actually able to piece together some stuff,” Tolan said. “I’d had that set of irons for about 10 years. I’m kind of a creature of habit. I was lucky enough to find the exact iron head I was using because they don’t make them anymore. A little different shafts, but I built (the iron set) all myself.
“It’s really satisfying (being back in contention at the Colorado Open despite no longer playing full-time). I’ve been gearing up the last couple of months, really trying to make an effort to … I have to tell myself, ’20 minutes a day’. No matter how busy you are, I can find 20 minutes to work on something geared toward playing golf. I’ve been doing that in order to be ready for this.”
As for Ott, the former CGA Player of the Year helped his cause considerably with two eagles on Friday. On the par-5 12th — his third hole of the day — he sank a 20-foot eagle putt. The one on the par-4 sixth hole was far more unconventional as he one-hopped a 9-iron from 163 yards into the cup.
“I’ll take it, especially on a day like today,” the left-hander said. “It was playing tough.
“I feel good. I definitely haven’t had my best stuff the last couple of days. But I’m happy with the scores. I’ve been able to grind it out. I’m looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can make some putts. It’ll be fun.”
Former Colorado Open champion Sam Saunders celebrates his hole-out for eagle on No. 11 on Friday.
Make That 2 Deuces on 11: A day after Pat Grady holed out for eagle on the par-4 11th hole, 2019 champion Sam Saunders followed suit on Friday.
The golfer from Albuquerque did the honors from 143 yards in round 2 en route to a 69 (5 under total). Playing with leader Davis Bryant and former PGA Tour player Jim Knous, the feat was followed by high-fives all around in the group.
Michael Block was among those who barely made the cut on Friday.
On to the Weekend … For Some: With the top 60 players and ties after 36 holes advancing to the weekend, the cut line flickered between 1 and 2 under par down the stretch on Friday evening.
In the end, a significantly larger group qualified for Saturday and Sunday’s play as the 13 players at 1 under par overall — who are tied for 59th place — made it through. Among those who advanced on the number were Michael Block (73-68), the 2014 national PGA Professional Championship winner who drew plenty of attention en route to a 15th-place finish in last year’s PGA Championship; 2023 Open runner-up Parker Edens (73-68), past CGA Amateur champions Pat Grady (68-73) and Griffin Barela (68-73), along with Walker Franklin of Westminster (70-71).
Among those not making the cut were 13-time PGA Tour winner David Duval of Cherry Hills Village (73-72) and 2022 national Senior PGA Professional Championship winner (74-75).
Amateur Update: Tucker Clark of Phoenix, a senior-to-be on the CU golf team, leads the amateur competition by two going into Saturday. After rounds of 70-69, Clark is a couple ahead of Edens (73-68), Grady (68-73), Franklin (70-71) and Steven Burak of Boston (73-68).
For all the results from the Colorado Open, 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