Coloradans Lauren Lehigh, Ashley Kozlowski and Hunter Swanson post top-10 finishes in DI college tourneys; Swanson tied the top amateur in the world; Adam Duncan of Colorado Christian scores win in DII event
By Gary Baines – 3/5/2024
Tuesday proved quite a day for college golfers and teams with strong ties to Colorado.
Among the highlights:
— Lauren Lehigh of Loveland and the University of New Mexico, a two-time state high school individual champion, finished a season-best second out of 77 players at The Show in Las Vegas. Lehigh, a quarterfinalist at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur, went 71-70-71 for a 4-under-par 212 total, leaving her behind only champion Zoe Campos of UCLA (-7). It was the eighth individual top-10 showing in the career of Lehigh, who is in the midst of her final semester of college golf. She owns four top-10s in seven tournaments in the 2023-24 season.
— Ashley Kozłowski of Littleton and Purdue also notched a top-10 at The Show, sharing seventh place at 2 under par (73-70-71). It marked Kozlowski’s seventh top-10 of her college career. SCORES
— The University of Colorado men, bidding for their second straight team victory after ending a four-plus-year drought in that regard, led at times during Tuesday’s final round of the R.E.L. Invitational in Chula Vista, Calif. Alas, the Buffs had to settle forrunner-up in the 16-team tournament. The Buffs ended up four strokes behind champion San Diego. Hunter Swanson of Denver and CU posted a top-10 individual finish — his third of the season and of his college career — by placing ninth. Among those Swanson tied on Tuesday was Christo Lamprecht of Georgia Tech, the top-ranked men’s amateur in the world. SCORES
— Players from Colorado Christian and Colorado State University Pueblo finished 1-2 individually in the 100-competitor Las Vegas Desert Classic, an NCAA Division II tournament held in Boulder City, Nev. Adam Duncan of Colorado Christian and Bakersfield, Calif., took home the individual victory, the third of his college career. That gives him three top-3 individual showings for the season. In Boulder City, he went 69-67-67 for a 13-under-par total and a one-stroke victory. Jamie Roberts, who hails from CSU Pueblo and Scotland, tied for second at 12 under (67-69-68). SCORES
— In the Juli Inkster Meadow Club Collegiate, which was shortened to 36 holes due to weather, University of Denver fifth-year player Anna Zanusso of Italy placed seventh individually out of 75 players, posting rounds of 72-69. It’s Zanusso’s second top-10 in three “spring” schedule starts. SCORES