Long bogey-free stretch gives Colorado native Chris Korte his 2nd straight runner-up finish to start PGA Tour Canada season; Becca Huffer of Monument carries over strong play from Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open
By Gary Baines – 6/25/2023
The 2023 PGA Tour Canada season is only two weeks old, but Colorado native Chris Korte is already finding it quite to his liking.
The former University of Denver golfer, who came into the year with conditional status on the Canadian circuit, is playing better than just about everybody so far on this tour.
Korte finished in a two-say tie for second in last weekend’s season opener, though he was five strokes behind the winner at the Royal Beach Victoria Open in British Columbia.
And this week’s Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open was almost a carbon copy as Korte ended up in a two-way tie for second, in this case four behind the champion, John Pak.
So runner-up and runner-up in the first two weeks of the PGA Tour Canada schedule for Korte. All in all, not too shabby for the 26-year-old who grew up in Littleton.
Korte, winner of the 2015 CGA Amateur and 2017 CGA Match Play during his amateur days, posted scores of 68-65-66-64 for a 17-under-par total in Saskatchewan. He didn’t make a bogey (or worse) in his final 51 holes of the event, recording an eagle and 14 birdies during that stretch.
Though we’re only two tournaments into a 10-event PGA Tour Canada season, it should be noted that the top 10 finishers on the season-long points list will earn 2024 Korn Ferry Tour membership.
For all the scores from Saskatchewan Open, CLICK HERE.
— Meanwhile, on the Epson Tour, in her first start since placing second at the Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open on June 16, Becca Huffer of Monument finished solo fourth at the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich.
The two-time CWO champion went 69-69-67 for an 11-under-par total, which left her four strokes behind winner Tsai Ching Tseng. Huffer went bogey-free on Sunday en route to a $12,121 payday.
Sunday marked Huffer’s second fourth-place finish of the 2023 Epson Tour season.
For all the scores from Michigan, 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. He was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com