Summerhays, Douma Shoot Up the Leaderboard

By Gary Baines

Colorado Golf Journal, Saturday, July 26, 2008

HEALTHONE COLORADO OPEN

• WHAT: 44th Colorado Open.
• WHEN: Thursday through Sunday.  Tee times on Sunday run from 7-8:40 a.m., with the leaders going off at 8:40.
• WHERE: Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver (4900 Himalaya Road).
• PURSE: $125,000, including amateur payout of approximately $5,000. Professional winner will receive $23,000.
• COURSE SPECIFICS: 7,211 yards, par-71, designed by Perry Dye.
• FORMAT: 72 holes of stroke play.
• ADMISSION: Free.

Ex-Buff Douma aims for second straight Colorado Open title

     DENVER -- A couple of players made a lot of noise -- literally and figuratively -- coming down the stretch Saturday at the HealthOne Colorado Open.

     First, defending champion John Douma became the first player to eagle the 639-yard 18th hole this week, instantly putting himself in contention for a second straight title at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

    Then Utah pro Boyd Summerhays, the tournament leader, had a tire on his push cart blow up while going over a bridge near the 17th hole.

     “I thought it was a gunshot, and so did the guy behind me,”  Summerhays said.

    After being provided with a replacement push cart for his clubs, the former PGA Tour player polished off a round of 3-under-par 68 that left him with a two-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

    Summerhays, no stranger to success at Green Valley Ranch, having won the 2003 Denver Open at the course, stands at 8-under-par 205 after three rounds. Former University of Denver golfer Charlie Soule and Kyle Spahr of Barrington, Ill., trail Summerhays by two shots after matching 67s.

     Douma, bidding to become the third winner of back-to-back Colorado Opens -- and the first since Dave Hill in 1976-77 , vaulted within three strokes of the lead with his impressive closing eagle. A 3-wood from 298 yards rolled within 20 feet of the cup and he drained the putt for a 67 and a 208 total.

       “That was a good way to get back in it,”  said the former University of Colorado golfer, who had never before eagled the 18th hole.  “It got me to where I wanted to be going into Sunday.”

      And that’s a familiar position for Douma, who has finished second, second and first in the last three Colorado Opens.

    “This tournament has treated me pretty well the last three years,”  he said.  “I have a lot of good memories. … Last year winning here was my greatest golf accomplishment. To put my name on the trophy twice would be awesome.”

     Douma shares fourth place at 208 with former PGA Tour player Brian Kortan, a third-place finisher the last two years, and Geoff Keffer of Lakewood. Kortan posted a 67 and Keffer a 65 Saturday in benign scoring conditions.

    Brian Guetz, the last amateur winner of the Colorado Open (1994; Guetz has since turned pro), has shot 69-66 the last two days to leave himself four back of Summerhays, along with Broomfield amateur Steve Ziegler. Ziegler and another player from Broomfield, Pat Grady, are the top two amateurs after three rounds, with Ziegler standing at 209 and Grady at 210.

     Grady, the CU senior who held a share of the lead after rounds 1 and 2, shanked two tee shots with irons on Saturday, both leading to double bogeys. He finished at 73.

     “That cost me four shots, but I tried to grind as much as I could,”   Grady said.  “Now I’ve got to shoot 65 (Sunday) to have any chance. I’ve done that probably 40 or 50 times, so you never know if I don’t shank any shots and make some putts.”

    Soule, the low amateur in the 2005 Colorado Open, has since gone pro and hopes to put another type of Open trophy on his mantle.

    “Hopefully the putter will cooperate (Sunday) and something cool will happen,”  said Soule, who now plays on the mini tours.

    Given Soule’s roots in Colorado, having a chance to win the Colorado Open is a dream come true.

     “It would be awesome,”  he said.  “Of all the mini-tour events and state opens, this is No. 1.”

    But for now Summerhays is in charge on a course where he’s won before.

     “When you like a course, it can’t hurt, and I like this place,”  said Summerhays, a 29-year-old who played on the PGA Tour from 2004 through ‘06.

      This is Summerhays’ first Colorado Open, not counting the 2003 tournament he entered but that was subsequently canceled.

      Summerhays, Soule and Spahr will tee off in the final group Sunday at 8:40 a.m.

      One player out of the running for the title is former CU golfer Jonathan Kaye, winner of two PGA Tour players. Kaye, who continues to battle foot problems, trails Summerhays by 14 shots after a third-round 74.

      “I need to find a cobbler,”   he said.