DENVER -- Pat Grady has won enough golf tournaments to know that falling short of the top spot doesn’t sit very well with him.
The University of Colorado senior was among the top finishers in this year’s State Match Play and State Publinks, and he made it to the final 16 at last week’s U.S. Publinks.
But for a guy who has won the State Stroke Play, State Match Play and State Publinks in past years, coming close is not enough.
That’s why the 22-year-old Broomfield amateur is hoping for a breakthrough this week in the HealthOne Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. And after a 1-under-par 70 on Friday, he’s halfway home.
Grady shares the lead after 36 holes of the Colorado Open with Utah pro Boyd Summerhays, a former PGA Tour player. Both stand at 5-under-par 137.
“I’m due to start playing well,” Grady said. “I haven’t done anything all year. The attitude I take into the weekend is that I’m confident and due to start playing well.”
Grady and Summerhays will tee off in the final twosome today at 9 a.m.
Grady shares the top spot despite playing his final five holes in 2 over par on Friday. He finished with four birdies and three bogeys during the windy afternoon conditions.
Chris Endres of Phoenix, winner of the 1989 Colorado Open, fired a second-round 69 and holds third place at 139, two back of Grady and Summerhays. CU golfer Luke Symons (70 Friday), Broomfield amateur and Stanford golfer Steve Ziegler (71), Denver pro Charlie Soule (71) and Kyle Spahr of Barrington, Ill. (72) are at 140.
If Grady hangs on to the top spot for the final two rounds, he’ll become just the third amateur to win in the 44-year history of the Colorado Open.
“I hit the ball really well, close all day,” said Grady, with the one exception being a ball that bounced off a fence and eluded a hazard on the ninth hole.
Grady, the 2007 state amateur of the year, knows that holding the lead will become tougher on the weekend, especially with the formidable field at the Colorado Open.
“There’s added pressure, but you can’t think of it like that,” he said. “Otherwise, you’ll never win in your life.”
Summerhays, part of a large family of successful players from Utah, shot a bogey-free, 5-under-par 66 Friday. The former Oklahoma State golfer played on the PGA Tour for three years starting in 2004 and this year is competing in his first Colorado Open.
Actually, Summerhays traveled to the Vail area to play in the 2003 Colorado Open, but his stay was cut very short because the tournament was canceled that week due to financial problems. Now that it’s back on solid ground, Summerhays raves about the Open.
“This is as close to a Tour event as you’ll see without it actually being one,” said Summerhays, who won the 2003 Denver Open at Green Valley Ranch as well as the 2002 Utah Open. “This is definitely the biggest tournament of the summer.”
Symons, who defeated Grady in the semifinals of this month’s State Match Play, trails his teammate by three strokes heading into the weekend.
“The goal coming in was to win,“ Symons said. “I feel like I’ve been playing good enough the last few weeks. (Being) low amateur is a goal too, but there’s nothing better than beating the pros.“
Jonathan Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, made it to the weekend with rounds of 73-72, but Sunday may be his final round of tournament golf for the year. He’s using the Colorado Open as a test for a new shoe insert built to help his surgically repaired right foot. But the results have been less than satisfying for the 37-year-old Denver native.
“It doesn’t feel good,” said Kaye, who is living with his family in Boulder this summer. “I don’t have any cartilage left. I’ve got to figure out a way to get around.”
Kaye isn’t certain yet, but he may not play another PGA Tour event this year. He didn’t compete at all last year after undergoing toe surgery in December 2006, and lingering problems have limited him to eight Tour events this year. He’s made three cuts, with his best finish being a 44th-place showing.
“I’m probably going to end up riding the pine the rest of the year,” he said. “This is just not working.”
Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway missed the 36-hole cut for the second time in three Colorado Opens. He shot a 13-over-par 84 Friday and finished at 160, falling 12 strokes shy of qualifying for the weekend. He posted a 45 for his final nine holes, making a triple bogey and a double bogey in the process.
“As soon as the weather got good, I got bad,” said the Pro Football Hall of Famer. “I wasn‘t playing well and couldn‘t get it going. It was frustrating because I knew I couldn‘t get to the cut line.”
Nevertheless, Elway said he’d “absolutely” like to play in the event again.
