Narrow victory by amateurs on Halloween ties Western Colorado Cup all-time series with pros at 15 each
By Gary Baines
If you’re a sports fan who likes the idea of parity, the Western Colorado Cup golf matches should be right up your alley.
The annual match-play competition between some of the best professional and amateur golfers from the western half of the state has now been held 30 times. And — you guessed it — the pros have won on 15 occasions, same as the amateurs.
It doesn’t get more even than that.
On Halloween day at Battlement Mesa Golf Club in Parachute, the amateurs squared up the all-time series with an 11-9 victory over the pros. After the teams were tied after two nine-hole partner sessions in the late morning and early afternoon, the amateurs earned six of the available 10 points in the late-afternoon nine-hole singles to account for the overall difference.
The pros won the four-ball session 3.5-1.5, while the amateurs prevailed in foursomes/alternate shot by the same score.
Just one player won all three of her/his nine-hole matches on Saturday — pro Shannon Ellas. Also going undefeated were amateurs Marc Caldwell (2-0-1), Cody Nelson (2-0-1), Michael Smith (1-0-2) and Henry Starr (1-0-2).
The captains for the team were Frank Wilkinson (amateurs) and Joe Kamby (pros). Each team of players features 10 golfers, including two women.
Last year, the pros defeated the amateurs by the same score as this fall, 11-9, also at Battlement Mesa.
In the all-time series, the amateurs have rallied to tie it up after losing the competition each of the first 10 years.
The Western Colorado Cup — supported by the CGA and the Colorado PGA — benefits the Western Colorado Golf Foundation, with proceeds helping provide college scholarships to western Coloradans who played golf in high school.
Wilkinson, a member of the CGA board of directors, serves as chairman of the competition besides being the non-competing captain of the amateur team.
Western Colorado Cup Matches
Oct. 31 at Battlement Mesa GC in Parachute
OVERALL FINAL SCORE: AMATEURS 11, PROFESSIONALS 9
9-Hole Four-Ball Session Score: Pros 3.5, Amateurs 1.5
Henry Starr/Keith Humerickhouse (A) tied with Bryan Marshall/Cole Beyer (P)
Cody Nelson/Michael Smith (A) tied with C.J. Rhyne/Stacy Millard (P)
Gavin Wilsker/Andrew Villescas (P) def. Mike Green/Roger Walters (A), 3 and 2
Marc Caldwell/Dave Sorel (A) tied with Joe Kamby/Chad Hansen (P)
Samantha Crawford/Shannon Ellas (P) def. Liz Kennedy/Gianna Furr (A)
9-Hole Foursomes Session Score: Amateurs 3.5, Pros 1.5
Mike Green/Henry Starr (A) tied with Bryan Marshall/C.J. Rhyne (P)
Cody Nelson/Keith Humerickhouse (A) def. Cole Beyer/Andrew Villescas (P), 2 up
Roger Walters/Michael Smith (A) def. Chad Hansen/Gavin Wilsker (P), 2 and 1
Marc Caldwell/David Sorel (A) def. Joe Kamby/Stacy Millard (P), 2 and 1
Samantha Crawford/Shannon Ellas (P) def. Liz Kennedy/Gianna Furrie (A), 2 and 1
9-Hole Singles Session Score: Amateurs 6, Pros 4
Henry Starr (A) def. Andrew Villescas (P), 3 and 1
Cole Beyer (P) def. Keith Humerickhouse (A), 1 up
Cody Nelson (A) def. Bryan Marshall (P), 3 and 1
Mike Green (A) tied with Gavin Wilsker (P)
Roger Walters, (A) def. C.J. Rhyne (P), 2 up
Marc Caldwell (A) def. Joe Kamby (P), 2 and 1
Michael Smith (A) tied with Stacy Millard (P)
Chad Hansen, (P) def. David Sorel (A), 2 and 1
Shannon Ellas (P) def. Liz Kennedy (A), 4 and 3
Gianna Furrie (A) def. Samantha Crawford (P), 1 up
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
