Lapping the Field

Erin Houtsma, the 2005 Colorado Women’s Open champ, claims her third CGA Women’s Mid-Amateur — once again in very comfortable fashion

By Gary Baines

LOVELAND — The CGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship has only been contested seven times, but the number of different names engraved on the trophy after this week will not be nearly that number.

Erin Houtsma of Denver has made sure of that — in rather emphatic fashion.

The 46-year-old teacher, whose credentials as a golfer are headed by a victory in the 2005 Colorado Women’s Open, on Wednesday won the Women’s Mid-Am for the third time. Houtsma followed up her victory in the inaugural edition in 2020 and the one in 2022 with a runaway win at Mariana Butte Golf Course.

And, for the record, in none of those three triumphs did she prevail by pedestrian margins. No, she’s won with exclamation points.

In 2020, it was by eight strokes. Two years later, it was 10. And on Wednesday, she even improved on that, prevailing by a whopping 11.

“I didn’t realize that,” said Houtsma, a former pro who gained amateur reinstatement. “I’m just happy to win again; that feels really good. It’s been a couple of years since I can honestly close a chapter on a tournament and been like, ‘Damn, I played good.’ For sure I definitely did” this week.

Houtsma finished 2 under par for the week at Mariana Butte.

This time around at the championship for players 25 and older, the former University of Colorado golfer posted rounds of 69-71-74 for a 2-under-par total. The next-closest players to her were all fellow former champions in this event.

Kris Franklin of Westminster (winner in 2021) and Kirsty Hodgkins-Redner of Lafayette (2025) tied for second at 9 over par for three days. And 2023 champion Marilyn Hardy, a part-time Gunnison-area resident, placed fourth at 10 over.

Asked if this victory feels any different than her ones in 2020 and ’22, Houtsma said, “This one actually might feel a little bit better. It’s just because I haven’t played so well these past couple of years in some of these summer tournaments. I teach full-time at Blessed Sacrament in Park Hill. So by the time summer turns around and my own (two) kids are doing their things, getting my game in shape (has been a challenge). This year, it’s gone a little bit faster since I’m helping coach (girls golf) at Regis Jesuit. It’s not that I was playing a lot, but I was kind of practicing more than usual — and I was in my golf brain a little earlier in the season, rather than (starting in) June.

“It’s just been a little bit easier to slide back into it.”

Houtsma and her dad/caddie, former CU golfer Steve Kerr, line up a putt on Wednesday.

Whatever the case, Houtsma’s game was sharp at Mariana Butte. Coming off a fourth-place showing in the Denver Women’s City Amateur, she carded an eagle, nine birdies and nine bogeys for the week to finish in red figures. And she posted four 2s over the 54 holes, despite missing a 3-foot birdie try on No. 11 on Wednesday.

Kris Franklin tied for second place on Wednesday.

While Houtsma fully admits winning the Colorado Women’s Open a couple of decades ago is a career highlight, she feels in some respects she manages her game better now.

“I think of myself back then and how different of a player I was back then,” she said. “I feel like the way I play golf now is more consistent, and it’s more mature. I think my way around the golf course a lot differently now. I probably don’t hit it as far as I did back then, obviously, but I would almost say I’m a better player now than I was. Just perspective, being able to finish a round and not play protective at the end. And golf is fun; it’s not my livelihood anymore. So I’m able to play a little bit more freely. My kids (Connor and Sally Kate) are both playing now, so when they watch me play in stuff like this, I want them to see this is how you can play and win and get better.”

For all the results from the CGA Women’s Mid-Amateur, CLICK HERE.

Defending champ Kirsty Hodgkins-Redner shared second place this time.

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