Shine the Spotlight

On night Kevin Stadler and Ella McLaughlin are inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, attendees include former PGA Tour standouts Craig Stadler and Hale Irwin

By Gary Baines 

LAKEWOOD — A three-time U.S. Open champion and World Golf Hall of Famer was on hand. So was a Masters champion. In fact, three different winners of PGA Tour events were in attendance. And the 28 female Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductees were all represented — in one sense or another — on the night one of the oldest of their sisterhood, the late Ella McLaughlin, was enshrined.

So it went on Sunday night as the 53rd class of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame was inducted, with roughly 190 in attendance at historic Lakewood Country Club, including 23 Hall of Famers. Longtime Colorado sportscaster and newscaster Tom Green emceed the festivities.

With Kevin Stadler (the Kent Denver High School graduate, part-time Denver resident and the winner of the 2014 Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour) and McLaughlin (a co-founder of the Colorado Women’s Golf Association, a three-time women’s state amateur champion more than a century ago, and among the founders of Lakewood CC) being inducted, 161 people have now been enshrined since the CGHOF was established in 1973.

Peggy O’Neill-Jones with a Hall of Fame sketch of her great-great aunt, 2026 inductee Ella McLaughlin.

Among the inductees on hand Sunday were Hale Irwin (class of 1974), whose 20 PGA Tour victories include three U.S. Opens; and Craig Stadler (2016), who counts the 1982 Masters among his 13 PGA Tour titles. Craig, of course, is Kevin’s father, making them one of three fathers and sons in the Hall, joining Will Nicholson Sr., and Jr., and Skeeter and Jack Sommers.

Meanwhile, with McLaughlin’s husband M.A. (Mac) having been inducted 23 years ago, they become the third husband/wife to be enshrined, following Jim and Marcia Bailey and Kent and Janet Moore. Mac McLaughlin was the founding president of the Colorado Golf Association.

Former Masters champion Craig Stadler (left), a 2016 Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee, attended Sunday’s induction ceremony where son Kevin (right) was enshrined.

With Ella helping lay the foundation for women’s golf in the state in the early 20th century, the 28 current female members of the Hall of Fame (herself included) were recognized at Sunday’s festivities and in a “Legendary Women of the Hall” section in the booklet distributed at Sunday’s dinner. Six living female inductees — Christie Austin, Kim Eaton, Ann Finke, Maggie Giesenhagen, Nancy Roth Syms and Lynn Zmistowski — attended on Sunday and were recognized individually as some of their accomplishments were read aloud.

MSU Denver professor emeritus — and current CGA board member — Peggy O’Neill-Jones was among the 190 in attendance on Sunday. O’Neill-Jones, a great-great niece of Ella McLaughlin, spoke on her great-great aunt’s behalf at the banquet. Ella McLaughlin passed away at age 69 in 1939, a year after her husband.

Besides the two inductees, six honorees received awards on Sunday:

Russ Miller, the longtime PGA director of golf at The Broadmoor, was honored as Golf Person of the Year for the third time. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame six years ago.

Golf Person of the Year: Russ Miller, The Broadmoor’s longtime PGA director of golf who was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2020.

Distinguished Service: Michael Ray Lee Foundation, represented by John and Amy Lee and their son, Joe.

Dan Melchior, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lifetime Achievement: Dan Melchior.

Future Famer (Male): Brayden Forte of Aurora.

Future Famer (Male): Nicholas Brooks of Parker.

Future Famer (Female): Ella Scott of Castle Rock.

All three Future Famers are part of Team Colorado, the junior elite squad that’s part of the USGA’s junior development program.

Even though both Forte (San Diego State) and Brooks (Butler) are in the midst of gearing up for their freshman season of college golf out of state, both flew back to Colorado to accept their honors. Scott, a senior at Valor Christian who is headed to North Carolina State in a year, also was in attendance at Lakewood CC.

For more on the achievements of Sunday’s inductees and honorees, CLICK HERE.

All in all, there was much to be celebrated. Here are few notes and quotes from the inductees, as well as some of the honorees:

— Kevin Stadler, on moving to Colorado as a junior golfer and the competition here:

“I was super, super lucky to move to Colorado in an era when there was an endless amount of great junior players here. We had 10-15 guys my age who were awesome players. On top of that, we had guys like John Olive, Jon Lindstrom — that were mid-ams back then — that were still kicking our butts. … Growing up here with those guys and with that competition made me appreciate Colorado golf. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. … As I’ve gotten older, it’s been a massive blessing that I truly was born to play this game. It’s all I’ve ever done since I was a little kid and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

— Peggy O’Neill-Jones, noting that her great-great aunt Ella McLaughlin once said that she and her husband Mac were not “spitfires”:

“I think Ella was mistaken. I think she was a spitfire. Ella Moffat McLaughlin fired her way to championship golf and opened the way for a new generation of Colorado women.”

— From Russ Miller, who not only is a Hall of Fame inductee, but has been named Golf Person of the Year on three separate occasions, in this case after playing such a key role in the 2025 U.S. Senior Open that was held at The Broadmoor:

“I don’t have to work every day; but I get to. There’s a big difference. I get to do this stuff. I think this award should go to The Broadmoor and not me personally.”

John Lee (right), wife Amy and son Joe represented the Michael Ray Lee Foundation, which was established after the death of their family member, who played college golf at Colorado School of Mines and won the CGA Match Play title.

— From John Lee, father of Michael Lee, the former CGA Match Play champion and Colorado School of Mines golfer who passed away in December 2020 after battling Covid-19:

“We would much rather not be standing here tonight talking about Michael. We would give anything to have him here with us. But life goes on. The Michael Ray Lee Foundation was formed because we wanted to honor Michael, continue his legacy, introduce more kids to the game and keep his spirit alive through the game he loved.”

The MRL Foundation has raised more than $1 million in the years since Michael Lee’s passing and has given away nearly $650,000 to support golf and golfers. The latest plan is to build an indoor/outdoor golf facility — to introduce youngsters to the game and help them develop as players — at Boomerang Links in Greeley, where the Mike Lee 9 short course opened a year ago.

Kevin Stadler and Ella McLaughlin being honored as the two Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductees in 2026 comes after a record-tying six people were enshrined in 2024 and five last year.

The women who have been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame were recognized and honored on Sunday.

Notable: The dates are set for a couple of next year’s big events for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame — both taking place at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, where the HOF’s Museum is located. The 2027 Hall of Fame induction and the Hale Irwin Medal presentation are set for Nov. 20, 2027. (Dale Douglass and Jennifer Kupcho received the first Irwin Medals in 2019.) The Hall of Fame tournament is scheduled for July 7. … Chris Nordling, president of the Hall of Fame’s board of directors, noted that the inaugural Colorado Putting Championship, organized by and benefitting the Hall of Fame and its museum, also will be held in 2027, with the finals set for The Broadmoor. … Sunday marked the record seventh time the CGHOF induction dinner has been hosted by Lakewood Country Club. … A moment of silence was held Sunday for two Hall of Fame inductees who have passed away in the last year — former USGA president Judy Bell and former prominent Lakewood Country Club member Larry McAtee. Bell left much of her golf memorabilia to the Hall of Fame, and will have a full case devoted to her at the Hall of Fame museum at The Broadmoor, where she was a longtime prominent fixture. … Another impending change to the museum will be a information kiosk that can be accessed by attendees. … Kevin Stadler becomes the sixth CGHOF inductee who has won on the PGA Tour after spending at least several years of his adolescence as a Colorado resident. Others who fall into that category are Irwin, Steve Jones, Wyndham Clark, Dale Douglass and Bob Byman.

Future Famer Ella Scott.

Future Famer Brayden Forte.

Future Famer Nicholas Brooks.

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