Defending champion falls in CGA Super Senior Match Play quarterfinals, 2 CO Golf Hall of Famers still in hunt
HIGHLANDS RANCH – The semifinal matches have been set for the CGA Super Senior Match Play Championship at the University of Denver Golf Club at Highlands Ranch.
On Wednesday afternoon, following the completion of pod play, the 8 advancing players played their quarterfinal matches which produced one major upset. Defending champion and reigning Super Senior Player of the Year, David Nelson of Littleton, will not be repeating his 2024 performance thanks to Adam Kugler of Edwards. With the match tied through 8 holes, Kugler won the next 3 holes, then held steady until Nelson made birdie on 16 to cut the lead to 2. Kugler, sitting dormie, won the match 2 & 1 by halving hole 17 with matching pars.
Kugler — who has won a Metropolitan Golf Association Senior Open, an MGA Senior Amateur and a New Jersey State Golf Association Senior Am, recently placed second in the 2025 Trans-Mississippi Super-Senior Division.
Kugler will have his hands full in the semifinals tomorrow, as he will face Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore of Greenwood Village. Moore ousted Scott Sullivan of Grand Junction 4 & 3 in their quarterfinal match. Sullivan, the 2019 Senior Match Play champion, made birdie on 10 to cut Moore’s lead to 1 up. But Moore won holes 12 and 14 to push his lead to 3 with 4 holes left, and won the match with a tie on 15.
Moore, who has won 4 of the last 8 Super Senior Match Play titles, is looking for his 12th CGA individual title. Moore has 11 individual and 6 team CGA titles spanning 5 decades of amateur golf in Colorado.
Jim Reynolds of Denver, who lost to Moore in the 2017 Super Senior final match, earned a spot in the semifinals by defeating last year’s finalist David Delich of Colorado Springs. Delich, a 3-time Senior Match Play Champion, evened the match on the 7th hole, where the match stayed until Reynolds carded back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 to take a 2-hole lead. Both players made pars on the remaining holes giving Reynolds the 2 & 1 victory on 17.
Reynolds, a 3-time winner of the CGA Super Senior Four-Ball will face another Colorado Golf Hall of Famer – 2025 inductee Robert Polk of Parker. Polk advanced to the semis in dominating fashion, defeating Paul Edwards of Parker 6 & 5. Edwards, the 2024 Parent-Child champion with son Clark Edwards, lost the first 2 holes, then won the next 2 to even the match. Polk proceeded to win 6 of the next 9 holes, ending the match with a birdie on the 13th hole.
Polk’s Hall of Fame resumé includes 15 CGA titles: one Mid-Amateur, five Senior Amateurs, two Senior Match Plays, two Super-Senior Amateurs and five Senior Four-Balls.
The semifinal matches will take place Thursday morning, and the final match will take place Thursday afternoon. The CGA Super-Senior Match Play Championship is open to all active CGA Members age 65 and older.
CGA Senior Match Play Championship
University of Denver Golf Club at Highlands Ranch
QUARTERFINALS (Wednesday PM)
Adam Kugler, Edwards, def. David Nelson, Littleton, 2 & 1
Kent Moore, Greenwood Village, def. Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction, 4 & 3
Jim Reynolds, Denver, def. David Delich, Colorado Springs, 2 & 1
Robert Polk, Parker, def. Paul Edwards, Parker, 6 & 5
PHOTO LINKS