What notable awaits us in Colorado golf in 2026? Venue change for Golf Expo, Jennifer Kupcho possibly back for more at Solheim Cup, Trans-Miss event at Lakewood CC, loss of an AJGA tourney, and much more
By Gary Baines – 1/12/2026
In 2026, the United States turns 250 years old and Colorado 150.
In a year when such milestones will be celebrated, what might be special, unique, different or otherwise notable in Colorado golf?
Well, as we become a little more accustomed to thinking 2026 instead of 2025, we hit upon some of the highlights in answering that question.
This year, there won’t be any one-off big-time spectators events — unlike each of the last few years with the U.S. Senior Open (2025), BMW Championship (2024) the U.S. Amateur (2023) and the U.S. Girls’ Junior (2023).
Still, 2026 won’t lack for out-of-the-ordinary and/or notable happenings and events in the Centennial State. Here are some of the key ones:
— New Home for Expo: After the Denver/Colorado Golf Expo called either the Denver Mart or the Colorado Convention Center home for decades, in 2026 the CGE will move to the National Western Center’s new Livestock Center (LVC). This year’s show is set for March 6-8. One of the positives of the move will be a return to significant available free parking for attendees, in contrast to the situation at the CCC the last four years.
— First Full Years for Bella Ridge, Rodeo Dunes: 2026 will mark the first full seasons at two Colorado golf courses — Bella Ridgein Johnstown and Rodeo Dunes in Roggen — though at Rodeo Dunes it will be “a preview season” (likely starting in May), mainly restricted to founders and their guests, along with media and industry folks. Then general public play will begin in 2027. Bella Ridge, a daily-free public facility, opened for “limited preview play” on Oct. 6.
— A Trans-Miss Event Pays a Visit: At least one significant one-off national amateur championship is set for Colorado this year as Lakewood Country Club will host the Trans-Miss Golf Association’s Mid-Master and Mid-Amateur Championship Sept. 13-16. The Mid-Master is limited to competitors 40 and older, while the Mid-Am is for players 25 and older.
— Site for State’s Historic Events: The oldest continuously-held state golf championships in Colorado will be conducted — at least in part — at a venue they’ve never visited before as the 126th CGA Match Play and the 111th CGA Women’s Match Play are set for June 8-12 at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and Flying Horse North in Colorado Springs. CommonGround has hosted the pod-play portion of the event — and the men’s round of 16 — in recent years, but the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals for both the men and women move to another prominent course. This year, that course is Flying Horse North, which opened in 2020 and has never before hosted a CGA major championship for either the men or the women. But FHN was home last September to the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, the CPGA’s top tournament.
— Other CGA Majors: Meanwhile, the CGA Amateur — the other men’s CGA open-age major — will be contested Aug. 3-6 at Sonnenalp Club in Edwards, west of Vail. Sonnenalp hosted the Colorado Open in 2001 and ’02, with 2026 Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Stadler winning the latter in his pro debut. The CGA Amateur was last held at Sonnenalp in 2017 when Glenn Workman claimed the title. It will be the first CGA Amateur held in western Colorado since the 2022 event was contested at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale. As for the CGA Women’s Stroke Play — the second CGA women’s major of the year — it’s scheduled for July 20-22 at Mariana Butte in Loveland, where the Women’s Mid-Amateur Stroke Play will be held concurrently. It marks the first CGA women’s open-age major for Mariana Butte.
— Two AJGA Events Instead of Three: After three AJGA tournaments annually have been the norm for Colorado in recent years, the Centennial State will be down to two in 2026 as the AJGA Colorado Springs Junior has been nixed from the schedule due to problems finding a venue and locking up funding for the event. So that will leave Colorado with the AJGA Wyndham Clark presented by the CGA (June 2-4 at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster) and the AJGA Junior Open at The Bridges presented by the City of Montrose (July 28-30 at The Bridges in Montrose).
— CGA State Junior: Also on the junior golf front, one of the top junior championships in the state, the open-age CGA State Junior, will remain at the same site — at roughly the same dates — as has been the case. This year, it’s set for June 22-26 at CommonGround, the CGA-owned course in Aurora.
— Headed for DCP National Finals in Augusta: Three Coloradans, a large number by historical standards, will be among the 80 junior golfers who will compete on national TV at the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on April 5, the Sunday preceding Masters week. The Colorado DCP finalists are Sophia Eagan of Castle Rock (girls 7-9), Shepherd Choi of Westminster (girls 10-11), and Peyton Landon of Fort Collins (girls 14-15).
— Change to August: After being a September mainstay on the golf schedules for many years, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship — the CPGA’s top tournament — will be held Aug. 24-26 this year, at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster. A Colorado PGA official said the move was made because many Colorado courses go through the aerification process in early to mid September.
— Hall of Fame Happenings: After inducting classes of six and five people, respectively, the past two years, the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame will enshrine two — its smallest class since 2021 — in 2026. PGA Tour winner Kevin Stadler and CWGA co-founder and early-1900s standout player Ella McLaughlin will be inducted on a date and at a site to be announced. Meanwhile, the Hall of Fame will hold its annual tournament in May 18 at Lakewood Country Club.
— Sponsor Changeover: A few of the most notable golf tournaments held annually in Colorado are expected to be going into 2026 with new title sponsors. The eighth edition of the Korn Ferry Tour event at TPC Colorado in Berthoud will be held July 9-12, under the new name The Blue Championship as previous presenting sponsor Blue Federal Credit Union transitions to the title role. Meanwhile, the Colorado Open championships also hope to have a new title sponsor in 2026 following a four-year run as the Inspirato Colorado Open championships. The tournaments, held since 2004 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, are scheduled this year for June 3-5 (Colorado Women’s Open), July 23-26 (Colorado Open) and Sept. 2-4 (Colorado Senior Open). Although it’s just a move of a week, it’ll be the first non-August CSO since the tournament moved from late spring after 2018.
— Four in a Row?: There’s a fairly good chance Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jennifer Kupcho will be representing the U.S. in the Solheim Cup matches against Europe Sept. 11-13 in the Netherlands. If so, it would be Kupcho’s fourth straight time competing in the match-play event. She currently sits fourth in the U.S. points standings, with the top seven on Aug. 23 earning automatic berths.
— Top USGA Qualifiers: As for the most notable USGA qualifiers in 2026 in Colorado, three events will have berths available directly into USGA open championships. U.S. Women’s Open qualifying is set for May 12 at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster. U.S. Senior Open final qualifying is scheduled for June 3 at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. And U.S. Senior Women’s Open qualifying is planned for June 24 at Indian Peaks Golf Course in Lafayette. In addition, the final stage of U.S. Amateur qualifying will be contested July 22 at Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley. It’s been over a decade since Colorado hosted a U.S. Open final qualifier, but local qualifying that championship this year is set for May 5 (Collindale and Walnut Creek) and May 7 (Thorncreek).
— Historic USGA Venues: For those who qualify — or are exempt, such as Kupcho (U.S. Women’s Open) and fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Wyndham Clark — the USGA has some stellar, historic venues lined up in 2026. Among them are Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (USWO, June 4-7), Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y. (USO, June 18-21) an Merion in Ardmore, Pa. (U.S. Amateur, Aug. 10-16).
— Masters No. 3 for Wyndham Clark: Speaking of Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champ, the Colorado native will tee it up for the third time at the Masters, April 9-12. The Valor Christian grad missed the cut in his debut at Augusta National, in 2024, then finished 46th last year.
— Late-Summer Return: The second edition of the Annika Women’s All-Pro Tour’s Colorado Championship at Todd Creek has been moved back a little on the calendar — compared to 2025 — to Aug. 18-21 at the course in Thornton.
— Seldom-Visited Venues for Some CGA Events: The CGA championship season begins May 1-3 with the CGA Four-Ball at RainDance National and Highland Meadows in Windsor — with the first women’s event being the Team Stableford May 20 at Legacy Ridge. Several notable CGA tournaments will be hosted by courses seldom seen on CGA schedules. For instance, while there have been plenty of notable big-time tournaments at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Academy, it’s been far less so with ECB’s Silver Course. But July 6-9, it will host the CGA Super-Senior Match Play, the Women’s Senior Match Play and the Women’s Net Match Play. Meanwhile, regarding other state championships at sites that rarely host such events, the CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play is set for Aug. 3-4 at Foothills Golf Course in southwest Denver, the CGA Super-Senior Amateur is scheduled for Estes Park Golf Course Aug. 11-12, and the CGA Women’s Club Team Sept. 16 at Plum Creek Golf Club in Castle Rock.
— Back for More at TPC Colorado: For the second time in the three years since the CGA Mid-Amateur Match Play was resurrected, the semifinals and the finals for the event is scheduled for TPC Colorado in Berthoud — on Oct. 7 in 2026. It was also held there in 2024, with last year’s semis and finals held at Cherry Hills Country Club.
In other words, there’s plenty to look forward to in Colorado golf in 2026.
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