Fort Collins’ AJ Ott goes low to edge Derek Fribbs for Wyoming State Open title; Jennifer Kupcho posts her best finish in a major in over 3 years
By Gary Baines – 7/13/2025
AJ Ott of Fort Collins out-battled a fellow Coloradan in Sunday’s final round to win the Wyoming State Open in Cheyenne — and the $10,000 first prize that goes with it.
The former CGA Player of the Year shot a 9-under-par 61 in the final round at Airport Golf Club to finish at 21 under par (65-63-61). Ott, a former Colorado State University golfer, went bogey-free on Sunday, making an eagle and seven birdies. For the tournament overall, he carded an eagle, 22 birdies, a bogey and a double bogey.
Ott out-dueled Derek Fribbs of Aurora, who closed with a 62 to finish one stroke back. The former University of Colorado golfer recorded two eagles, five birdies and a bogey on Sunday. He went 63-65-62.
After Ott’s 21-under-par total and Fribbs’ 20 under, no other competitor finished better than 15 under.
Kyle Leydon of Commerce City (69-67-70 for a 4-under-par total) earned low-amateur honors by five.
For all the scores from the Wyoming State Open, CLICK HERE.
In other elite-level tournament golf that concluded on Sunday and involved players with strong Colorado ties:
Two players inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in December both tied for 11th in tour events in Europe on Sunday.
— Jennifer Kupcho recorded her best finish in a women’s major since she won the Chevron Championship early in 2022 as she checked in 11th at the Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Kupcho bounced back after double-bogeying the first hole on Sunday to shoot a 2-under-par 69. That left her with a 9-under-par total overall following earlier rounds of 65-69-72. She ended up five strokes behind champion Grace Kim, earning $148,891 in the process.
Kupcho has generally fared well in the Evian Championship as she placed second there in 2019. Her other top-10s in majors are a seventh place at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2020 and her victory in the Chevron Championship in 2022.
The Colorado native and Jefferson Academy graduate recorded her fourth victory on the LPGA Tour last month at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. EVIAN SCORES
— Denver native Wyndham Clark recorded the second-best finish of his 2025 PGA Tour season as he tied for 11th in the Genesis Scottish Open.
A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Clark’s only better showing in 2025 was a tie for fifth in the Texas Children’s Houston Open in March.
In Scotland, Clark was two out of the lead heading into Sunday and shot a 1-over-par 71, which dropped him to 8 under par overall. Chris Gotterup won the event with a 15-under total. SCORES
— Shane Bertsch of Parker notched his first top-10 finish of the PGA Tour Champions season by tying for ninth in the Dick’s Open in Endicott, N.Y. Bertsch, a one-time winner on the Champions circuit, carded rounds of 66-71-69 for a 10-under-par total, which left him eight strokes behind winner Steve Allan.
It was Bertsch’s 13th top-10 showing in his Champions career. SCORES
— Two-time Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open champion Becca Huffer of Monument tied for sixth place on Sunday in the Epson Tour’s Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship in Milford, Conn.
It marked Huffer’s best showing on the Epson Tour since September 2023.
Huffer went 69-72-71-71 for a 5-under-par total which left her nine strokes back of winner Gina Kim. SCORES
— Also on Sunday, former Pepperdine golfer William Mouw, who won the 2022 Trans-Miss title at Denver Country Club, on Sunday scored his first PGA Tour victory, winning the ISCO Championship in Louisville, Ky., by one stroke. SCORES
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