DENVER • These young pros hit the ball so far, with such precision, prodigy is a word that can be thrown around awfully quick these days.

But to normal human golfers like you and me, Shergo Al Kurdi is what we would call a prodigy.

He really is. Broke par at 10, scratch golfer at 15, played the Qatar Masters at 14, first Middle East golfer to make the cut on the DP World Tour. These days Al Kurdi is 18 and a reserve for the LIV Golf Invitational Series that’s got the outrage crowd’s knickers in a bunch.

But before the next step in a career that’s coming to network TV near you, Al Kurdi pulled into northeast Denver. He’s here for the Inspirato Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. That’s the $250,000 Inspirato Colorado Open, for the record. That’s the purse now.

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“Everybody in professional golf knows this is the best state tournament in the country,” said Hayden Wood, one of those young pros, whose dad, Willie Wood, won the Colorado Open back in 1984.

Word reached the international circuits, too. Six pros from Central and South American tours are in an event that wraps up with Sunday’s final round. (Yes, galleries are welcome and encouraged. There’s a top-notch grill for lunch, too.) Al Kurdi is from England and represents Jordan, his dad’s home country. His first competition on U.S. soil as a pro is here at the Colorado Open.

“This is fantastic, really. Just a fantastic tournament, fantastic golf course,” Al Kurdi told me after shooting 68 on the par-72 course on Saturday. He’s 11-under after the third round.

California’s Rico Hoey and South Dakota’s Will Collins share the lead at 17-under. Colorado State’s Connor Jones, who won the Mountain West individual title in May, is one shot back with a real chance to become the third amateur champion in the tournament’s 58-year history.

“It’s such a good tournament. It’s run so well,” Jones said. “And it gets a lot of good players because the purse is so big.”

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Several pros predicted the winner gets to 24-under. On a calm day, that might be conservative. Two players, including Jones, fired 63 on Saturday.

“I’ve always wanted to come to America and play in America,” said Al Kurdi, whose father, Musa, was on the bag as his son’s caddy. “I just really thought it would be great fun coming here. And it has been.”

The Colorado Open has carried a strong reputation for decades, through the Bill Bisdorf years in the 1960s to Bill Loeffler’s run in the ’90s to now. Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson and Peter Jacobsen were some of the low amateurs. But the tournament took another leap this year when it became the first state open to offer equal purses for the men’s and women’s events — $250,000 apiece ($100,000 to the champs). That’s big money, the largest purse among state opens combined, with one of the lowest entry fees, $600.

“Money talks, obviously,” said Zahkai Brown, the 2013 Colorado Open champ from Arvada, who is one shot back of the lead heading into Sunday.

These are happy days for Colorado golf. Cherry Hills Country Club hosts the 2023 U.S. Amateur, while the 2024 BMW Championship comes to Castle Pines Golf Club. The Colorado Open hosts five qualifiers where 420 players compete for 60 spots. Al Kurdi didn’t know he was in the field until a last-minute invite seven days ago. He arrived at 5,280 feet on Monday and enters the final round seven shots back, despite a “2-3 club difference” from his home course at sea level.

“Maybe in some places (at elevation), it’s 10 more yards,” Al Kurdi said. “Here, it’s about 40.”

His own swing is compact, leaving little room for error. He still generates 134 mph of clubhead speed, Golf Digest reported, through his time working with buddy Bryson DeChambeau, another LIV player. As a reserve who would sub in for an injured regular, Al Kurdi’s debut on the LIV tour could be next week or weeks down the road.

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Mickelson reportedly got $200 million to join the Saudi-backed tour, Dustin Johnson $125 million. And who knows Cam Smith’s price if he joins after winning the British Open last week? But when the U.S. president is fist-bumping a Saudi crown prince, soccer’s World Cup is hosted in Qatar, and the NBA bends for China, it’s tough to churn up much outrage for golfers cashing in.

“(LIV) has given young players like myself huge opportunities. And it was good timing for me, only turning pro about six or seven months ago,” Al Kurdi said. “It’s good to see people giving young players opportunities to make some good money. From there, we’ll see where it goes.”

Wherever it goes, Al Kurdi’s professional journey in the U.S. began here at Green Valley Ranch. And it wouldn’t be the first time the Colorado Open served as a great pro’s launching pad.