Kyle Westmoreland flew with the Thunderbirds and won a golf tournament in the same year, a dream feat for the Air Force Academy graduate and Korn Ferry Tour golfer.

“(It was) a couple weeks ago when I was fortunate enough to be able to ride with the Thunderbirds,” Westmoreland said Tuesday. “I don’t know if I played with anyone who hasn’t asked about it yet. We’re all still on cloud nine getting to do that. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”

Westmoreland flew with the Thunderbirds during the Air Force graduation ceremony in May.

On the golf course, the 33-year-old is preparing to play at the Korn Ferry Tour event in Springfield, Ill., before taking a week off. Then he will return to Colorado to play at The Ascendant presented by Blue at TPC Colorado in Berthoud from July 7-13.

“It has been Tournament of the Year two times,” Westmoreland said. “It could be Tournament of the Year every year from player amenities, the clubhouse to (the) range, to the course and to fan experience. It’s awesome for us. And for me having lived there twice, I just have a lot of respect for that community.”

Westmoreland nabbed his first professional win at the Astara Golf Championship in February. He shot a third-round 61 to vault to the top of the leaderboard and held on with a final-round 70 for the victory.

During the 2022-23 season, he played on the PGA Tour and was unable to keep his tour card. Westmoreland went back to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2023 and 2024 seasons but did not qualify to return to the PGA Tour.

He currently sits in 19th place in the Korn Ferry standings as TPC Colorado approaches during a pivotal part of the schedule. The top 20 in the standings secure their PGA cards for the next season.

“It’s one of my favorites of the year. It comes at a perfect time in the schedule where you are going to get the college guys coming in,” he said. “It’s after a week off so people are pretty excited to get to Colorado. I think we’re going to go out a little bit early, kind of enjoy Colorado itself and get to the tournament, get to work. But it’s a favorite of mine, a favorite of my family’s and we’re just excited to be there.”

The Korn Ferry Tour’s stop at TPC Colorado is the only annual pro tournament in the state. This will be the seventh edition of the tournament, and well-known players like Will Zalatoris and Tag Ridings have taken home the title. Cristobal Del Solar broke the scoring record at 22-under and secured his PGA Tour card at last season’s event.

Low scoring on the Korn Ferry Tour has become more and more common. Last week at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open, winner Myles Creighton and Adrien Dumont de Chassart both fired 59s. There were also several scores in the low 60s during the week.

But Westmoreland doesn’t see anybody going that low at TPC Colorado.

“I don’t see a 59 happening at Colorado,” he said. “It’s long. There are opportunities because it is at altitude (and) there are some birdie opportunities. You probably will see some low numbers, but it’s all course and wind dependent.

“Colorado’s another one, you go play some good golf tee to green, you can separate yourself, and that’s what we look for because that’s what’s important on the PGA Tour, that’s what’s important on every level. I love Colorado for that reason.”

The Ascendant presented by Blue will have a new tournament director this season as well. Cory Brougham takes over for Drew Blass, who was the tournament director since 2019.

“I’ve been with this group for eight years. It is my first time taking the lead, but it’s not unfamiliar territory,” Brougham said. “We personally were looking to make a move to Colorado. I have family here, so we were ready to leave the heat of Texas and this was an opportunity that put itself in front of me, and I was more than happy to take on a challenge and learn something new.”

Brougham said tickets sale are good leading up to the event. There are still tickets available here.

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Prater, Salome win CGA match play titles

Colorado Springs’ Colin Prater added another trophy to his case.

The high school science teacher defeated Jordan Jennings 9 and 8 on Friday at Denver Country Club to claim the 125th CGA Men’s Match Play title. It is the second time Prater has won the match play title and his fifth CGA major.

The 30-year-old Prater, who is a three-time CGA Player of the Year, owns two of the most lopsided victories in the match play finals. He also defeated Ross Macdonald 8 and 7 in 2020.

“Maybe I’m a little bit delusional in thinking I want to be one of the best ‘ams’ in the state ever,” Prater told the Colorado Golf Association. “So, to continue to be able to add to my resumé is great.”

On the women’s side, four-time New Mexico high school state champion Rylee Salome defeated 15-year-old Landry Frost of Colorado Springs 3 and 2 at the Denver Country Club.

Frost, the Air Academy freshman who won the Colorado girls 4A state high school championship, had an early lead on Friday but was unable to hold off Salome.

“It means everything,” Salome told the CGA. “It’s amazing (the championship) has been going on for 110 years. To be able to win it today is just great. I think it’s wonderful that they keep such a tradition alive for so long.”

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What they’re saying

“This changes the story a little bit. I never would have thought about playing (in the Ryder Cup) if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to playing. I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team.”

—U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley after his win at the Travelers Championship

***

Skins game

Odds to win Rocket Mortgage Classic

Collin Morikawa +1200

Patrick Cantlay +1600

Keegan Bradley +1800

Ben Griffin +2200

Cameron Young +2500

Hideki Matsuyama +3000

Wyndham Clark +3500

***

This week in golf

PGA Tour

ROCKET MORTGAGE CLASSIC

Site: Detroit.

Course: Detroit GC. Yardage: 7,370. Par: 72.

Prize money: $9.6 million. Winner’s share: $1,728,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf), 1-4 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Cam Davis.

USGA and PGA Tour Champions

U.S. SENIOR OPEN

Site: Colorado Springs

Course: The Broadmoor GC (East). Yardage: 7,247. Par: 70.

Prize money: $4 million. Winner’s share: $800,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (Peacock), 4-7 p.m. (Golf); Saturday-Sunday, Noon-4 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Richard Bland.

LIV Golf League

LIV GOLF DALLAS

Site: Carrollton, Texas.

Course: Maridoe GC. Yardage: 7,533. Par: 72.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $4 million.

Television: Friday, 10 a.m.-Noon (Fox Sports app), Noon-3 p.m. (Fox); Saturday, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (FS2), 1:30-4 p.m. (Fox); Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (FS2).

Defending champion: New tournament.

LPGA Tour

DOW CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Midland, Mich.

Course: Midland CC. Yardage: 6,287. Par: 70.

Prize money: $3.3 million. Winners’ share: TBD.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 9 a.m.-Noon (Golf); Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf).

Defending champions: Jeeno Thitikul and Ruoning Yin.

European Tour

ITALIAN OPEN

Site: Tuscany, Italy.

Course: Argentario GC. Yardage: 6.857. Par: 71.

Prize money: $3 million. Winner’s share: $500,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 5:30-9 a.m. (Golf), 9-10:30 a.m. (NBC Sports app); Saturday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf); Sunday, 4-9 a.m. (Golf).

Defending champion: Marcel Siem.

Korn Ferry Tour

MEMORIAL HEALTH CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Springfield, Ill.

Course: Panther Creek CC. Yardage: 7,258. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.

Television: None.

Previous winner: Max McGreevy.

***

FedEx Cup standings

                            Points   Money

1. Scottie Scheffler 3,976 $15,869,483

2. Rory McIlroy 2,974 $14,916,410

3. Sepp Straka 2,493 $9,682,994

4. Russell Henley 2,246 $9,323,406

5. Justin Thomas 2,222 $9,335,520

6. Ben Griffin 2,158 $7,962,502

7. J.J. Spaun 2,097 $10,004,182

8. Keegan Bradley 1,702 $7,043,795

9. Harris English 1,700 $5,894,527

10. Tommy Fleetwood 1,699 $6,188,031

11. Maverick McNealy 1,593 $6,093,910

12. Andrew Novak 1,561 $6,309,769

13. Corey Conners 1,465 $5,058,426

14. Ludvig Aberg 1,432 $6,337,033

15. Shane Lowry 1,418 $6,186,854

16. Nick Taylor 1,406 $4,713,917

17. Collin Morikawa 1,352 $6,734,794

18. Brian Harman 1,260 $4,184,339

19. Patrick Cantlay 1,251 $4,347,046

20. Robert Macintyre 1,251 $5,244,607

21. Sam Burns 1,237 $4,410,873

22. Hideki Matsuyama 1,145 $5,280,137

23. Viktor Hovland 1,135 $4,178,118

24. Sungjae Im 1,130 $4,148,217

25. Daniel Berger 1,127 $3,927,079

26. Ryan Fox 1,123 $3,824,847

27. Jason Day 1,070 $3,418,361

28. Thomas Detry 1,062 $3,421,380

29. Justin Rose 1,054 $4,182,019

30. Lucas Glover 1,054 $3,818,953

31. Michael Kim 1,027 $3,343,543

32. Tom Hoge 1,026 $3,957,533

33. Taylor Pendrith 975 $3,296,030

34. Jacob Bridgeman 972 $3,096,853

35. Cameron Young 955 $3,168,555

36. Denny McCarthy 912 $3,207,035

37. Ryan Gerard 843 $2,833,162

38. Sam Stevens 841 $3,024,906

39. Jordan Spieth 819 $2,953,110

40. Akshay Bhatia 811 $3,062,904

41. Joe Highsmith 809 $2,716,887

42. Bud Cauley 806 $2,732,983

43. Si Woo Kim 803 $2,930,602

44. Min Woo Lee 797 $2,896,086

45. J.T. Poston 787 $2,499,566

46. Jhonattan Vegas 755 $2,257,415

47. Harry Hall 736 $2,332,924

48. Stephan Jaeger 726 $2,477,901

49. Mackenzie Hughes 697 $2,205,658

50. Aaron Rai 676 $2,650,333