Colorado Women’s Open continues to provide launching pad for female golfers | Golf Insider
The list of past Colorado Women’s Open participants reads like a who’s who of women’s golf.
Lauren Coughlin, Sophia Popov, Paige MacKenzie, Carlota Ciganda and Paige Spiranac, to name a few, have all had success in the game of golf.
Colorado legend Jennifer Kupcho has won the event and has a major LPGA title to her name. So does Popov, who won the Women’s British Open in 2020. Spiranac has a huge following on social media. You can watch MacKenzie, who won the event in 2006, as a Golf Channel analyst.
The Colorado Women’s Open at Green Valley Ranch has a way of making stars.
“It’s a great launching pad,” said Kevin Laura, who is the CEO of the Colorado Open Championships. “I think the best thing is for the young ladies who have just graduated from college and our event is one of their first, if not the first, pro event that they’re ever going to play in.
“So that’s why it’s kind of good for those girls going into golf as a career.”
This year’s tournament is June 3-5 at Green Valley Ranch. The field is scheduled to include 106 players, which is smaller than the normal 144. It still will be stacked with some of the best professional and amateur players.
The purse and the golf course continue to be attractive to players. The total purse is $200,000 and the winner takes home $50,000. That total is more than some Epson Tour events.
“The total at Epson Tour events is usually $250,000,” Laura said. “But they only paid $37,500 for first place. We pay 18%. We pay $50,000. Whoever wins will definitely be able to take it back on the tour and say, yeah, I played Denver and thank you for half their year’s expenses.”
There will be several area golfers vying for the $50,000. Becca Huffer will be looking for her third title at Green Valley Ranch after winning in 2013 and 2019. University of Colorado golfer Carolyn Fuller will be playing after finishing a strong season in Boulder. Those are just two of several players with Colorado ties in the field, which includes Class 4A state champion Kaylee Meyering of Ponderosa High School.
“We have a lot of our Colorado-based girls either in college or that are out of college, so I’m really excited about them participating,” Laura said.
The field also features strong players from college powerhouses. Brooke Seay was part of a Stanford team that won the NCAA title in 2023-24. Kansas standouts Lauren Clark and Lavanya Gupta are names to watch.
“I really like those players that are using us to launch their career because, as our slogan says, it’s where legends begin,” he said.
Alyaa Abdulghany, who has played this year on the Epson Tour, is back to defend her title after beating Brianna Do in a playoff in 2025. Do will not be returning, as she qualified to play in the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Riviera Country Club.
With big-name winners and a golf course that treats players as well as at LPGA events, Green Valley Ranch and the Colorado Women’s Open have a strong reputation in the golf world.
“The word spread very quickly,” Laura said about the tournament heading into its 32nd year. “That’s why we schedule it opposite the U.S. Women’s Open, because we wanted to have our opportunity with the least amount of conflict. And if a girl or a woman qualifies to get in the U.S. Open, that’s fantastic. But we’re there for everybody else.”
Wyndham Clark launching mental health app
Denver native Wyndham Clark is taking another step to promote the importance of mental health.
After winning the CJ Cup Bryon Nelson on Sunday, Clark discussed why he had “UNLOK” on his caddie’s bib.
“I put UNLOK, U-N-L-O-K, no C. UNLOK is an app I’m about to launch this year. It’s a mental health and performance app,” he said Sunday. “I’ve been very blessed to work with one of the best sports psychologists in the world that helped change my game, and I wanted to bring that to everybody.”
The Valor Christian graduate’s work with sports psychologist Julie Elion has been discussed on numerous occasions, including on an episode of “Full Swing.” The work with Elion helped Clark win the U.S. Open in 2023 and enjoy his best stretch on the PGA Tour.
He had some setbacks, including damaging a locker at Oakmont at last year’s U.S. Open. But Clark said after his win Sunday he is “in a good place.”
“She’s expensive, and some of these people are expensive, and not everyone can afford to pay for it. I thought, you know what, everything I’ve learned, I can put into an app. It’s visualization. It’s journaling. It’s daily mental goals. And we’re using ‘AI’ to help create this, which is going to be like your mental performance coach,” Clark said.
There is no timetable for when the app will be available.
Colorado Christian men making another deep postseason run
The Cougars and a deep postseason run go together.
For the third straight season, the Colorado Christian men advanced to match play at the NCAA Division II national championship. The Cougars lost a heartbreaker 3-2 in the quarterfinals to Florida Southern last week.
The Cougars won the national title in 2024 and lost in the final in 2025.
It was another memorable season for the Cougars under first-year coach Cameron Sandland. Bradley Mulder won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual title and was named RMAC Golfer of the Year. Peyton Jones claimed three individual victories. Lance Christensen Jr. took second at the national championships in the individual race.
Skins game
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