(Denver, CO) - Three players sit atop a tight leaderboard following the first round of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship.
Most notable of the three players that shot two-under-par 70 is Mike Northern, a PGA Life Member from Colorado Springs, CO. Northern has earned the Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year title four times, won the 2006 Colorado PGA Professional Championship and recently won the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship. Northern finished his round strong by posting three birdies in a row starting at the par-4 fifteenth hole.
Joining Northern at the top of the leaderboard is Buffalo Run PGA Head Professional Will Panella and The Country Club at Castle Pines PGA Assistant Professional Kirk Trowbridge. Panella fired the first two-under-par round of the day by posting four birdies and two bogeys. Trowbridge had the potential to open up a commanding lead with seven birdies but tallied a double bogey and three bogeys during his first round.
Sitting one shot back at one-under-par 71 is a trio of former champions. Ron Vlosich, a three-time champion of the event leads the group that includes 1989 champion Gregg Jones and 2010 champion Chris Johnson.
Sitting yet another stroke back is a group of seven players who posted an even-par 72. That group includes Caine Fitzgerald, PGA Assistant Professional at Meadow Hills Golf Course who won the championship the last time it was contested at Cherry Creek Country Club in 2012.
Doug Rohrbaugh, the PGA Director of Golf at Ironbridge Golf Club fired an opening round two-over-par 74. Rohrbaugh is the three-time defending champion and is looking to become the first-ever player to win four consecutive championships.
The field will be cut to the top-56 players and ties (or anyone within 10 strokes of the 8th and final qualifying spot) following the conclusion of the second round.
The top-8 finishers will advance to the 50th PGA Professional National Championship presented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz and OMEGA, to be held June 18- 21, 2017, at Sunriver Resort in Bend, Oregon.
Colorado PGA Professional Championship
Cherry Creek Country Club
September 12-14, 2016
7,271 yards
T1 Will Panella Buffalo Run 36-34--70 -2
T1 Kirk Trowbridge CC at Castle Pines 36-34--70 -2
T1 Mike Northern Life Member 36-34--70 -2
T4 Gregg Jones Sand Creek 33-38--71 -1
T4 Ron Vlosich Life Member 35-36--71 -1
T4 Chris Johnson The Pinery Country Club 39-32--71 -1
T7 Joseph Carlton Legacy Ridge GC 36-36--72 E
T7 Graham Cliff Colorado GC 37-35--72 E
T7 Bobby Quaratino West Woods GC 35-37--72 E
T7 Michael Zaremba Desert Hawk 35-37--72 E
T7 Caine Fitzgerald Meadow Hills 36-36--72 E
T7 Ken Krieger Cheyenne Country Club 37-35--72 E
T13 Bryan Heim Columbine CC 39-34--73 +1
T13 Paul Lobato Meridian 39-34--73 +1
T13 Eric Bradley The Pinery Country Club 35-38--73 +1
T13 Brian Zeigler Red Sky Golf Club- Norman 40-33--73 +1
T13 Geoff Keffer PGA Learning Center 38-35--73 +1
T18 Tom Carricato Redlands Mesa 38-36--74 +2
T18 Jack Allen Heritage Eagle Bend GC 36-38--74 +2
T18 Visanu Tongwarin Legacy Ridge GC 38-36--74 +2
T18 Ari Papadopoulos Red Sky Golf Club- Norman 36-38--74 +2
T18 Doug Rohrbaugh Ironbridge 36-38--74 +2
T23 Scott Ough GolfTEC - Boulder 39-36--75 +3
T23 Micah Rudosky Conquistador 35-40--75 +3
T23 Remington Post Hiwan 40-35--75 +3
T23 Shawn Wilcox Pro-Link Golf School 37-38--75 +3
T23 Dan O'Shaughnessy Fitzsimons 35-40--75 +3
T23 Blake Sharamitaro Lake Arbor 36-39--75 +3
T23 Dale Smigelsky Collindale 37-38--75 +3
T23 Derek Rush Cherry Hills 37-38--75 +3
T23 Ryan Wroblewski Cherry Hills 38-37--75 +3
T23 Tyler Ferratti Columbine CC 39-36--75 +3
T33 David Fischer Columbine CC 38-38--76 +4
T33 Bill Hancock Littleton Golf & Tennis 36-40--76 +4
T33 Scott Wells Catch - 72 Golf 37-39--76 +4
T33 David Steinmetz Inverness GC 37-39--76 +4
T33 Barry Milstead Valley 36-40--76 +4
T33 Steve Mauser Denver 39-37--76 +4
T33 Zane Zwemke Aurora Hills 38-38--76 +4
T40 Darren Szot The Club at Cordillera 39-38--77 +5
T40 Anthony Vitale Colorado GC 40-37--77 +5
T40 Robbins Manley Breckenridge GC 37-40--77 +5
T40 Luke Brosterhous Catamount Ranch and 40-37--77 +5
T40 Peter Norwood MetaGolf Learning Center 39-38--77 +5
T40 Doug Perry City Park Nine 38-39--77 +5
T40 John Ogden Cherry Hills 37-40--77 +5
T47 David Arbuckle Springs Ranch GC 38-40--78 +6
T47 Michael Weingartner Ridge at Castle Pines - N 36-42--78 +6
T47 J R Hamblet Elkhorn Ridge GC 39-39--78 +6
T47 David Thompson Eagle Vail 39-39--78 +6
T47 Thomas Nosewicz Meadow Hills 40-38--78 +6
T47 Rob Hunt The Links Golf Course 39-39--78 +6
T47 Scott Sommers Saddleback 39-39--78 +6
T47 Bill Loeffler The Links Golf Course 39-39--78 +6
T55 Scott Hart Life Member 39-40--79 +7
T55 Brad Keating Springs Ranch GC 39-40--79 +7
T55 Kevin Bolles Boulder 40-39--79 +7
T55 Tyler Parsloe CC at Castle Pines 39-40--79 +7
T55 Ryan Bakken Thorncreek GC 41-38--79 +7
T55 Jason Brandt The Links Golf Course 37-42--79 +7
T55 Jeff Carter Riverdale GC 40-39--79 +7
T55 Michael Pope Cherry Creek CC 38-41--79 +7
T55 Mike Swan Crested Butte 38-41--79 +7
T55 Kyle Voska The Links Golf Course 38-41--79 +7
T55 Tray Shehee Ute Creek GC 39-40--79 +7
T55 Sherry Andonian Valley 43-36--79 +7
T55 Leighton Smith First Tee of Pikes Peak 37-42--79 +7
T55 Ben Welsh Eagle Vail 35-44--79 +7
T69 Russell Aragon Aspen Golf Management 37-43--80 +8
T69 George Kahrhoff The GC at Ravenna 39-41--80 +8
T69 Jeff Hanson Red Sky GC 40-40--80 +8
T69 Ross McLean Denver 41-39--80 +8
T69 Dustin Miller Jake's Academy 38-42--80 +8
T69 James Owens Cherry Creek CC 42-38--80 +8
T69 Kirk Rider Bear Creek GC 37-43--80 +8
T69 Daniel Reabe Cherry Hills 41-39--80 +8
T77 Alexandra Braga Denver 42-39--81 +9
T77 Vince Buelk Collindale 40-41--81 +9
T77 Tara Morris CC at Castle Pines 41-40--81 +9
T77 Robert Grall Colorado National GC 42-39--81 +9
T81 Jason Witczak Green Valley Ranch 42-40--82 +10
T81 Kory Thurman Denver 42-40--82 +10
T81 Rick Ellefson Life Member 39-43--82 +10
T84 Ben Honaman Lakewood CC 41-42--83 +11
T84 Dan Sniffin Omni Interlocken 40-43--83 +11
T84 Justin Blomberg Red Sky GC 40-43--83 +11
T84 Keith Stilwell Cheyenne Shadows GC 42-41--83 +11
T84 Todd Kenyon Sand Creek 43-40--83 +11
T89 Dave Detweiler Life Member 44-40--84 +12
T89 Alan Saunders Glenmoor 41-43--84 +12
T89 Ed Kujalowicz Springs Ranch GC 39-45--84 +12
T89 Michael Mendelson Tiara Rado GC 45-39--84 +12
T93 Christopher Williamson Fort Collins 42-43--85 +13
T93 Thomas Noonan Boulder 39-46--85 +13
T93 Terra Shehee Boulder 43-42--85 +13
T96 Philip Linares Trent Wearner Golf Academ 43-43--86 +14
T96 Dillon May Cherry Creek CC 41-45--86 +14
T96 Gregory Kohr GolfTEC-Hdqrts 41-45--86 +14
T96 Justin Moore Cobra-Puma Golf 45-41--86 +14
T100 Phillip McCarthy GolfTEC-Hdqrts 42-45--87 +15
T100 Brian Gott CommonGround GC 44-43--87 +15
T100 Brad Skupaka GolfTEC-Hdqrts 47-40--87 +15
103 Kevin Carlson The Club at Pradera 40-48--88 +16
104 Randy Bregar Elmwood 43-47--90 +18
T105 Kyle McGee Overland 43-48--91 +19
T105 Brad Alston PGA Learning Center 47-44--91 +19
T105 Heikke Nielsen Golf Styles For Less 44-47--91 +19
108 Chris Hamilton City Park GC 45-48--93 +21
109 Chance Semones Tiara Rado GC 48-48--96 +24
DID NOT FINISH
WD John Reilly Cheyenne Country Club +3
WD Howard Glasser Eagle Springs +6
WD Dave Troyer CommonGround GC +16
WD Erik Billinger University of Denver
WD Kevin Cohrs Mariana Butte
WD Tom Krause Jake's Academy
DQ Patrick Reidy Inverness GC +4
