University of Colorado golfer Hunter Swanson wasn't interested in a summer break.
The junior loves golf and loves being part of big-time events when he is not playing in college tournaments.
"I've been to a lot of places," Swanson told The Denver Gazette on Wednesday.
Swanson has played in some of the prestigious amateur events this summer and has many more on his calendar. In just June, he finished third at the Southwestern Amateur and made it to match play before losing to Vanderbilt's Jordan Van Paris at the North and South Amateur which was played at Pinehurst (N.C.) No. 2 about a week after the U.S. Open.
"The coolest part was that the U.S. Open was just played there, so they had the grandstands up," Swanson said. "It made it feel like I was playing in the U.S. Open with less people watching."
The North and South Amateur has a storied history and has been held at Pinehurst since 1901. Davis Ovard beat Van Paris in the final match this year. The last two winners of the tournament include Nick Dunlap in 2023, who won the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills as well as The American Express, and Luke Clanton in 2022. Clanton finished in the top 10 of last week's Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour.
Davis Love III, Corey Pavin, Hal Sutton, Curtis Strange and former Castle Rock resident Gary Halberg are former winners at Pinehurst.
"I'm sure the greens weren't as firm or as quick as the U.S. Open, but they weren't that far off," Swanson said. "They're tricky to read out there and that Bermuda grass can get you."
Swanson also played in U.S. Open Sectionals in San Francisco this summer but fell short of qualifying for the U.S. Open. A rise in the World Amateur Golf Rankings to No. 375 helped Swanson become part of some of these fields.
"This time last year I didn't have the World Amateur Golf Ranking that I have now," he said. "I get to play in some pretty highly ranked college events that help me bump it up."
Next up on the Northfield High graduate's calendar is the Trans-Miss Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan. Another tournament that debuted in 1901 with a list of big-time winners. The venue is different each year and has been played at Denver Country Club six times.
The winners list includes Will Zalatoris (twice), Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Champ.
The tournament begins Tuesday with 36-hole stroke play before moving on to match play. The 20-year-old prepares for these high-level events just like he would for any other tournament.
"To take a lot of the nerves off of these big, highly ranked amateur events, I just like to look at it like it's another round of golf," he said. "Not preparing anything specifically out of the ordinary that I wouldn't do for any tournament."
But the Trans-Miss won't be the last tournament for Swanson. He will try to advance to the U.S. Amateur in a qualifying event at Columbine Country Club and play in the Pacific Coast Amateur at Chambers Bay before the summer is over. He will also play in the CGA Stroke Play Championship.
That is all before the fall season begins in Boulder where the Buffs will return all their players from last season's team. College tournaments will begin in early September.
"We've got a solid team and it's going to be tough to make the lineup," Swanson said. "No one's guaranteed in the lineup these days anymore. We got a national championship-caliber golf team. I can't lie about that."
You can add caddy to the list of duties for Swanson this summer as well. He was on the bag for Fairview High School's Mile Kuhl for U.S. Amateur local qualifying Tuesday at Thorncreek Golf Course in Thornton. Kuhl advanced to the next round of qualifying.
"I've been caddying since I was like 12-13 years old trying to make a little bit of money on the side," Swanson said. "I started caddying at my home course, Green Valley Ranch, moved to CommonGround and then Cherry Hills and Boulder Country Club."
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Colorado Springs' Steve Ivan wins CGA Senior Match Play
Patty Jewett Golf Course's Steve Ivan claimed his second CGA Senior Match Play title last week. He also won the title in 2020 and has been in the title match five times since 2018.
The 62-year-old, who played his college golf at the University of Colorado, defeated defending champion Jon Lindstorm 2-up at RainDance National in Windsor. Lindstrom is ranked in the top 10 in the amateur rankings for players over 55-years-old.
“For me to be in the same arena as Jon — him being (eighth) in the world — is a dream for me,” Ivan told ColoradoGolf.org. “His pedigree is just phenomenal. It was phenomenal before he became a senior. For me to win, it’s hard for me to put that into words. The guy is so good, and he’s so even keeled. For me to beat him, that is a huge accomplishment.”
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What they're saying
“I’ve been treating these starts I’m getting like majors in terms of preparation, learning the golf courses and all those things, making sure we don’t leave any stone unturned. You know, if we miss a cut this week, then I know I have given it everything I can. That’s just kind of the goal for what’s going on this week and the next couple.”
-- Neal Shipley, who finished second to Nick Dunlap at the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills, said about getting a PGA Tour starts. He is in the field at this week's John Deere Classic.
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This week in golf
PGA Tour
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
Site: Silvis, Ill.
Course: TPC Deere Run. Yardage: 7,289. Par: 71.
Prize money: $8 million. Winner's share: $1.44 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf), 1-4 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Sepp Straka.
European Tour
BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN
Site: Munich.
Course: Golfclub Munchen Eichenried. Yardage: 7,347. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.5 million. Winner's share: $416,667.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 4:30-10 a.m. (Golf); Saturday, 5:30- 10 a.m. (Golf); Sunday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf).
Defending champion: Thriston Lawrence.
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Skins game
Odds to win John Deere Classic
Sungjae Im +1400
Sepp Straka +1600
Aaron Rai +2000
Jordan Spieth +2000
Davis Thompson +220
Denny McCarthy +2200
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FedEx Cup standings
PointsMoney
1.Scottie Scheffler5,768$27,696,858
2.Xander Schauffele3,257$12,636,360
3.Rory McIlroy2,445$10,034,665
4.Collin Morikawa2,241$7,509,252
5.Wyndham Clark2,088$9,728,975
6.Ludvig Aberg1,992$7,830,998
7.Hideki Matsuyama1,893$7,597,331
8.Sahith Theegala1,845$7,562,685
9.Patrick Cantlay1,717$5,406,237
10.Byeong Hun An1,620$5,175,436
11.Akshay Bhatia1,606$4,842,490
12.Shane Lowry1,592$5,093,520
13.Tony Finau1,579$4,881,060
14.Matthieu Pavon1,558$5,032,808
15.Sungjae Im1,500$4,572,372
16.Justin Thomas1,412$4,130,661
17.Sepp Straka1,410$4,045,701
18.Tom Hoge1,406$4,188,593
19.Russell Henley1,371$4,016,969
20.Christiaan Bezuidenhout1,370$4,651,538
21.Brian Harman1,362$4,731,373
22.Chris Kirk1,290$5,306,316
23.Stephan Jaeger1,207$3,669,034
24.Tommy Fleetwood1,203$3,648,118
25.Sam Burns1,181$3,680,980
26.Max Homa1,175$3,550,666
27.Thomas Detry1,173$3,342,119
28.Jason Day1,173$3,490,085
29.J.T. Poston1,165$3,412,670
30.Cameron Young1,162$3,758,346
31.Taylor Pendrith1,152$3,572,893
32.Adam Hadwin1,133$3,779,658
33.Si Woo Kim1,123$3,354,133
34.Corey Conners1,121$3,301,242
35.Matt Fitzpatrick1,049$3,184,775
36.Keegan Bradley1,030$3,133,530
37.Robert Macintyre1,023$3,135,146
38.Will Zalatoris1,019$3,790,799
39.Tom Kim1,001$3,946,918
40.Cameron Davis979$3,061,884
41.Nick Taylor964$3,067,935
42.Austin Eckroat963$2,925,155
43.Denny McCarthy944$2,903,724
44.Jake Knapp942$2,993,288
45.Harris English938$2,680,160
46.Billy Horschel937$2,595,533
47.Alex Noren866$2,507,213
48.Viktor Hovland846$2,647,858
49.Patrick Rodgers835$2,339,282
50.Mackenzie Hughes832$2,526,005
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