It’s mid-summer in Northern Colorado, and one of our newer sports traditions is back as the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes returns for its third annual edition this Thursday through Sunday, July 8-11.
And it does so this year with fans welcome back after the 2020 version was held without them due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That didn’t prevent a memorable final round and champion, as Will Zalatoris took home the 2020 title with a 15-under-par 273 total that barely held off Chase Johnson, who fired a final-round, course-record 63 to finish one shot back at minus-14.
That came on the heels of Nelson Ledesma’s one-shot win in 2019, as he sank a birdie putt on the final hole to hold off five players who finished within two strokes.
The tournament has quickly become a springboard to the PGA Tour. Ledesma has since earned PGA Tour status alongside Zalatoris, who finished in the top 10 at three major championships since his 2020 TPC Colorado Championship victory, including a runner-up finish at the 2021 Masters.
With a track record like that, you can expect fireworks, even after the Fourth of July weekend.
Here are some things fans should know about the 2021 TPC Colorado Championship:
Tournament schedule, format
The tournament features four 18-hole rounds, one per day Thursday through Sunday. The field of 156 will be cut to the low 65 scores, including ties, for the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday. The Korn Ferry Tour was off last week for the holiday weekend, meaning this week’s field will be packed with pros.
The prize purse for the tournament this year is $600,000, with the winner earning $108,000.
The TPC Colorado Championship field
There are six players in this week’s field who have combined for 22 career victories on the PGA Tour and four others with multiple wins this season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The most famous participant is David Duval, the former World No. 1 and major championship winner (2001 British Open) who now lives in Cherry Creek Village just south of Denver. Robert Allenby, Jonathan Kaye, Derek Ernst and Tommy Gainey are among the other former PGA Tour champions in the field.
How to watch, follow the TPC Colorado Championship
An updated leaderboard will be available online throughout the tournament at PGAtour.com/korn-ferry-tour/leaderboard.html. For the first time, there will also be live-streaming on the weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can watch at PGA Tour Live and GolfChannel.com.
The first few hours each day will be featured-hole coverage before moving to featured-group coverage as the leaders tee off. The featured hole on Saturday is the par-3 16th, while Sunday it will shift to the aforementioned 13th hole.
About the Korn Ferry Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is just below the PGA Tour and one of the main paths professional golfers follow in hopes of reaching the PGA Tour.
At the end of this 2020-21 season, the top 25 Korn Ferry Tour players will receive their PGA Tour cards for the 2021-22 season.
Chris Abshire is the sports and stats content coach at the Coloradoan. Contact him at ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com.