Tournaments and Associations
Colorado has several member-driven golf associations that support a variety of educational and training opportunities, tournaments, meetings, and workshops. The CGC represents the major state golf associations. Also active are women’s and seniors golf associations. Some of the largest of these include the LPGA Amateur Golf Association of Denver, the Colorado Seniors Golf Association, and the Seniors Golf Association of Denver. Promoting the long-term growth and development of the game and competitive junior golf are the American Junior Golf Association and Foundation, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, a partnership of the CGA and COPGA, and the First Tee chapters of the Front Range, Green Valley Range, and Pikes Peak.
Professional and Amateur Golf Tournaments and Events Impact
Colorado did not host any PGA Tour golf championships in 2019, but hosted PGA Tour events in 2014 and will again in the 2020s (date to be determined). Colorado hosted the USGA’s US Senior Open at The Broadmoor in 2018 and generated more than $10.0 million in economic impact. The most significant golf events in Colorado in 2019 included the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour – TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, a professional event in July 2019 in Berthoud, Colorado with a purse of $600,000. Other significant events included the Broadmoor Invitation (amateur event in July for the country’s top amateurs, college players and pro tour prospects), two US Women’s Open qualifying events, two US Open local qualifying events and several Colorado PGA events.
The primary PGA Tour event in Colorado was the BMW Championship held at Cherry Hills Country Club in 2014. The tournament is one of the tour's three FedEx Cup Playoff events, and the tournament’s philosophy had been to rotate the event by year around Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Although the date is uncertain, this BMW Championship event is expected back in Colorado sometime in the next 5-6 years. The total economic impact of the 2019 BMW Championship (held in DuPage County, Illinois) was $33.9 million, including $19.5 million in direct spending and had around 133,000 total spectators purchasing over 30,200 hotel room nights.[11] (Source: DuPage Sports Commission).
The Korn Ferry Tour Event held at Heron Lakes in 2019 had direct economic impact. A comparable event in Wichita, Kansas (Wichita Open) had an estimated $6.5 million economic impact and raised over $200,000 for local charities.[12] (Source: Wichita Open).
Championship Golf in Colorado is Alive and Well!
As a competitive sport, golf has a long and storied history in Colorado. In fact, the 1960 U.S. Open held at Cherry Hills and won by Arnold Palmer is widely considered the greatest U.S. Open in history. Colorado also witnessed the first big wins for two of the greatest players ever to play--Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam. In 1959 Nicklaus made an 8-foot putt on the final green at The Broadmoor to win the U.S. Amateur and who can forget Annika's first LPGA Tour win, the 1995 U.S. Women's Open at The Broadmoor--the first of her incredible 72 wins. More recently The Broadmoor hosted the 2018 US Senior Open and Cherry Hills welcomed back the PGA Tour in 2014 by hosting the 2014 BMW Golf Championship. In total, Colorado has hosted 34 PGA Tour events; three Korn Ferry Tour events; 23 LPGA Tour events; 10 PGA Tour Champions events; 24 USGA National Championships; 39 other major Amateur championships; 21 Major Pro-Am events; and eight non-USGA Major Junior events. This tradition will continue in the next decade when a minimum of three USGA championships are scheduled within the state.
Associations Impact
Colorado is home to 38 separate golf associations, including the two large foundations – the Colorado Open Golf Foundation and Denver Junior Golf. Research from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) documents[13] shows five other golf associations or foundations with annual revenue in excess of $100,000 in 2019. The total revenue generated from these Colorado golf associations and foundations was $5.4 million in 2019.
Approach
What is measured
Direct expenditures related to hosting professional events, total expenditures on tournaments and other activities by state golf associations, and charitable monies raised via golf events. The PGA TOUR, the PGA of America, the USGA, and the LPGA organize professional golf championship events across the country. The CGA organizes amateur events for men and women of all ages, including juniors, seniors, and open events. The PGA Section organizes a series of events for juniors, as well as professional events for their members.
How it’s measured
The Tournaments estimate is derived from the total reported economic impact of a comparable Korn Ferry Tour event held in neighboring Kansas in 2019 (Wichita Open) as a direct proxy for the TPC Colorado event held in July 2019. The Associations estimate is the sum of major state golf association revenues. These are reported on profit and loss (P&L) statements provided by the state golf associations to NGF and/or via tax filings.