At 65, PGA Tour winner Willie Wood aces round 1 test with hole-in-one en route to share of Colorado Senior Open lead; Rob Shields also among leaders despite fused neck; Keith Humerickhouse leads amateurs
By Gary Baines – 9/2/2026
DENVER — At age 65, PGA Tour veteran Willie Wood is among the oldest competitors at the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open, which accepts players as young as 50.
But Wood, 42 years removed from winning a Colorado Open title, isn’t acting his age.
Only 19 players 65 or older teed it up Wednesday for the CSO at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. Not only was Wood the best of them, but he shares the lead overall following an 6-under-par 66.
Oh, and for good measure, he threw in a hole-in-one, acing the 177-yard fifth hole with a 7-iron. It was the 29th of his long career, which includes 492 starts on the PGA Tour and 190 on PGA Tour Champions. For the record, he’s won once on the PGA Tour and twice on the Champions circuit.
“I didn’t see it go in,” Wood said of the hole-in-one. Asked about his career tally, he noted, “I think I made nine on the PGA Tour and two or three on the Champions Tour. (In all), probably half of them came in tournaments.”
Willie Wood has only competed in a couple of other multi-day tournaments in 2026.
And even though Wood has played countless rounds of golf in his lifetime, making an ace is still special.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “And I don’t think it’s going go cost me anything because everybody has left (so won’t demand drinks), which is nice. But it’s fun to make them — and it sure helps your score too.”
On Wednesday, the player from Edmond, Okla., supplemented his ace with seven birdies and three bogeys. Unfortunately for him, two of the bogeys came on the last two holes. On the par-5 18th, he split the fairway with his drive, but pushed his second into a fairway bunker — just a matter of feet from a sea of cattails. He hit the green in regulation, but three-putted from long distance, missing an 8-foot par attempt.
Despite that, there’s no one above him on the leaderboard.
“I had a real up-and-down day, but all in all it was a lot of fun,” he said.
Wood came very close to the cattails with his second shot on No. 18 Wednesday.
By his own reckoning, this is only Wood’s third multi-day tournament of the year.
“I’m retired now, and I don’t really play much competitive golf, but it’s been so blessed hot in Oklahoma, I decided to come here for some cool weather. And I’m glad I did,” he said.
Asked how tough it is for a 65-year-old to successfully compete against a formidable field that includes many good 50-somethings, Wood said, “It’s challenging. I especially found that out on the Champions Tour. The guys coming out are really still strong and fit — much more fit than than guys years ago. The emphasis on staying healthy and fit is way higher. But I still try to work out and stay healthy.
“But gosh, I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. Maybe I’ll hit it well and make putts tomorrow too. But I can’t expect another hole-in-one. No chance.”
Omar Uresti was another PGA Tour veteran with a solid start at GVR.
Wednesday proved to a pretty good day in general for PGA Tour veterans. While Californians Steve Holmes and John Balfanz, Rob Shields of Tyler, Texas and Rafael Gomez of Argentina all joined Wood at 66, other longtime PGA Tour players relatively high on the scoreboard include:
Omar Uresti 68
Skip Kendall 69
Part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye 70
Guy Boros 70
Shane Bertsch of Parker 70
Wood is no stranger to be in contention at the Colorado Senior Open as he finished solo second — behind Boros — in 2022.
Rob Shields was among those who started with a 66.
Fused Neck or Net, Rob Shields Shines in Round 1: For a guy who hit it out of bounds on the first hole of the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open, then bogeyed his final two holes, Rob Shields was still left smiling on Wednesday.
Given what Shields has gone through in the last four years, perhaps that’s understandable. When you’ve been rear-ended at 60 mph while sitting at a stop sign four years ago, subsequently had vertebrae in your neck fused, had to wear a cumbersome neck brace and could barely move at all for four months, couldn’t play golf for close to a year, and still have a problematic elbow — a few bogeys here or there are nothing.
“I can’t turn as much” after the accident,” the 58-year-old said from Tyler, Texas said on Wednesday. “I don’t hit it as far. I have some nerve damage. But really, all in all, I’m grateful to be out here.”
And despite his rough start and finish on Wednesday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, the PGA professional from Texas shot a 6-under-par 66 and shares the lead after round 1 of the $80,000 tournament.
John Balfanz birdied his first four holes on Wednesday.
Also at that figure are PGA Tour veteran Willie Wood, Rafael Gomez of Argentina and a couple of Californians, Steve Holmes from Simi Valley, who played in the 2023 PGA Championship, and John Balfanz from Bakersfield, who has teed it up in two U.S. Senior Opens and a Senior British Open. Balfanz birdied his first four holes of the tournament on Wednesday.
In between sinking a 20-foot putt for bogey on No. 1 and bogeying No. 17 and 18, Shields recorded nine birdies on Wednesday.
“There was a lot of good stuff,” he said. “I hit it pretty well in between and putted really well.”
Shields is no stranger to low shooting low scores in golf. In a casual round about seven years ago, he fired a 59 at the course where the Texas State Open is held (Cascades Country Club in Tyler). But the auto accident initially left him questioning whether he’d ever play golf again. He did end up being able to return to the game, but only after a year of being sidelined in late 2022 and most of 2023.
However, that didn’t keep him from rebounding to the point that he qualified for and played in the 2025 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor two years ago.
Despite some physical limitations in the wake of the accident, “I’ve played a lot of golf in the last three years, more golf than I ever had played,” said Shields, who now owns a golf course consulting company. “And I’ve been hitting it well, so I’m pleased and thankful and glad to be here.”
Keith Humerickhouse had a strong start in his CSO debut.
Low-Am Competition: Keith Humerickhouse of Parachute, winner of four straight CGA Mid-Amateur titles from 2010 through ’13, started strong in his debut in the Colorado Senior Open. Despite a triple bogey at the par-4 16th hole, he shot a 3-under-par 69 and leads the amateur competition by one. The 50-year-old eagled the par-4 14th hole, and added five birdies and a bogey (in addition to the triple). Mark Henderson of Highlands Ranch, the 2024 CGA Mid-Amateur Match Play champion, sits a stroke back of Humerickhouse. Henderson had an unusual conclusion to his round as his third shot on the par-5 18th hole ended up on the fringe behind the cup. As he was going to the other side of the hole to line up his putt, his ball suddenly started rolling toward the cup. He checked with a rules official before proceeding, then played his ball as it lied — about 6 feet closer to the hole. He two-putted for a par and a 2-under-par 70. Also at 70 among amateurs is former CGA Senior Player of the Year Steve Ivan of Colorado Springs and Ed Kerr of Windsor, who just returned after competing in the U.S. Senior Amateur.
Notable: Tommy Maddox, the former NFL quarterback, turned 55 years old Wednesday on the first day of the Colorado Senior Open. The former Bronco, Steeler, Ram and Giant fired a 4-over-par 76 after being even through 14 holes. … Defending champion Jason Schultz of Dallas, winner of two of the last three CSO titles, opened with an even-par 72 on Wednesday. … The field will be cut to the low 50 players and ties after Thursday’s second round. … Willie Wood and John Balfanz share the lead among super-seniors (age 60 and older), each carding a 66.
Results: For all the scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
The list of CSO champions at GVR.
Colorado Golf Journal 