Willie Wood, Shane Bertsch, who are 1-2 on Colorado Senior Open leaderboard, would love to join elite group who have swept Colorado Open & CSO titles; tired, hurting Bertsch gets on track; Mark Henderson atop amateur field
By Gary Baines – 9/3/2026
DENVER — Only three golfers in history have won both the Colorado Open and the Colorado Senior Open in the course of their careers — Bill Loeffler (3 COs, 1 CSO), Jonathan Kaye (2 COs, 1 CSO), and Mike Zaremba (one of each).
This week, Willie Wood of Edmond, Okla., and Shane Bertsch of Parker have hopes of joining that very elite fraternity. And both have a very realistic shot on Friday — though obviously one or the other can make that come true, but not both.
Wood leads the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open by three through 36 holes at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. And Bertsch is among those who share second place. Below is how their individual quests are playing out:
Willie Wood won the Colorado Open in 1984 and went on to capture a PGA Tour title.
Willie Wood: When Wood won the Colorado Open, it was still 12 years until a guy named Scottie Scheffler would be born.
Yes, that long ago.
Wood captured the Colorado Open title in 1984 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen very early in his pro career. The former Oklahoma State standout beat Tom Nosewicz by two, future U.S. Open champ Steve Jones by three and Fairview High School graduate Bob Byman, a winner on the PGA Tour in 1979, by four. Al Geiberger also played that year, and Steve Elkington was the low amateur.
Wood, now the owner of one PGA Tour title and two on PGA Tour Champions, was asked Thursday what he remembers from that week, given that he might land another Colorado Open series championship trophy on Friday.
“I was fresh off a runner-up at (the PGA Tour’s) Anheuser Busch Golf Classic the week before,” he said. “That was the week of the British Open, so I came to Hiwan. I’d played a bunch there as an amateur, including the U.S. Junior Amateur (in 1976; Wood would win the U.S. Junior Am title in ’77). I had some wonderful friends that lived there, and I stayed with them. It’s such a beautiful place. I must have putted pretty good because those greens, they’re diabolical.”
But Woods was amazingly good back then. He was named the AJGA Rolex Player of the Year in 1978 and won the Haskins Trophy — sometimes referred to as college golf’s Heisman — in 1982. Plus, he was medalist in PGA Tour Q-school in 1983, earning his Tour card for 1984.
Nowadays, at age 65 Woods is largely “retired” from tournament golf, with rare exceptions. This week marks just his third multi-day tournament of 2026.
But that hasn’t kept him from being atop the leaderboard going into Friday’s final round of the Colorado Senior Open. Wood backed up his first-round 66 — which was highlighted by a hole-in-one — with a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday. That left him a 9 under par overall.
Wood will take a three-stroke lead into Friday’s final round.
“Today was a lot more calm,” he said. “It wasn’t nearly as much good and bad. It was just four birdies and a bogey — which is more like I usually play. I don’t normally make seven birdies and an eagle like yesterday. I hit it better today than yesterday. I’m happy with my round today.”
All of which puts Wood very much in position to collect his second trophy from the Colorado Open championship series.
Being in contention “is all you can ask for — having a chance,” he said. “I think I’ll have a chance.”
Shane Bertsch played his final 10 holes in 5 under par on Thursday.
Shane Bertsch: Parker resident Shane Bertsch played a PGA Tour Champions event that concluded on Sunday in Grand Blanc, Mich., and was back at it — teeing it up for real — starting Wednesday at the Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
“I’m tired,” he said. “I am playing on fumes, I’m injured. My fingers hurt, my knees hurt. And I play the next four or five weeks in a row (without coming home) after this.”
So why is Bertsch competing in the Colorado Senior Open this week?
“It’s real important” to be in contention here, he said. “That’s the only reason I’m playing. I’m trying to add it to my Colorado Open title being a Colorado Open guy. … I want to win the thing. At this point, with what I have remaining in my year (on PGA Tour Champions), the rest would probably be better for me — only because I’m a little banged up. Sometimes you can play through it. A couple of years ago (2024), I played (at the CSO) and didn’t quite win (finishing third) but I had a chance. It was the same thing. Because I played on my off week, it made me play like 11 weeks in a row. But it kind of got my confidence going because I had a lot of things go good that week.
“Obviously, I always support Colorado. If at all I can, I’d like to play.”
Bertsch has his eyes on adding a Colorado Senior Open title to the Colorado Open one he captured in 1998.
And with rounds of 70-68 for a 6-under-par total, Bertsch finds himself with a chance to add the 2026 CSO title to the 1998 Colorado Open championship he won at Saddle Rock Golf Course. The 56-year-old, winner of one event on PGA Tour Champions, sits three strokes behind leader Willie going into Friday’s final round. After a balky putter held Bertsch back on Wednesday and for some of Thursday, he played his final 10 holes on Thursday in 5 under par. His 68 matched the second-lowest round on day 2.
“The first 26 holes … I left seven or eight shots out there,” Bertsch said. “I should have been way under. But I finally good a little rhythm going and made some birdies. … The last two days, I was capable of shooting 7 or 8 under. So if I hit the ball the same way (on Friday), get the putts to drop, if I get the same opportunities … My wedge control and stuff has been incredible this week, considering I play all my golf away (from altitude) now. … Hopefully I just keep doing that.”
Steve Holmes is among those who are tied for second place.
Joining Bertsch in a share of second place at 6 under par are Guy Boros, who beat Wood by four to win the 2022 Colorado Senior Open, and Steve Holmes of Simi Valley, Calif., who played in the 2023 PGA Championship and the 2026 Senior PGA. Boros, son of World Golf Hall of Famer Julius Boros, played his final eight holes in 5 under par on Thursday.
— Plenty of Drive: After Thursday’s round, Willie Wood asked roughly what time the leaders will tee off on Friday. When told it would be about 9:30 a.m., he said, “Sweet. I’ll be home by midnight.” Wood noted that he drove to the tournament from his home in Edmond, Okla., meaning he has about a 650-mile trek of him after the CSO’s final round.
Mark Henderson is setting the amateur standard, at 2 under par.
— Notable: Mark Henderson of Highlands Ranch, winner of the 2024 CGA Mid-Amateur Match Play, moved atop the low-amateur standings on Thursday, but several other players are still very much in the running for low-am honors. Henderson backed up a 70 with an even-par 72 and sits at 2 under par overall, one better than Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jon Lindstrom of Denver (73-70). Four-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Keith Humerickhouse of Parachute (69-75) and Ed Kerr of Windsor (70-74), coming off competing in the U.S. Senior Amateur, are another stroke back at even par. Lindstrom has been low amateur at the CSO four times. … Among the those who missed the 36-hole cut on Thursday were former NFL quarterback Tommy Maddox (76-76) and one-time PGA Tour winner Jim Carter (74-76). The players at 3 over par and better for two rounds advance to Friday. Making it on the number was three-time PGA Tour winner Gary Hallberg of Denver (76-71). … Rafael Gomez of Argentina, who shared the lead after round 1, backed up his 66 on Wednesday with an 83 on Thursday and missed the cut at 5 over par. … Among those who made the cut were brothers Tom (69-74) and Bob (74-71) Kalinowski, who grew up in Durango. … Defending champion Jason Schultz of Dallas, winner of two of the last three CSO titles, almost certainly won’t be winning the event for a third time this week. He made the cut with room to spare (72-73), but he’s 10 out of the lead going into the final round. … Three super-seniors (age 60 and older) are among the leaders of the overall tournament as Willie Wood stands at 9 under par, Guy Boros at 6 under and John Balfanz at 5 under.
— Results: For all the scores from the Colorado Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
Colorado Golf Journal 