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Denver amateur golf tournaments headed north to Johnstown on Saturday, October 10, as the Mile High Denver Chapter of the Amateur Players Tour staged its Elevated Event at Bella Ridge Golf Club. Seventy-six players made up the field across five divisions, with the Mid-Am Net and Senior Net games running alongside them, and the day produced the low scoring, the eagles and the congestion at the top that an elevated stop on the Front Range schedule is built for.
Another beautiful fall day in northern Colorado provided excellent conditions for the tournament. Bright blue skies welcomed the players and the temperature climbed to around 80 degrees, so nothing in the sky was going to protect anything — the defense had to come from the property itself, and the course played difficult but very fair all day.
Bella Ridge, which opened in 2026, measures par 72 and provides a true test of golf skills for all levels of competitors. The fast and undulating greens, set within very large green complexes, placed the premium squarely on the short game: approach shots that missed the correct section of a putting surface left long work, and players who controlled their speed were the ones who signed for exceptional scores.
With the Elevated designation and added sponsor money in every division, the purse climbed to over $6,000, and the payouts across the board were as high and as desirable as any the chapter has posted this season.
The Filter Guy Mark Cortese was the title sponsor of the day’s Elevated Event. The Filter Guy, an HVAC company in Loveland, Colorado, was the tournament sponsor. Mark Cortese, APT Denver Chapter member and the company’s owner, added prize money to the prize pool for all five divisions. Our thanks to Cortese for his support of the APT.
Division 1 produced both the story and the low round of the day. Suchit Sharma of Thornton, Colorado, was referred to the APT by his friend Rizzul Karki, the chapter’s 2026 Division 1 Player of the Year — and in short order Sharma came out and beat Karki and the rest of the 17-player Division 1 field. Sharma’s 1-under 71 was built on a 3-under 33 on the front nine with birdies at the par-4 2nd, the par-5 8th and the par-4 9th, and he added a fourth at the par-4 14th before coming home in 2-over 38. He led after six, after twelve and after fifteen, and held on for a one-shot win. Dale Syta of Parker, Jeff Slupe of Windsor and Karki of Englewood all signed for even-par 72 to share second. Slupe was level with Sharma through twelve after turning in 2-under 34, Syta posted matching even-par 36s with fourteen pars on the card, and Karki birdied the par-4 6th, the par-3 15th and the par-5 18th in a round of 36-36. Four players finished within two of the lead.
Division 2 came down to three players at 6-over 78, and Hendrik Orlowski of Parker took the title in the playoff. Orlowski’s round turned on the back nine: after going out in 6-over 42, he birdied the par-4 10th and the par-5 11th and then holed out for eagle at the par-4 14th, coming home in even-par 36. Antonio Feo of Greeley and John Langford III of Golden tied with him. Feo made three birdies — at the par-3 7th, the par-3 12th and the par-5 18th — and was 1-under 35 on the inward half, while Langford birdied the par-4 1st, the 12th and the 14th on the way to a 1-over 37 back nine. Feo had led the group after six and twelve before Orlowski and Langford caught him.
The eagle count did not stop at Orlowski. Melody Powell, playing in her second Denver APT event while visiting from the Kansas City Chapter, made an eagle 3 at the uphill par-5 11th, her first ever on APT and added to the eagle frenzy that has become a feature of Denver APT tournaments. Kerry Cahalan and Hendrik Orlowski joined the eagle contribution at Bella Ridge, Orlowski with his 2 at the par-4 14th and Cahalan with a 3 at the par-5 11th. The 11th was the most generous hole on the property, surrendering two eagles and eleven birdies and playing just four-tenths of a shot over par.
Division 3 belonged to Ethan Andrews of Denver, whose 3-over 75 was a three-shot win. Andrews birdied the par-3 7th and the par-5 11th and came home in even-par 36. Evan Wilking of Lakewood pushed him hard, leading by two after six and again after twelve on the strength of a 1-under 35 opening nine that included birdies at the 7th and the par-4 9th; Wilking added a third at the 14th, was level with Andrews after fifteen, then came home in 7-over 43 and settled for 6-over 78. Matt Gates of Evergreen took third at 7-over 79 with birdies at the 9th and the par-3 15th, and David Killinger of Longmont rounded out the money positions at 8-over 80.
In Division 4, Jeff Jackson of Denver won by a single stroke with a 14-over 86, and his lone birdie came at the hardest hole on the course — the par-4 6th, which gave up only three birdies all day and played nearly a shot and a half over par. Steve Pickens of Calhan closed to within two with three holes to play after birdies at the par-4 10th, the 14th and the 18th, and finished second at 15-over 87. Richard McCoy of Lakewood was third at 16-over 88 after turning his day around with a 5-over 41 on the back nine. Albert Amaya of Parker also made three birdies in the division.
Division 5 went to Michael Elder of Commerce City, whose 22-over 94 was a three-shot win. Elder led from the sixth hole on. Myron (MJ) Jefferson of Watkins took second at 25-over 97, closing to within four by the fifteenth, and Cody Canzona of Aurora was third at 33-over 105.
Wilking’s day was not finished. He won the Mid-Am Net with a net 4-under 68, three clear of the field and never looked back from the sixth hole on. Cole Mietzner of Elizabeth and Gates shared second at net 1-under 71, and Amaya was fourth at net 1-over 73 to round out the money positions.
Killinger doubled up as well, taking the Senior Net with a net 4-under 68. Feo and Pickens — each already second in their own gross division — tied with Travis Rhuby of Centennial at net even-par 72. Feo and Rhuby were level with Killinger after fifteen holes before the margin opened to four over the closing stretch.
Birdies were plentiful at Bella Ridge. Suchit Sharma and Dustin Williamson each made four over the 18 holes, while Karki, Austin Maereck, Joe Barnholt, Feo, Langford, Orlowski, Rhuby, Jeremy Mortensen, Wilking, Amaya and Pickens each made three.
The closest-to-the-pin prizes went to Feo, who stuck his tee shot to 3’4″ on the par-3 7th, and Gates, who found the narrow green at the par-3 15th to 3’1″. Both players won $74 in tournament credit for their fabulous tee shots.
The chapter raised $198 for Folds of Honor during the event, with Lucas Albert winning the Folds of Honor raffle and taking home $197.
That is another one in the books for the Mile High Denver Chapter, with the 2027 season and its points race rolling on. Watch the chapter schedule for the next stop on the Front Range.
