Wake Forest Grad Allison Emrey Wins CO Women’s Open in Playoff

Extra hole also decides pro-am champions.

Kristen Hicks

For the first time in its 21-year history, a sudden-death playoff determined the victor of both the championship and the pro-am competition at the HealthONE Colorado Women’s Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

Allison Emrey of Charlotte, N.C. tapped in a one-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole (par-5 18^th) to beat Clariss Guce of Artesia, Calif. for the championship and win the pro-am competition with her amateur partner Jeff Dorsey of Denver.

Both Emrey and Guce finished regulation play at 3-under par 213 while at the same time the team of Emrey-Dorsey finished at 19-under par 197 as did amateur Molly Greenblatt-Welch of Denver and professional partner Olivia Jordan-Higgins of Jersey, UK. Emrey’s kick-in birdie secured victory in both categories and $13,800 in dual first-place purses.

Briana Mao of Folsom, Calif. had a chance to win the championship outright with a 12-foot birdie on the final hole to finish at 4-under 212 but similar to Dustin Johnson at the 2015 U.S. Open she ran the putt well past the hole and missed the come-backer to fall out of the playoff with Emrey and Guce.

The win marked Emrey's first victory as a professional. The 2014 Wake Forest grad had as her caddie Mike Kupcho, the father of freshman Jennifer Kupcho, the Jeferson Academy alum who was low amateur in last year's Colorado Women's Open.

Winning low amateur honors at 10-over par 226 was Melissa Martin of Grand Junction. Martin’s final tally was two strokes better than Morgan Sahm of Centennial, CO.

Click here for complete results of the championship and pro-am competition.

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