Colorado’s first new golf course in over three years is getting closer and closer to opening.
On Friday, Bella Ridge Golf Club in Johnstown announced that the course is set to open in the fall. No exact date has been set but it will be sometime in September according to a press release.
“Our team is putting the finishing touches on the course, and we’ll be announcing the official opening date soon— stay tuned,” according to the press release.
The course in the vision of the Podtburg family from Johnstown. The land is the family’s dairy farm that they decided to turn into a golf club about eight years ago.
“We are all avid golfers and so we always thought that this land would be great for golf,” Stephanie Podtburg told The Denver Gazette in January.
Bella Ridge Golf Club scorecard
Courtesy of Bella Ridge Golf Club
The 18-hole course, which was designed by Art Schaupeter, will have eight sets of tees and play anywhere from 3,566–7,268 yards. Schaupeter also designed TPC Colorado in Berthoud, which hosts a Korn Ferry Tour event each year.
“It’s my job on behalf of my client to create a golf course that is going to be as fun as possible for as many different golfers as possible,” he said. “I want scratch golfers to go out there and have a good time. I don’t want them to ignore the place. There’s a very small number of those folks. There’s a vast majority of us who are anywhere from 10 to 25 (handicap) or higher.”
Each hole has been named. The hole names range from “Bella!” to “Longs Peak,” which has views of Longs Peak, to “Speed Slot.” The course will have 200 feet of elevation change, 50 bunkers and expansive fairways.
The practice facility will also be extensive. The driving range will measure 400 yards, while there will be two 15,000 square foot putting greens. There will also be three short holes with greenside bunkers.
Bella Ridge, which will be run by Troon Golf, will stay owned and operated by the family. They will not be a big part of the day-to-day operations but will work closely with Troon.
Troon Golf runs 11 courses in Colorado. They include Bookcliff Country Club (Grand Junction), Grand Elk Golf Club (Granby), Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club (Aurora), Lake Valley Golf Club (Niwot), Pelican Lakes Resort and Golf (Windsor), RainDance National (Windsor), Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club (Steamboat Springs), The Club at Cordillera (Edwards), The Country Club of Colorado at Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), The Ridge (Castle Pines) and Valley Country Club (Centennial).
“The name Bella Ridge came from my mother-in-law,” Podtburg said. “Bella is beautiful in a couple different languages, and there is a beautiful ridge on the east side of the property and looking to the west and the views from there are just stunning.”
Rates at Bella Ridge will be determined closer to opening. For more information, click here.
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Ashley Kozlowski advances at U.S. Women’s Amateur
Littleton’s Ashley Kozlowski, who was the CGA Women’s Player of the Year in 2024, rallied from three down with three holes to tie her match and went on to upset Canada’s Vanessa Borovilos in 20 holes on Wednesday in the Round of 64 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur being played at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
No. 56 seed Kozlowski qualified for match play through a 15-for-6 playoff held on Wednesday morning. She won the 16th and 17th holes to be down one going into the par-5 18th hole, which she eagled to tie the match. Both players made par on the 19th hole with Kozlowski making a long putt to halve the hole.
On the 20th hole, Kozlowski hit the green on the par-3, but Borovilos hit it in the bunker and was buried in the sand. Kozlowski two-putted to victory and will go on to face No 38 seed Kary Hollenbaugh on Thursday.
The University of Purdue graduate won the 2024 CGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship by eight shots. That was the largest victory since LPGA player Jennifer Kupcho won by 13 shots in 2017.
This was Kozlowski’s second trip to the U.S Women’s Amateur. She was one shot short of making match play in 2024.
Jieni Li wins Annika Women’s All-Pro Tour
Colorado Championship
The Annika Women’s All-Pro Tour made its debut in Colorado at Todd Creek for the Colorado Championship.
Northwestern’s Jieni Li won the tournament in Thornton by four strokes over Angela Kim. Li finished the four-day event at 12-under, and it was her first win on the tour.
The Women’s All-Pro Tour started in 2019, and LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam got involved in 2023. The event at Todd Creek Golf Club was the 11th of the 2025 season.
“I can’t believe that many people came out for us (at Todd Creek) — not just for me but for all the girls who were playing. (They were) cheering us up and all of them were bringing out good energy. It means a lot to all of us,” Li said on the tour’s website.
There were several Colorado connections in the tournament as well. Faith Kilgore, who played at Colorado Christian, finished the tournament at 6-under. Loveland High graduate Lauren Lehigh and former Colorado golfer Brittany Fan tied for 13th place.
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What they’re saying
“This Rory skipping Memphis debate is tantamount to the NBA making a rule that if you win 70 regular-season games, you’re automatically in the Finals and then everyone getting mad at the Thunder for not playing in the first three playoff rounds because ‘it’s bad for the league.'”
– Kyle Porter, Normal Sport founder, on Rory McIlroy skipping the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs
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Scottie Scheffler speaks during a news conference after a practice round at the St. Jude Championship on Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn.
The Associated Press
Skins game
Odds to win FedEx St. Jude Championship
Scottie Scheffler +350
Xander Schauffele +1800
Matt Fitzpatrick +2300
Tommy Fleetwood +2500
Justin Thomas +2500
Aaron Rai +3000
Wyndham Clark +5500
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This week in golf
PGA Tour
FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Memphis, Tenn.
Course: TPC Southwind. Yardage: 7,288. Par: 70.
Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $3.6 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 11-1 p.m. (Golf), 1-4 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 10 a.m.-noon (Golf), noon-4 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama.
LIV Golf League
LIV GOLF CHICAGO
Site: Bolingbrook, Ill.
Course: Bolingbrook GC. Yardage: 7,224. Par: 71.
Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $4 million.
Television: Friday, 10 a.m.-noon (FS1), noon-3 p.m. (FOX); Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (FOX), 1-4 p.m. (FS2); Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (FOX), 1-4 p.m. (FS1).
Defending champion: Jon Rahm.
European Tour
NEXO CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Aberdeen, Scotland.
Course: Trump International GL. Yardage: 7,439. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.75 million. Winner’s share: $458,333.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf); Saturday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf); Sunday, 4-9 a.m. (Golf).
Defending champion: New tournament.
PGA Tour Champions
BOEING CLASSIC
Site: Snoqualmie, Wash.
Course: The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge. Yardage: 7,217. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.3 million. Winner’s share: $345,000.
Television: Friday, noon-2 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 8-10 p.m. (Golf-tape delay); Saturday, 4-6 p.m. (Golf); Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf).
Defending champion: Stephen Ames.
Korn Ferry Tour
PINNACLE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Omaha, Neb.
Course: The Club at Indian Creek. Yardage: 7,721. Par: 71.
Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.
Television: None.
Previous winner: Matt McCarty.
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U.S. Golf Association
U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR
Site: Bandon, Ore.
Course: Bandon Dunes Resort (Bandon Dunes). Yardage: 6,310. Par: 72.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf); Saturday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf); Sunday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf).
Defending champion: Rianne Malixi.
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FedEx Cup standings
Points Money
1. Scottie Scheffler 4,806 $19,202,883
2. Rory McIlroy 3,444 $16,156,418
3. Sepp Straka 2,595 $10,014,894
4. Russell Henley 2,391 $9,628,056
5. Justin Thomas 2,280 $9,502,662
6. Ben Griffin 2,275 $8,333,352
7. Harris English 2,232 $7,734,152
8. J.J. Spaun 2,144 $10,142,222
9. Tommy Fleetwood 1,783 $6,426,238
10. Keegan Bradley 1,749 $7,184,645
11. Maverick McNealy 1,672 $6,312,575
12. Andrew Novak 1,625 $6,503,499
13. Corey Conners 1,620 $5,397,936
14. Ludvig Aberg 1,559 $6,708,473
15. Robert Macintyre 1,488 $5,740,191
16. Cameron Young 1,464 $4,671,646
17. Shane Lowry 1,438 $6,255,194
18. Nick Taylor 1,438 $4,794,542
19. Collin Morikawa 1,427 $6,996,394
20. Brian Harman 1,413 $4,518,743
21. Hideki Matsuyama 1,309 $5,750,144
22. Chris Gotterup 1,306 $3,934,837
23. Patrick Cantlay 1,275 $4,405,606
24. Sam Burns 1,266 $4,515,315
25. Justin Rose 1,220 $4,689,476
26. Viktor Hovland 1,210 $4,408,073
27. Lucas Glover 1,191 $4,235,243
28. Sam Stevens 1,182 $4,050,486
29. Sungjae Im 1,172 $4,254,887
30. Daniel Berger 1,167 $4,057,849
31. Ryan Gerard 1,158 $3,607,522
32. Ryan Fox 1,126 $3,844,647
33. Jacob Bridgeman 1,111 $3,499,673
34. Brian Campbell 1,104 $3,174,659
35. Thomas Detry 1,080 $3,491,376
36. Michael Kim 1,080 $3,484,531
37. Jason Day 1,070 $3,418,361
38. Taylor Pendrith 1,035 $3,466,952
39. Denny McCarthy 1,034 $3,580,185
40. Tom Hoge 1,026 $3,957,533
41. Matt Fitzpatrick 1,017 $3,388,246
42. Xander Schauffele 953 $3,050,200
43. Aldrich Potgieter 941 $2,950,266
44. Harry Hall 929 $2,890,934
45. Akshay Bhatia 909 $3,306,854
46. Si Woo Kim 882 $3,174,844
47. Jake Knapp 871 $2,968,801
48. Jordan Spieth 865 $3,075,160
49. Wyndham Clark 853 $2,818,592
50. Min Woo Lee 851 $3,068,086
51. J.T. Poston 850 $2,698,416
52. Kurt Kitayama 842 $2,586,406
53. Bud Cauley 831 $2,803,843
54. Joe Highsmith 828 $2,764,819
55. Aaron Rai 811 $3,088,435
56. Jhonattan Vegas 783 $2,354,198
57. Max Greyserman 768 $2,809,758
58. Stephan Jaeger 726 $2,477,901
59. Mackenzie Hughes 704 $2,225,776
60. Tony Finau 690 $2,508,893
61. Chris Kirk 682 $2,438,050
62. Nicolas Echavarria 672 $2,151,140
63. Patrick Rodgers 668 $2,274,502
64. Rickie Fowler 665 $2,126,620
65. Davis Riley 652 $2,357,691
66. Kevin Yu 645 $2,107,134
67. Emiliano Grillo 637 $1,905,143
68. Erik Van Rooyen 634 $2,085,816
69. Cameron Davis 625 $2,043,945
70. Matti Schmid 620 $1,879,317
