It’s the middle of June, the U.S. Open is happening this weekend, so that means one thing: The Navajo Trail Open is here.
Plenty of up-and-coming pro golfers, veteran PGA professionals, local college players and more will flock to Hillcrest Golf Club in Durango to compete in the 65th Navajo Trail Open.
The action will begin on Thursday with the pro-am. On Friday, the 54-hole tournament will begin with a massive professional field, about 20% larger than last year. Golfers will play 18 holes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to crown a champion.
“We’re excited,” Hillcrest Golf Club Head Golf Professional Brett Wolf said. “We have probably one of the biggest and strongest fields that I've been around in my 12 years here. We have just shy of 50 pros, which is about 10 more than last year. So we have a really strong pro field with some young guys, and some guys that I don't know … We're excited to get some fresh faces.”
Everything starts on Thursday at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start for the pro-am event. The pro-am is completely separate from the 54-hole tournament, but all the pros in the field play and local professionals play. It’s a fun way to kick off the Navajo Trail Open while allowing pros and everybody else to see the golf course in its tournament form.
A family-style Cajun boil will be provided for those participating in the pro-am, along with some live music from local musician Rob Webster.
The tournament will begin on Friday with the highest handicappers starting first, with the day ending with the low handicappers and professionals. There will be five flights of amateurs below the 50-strong professional field. Wolf said there’s about 30 players in each flight, with the best flight made up of 6 handicapped players and the bottom flight with 20-25 handicappers, according to Wolf. It is possible for an amateur to win the entire tournament, as long as they play from the same tees as the pros.
Hillcrest likes to imitate the U.S. Open with its Navajo Trail Open setup, with super-fast greens and long rough to protect against the course’s short length. However, the local water restrictions have meant the Hillcrest grounds crew haven’t kept all the rough as long and thick with less water.
“The course is awesome,” Wolf said. “We had a meeting with our new superintendent, Kaelen Waters, and he’s excited about it, too … the playing areas are incredible. The greens are the Hillcrest traditional greens. They'll be firm and fast, and we're excited to have a really tight golf course. It's going to be impressive to watch, especially with high temperatures and a little bit of wind. It should be a good test.”
Last year, Patrick Azevedo won the Navajo Trail Open with a score of 7-under par. Azevedo is from Dallas and was road tripping to Washington when he decided to play at Hillcrest. Azevedo won’t be back to defend his title, but there will be plenty of talented golfers in the pro field.
Wil Collins, the 2023 and 2024 champion, is back in the field. He played on the PGA Tour in 2009 and played in two U.S. Opens. He had a 14-year professional playing career. Now 47 years old, Collins resides in Albuquerque and is a mortgage loan originator and part-time golf teacher.
Locally, Micah Rudosky, PGA Professional at Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez, is back as a former winner of the Navajo Trail Open. Hillcrest’s Devin Schreiner and Jackson Tomiyama will compete in the pro division as well as Tony Mike Jr. from Farmington. Fay Beyale from the First Tee Four Corners chapter will be in the pro field.
Fort Lewis College men’s golfer Traejan Andrews will be in the pro field after winning the Colorado Golf Association Match Play Championship on Friday. Annie Yost, the former Piedra Vista High School star who’s now playing Division I golf at Florida Gulf Coast University, will also be in the field.
Last year, the first-place prize was $8,000. This year, Wolf expects the first-place prize to be closer to $10,000 with the larger pro field. All proceeds will go to the Hillcrest Junior Golf Foundation.
Tee times for the event should be posted on Hillcrest’s website on Monday night. Tee times and groups on Sunday will be determined by the standings. Hillcrest will be open until Wednesday night. Practice areas and the golf course will be closed Thursday through Sunday. Wolf and the Hillcrest staff hope the public will come out to watch.
“We would love it,” Wolf said about spectators. “Unfortunately, we don't have enough golf carts to do spectator carts, but outside of that, we really encourage the public to come follow the pros and low amateurs, and people they just know in all the flights. Please come see us this weekend, it's going to be fun.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
