Jimmy Gunn has spent his entire life waiting for his break. His up-and-down golf career left him with more low moments than high ones. This summer he has reached the peak of his roller coaster.
The Scottish golfer went from losing his Tour card to finishing tied for 27th at the U.S. Open last month, and now he is the HealthOne Colorado Open champion.
“This is probably the biggest win of my career,” Gunn said. “Playing under pressure and being able to win gives you great confidence.”
Gunn, 35, took a nontraditional route. He grew up in Dornoch, Scotland, and didn’t move to the U.S. until he was 27.
As a 4-year-old, Gunn became enamored with the game mastered by his late grandfather, who was an 11-time Dornoch club champion.
“He’d be awfully proud, and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here now,” Gunn said.
His childhood centered on following his grandfather’s path. But when golf didn’t earn him a job, he headed to the oil rigs, where he worked for two years, and then began building houses with his father when he turned 18.
Gunn wasn’t happy being vaunted into a career of physical labor. He still had a dream of playing golf, and caddying was his way in. He spent seven years manning other golfers’ bags at Royal Dornoch. In 2007 he took a flight to Phoenix and turned pro.
He almost went back to his old roots by caddying for himself at the Colorado Open, before a late pro bono offer by PGA Tour golfer Keegan Bradley’s caddie, Kevin “Pepsi” Hale, saved the day.
Gunn began the final day of the tournament two strokes off the lead, but by the back nine he was in a virtual two-man playoff with CSU alum Zahkai Brown, who won the event in 2013.
The script was set up for Gunn to fail in his first Colorado Open appearance, but every time Brown got closer, Gunn made another drive, chip or putt to halt the rally.
On the back nine, he made two eagles in three holes, in just 22 minutes. He held a two-stroke lead heading into 18, and when Brown missed his 15-foot birdie putt, Gunn smiled. The winning score, 19-under, was the second-lowest total since the tournament moved to Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
“We’re the tournament where legends begin,” said Kevin Laura, CEO of the Colorado Golf Foundation. “We always tell our champions, we prefer them not to come back next year because that means they moved up to or maybe the PGA Tour.”
Gunn has already made waves on golf’s top tour this year. He qualified as an alternate for the U.S. Open and after a few players dropped out, he was in.
Gunn didn’t let the opportunity go to waste and did what Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson couldn’t — make the cut.
“Playing in the U.S. Open and playing great on the weekend gives you the belief you belong anywhere,” Gunn said.
He’s always been a confident player, but after finishing 112th on the money list and being unable to retain his tour card, he began to question his game.
Now, he hopes to regain his card for next year and go overseas to play on the European Tour.
Cameron Wolfe: 303-954-1891, cwolfe@denverpost.com or
HealthOne Colorado Open
At Green Valley Ranch Golf Club
7,301 yards; par 72—288
Final
Jimmy Gunn, $23,000 69-69-66-65—269
Zahkai Brown, $13,500 65-70-67-68—270
Ian Davis, $8,300 69-64-69-71—273
Brad Gehl, $5,051 68-69-72-65—274
Chris Ward, $5,051 67-70-69-68—274
Nathan Lashley, $5,051 71-66-68-69—274
Kurt Kitayama, $4,050 66-69-70-70—275
Derek Tolan, $4,050 69-70-67-69—275
Wil Collins, $3,600 70-65-71-70—276
John Hurley, $3,150 69-66-74-68—277
Shane Bertsch, $3,150 70-69-70-68—277
Geoff Keffer, $2,600 73-68-69-68—278
Joshua Creel, $2,600 69-70-70-69—278
