Colin Prater makes history at Colorado Match Play Championship
June 20, 2020 | by Brayden Conover of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Colin Prater, View results for Colorado Match Play, CommonGround Golf Course
The former D-II collegiate standout makes history by becoming the fifth player in history to win the Am and Match Play titles
Colin Prater made history at the Colorado amateur match play tournament. Twice.
The former University of Colorado Colorado Springs PING First-Team All-American became just the fifth player in state history to win both the Colorado Amateur and the Colorado Match Play championships. Prater also became just the third mid-amateur to win the event since 2000.
Traditionally dominated by collegiates, Prater dominated the event from wire to wire. Qualifying as the No. 1 seed after shooting a 4-under 68 during Monday’s seeding round, Prater won his Round of 64 match 7&5, his Round of 32 match 2&1, his Round of 16 match 3&1, his quarterfinal match 4&3, and his semifinal match 2 up, earning his way to face University of Colorado senior Ross Macdonald in the 36-hole championship match.
Macdonald found himself in the championship match for the second time in three years. Sitting 1 down to Prater through 12 holes, Macdonald fell apart with three bogeys by the time the pair got to the 17th tee. Prater continued to draw blood with a 12-foot dagger for birdie on No. 18 to give himself a 5 up cushion as the duo made their way to the final 18.
With help from Macdonald as well as his own great play, Prater extended his lead from 1 up on the 13th tee to 7 up on the 21st tee.
Macdonald squandered away a 12-under performance on the week as he went 8-over on the final 17 holes of the match en route to an 8&7 loss.
“I was just trying to play catch-up,” Macdonald told the Colorado Golf Association. “Colin didn’t make any mistakes, so it was tough to catch him because his short game was on and he wasn’t hitting it too bad. He definitely deserved that win. He was steady. He was hitting fairways and hitting greens. When he missed a green, he had some great chips and was rolling the putter. I didn’t see him have a three-putt all day.”
Prater, a science teacher and girls high school golf coach by day is well aware of his rare feats.
“No matter what it is, it’s cool to win it. I’m super honored and super lucky to have been able to play forever. It’s kind of goofy that I never won this event when I was still playing in college. I had to wait until I got out of college and had a real full-time job in order to actually win it…This one I might cherish it a little bit more because I did it at 25.”
About the Colorado Match Play
The CGA Match Play Championship will be played using the PGA TOUR style match play Pod Play system at gross scoring. This means that any player who qualifies for the championship will be guaranteed at least three (3) matches in the championship at Co...
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