It was a scene that would have been highly unlikely to play out most years at the CGA Amateur:
The winner sinks his final putt of the tournament, then walks toward the back of the green, where he scoops up his young daughter in a victorious, heartfelt moment.
But that’s what happened on Sunday afternoon at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course as 29-year-old Colin Prater shared his victorious celebration with 21-month-old daughter Blake.
At a time when the great majority of winners of the CGA Amateur are in their early 20s — or are even teenagers in the case of 2010 champion Wyndham Clark, 16 at the time — having a 29-year-old champion is indeed unusual.
In fact, Prater is the oldest winner of the CGA Amateur in 25 years — since Rick DeWitt won at age 42 in 1999.
Prater is no stranger to the CGA Amateur trophy, having previously won it in 2016 and ’20.
But that was hardly the only such unusual feat the player from Cherokee Ridge Golf Course accomplished on Sunday
Prater became the first three-time winner of the CGA Amateur in over 50 years, since Bob Byman — the U.S. Junior Amateur champion in 1972 — prevailed in three straight CGA Ams, in ’71, ’72 and ’73. For the record, another player who went on to win on the PGA Tour, three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin, also was a three-time CGA Amateur champ (1963, ’64 and ’65).
Although records aren’t complete for the championship that dates back to the 1930s, among the other three-time winners of the event are Babe Lind, Jim English Sr., Les Fowler, Bob Clark Sr., and Claude Wright (actually a four-time champ). One thing all of them have in common: They’re Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductees.
Prater won by six strokes on Sunday over 2024 CGA Match Play champion Matthew Wilkinson, a Colorado State University golfer who plays out of Lone Tree Golf Club. That’s the largest margin of victory in the CGA Am since — wait for it — Prater in 2020 (also six strokes). Prior to that, the last one with a bigger victory margin was Kane Webber, who won by seven in 2003.
All in all it was quite a performance by Prater, who lives about 20 minutes from Eisenhower GC and says he has played the Blue Course “hundreds” of times over the years.
And the fact that the win came nine days after Prater’s wife, Madi, gave birth to their second daughter, Logan, and a couple of months after he qualified for and compete in the U.S. Open, make it an abundance of riches for the science teacher at Cheyenne Mountain High School.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “I know it’s cliché, but I’m so much right now about making memories. And this is just another one of those. It’s so cool. Ever since my daughter (Blake) was born (in October 2022), it feels like every single win is more special, right?”
Adding to Sunday’s memory were so many family members, friends and acquaintances being on hand as it played out. Just to name a few, that included Prater’s grandparents, parents, oldest daughter and college coach (Phil Trujillo). And a high school buddy and fellow Cheyenne Mountain assistant golf coach Cole Anderson caddied for him at Eisenhower.
“It’s kind of like almost in (my) backyard, right?” Prater said. “I’m very lucky and fortunate to have that support group. They’re always there when I need them. It was really cool to have all that support.”
With him playing some top-notch golf and having an advantage with all his experience at Eisenhower, perhaps what was printed on the front of the cap he wore on Sunday said a lot: “Sunday Swagger”.
And Prater backed it up this week with not only his victory, but the six-stroke winning margin. On Sunday, he took a six-stroke lead into the day and he was up by eight at the turn. Wilkinson cut the deficit to five down the stretch, but that was as close as it got on the final day.
In the end, Prater and Wilkinson matched 1-under-par 71s on Sunday, with Prater ending up at 19 under for the week and Wilkinson at 13 under. Then it was another big gap back to third place as University of Colorado golfer Ty Holbrook of Colorado National Golf Club and Adam Duncan from NCAA Division II national team champion Colorado Christian University tied for the No. 3 spot at 9 under. Duncan closed with a 66 and Holbrook with a 67. 2021 CGA Player of the Year Chris Thayer of CommonGround Golf Course and incoming Boise State golfer Reese Knox shared fifth place at 7 under.
“I have to take my hat off to Colin this week. He played really well,” said Wilkinson, who was trying to sweep the CGA’s two open-age majors in 2024. “I knew (my chance to win on Sunday) was pretty slim just because of how well Colin is playing.”
Prater had already landed a spot in the U.S. Am by virtue of qualifying for the U.S. Open. But had that not already been in his back pocket, he would have earned a berth in the U.S. Amateur by winning the CGA Amateur.
Asked jokingly if he felt bad about hoarding U.S. Amateur berths, Prater said, “I do kind of feel bad, but at the same time I want to win” the CGA Amateur.
