Westminster, Colo. – Geoff Keffer, PGA Assistant Professional at Lakewood Country Club, entered Wednesday's final round of the 69th Colorado PGA Professional Championship with a three-shot advantage and ultimately needed nearly every bit of it.
After producing the round of the championship on Tuesday, Keffer followed his brilliant 8-under-par 64 with a hard-fought 1-over-par 73 in Wednesday's final round at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve. “I just did not want to beat myself,” Keffer stated about what his game plan was heading into the final round. His three-day total of 7-under-par 209 was enough to hold off a charging Tristin Goodwin, PGA Instructor at ExperienceGolf, by a single stroke and secure his second consecutive Colorado PGA Professional Championship and fifth Section Championship of his career.
Keffer's victory capped a remarkable turnaround after opening the championship with an even-par 72 on Monday. “I hit it not-great, like the first day, but had a lot of two-putts and stress-free pars,” Keffer said. After the front nine, Keffer stood level for the round but tied for the lead after Scott Ough, PGA Instructor at GOLFTEC - Boulder, fired a 3-under-par 33 on the opening nine to draw alongside Keffer with nine holes to play.
Keffer was able to grab one birdie on the 14th and carried a 3-shot advantage to the 17th tee after Ough stumbled in the middle of his back nine. Keffer pulled it long and left on 17 and had a difficult up-and-down ahead of him. He pitched it to the front of the green, followed by a 3-putt, leaving him a one-stroke advantage heading into the 54th hole. After a perfect drive and a pulled 7-wood, Keffer was left with a tough third shot; he ran it across the green and chipped his fourth to 20 feet. After Trowbridge ran his birdie putt by the hole, Keffer knew his putt was for the win. “I thought it was going left, Sam [his caddie] thought it was going left, so we trusted it, and I’m glad it went left,” Keffer said, as his ball lipped into the bottom of the hole via the left edge. Keffer finished the championship with rounds of 72-64-73 for a 209 total and 7-under-par to finish atop the leaderboard by one shot.
MATT SCHALK, PGA
Colorado National Golf Club
One of the biggest challenges came from Tristin Goodwin, PGA Instructor at ExperienceGolf. The 2024 Colorado PGA Professional Champion began the final round five shots behind Keffer at 3-under, but steadily worked his way back into the championship with one of Wednesday's best rounds. Goodwin carded a 3-under-par 69, his lowest score of the week, to finish at 6-under-par 210.
Goodwin's closing 69 completed three consecutive rounds of par or better—70-71-69—and applied pressure to Keffer all the way to the finish. His final-round charge ultimately came up just one shot short, but his runner-up finish comfortably secured his place among the Colorado Section's qualifiers for next spring's PGA Professional Championship.
Behind the top two, Brian Cooper, PGA Director of Instruction at Glenmoor Country Club; Matt Schalk, PGA General Manager at Colorado National Golf Club; and Kirk Trowbridge, PGA Instructor at MetaGolf Learning Center, finished tied for third at 5-under-par 211.
Cooper entered the day at 2-under and delivered one of the strongest final rounds among the leaders, firing a 3-under-par 69 to climb four positions. After rounds of 70 and 72 to begin the championship, Cooper saved his best golf for Wednesday and finished with rounds of 70-72-69 to secure his spot on the national stage.
Schalk continued what was arguably the steadiest three-day performance in the field. After opening with a 1-under 71 and following it with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday, Schalk posted another 2-under-par 70 in the final round. His rounds of 71-70-70 left him at 5-under for the championship and tied for third, just two strokes behind Keffer.
Trowbridge joined Cooper and Schalk at 5-under after closing with a 2-under-par 70. His championship was highlighted by Tuesday's spectacular 6-under 66, which moved him 38 spots up the leaderboard after an opening-round 75. Trowbridge backed up that performance with another under-par round Wednesday, completing a 36-hole stretch of 8-under-par golf over the final two rounds to earn a share of third place and a qualifying position.
Eli MacKay, who grew up playing Walnut Creek Golf Preserve as his home course in high school, secured the sixth position at 2-under-par 214. MacKay, PGA Head Professional at Meridian Golf Club, entered Wednesday at 2-under after matching rounds of 71 over the first two days and closed with an even-par 72. His consistency proved valuable in a final round where the battle for national qualifying positions remained tight throughout the day. With rounds of 71-71-72, MacKay finished three shots clear of the players tied for seventh.
While Keffer walked away with the trophy, some of Wednesday's biggest drama came from the race to determine the Colorado Section's seventh and final qualifier for the 2027 PGA Professional Championship at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida.
Nick Welch, PGA Assistant Professional at The Ranch Country Club, made one of the most significant moves of the entire final round. Welch began the championship with a 4-over-par 76 and entered Wednesday at 3-over after a second-round 71, leaving himself on the outside looking in at the qualifying positions. With his first-ever national championship hopes on the line, Welch responded with a 4-under-par 68, the lowest final-round score among the players finishing inside the top nine.
That round moved Welch all the way to 1-under-par 215 and into a tie for seventh with Justin Carlock of Eaton Country Club.
Carlock took a much different route to the same number. After rounds of even-par 72 and 1-under 71, Carlock entered the final round at 1-under and remained there following an even-par 72 on Wednesday. His three-round total of 215 matched Welch and forced a playoff between the two for the seventh and final qualifying position.
Welch and Carlock headed to the 10th tee for the first playoff hole, and Welch positioned his second shot 31 feet from the hole. While a birdie looked like an outside chance, Welch stepped up and rolled in the long birdie effort to capture the seventh and final qualifying spot, heading to Streamsong Resort next April.
Scott Ough, PGA, finished alone in ninth at even-par 216. Ough entered the final round as Keffer's closest challenger after rounds of 68 and 71 had moved him to 5-under through 36 holes. After a strong front nine, Ough had a tough finish on the closing nine holes and carded a final-round 77 and an even-par finish and the second alternate position.
The battle for the remaining alternate positions also required extra golf.
Bobby Quaratino, PGA Head Professional at West Woods Golf Club, Chris Hyten, PGA Head Professional at Bluebird Club, and Caine Fitzgerald, PGA Head Professional at Meadow Hills Golf Course, each finished at 1-over-par 217 and had to play off to determine the third and fourth alternate positions.
Quaratino made a late charge into the
alternate picture with a 3-under-par 69 on Wednesday after beginning the week with consecutive rounds of 74. His closing round moved him four shots up the leaderboard and into the playoff.
Hyten reached 217 with rounds of 71-74-72, while Fitzgerald finished at the same number following rounds of 70-72-75.
Fitzgerald made birdie on the first playoff hole to capture the 3rd alternate position, and Hyten and Quaratino needed a few more holes to decide the final spot. After three more playoff holes, Hyten survived and claimed the 4th and final alternate position.
The final round brought a dramatic conclusion to three days of championship golf at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve. Keffer began the week five shots off the lead, surged to the top with the championship's low round on Tuesday and then did enough Wednesday to withstand Goodwin's closing charge.
In the end, one shot separated the champion from the runner-up, two shots separated Keffer from a three-way tie for third, and the race for the final national qualifying position required extra holes.
For Keffer, however, the week ended exactly where the previous Colorado PGA Professional Championship did, with his name at the top of the leaderboard.
His rounds of 72-64-73 gave him a 7-under-par total of 209 and another Colorado PGA Professional Championship title, successfully defending his championship and adding a fourth Section Championship to his résumé.
The Colorado Section will send seven PGA Professionals to the 2027 PGA Professional Championship next April at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida, where they will compete against 311 other PGA of America Golf Professionals from across the country.
The Colorado Section is also excited to announce that in 2027 the 70th Colorado PGA Professional Championship will head to Meridian Golf Club in Englewood, Colorado, where the Championship will be staged for the fourth time, and the first time since Ron Vlosich, PGA, captured victory in 2019.
