For 2nd time in 3 years, former Greeley resident Parker Edens advances to quarterfinals of U.S. Mid-Am; Colorado Springs’ Colin Prater falls in sweet 16
By Gary Baines – 9/16/2025
The South Dakota State men’s golf team is in the midst of its fall season, but it doesn’t have a tournament this week, which makes it a little easier for the Jackrabbits’ head coach to focus on the task at hand.
That would be Parker Edens, who grew up in Greeley and both played at and served as an assistant coach at Colorado State University before going to the Dakotas.
Edens, a former pro who earned amateur reinstatement, has taken quite a shine to the U.S. Mid-Amateur, which happens to be played after the college golf season has started. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mid-Am in 2023 and to the round of 16 last year.
And on Tuesday, the two-time Inspirato Colorado Open low amateur assured himself of a second U.S. Mid-Am quarterfinal appearance in three years. Edens won twice on Tuesday at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., to make it to the final eight again. He needed an extra hole to advance on Tuesday as a 19th-hole par gave him a round-of-16 victory over fellow former pro Chris Kamin of Phoenix.
In a tight match in which neither player led by more than 1-up, Edens took the advantage by winning the 17th hole with a birdie. But Kamin’s winning par on 18 forced an extra hole as Edens made bogey. Then the the two-time CGA Four-Ball champion (with partner Jimmy Maklowski) ended it with his 19th-hole par.
Edens finished 1 under par for the 19 holes. He’ll face Jeg Coughlin III of Dublin, Ohio, in Wednesday morning’s quarters. If Edens wins, his semifinal match will be Wednesday afternoon against the winner of Evan Beck of Virginia Beach and Christian Brand of Hurricane, W.Va. Beck won last year’s Mid-Am and was runner-up in 2023.
In his round-of-32 match Tuesday morning, Edens prevailed 3 and 1 over Stephen Behr Jr., of Atlanta. Edens was 1 down through 11 holes, but won No. 12 with a birdie and the 305-yard 13th hole with an eagle to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. A winning par on 16 and a winning birdie on 17 closed out the match. Edens was 2 over par through 11 holes, then went 3 under the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Colin Prater of Colorado Springs, a three-time CGA Player of the Year and winner of the 2025 CGA Match Play, fell 3 and 2 in the round of 16 to Brandon Holtz of Bloomington, Ill. Earlier in the day, Prater cruised to a 5-and-4 victory over Mitchell Fedorka of Claremont, Calif., in the round of 32.
Prater made it to the round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Mid-Am.
In Tuesday morning’s match, Prater didn’t lose a hole. He made an eagle on the 305-yard par-4 fourth hole and finished 4 under par for 14 holes. But the high school science teacher never led in his sweet 16 match Tuesday afternoon as Holtz was red-hot, ending up 6 under par for 16 holes, while Prater was 3 under after parring his first nine holes.
The U.S. Mid-Am is limited to players 25 and older.
Here are the results for all the players with strong Colorado ties at the U.S. Mid-Am:
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 16 TUESDAY
Former Coloradan Parker Edens def. Chris Kamin, Phoenix, 19 holes
Brian Holtz, Bloomington, Ill., def. Colin Prater, Colorado Springs, 3 and 2
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 32 TUESDAY
Colin Prater, Colorado Springs, def. Mitchell Fedorka, Claremont, Calif., 5 and 4
Former Coloradan Parker Edens def. Stephen Behr Jr., Atlanta, 3 and 1
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 64 MONDAY
Colin Prater, Colorado Springs, def. Jordan Utley, Richmond, Va., 3 and 1
Christian Cavaliere, Katonah, N.Y., def. Charlie Soule, Denver, 2 and 1
Former Coloradan Parker Edens def. Wyatt Johnson, Victor, Ohio, 5 and 4
STROKE PLAY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
Advance to Match Play
7. Colin Prater, CO Springs 68-71—139
35. Charlie Soule, Denver 69-75—144
45. Former Coloradan Parker Edens 74-71–145
Failed to Advance to Match Play
87. Former CSU golfer Bryce Hanstad 73-75–148
131. Matt Call, Sedalia 78-73–151
162. Ryan Axlund, Englewood 75-79—154
172. Joel Perez, Longmont 74-81–155
172. Mark Henderson, Highlands Ranch 81-74—155
223. Ed Kerr, Windsor 76-84–160
Ryan Burke, Longmont 90-WD
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com