Former CGA president Bill Fowler claims yet another CGA title at River Valley Ranch, this time the Senior Amateur, which he’s now won twice
By Gary Baines – 9/10/2025
CARBONDALE — CGA championships held at River Valley Ranch in the 2020s have certainly produced some unique happenings.
— In 2020, Chris Thayer won the CGA Mid-Amateur at RVR as he rallied from seven strokes down entering the final round by shooting a 66 and forcing a playoff, then prevailing in three extra holes of sudden death despite making a triple bogey on the second playoff hole. Thayer won his second RVR-hosted CGA Mid-Am held, both via three-person playoffs that lasted three holes.
— Then in 2022 at the CGA Amateur at RVR, Davis Bryant set the course record with a 12-under-par 60 in the first round, and his Colorado State University teammate Connor Jones posted what is believed to be the four-round scoring record for the event — 24 under par.
— Then there was the 54th CGA Senior Amateur that concluded on Wednesday at RVR. The fact that Bill Fowler of Lakewood won wasn’t a surprise as he’s long been a formidable player. But that he won a CGA championship at River Valley Ranch for the third time in the last 6 1/2 years, that would definitely fall into the unusual category.
Fowler is no stranger to lifting CGA championship trophies at RVR, having also won two Parent-Child titles there with son Will.
Fowler and son Will prevailed for titles in the CGA Parent-Child Championship in 2019 and ’23, with both victories coming at RVR. Then the 62-year-old from The Club at Rolling Hills scored an individual victory at RVR this week to complete a trifecta at the Carbondale course.
“Horses for courses, I guess,” said Fowler, who served as president of the CGA in 2008 and ’09. “I think (RVR) sets up well for me. The greens are big, and I’m a pretty good lag putter. So you don’t have to hit the ball close. I hit a lot of greens the last three days. I lag-putted well and I made a few putts.
“You always like to sleep in your own bed (while playing a tournament), but when I saw this was up at River Valley Ranch, I’ve got fond memories playing here with Will. So to be able to come play, compete and win by myself, I’m going to have to give him a bad time.”
Meanwhile, this marks Fowler’s second CGA Senior Amateur title, coming a decade after his first one, which was contested at Colorado Golf Club. Fowler has also captured a CGA Mid-Amateur title (1989) and a Western Championship (2005) on the individual side of things. In addition, he’s claimed seven CGA team titles of various sorts — three Senior Four-Balls with impending Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Robert Polk, the two Parent-Childs with son Will, and two club team victories while representing Rolling Hills.
“Winning individual state championships is as good as it gets,” he said. “Winning team state championships is (also very good), but this is slightly better because you don’t have a partner to lean on — though I’ve never felt like I rode somebody else’s coattails in a partner event. I’ve golfed my ball plenty well in those events too. But individual state championships are as good as it gets. And USGA qualifiers are also right there (he’s played in three USGA championships).”
Fowler clinched the title on Wednesday with a birdie putt on the final hole.
Even though Fowler seemingly had things well in hand as he led by five strokes with five holes left on Wednesday — thanks in part to an 85-foot chip-in for birdie on No. 12 — the finish certainly didn’t lack for drama. Fowler made a double bogey on 14 (where he missed his second 2-foot putt of the day) and backed it up with a bogey on 15. And 2024 Inspirato Colorado Senior Open low amateur Richard Bradsby of Golden made a very long eagle putt from the back of the green on the par-5 17th to further close the gap. (Adding further drama — temporarily — was that Bradsby’s score on 18 was briefly recorded as a birdie before being changed to a par, which is what he actually made).
The bottom line is that despite his large lead in the middle of the back nine, Fowler came to the 18th hole leading by just two shots. But his stellar 6-iron approach from 190 yards rolled inside of 15 feet, and he made that birdie putt to win by three over Bradsby. Fowler shot 1-under-par 71s the last two days to be the only competitor to finish under par (1 under in his case) for 54 holes.
Bradsby, meanwhile, closed with the low round of the tournament — a 3-under 69 — for his runner-up showing.
“I’m psyched. It’s great” finishing second after coming into the final round trailing by five, said Bradsby, winner of six CGA championships. “I didn’t watch the board so I didn’t know how it stood. I just figured if I kept playing well and kept hitting good golf shots, maybe I’d catch somebody. I was a long way out. I made two big mistakes the first two days (a quadruple-bogey 8 on Monday and a triple-bogey 8 on Tuesday), so that’s really where I shot myself out of it. But it was fun to have a chance today.”
Richard Bradsby shot the low round of the tournament — a 3-under 69 — en route to a runner-up finish.
Jason Scott of Conifer placed solo third at 7 over par — eight back of Fowler — after closing with a 75. Robert Gonzales of Peyton, who won the CGA Senior Match Play this year, tied for fourth at 8 over with Michael Rogoff of Miami Beach.
Former CGA Senior Amateur winner David Delich of Colorado Springs shared ninth place on Wednesday, while five-time champ Polk tied for 19th place. Polk will be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on Oct. 3, along with another former CGA Senior Amateur champion, Jon Lindstrom of Denver.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Senator Mark Udall made the cut at age 75, finishing 39th.
Jason Scott of Conifer placed third on Wednesday.
With winds kicking up late on the front nine Wednesday for the leaders, Fowler shined despite not feeling he’s at his best when things are gusting.
“I’m not a great wind player,” he said. “I hit a high ball. So I was really trying ‘mind over wind’ today. I was telling myself I could play in the wind and compete in the wind and play well in the wind.
“So it was super satisfying (to win despite the conditions). I would much rather play in the rain than the wind. But today I wasn’t going to give up. I was going to grind on every shot and just see what happened.”
Fowler was 2 under par through five holes on Wednesday and finished with five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
Fowler against the picturesque backdrop at RVR.
Despite things getting close down the stretch, Fowler said he was intentionally unaware.
“I never looked at the scoreboard until after I hit my second shot on 18, so I didn’t know where I stood,” he said. “I really didn’t want to know. Given the conditions, I didn’t need more things to think about.
When I looked at the leaderboard (while approaching the 18th green), I was sort of surprised given the conditions — it was tough out there with the wind. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s great playing’ (by Bradsby). I’m glad I didn’t know sooner. It might have made me a little bit more nervy.”
The wind proved formidable on Wednesday afternoon at RVR.
Looking at the bigger picture, Fowler notes that he’s been competing in CGA championships since he was 12, and has had at least some success in state tournaments in every decade since the 1980s. He even made it to the finals of one of the CGA’s open-age majors, finishing second to future PGA Tour player Brandt Jobe in the 1985 CGA Match Play.
“It’s hard to win,” he said. “I’ve been playing in these (Senior Amateurs) every year and I’ve done pretty well. And as you get older, there’s a whole new group of younger people coming into the age group (to compete against). It gets harder, and you just never know if you’ll be able to prevail.
“But I work hard at it and I expect to do well because I really put a lot of effort into practicing and getting better and staying at a high competitive level.”
Thanks to Wednesday’s victory, Fowler will be exempt into a final qualifying tournament for next year’s U.S. Senior Open.
The CGA Senior Amateur is limited to players 55 and older.
For all the scores from the Senior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
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