Late surge gives Colin Prater 1-shot lead going into final day in quest for his fourth CGA Amateur title; CU’s Ty Holbrook, Team Colorado’s Brayden Forte the closest pursuers
By Gary Baines
EDWARDS — Only about an hour and a half after being four strokes out of the lead, Colin Prater of Colorado Springs finished up the third round of the CGA Amateur with a one-shot lead — and with much better odds of joining the tournament’s four-time champions club.
And it would be some rarefied air if the 31-year-old high school science teacher could seal the deal on Thursday at Sonnenalp Club and become a four-time CGA Am winner.
Indeed, though the records for the early years of the championship in the 1930s aren’t complete, the only person who is confirmed to have won four — or more — CGA Amateurs is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer )Claude Wright, who claimed the title four times in the 1940s and ‘50s. (It should be noted that Boulder High School and University of Colorado alum Hale Irwin won the CGA Amateur three times — 1963 through ’65 — before going on to capture 20 PGA Tour titles, including three U.S. Opens.)
Prater would join Wright as a four-timer if he prevails on Thursday as he previously won in 2016, ’20 and ’24. He’s also claimed the CGA Match Play crown twice, making him a winner of five CGA open-age majors overall.
“It would be the most awesome (thing), right?” Prater said of the prospect of hoisting the CGA Am trophy a fourth time. “I think that’s my goal. I just want to see how many of these I can try to win. And so to give myself an opportunity to be able to do it tomorrow, that’s awesome. And I’d rather be leading than chasing.”
With a win on Thursday, Prater would match the most career titles in CGA Amateur history.
And though there are only two pursuers within six strokes of Prater through three days — University of Colorado senior golfer Ty Holbrook of Boulder (one out of the lead) and Team Colorado veteran Brayden Forte of Aurora, fresh off an individual victory in the boys Junior America’s Cup (six behind Prater) — Sonnenalp is plenty challenging enough to say that the title remains very much up for grabs going into the final round.
If you need any evidence of how things can swing at the Jay Morrish/Bob Cupp-designed course in Edwards, just note what happened in the last 90 minutes of Wednesday’s round.
Holbrook has finished third twice in the past two CGA Amateurs.
Holbrook led Prater by four after both players birdied the drivable par-4 13th hole. But Holbrook, who’s finished third in each of the last two CGA Amateurs, made three straight bogeys (bunker, three-putt, bunker). And with Prater making birdies on four of his final six holes (including No. 13), he went from four down to one ahead in pretty quick fashion.
“To close the gap; that was probably the goal on the back nine today,” said Prater, who’s coming off an 11th-place finish in the Pacific Coast Amateur, an Elite Amateur Series event. “With nine left today, I didn’t think there was (much of) a possibility that I’d be ahead going in tomorrow. But he made a couple of mistakes, and I golfed my ball.”
With birdies down the stretch from 12 feet (a tough slider on 13 that “gave me some momentum,” he said), and from 3, 8 and 12 feet, Prater ended up shooting a nifty 5-under-par 65. He made six birdies and one bogey to check in at 10 under par overall.
Holbrook got off the bogey train by finishing par-birdie to still post an under-par round (69) and end up at 9 under.
Brayden Forte vaulted into the top three with a 64 on Wednesday.
And Forte, the 18-year-old who will start his college golf career at San Diego State in a matter of weeks, carded the low round of the day on Wednesday, a 6-under 64. He went from being 10 out of the lead to start the day to having an outside chance at the title, at six back.
“It can get pretty tough out here, so I think if I play another round like I did today, I have a shot,” Forte said. “My goal is to just go have fun and see what happens and not really have any expectations.”
Added Holbrook regarding the mindset going into the final round: “It’s nothing to be scared about. It’s just a golf tournament. It’s not like my life depends on it or anything.”
U.S. Amateur qualifier Collin Engelhardt hit a stellar bunker shot on 18 to set up a closing birdie.
The only other player under par overall is 2026 U.S. Amateur qualifier Collin Engelhardt of Castle Pines, the 32-year-old who’s 2 under after playing his final four holes in 3 under en route to a 70 on Wednesday.
After making runs at the title at the past two CGA Amateurs, Holbook feels like he might be due for something better — like a title — but he said he hasn’t put it all together this week.
“I just didn’t really feel like I was hitting it very well (today) and just wasn’t in complete control of it,” the 22-year-old said. “It just kind of stings. I really haven’t hit the ball great this week. Overall, it was a solid grind.
“You can make bogeys pretty easy out here. Overall, it was still an under-par round (today) and it got windy probably our last 11 holes or so, so not too bad (score-wise). I’m not disappointed in it, but I just wish I could have fired something a little bit lower, you know?”
As for the three straight bogeys after he had reached 11 under par overall, Holbrook said, “That’s golf, you know? You have the ebbs and flows of the game. You can get a little frustrated for a little bit, but you’ve just got to let it go and keep plugging along.”
Regarding Forte, in the two weeks prior to the CGA Amateur, he advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Junior Amateur — something no Coloradan had done since Wyndham Clark in 2009 — and then won the individual portion of the boys Junior America’s Cup. The first two days at Sonnenalp, though he hit the ball very well, he estimated he missed 10 putts of 6 feet or less, leading to a switch in his putting grip.
Helping his cause was two chip-ins on Wednesday after having one on his back nine on Tuesday. On Wednesday, one of those chip-ins was from about 20 yards for eagle on the par-4 eighth hole.
“Those were my first chip-ins the whole summer,” he said. “I don’t really chip in a lot, and I’ve chipped in times in the last 27 holes.”
All told, Forte went bogey-free on Wednesday, making an eagle and four birdies.
“I was 2 under through three holes, then went on a par streak,” he noted. “When I made that chip, I was like, ‘4 under through eight; just keep it going.’ And I did; I got it to 6 under through 11, then the wind got pretty crazy” and he parred out.
Prater goes into the final round 10 under par overall.
Prater, Holbrook and Forte will tee it up together in the lead group starting at 9:40 a.m. on Thursday.
Prater hopes his experience as a three-time champion in this event plays to his favor.
“I’d like to think yes,” he said of that possiblity. “But again, the only thing I can control is being mentally prepared to hit a good first tee shot tomorrow. Then just deal with every shot and every situation the best I can, and hopefully make a couple butts, and see where the chips fall at the end.”
The historic CGA Amateur trophy will be on the line Thursday.
Notable: Defending champion Thomas Herholtz of Colorado Springs had an unenviable start to Wednesday’s round as he made a quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 first hole. After a bogey on No. 2, he carded three birdies on the remainder of the front nine en route to a 75. At 10 over par, he shares 22nd place. … Five members of the current Team Colorado — the elite junior squad that’s part of the USGA’s National Development Program — are in the top 20 at the CGA Amateur going into the final day. Joining Forte (third place) in that regard are Nicholas Brooks (fifth), Gavin Amella (eighth), Brayden Destefano (11th) and Ash Edwards (18th).
For all the scores from the CGA 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