Geoff Keffer wins Colorado PGA Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year honor for record-extending 10th time; other Section POYs: Matt Schalk (Senior), Ashley Tait-Wengert (Women) and Andy Connell (Associate)
By Gary Baines – 10/23/2025
Double digits.
Continuing to go where no golfer in Colorado has gone before.
Both apply to the playing accomplishments of Geoff Keffer, a PGA assistant professional at Lakewood Country Club, who on Friday (Oct. 24) at Cherry Hills Country Club will be among those honored at the 2025 Colorado PGA Awards Gala.
While most of this year’s award winners were announced in August, including Mark Matz of Beaver Creek Golf Club as Golf Professional of the Year, the Section’s Players of the Year weren’t finalized until this fall.
And Keffer has done it again as the Dow Finsterwald Rolex Player of the Year. The 47-year-old Lakewood resident becomes the only player in history to have earned the award 10 times or more as he hits double digits this year. Not only that, but all 10 have come in the last 14 years — since 2012. For those keeping track, Keffer has been the Colorado PGA’s overall player of the year in 2012, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’20, ’21, ’23, ’24 and ’25. The only others to win the award since 2012 are Caine Fitzgerald (2013 and ’19), Doug Rohrbaugh (2018) and Ben Lanting (2022).
And by the way, Keffer was also the CPGA’s Associate Player of the Year three times — in 2007, 2010 and 2011.
This year, Keffer won the Section’s top tournament, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, for the third time, having previously earned the trophy in 2016 and ’20. Last month at Flying Horse North, he lapped the field, winning by eight strokes.
Overall in 2025, Keffer captured — or shared — 10 titles in Section events, including five straight from mid-August to mid-September.
“I do look at the history and everything,” Keffer said after his victory at Flying Horse North. “All the Players of the Years I’ve (been fortunate enough to win, and capturing his third Colorado PGA Professional Championship) … Anytime you can get into rare air, it’s always a good thing.”
For the record, the golfer with the next-most CPGA overall player of the year awards is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bob Hold, who earned seven of them from 1966-71 and ’74.
As for the other Section Players of the Year who will be among those honored on Friday at Cherry Hills:
— Matt Schalk of Erie and Colorado National GC, Rolex Senior Player of the Year: Schalk, the 2022 national Senior PGA Professional Championship winner, earns the CPGA Senior Player of the Year honor for the second time, having previously landed the award in 2023. Schalk was the winning senior in 10 Colorado PGA events in 2025. He also qualified for and competed in the U.S. Senior Open for the second straight year. And Schalk placed eighth in the Inspirato Colorado Senior Open.
— Ashley Tait-Wengert of Morrison and Turkey Creek Golf, Women’s Player of the Year: Tait-Wengert, a three-time girls state high school champion and winner of the 2008 CGA Women’s Stroke Play, earns this award for the second straight year after Sherry Andonian-Smith earned the honor the first six times it was presented. Tait-Wengert finished 17th overall at last month’s Colorado PGA Professional Championship and fourth at this month’s CPGA Women’s Championship.
— Andy Connell of Denver and True Spec-Denver, Associate Player of the Year: Connell, son of Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Tom Connell, wins this award for the fifth consecutive year, establishing a record in that regard. (He previously shared that record with Matt Bryant, who claimed four straight awards from 1998-2001. Andy Connell won the season-long Assistants Match Play Championship, which featured a starting field of 25 players.
As for the previously-announced 2025 Colorado PGA award winners, here’s the rundown. (All were selected by a committee of past CPGA award winners):
- Golf Professional of the Year: Mark Matz, Beaver Creek Golf Club, Avon
- Teacher of the Year: Dustin Miller, The Swing Bays, Parker
- Assistant Professional of the Year: Chris Hyten, Castle Pines Golf Club, Castle Rock
- Golf Executive of the Year: Scott Rethlake, City and County of Denver
- Presidents Award (promoting and enhancing the PGA professional, the Section and the game of golf and contributing to the betterment of the golf professional vocation): John and Sandi Andrew, Colorado Springs
- Bill Strausbaugh Award (outstanding integrity, commitment to mentoring PGA professionals and making a significant impact on the careers of PGA professionals): Ty Thompson, Two Tees Strategies, Colorado Springs
- Ed Kelbel Award (Professional Development): Keith Stilwell, Perry Park Country Club, Larkspur
- Warren Smith Award (special contributions to the game of golf, the Colorado Section, junior golf and their facility): Keith Soriano, senior career consultant for PGA of America, Frisco, Texas
- Patriot Award (patriotism through the game of golf and commitment and dedication to the men and women who have served and protected the U.S.): Rob Grall, Colorado National Golf Club, Erie
- Player Development: Kyle Voska, Colorado Golf Academy, Highlands Ranch
- Youth Player Development: Don Graham, Columbine Country Club, Columbine Valley
- Public Merchandiser of the Year: Adam Finch, Fossil Trace Golf Club, Golden
- Private Merchandiser of the Year: Elliott Oscar, Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, Holyoke
- Noble Chalfant Award (distinguished service to the Colorado PGA): Jim Bailey, Bill Loeffler and Tom Woodard
- Salesperson of the Year: Josh Knipp, Territory Manager for Mizuno Golf, Colorado and Wyoming
- Superintendent of the Year: Aaron Fankhauser, The Club at Rolling Hills, Golden
- Todd Phipers Media Award: Spencer Smith, DNVR Sports, Denver
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