Make That 4

Lakewood CC assistant pro Geoff Keffer wins Colorado PGA Professional Championship for fourth time, which ties the known record

By Gary Baines – 8/26/2026

WESTMINSTER — Geoff Keffer was sporting plus-fours in more ways than one by the end of Wednesday’s final round of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve.

Not only was the PGA assistant professional from Lakewood Country Club wearing plus-fours — which are often his trademark when competing — but he’s now plus four in the Colorado PGA’s most prestigious tournament. That is, with a one-stroke victory on Wednesday at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship, he’s now won the Section’s premier tournament title four times, which is believed to tie a record.

We add that caveat because three of the early winners of the championship are listed as “unknown” because of incomplete records. That’s the case for the champions in 1959, ’61 and ’62 — an era when current Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Bob Hold, J.D. Taylor and Bill Bisdorf (a three-time Colorado Open winner) were elite players in the region. In fact, from 1964 through 1971, either Hold or Bisdorf was the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year each year. And Hold is known to have won at least three Colorado PGA Professional Championships as it was, while Taylor won two. They very well might have captured more; it’s simply not known at this point. Bisdorf’s only recorded Section championship was in 1960, so even if he won all three of the “unknowns,” he’d have four at most.

But, until the “unknown” winners from 1959, ’61 and ’62 are discovered, Keffer shares the distinction of most Colorado PGA Professional Championship titles with Micah Rudosky, Ron Vlosich, Jack Sommers and Fred Wampler.

Elite company indeed.

“That means a lot,” Keffer said of tying the known record for titles in the Section’s top tournament. “With all the awards that I keep getting and winning these (championships), you start playing against legacy and all that eventually. So to be now tied for that, it’s just an honor. It’s awesome.”  

Geoff Keffer laughs after draining a 35-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole Wednesday.

And Keffer did it on Wednesday while wearing not only his traditional plus-fours, but pink-colored ones, which he typically reserves for the final rounds of notable events such as these.  

“It’s just a habit,” he said. “I wore them once on the final day — and won — so I just decided to keep going. I think it was the first (victory at the Colorado  Assistant PGA Professional Championship). It’s hard to remember that far back.”

Indeed, there have been so many notable wins for Keffer in significant Section events that it’s not easy to distinguish them all. Besides the four victories in what amounts to the Section championship, he’s won six CPGA Assistants Championships, with the first one coming in 2007.

With all that success, Keffer has been named the Section’s overall player of the year an unprecedented 10 times — and is a virtual lock to make it 11 this year with the huge lead he has in the season-long points standings. He’s also been the Section’s associate player of the year three times.

Keffer is no stranger to the historic Colorado PGA Professional Championship trophy.

In addition, with Wednesday’s victory, Keffer claimed back-to-back titles in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. The only others in the 21st century to win at least two straight in the event — prior to this week — were Rudosky (2022 through ’24) and Doug Rohrbaugh (2013 through ’15).

Keffer’s 2025 and 2026 titles comes on the heels of his victories in 2016 and 2020. This time around, he earned a first-place check of $15,000 out of the $76,500 purse.

But this one was far from easy after he lapped the field by eight strokes in this event a year ago. The 48-year-old may have appeared to be on the verge of something similar this week after carding a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 on Tuesday and taking a three-stroke lead into the final round.

Keffer’s par putt on 18 gave him a one-stroke victory in regulation.

However, as is turned out, the 20-foot par putt he drained on the final hole of regulation on Wednesday kept him from going to a playoff with 2024 champion Tristin Goodwin, a PGA instructor with Experience Golf.

Goodwin played his final five holes in 2 under par to shoot a 3-under 69 and post a 6-under total for three days. And with Keffer hooking his tee shot on the tough par-3 17th hole and three-putting for a double bogey, he needed a par or better on the par-5 18th to prevail in regulation.

After a good drive there, Keffer pulled his second shot well left of the green and knocked his third quite a ways over the putting surface. He then pitched to 20 feet, and watched his par putt fall into the left edge of the cup for a one-stroke victory. It was one of the few putts of length he made all day. On the par-3 14th, Keffer drained a 35-foot birdie putt from the back edge of the green that was improbable enough that it elicited a laugh from him.

“Other than that one and the one on 18, I made a grand total of about 5 feet of putts the rest of the day,” he said. “There are days there’s like a force-field around the hole; they just don’t want to go in. So this (win) was definitely more of a grind. It was definitely the hardest-working one I’ve had. My goal was to get to double digits (under par overall). But I just saw nothing go in the hole all day (other than at 14 and 18).”

The bottom line is that Keffer had enough cushion coming into the day that a 1-over-par 73 on Wednesday was still good enough for the title as he checked in at 7 under par overall. 

Tristin Goodwin made a run at two Section titles in three years, but finished second this time.

With Goodwin finishing solo second, he’s posted top-2 showings in his last two Colorado PGA Professional Championships as he didn’t play in the event last year after winning in 2024.

“I showed up today (five out of the lead and) thinking I was going to have to make about eight birdies and no bogeys today,” Goodwin said. “So I didn’t think I was going to be in second by one by the end of the round. I didn’t think I was going to lose by one shot today — surprisingly. I kind of had that mentality all day. Then I made a few putts coming down the stretch, which kind of saved me from finishing pretty mediocre. I’m just lucky to be here, I guess. I’m actually very satisfied with today.”

Matt Schalk had daughter Hailey, a three-time girls state high school champion, caddying for him on Wednesday.

Matt Schalk of Colorado National Golf Club, the national Senior PGA Professional Champion in 2022, tied for third place on Wednesday with Kirk Trowbridge of MetaGolf Learning Center and Brian Cooper of Glenmoor Golf Club, the runner-up in the 2025 Inspirato Colorado Senior Open. Cooper closed with a 69 and Schalk and Trowbridge with 70s.

Trowbridge had opportunities to catch or overtake Keffer, one of his playing partners, coming down the stretch, but his putter didn’t cooperate. He three-putted the 15th hole for bogey, missing a 7-footer. Then he missed a 7-foot birdie try on 16. And on No. 18, trailing by one, he three-putted for bogey.

“I felt really good about the day overall,” Trowbridge said. “I hit it great, hit a lot of greens. But I had two three-putts and missed a short birdie coming in. That’s the way it goes. I had a great tournament and a chance to win.”

Kirk Trowbridge was in the hunt down the stretch, but his putter didn’t help the cause.

But Trowbridge figured he was going to be in for a tough battle on Wednesday if he wanted to win the title as he was five behind Keffer going into the final round.

“It’s incredible how confident he is,” Trowbridge said of Keffer. “Even when he gets in trouble, he doesn’t fret. He just makes it work. He’s a champion (and) someone to look up to.”

Brian Cooper was also among those who tied for third on Wednesday.

As was the case last year when Keffer won — as well as the two previous years when he came close — caddying for him this week was Sam Marley, a former University of Northern Colorado golfer who won the CGA Junior Match Play in 2014 and teamed with James Richardson to claim the CGA Four-Ball title in 2015. In a little more than a week, Marley and Nick Nosewicz will try to defend their title in the Wellshire Four-Ball.

“Having Sam on the bag again was just awesome,” Keffer said, noting that he kept the mood in a good spot throughout the day.

“I tell my students, you just need to try to make (rounds in big tournaments) as close to a normal round as possible, so then you can hit the shots that you normally hit,” Keffer said. “You want to win, but you don’t want to do things that you’re not used to or that are out of character.”

Keffer (left), Trowbridge (center) and Keffer’s caddie, Sam Marley, share a laugh during Wednesday’s round.

The top seven finishers at Walnut Creek earned spots in the 2027 national PGA Professional Championship, set for April 25-28 at Streamsong Golf Resort in Bowling Green, Fla. Joining Keffer, Goodwin, Schalk, Trowbridge and Cooper in landing national berths were Eli MacKay of Meridian Golf Club and Nick Welch of The Ranch Country Club. Welch made a birdie on the first playoff hole against Justin Carlock of Eaton Country Club to land the final spot in the national championship.

Not surprisingly, given his record, Keffer is a regular in advancing to the national tournament. He estimates he’s qualified for about a dozen of them.

Next year’s Colorado PGA Professional Championship — which is expected to become an August fixture after long being held in September — is scheduled for Aug. 16-18 at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood.

For all the scores from Walnut Creek, CLICK HERE.

Keffer reacts after sinking the winning putt on Wednesday.