Colorado native Jake Staiano places 2nd at PGA Tour Americas event after leading by 3 on final 9; last-round 61 gives Cheyenne native Josh Creel runner-up on Korn Ferry Tour; Davis Bryant records best DP World Tour showing
By Gary Baines – 4/27/2025
Things seemed to be shaping up very nicely for Jake Staiano on Sunday afternoon.
The Englewood native, a 2021 Rocky Mountain Open champion in Grand Junction and a former CGA Player of the Year, held the lead in a PGA Tour Americas event in Quito, Ecuador. Having grown up in the mile-high altitude of the Denver area, Staiano was competing at roughly 9,000 feet at the weather-shortened KIA Open. And it probably didn’t hurt his comfort level that he was paired in the final round with Jay Card III, with whom Staiano has been rooming during the PGA Tour Americas’ Latin America swing.
And through 11 holes on Sunday, things looked very promising for Staiano, a former Colorado State University golfer. But after leading by three with seven holes left, he opened the door with double bogeys on the 12th and 15th holes. And Card took advantage with birdies on 13 and 17 en route to a one-stroke victory over Staiano and Ricardo Celia. Staiano missed a breaking 8-foot birdie attempt on the final hole that would have forced a playoff.
Despite falling short of the victory, it was Staiano’s best showing in a PGA Tour Americas or Korn Ferry Tour event. (Staiano competed in 17 KFT tournaments in 2022 and ’23 combined.)
The Valor Christian High School graduate went 66-67-68 for a 15-under-par total at the Ecuador event, which featured a $225,000 purse.
After bogeying the first hole on Sunday, Staiano put together a stellar stretch, going 8 under par for the eight holes from No. 3 through 10. That included an eagle on the 401-yard, par-4 fourth hole. But he double bogeyed the par-4 12th and 15th holes, sandwiched around a birdie on 15, before parring the final three holes.
Card’s birdie on the par-5 17th broke a tie and put him in front of Staiano, along with Celia. But Celia bogeyed 18 to join Staiano in second place.
Beyond winning the 2021 RMO as a pro in Colorado, Staiano has recorded three top-10 finishes at the Inspirato Colorado Open since 2017, including a sixth place last year.
For all the scores from the KIA Open, CLICK HERE.
Other top local performers on Sunday on major golf tours:
— Cheyenne native Josh Creel, a former University of Colorado golfer who transferred to Central Oklahoma, closed with a bogey-free 10-under-par 61 on Sunday to post his best finish since 2021 on the Korn Ferry Tour — a tie for second place. Creel, winner of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship four years ago, carded 10 birdies in the final round to finish at 27 under par overall at the Veritex Bank Championship in Arlington, Texas. Creel was a regular on the PGA Tour during the 2021-22 season. Johnny Keefer birdied three of his last four holes to win by three strokes. A total of five players shared the runner-up spot, including 17-year-old Blades Brown. SCORES
— Davis Bryant of Aurora recorded the best finish of his rookie season on the DP World Tour by tying for 23rd on Sunday in the Hainan Classic on Hainan Island in China. The 2024 Inspirato Colorado Open champion carded rounds of 72-69-70-71 for a 6-under-par total , which left him 11 strokes behind champion Marco Penge. The showing was worth 22,393 euros ($25,539). Bryant has made four starts on the DP World Tour, with his previous best finish being 41st place. He’s also played in five HotelPlanner Tour tournaments, posting two top-6 finishes on that circuit. HAINAN CLASSIC SCORES
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