With his 2026 induction, Kevin Stadler became one of only four Colorado Golf Hall of Famers to have a parent as a fellow inductee.
Following in the footsteps of Will Nicholson Sr., and Jr., Skeeter and Jack Sommers and Oscar Zesch and Vivian Dorsey, Kevin Stadler joined his father, Craig, in the Hall. Craig, the 1982 Masters champion and 13-time PGA Tour winner, was enshrined in 2016.
Kevin Stadler, a Kent Denver graduate who splits his year between Denver and Scottsdale, Ariz., also became the sixth CGHOF inductee (following Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Wyndham Clark, Dale Douglass and Bob Byman) who has won on the PGA Tour after spending at least several years of his adolescence as a Colorado resident. Stadler prevailed at the Phoenix Open in 2014.
Stadler, 46, has won on virtually all levels of golf—from the junior ranks through the PGA Tour. He prevailed in the 1997 boys state high school tournament while at Kent Denver, the 1997 Junior World Championships, two CGA Match Plays (1999 and 2002), the 2002 Colorado Open (his pro debut), four events on the Korn Ferry Tour, one on the Challenge Tour (Argentina Open), one on the DP World Tour (the 2006 Johnnie Walker Classic) and one on the PGA Tour. In his breakthrough victory at the Phoenix Open, Stadler finished one stroke better than Bubba Watson, who would win his second Masters two months later.
“That’s really cool” to be voted into the Hall of Fame, Stadler said. “That was a huge part of my formative golf years— playing in CGA stuff, playing in Opens and everything. It’s always been a very fond memory playing in all that stuff. The Colorado Open was my first pro event, and I happened to win it. That was a huge springboard for my confidence and for the rest of my career.
Although he didn’t move to Colorado until he was 14, he says, “I immediately loved it. Love the people, love the weather—kind of everything about it. I’m still a rabid all-things-Colorado sports fan.”
Stadler was also a college standout at the University of Southern California, earning Pac-10 Conference Golfer of the Year honors and second-team All-American status in 2002. He also teamed with Craig to win the nationally televised Father-Son Championship that same year.
In all, Kevin Stadler has competed in 319 PGA Tour events, with one win, two runner ups and eight top-5 finishes. He’s won almost $9.8 million on that circuit. In 2014, he and Craig became the first father and son to compete in the same Masters, with Kevin tying for eighth place.
But just as he was near the peak of his career, Stadler broke his left hand in November 2014 at the HSBC Champions in China. Eventually, he underwent many surgeries to deal with the injury. In recent years, he’s competed minimally.
“Realization kind of hit me hard the last couple of years that I just really don’t have what it takes to compete at that high level anymore,” he said. “The handful of years I sat out with an injury, I just never regained the form that I know I have inside me.”
But by the time he becomes eligible for the PGA Tour Champions in 2030, he may well find it.
