Six Golfers Earn Titles at 2025 Cascata Amateur
LAS VEGAS, NV (Aug. 24, 2025)–Matt Mitchell (Championship), Kelly Knievel (Senior) and Steve Fink (Silver) won gross titles in the 2025 Cascata Amateur. Ryan Purdy (Net), James Kim (Senior) and Loren Little (Silver) won net titles in the tournament held August 23-24, 2025, at Cascata Golf Club.—by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
The tournament used a Modified Stableford format. A double eagle was worth seven points, an eagle was worth five points, a birdie was worth three points, a par was worth two points, a bogey was worth one point and a double bogey or worse was worth zero points.
Championship
Matt Mitchell birdied three straight holes to open his final nine holes of the tournament en route to his fourth win in 2025–three individual titles and a team crown.
Mitchell’s birdie string came after his only non-point hole of the tournament, a double bogey on the eighth hole.
“I had a two-point lead after the first day over Drake (Harvey) but I had a couple of bad holes to start today,” he said. “But then I made a good string of birdies to get back into it.”
He said despite the start, he was still confident.
“There was no panic,” he said. “You’ve just got to put the bad shots out of your mind and try to hit the best shot you can with the shot you have in front of you.”
He added his play on the greens was also key.
“I putted pretty well,” he said. “That helped me overcome some bad tee shots.”
He said his first day play was solid…and important.
“I played well and gave myself a little advantage,” he said. “And I wound up needing that because Drake kept the pressure on. The same thing happened at Reflection Bay. I had a little bit of a lead and he kept coming back. You just have to keep making birdies because you know there’s a chance he’s going to make birdies.”
Championship
Matt Mitchell, 43-36—79 points
Drake Harvey, 41-35—76
Heath Harvey, 33-41—74
Net
Ryan Purdy posted 39 points on the final day and won the Net title in a scorecard playoff over Chris Price.
It was Purdy’s third SNGA title…all of them coming at Cascata.
“It’s kind of weird…having won three times and all of them at Cascata,” Purdy said. “I just feel comfortable out there and the course suits the way I play.”
He said the 10-point difference in the two days was simple to explain.
“I hit more fairways and greens and more putts dropped,” he said. “And I stayed out of trouble.”
He added beating Price in a scorecard playoff was bittersweet.
“We were sitting in the clubhouse and no one really knew,” he said. “Chris and I play all the time and kudos to him for playing so well. But, it was nice to get the bragging rights.”
Purdy also said the SNGA deserves a lot of credit.
“I’ve lived in a lot of places and played golf my whole life,” he said. “The SNGA is just top-notch…the whole crew. It’s impressive how well they run the events and the great courses we get to play. We are really lucky.”
Net
x-Ryan Purdy, 29-39—68 points
Chris Price, 31-37—68
Robert Taylor, 28-39—67
x-Won scorecard playoff
Senior
Kelly Knievel won for the second time in 2025 (the other win was a Net title) as he won the Senior title by two points.
Knievel relied on consistency as he put 21 pars on the scorecard over the two days which were good for two points each.
Knievel was quick to point out the benefit of his win.
“I get to go back to the Tournament of Champions,” he said. “I missed it this year and I thought ‘what the hell.’ Now I get to play it again.”
Knievel is coming off a victory as he won the Montana State Amateur Senior Championship two weeks ago.
Now, he’s heading back to Montana for a Labor Day tournament.
“It’s over 100 years old,” he said. “My two sisters live there (in Butte). My mom lives there. I have a lot of high school friends there. It’s going to be a great time.”
At Cascata, Knievel said the play of Todd Roberts helped keep him focused.
“You can never count Todd out,” Knievel said. “He just keeps grinding. We were always within a couple of points.”
Senior
Kelly Knievel, 34-35—69 points
Todd Roberts, 32-36—68
John Turk, 31-34—65
Senior Net
James Kim put 39 points on the scorecard each day, including a net eagle the first day, in winning the Senior Net crown.
Kim said it’s nice to be back in the winner’s circle after a previous one-day tournament victory.
“It’s been five years since I won the Net,” he said. “The key is I need to hit it straight and work on ball-flight. If I do that, the score is lower.”
Kim said he finally had a breakthrough round.
“Cascata is hard,” he said. “I’ve been shooting over 80 there for a long time and I finally shot under 80.”
Now there’s a new goal.
“I want to keep the swing consistent and the gross champ is my next goal,” he said.
Senior Net
James Kim, 39-39—78 points
Mike Haas, 35-37—72
Marty Pena, 38-34—72
Silver
Steve Fink held on for a two-point victory in the Silver Division, winning for the fourth time in 2025.
Fink was cruising along before a bogey-double bogey-bogey three-hole stretch saw his lead dwindle to just two points. He parred his final hole for three points to secure the victory.
“I tried very hard to lose it,” Fink said. “I just didn’t hit the ball very well but I grinded it out.”
Fink said his ball-striking isn’t on par.
“I’m kind of dumb-founded by my ball striking…it’s pretty bad,” he said. “But my chipping and putting came through and I’m pleased with that.”
He said playing at Cascata was part of the reason for the victory.
“I’ve had a lot of success out here,” he said. “A long time ago I won the State Match Play out here in 2011…but I hit the ball much better back then when I was younger.”
He said the course always brings out the best in players.
“It’s always challenging and it’s just a great facility,” he said. “It really makes you focus on every shot.”
Silver
Steve Fink, 35-33—68 points
John Steele, 30-36—66
Scott Wandro, 33-33—66
Silver Net
Loren Little rallied from six shots back to win the Silver Net title by one point.
Little finished his second round with a net birdie on his 17th hole and a net eagle on his final tournament hole to complete the rally.
“I made about a 40-or-50 footer on our last hole (No. 9) for a net eagle and that wound up being the difference,” he said.
He said winning was not in his mindset heading into the tournament.
“I didn’t win a tournament last year and the last couple of tournaments I played in I think I came in last,” he said. “This time I was just trying not to come in last.”
To that end, he went to work on his game.
“I tried to change a few things…like my swing,” he said with a laugh. “In the end, I just kind of lucked out. It really is nice to win again because it’s my first one this year.”
Silver Net
Loren Little, 34-42—76 points
Chris Boyer, 37-38—75
Brent Bingham, 40-31—71
