In the 29th annual Terra Cotta Invitational over the weekend, Luke Colton became the second player ever to win in back-to-back years. The 17-year-old from Frisco, Texas, shot 69-65-68 (-14) to win the tournament by eight strokes at Naples National Golf Club.
“It’s one of my favorite courses and events of the year, so it’s really special to get it two years in a row,” said Colton, who joined Caleb Surratt (2021, 2022) as a repeat Terra Cotta champion.
Colton, who has verbally committed to Vanderbilt University, topped a 75-player field that included 52 juniors, 11 mid-amateurs, seven collegiate players, three other amateurs (18-25 years old and not in college) and two seniors. Of the 52 juniors, 39 were in the top 50 of the Rolex American Junior Golf Association Rankings. Colton was No. 3.
“It’s great to be able to test your game out against some of the best juniors and amateurs in the world,” Colton said. “I think it really proved to myself that I can compete with anybody.”
Colton entered the final round leading AJGA No. 4 Logan Reilly by three strokes and AJGA No. 1 Miles Russell by five. He expanded that lead to four with three straight birdies on the second, third and fourth holes and didn’t look back. Despite the lead, Colton said he didn’t change his Sunday game plan.
“It worked the first few days so I tried to keep the same game plan on all the holes and see where it took me,” Colton said.
“It’s great to be able to test your game out against some of the best juniors and amateurs in the world.”
Luke Colton
Reilly, who was paired with Colton in the final group, shot 68-69-73 (-6) and finished in a tie for second with Kihei Akina (72-68-70). Russell, who was also in the final group, shot 68-71-72 (-5) and finished fourth. The 16-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, continued his hot start to 2025 with his fourth top-five finish in four starts, including two AJGA victories.
Noah Kent, a University of Florida sophomore and Naples resident, shot 72-68-72 (-4) and finished T5. In his final round, he shot 4-over par on the front nine before battling back with four birdies and no bogeys on the back.
“I could’ve packed it in pretty easily and been like, ‘I’m playing in the Masters next week’ and could have shot a high number,” Kent said. “But to build off a 32 on the back is pretty good before I leave.”
Kent is in the midst of a busy stretch. The week before the Terra Cotta Invitational, he made his PGA Tour debut at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, missing the cut with rounds of 74-70. And after his Sunday round at Naples National, he boarded a plane to Augusta, Georgia, for the Masters. Kent earned his invitation as runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Amateur.
“It’s the best tournament in all of golf and to play it as a 20-year-old college kid is pretty crazy,” Kent said. “To have the opportunity to enjoy it and soak everything up will be pretty unbelievable.”
While Colton isn’t going to the Masters this year, his Terra Cotta victory earned him an invitation to the Northeast Amateur Invitational in June. In the meantime, Colton planned to celebrate with some food.
“I’m probably going to get Chipotle, catch a flight, get a good sleep and go back to school,” Colton said. “It’s life as usual after this.”
RESULTS
Everett Munez