Colorado University Athletics
Coach Les Fowler presenting Larry McAtee his first state match play trophy.
CU Golf Alum & 60’s Star Larry McAtee Passes Away
June 10, 2026 | Men's Golf, Alumni C Club
BOULDER – One of the best players in University of Colorado golf history, Larry McAtee, passed away this past Tuesday (June 9) after a long illness. He was 82.
A three-year letterman under coach Les Fowler between 1963 and 1966 (he redshirted in '65), he earned first-team All-Big Eight honors as a senior; while a Buffalo, he won three consecutive Colorado Match Play Championships (1963-64-65).
"We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Larry McAtee," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "Larry was a legend in Colorado golf history and a tremendous Buff with as good of an amateur, college, and junior golf career of as anyone in our state's history. He will be greatly missed."
But prior to CU, he had already built an impressive amateur resume.
He began playing golf at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Gene Root at Lakewood Country Club. The next 19 years took him all over the United States and parts of Europe after – at the age of 13 – he won the 1956 Lakewood Junior Club Championship. He successfully defended that title for the next four years.
In 1961, Larry was named the Colorado Junior Golfer of the Year by the Colorado Section of the PGA, which also named him Amateur of the Year in 1963. In-between, he accepted a scholarship from Fowler to play golf at CU and would team with Hale Irwin for two seasons as one of the top 1-2 punches in Buff annals.
The duo led the Buffs to a second place conference finish in 1966 – putting a scare into eight-time defending champion Oklahoma State. McAtee and Irwin were tied for medalist honors after two rounds and trailed OSU by just five shots before the Cowboys pulled away for a 10-stroke win. (Irwin closed with a 68 for a 2-under 208; OSU's Jim Hardy was in-between with a 1-over 211). The 1-3 individual finishes by Irwin and McAtee tied the previous best by CU in a league meet since 1948, and has not been matched since.
He would finish third with a 4-over par scorecard (71-69-74--214), six strokes back of Irwin, his junior teammate. It was his third Big Eight meet, with previous finishes of 20th and 15th, and he also played in two NCAA Championships, just the fourth Buff at the time to do so, with his best finish a tie 15th as a junior.
He and Irwin not only made noise collegiately, they did around the state.
"In those days, amateur golf in the state received major coverage," McAtee told the Denver Post in a 2013 article. "It was special. Hale and I were leading a trend that was indicating a takeover by younger golfers. While I was winning the match-play tournament, Hale was winning the stroke-play titles."
There was evidence to back up those thoughts. The two Buffaloes were consistently beating the state's veteran golf establishment – including their coach, one of the best amateurs in state history – and were causing the media to write about the young wave starting to take over the state's golf scene.
That sentiment was echoed in the writings of the Denver Post's Ralph Moore and the Rocky Mountain News' Dave Nelson. They referred to the '63 state events – McAtee's match play win and Irwin's 15-stroke romp in the stroke play – as "Custer's Last Stand" and "Changing of the Guard" as a tribute to the young core of golfers regularly beating the state's veteran golfers on a consistent basis.
"The state of Colorado and the world of golf have lost a man of great accomplishments and esteem," said Irwin. "Larry McAtee was a friend, a teammate, and a fellow competitor who always brought his "A" game and persona to everything he did. His golf successes are many and notable.
"But in my opinion he rose above all of that to serve his country as a naval aviator with distinction, after which he tried the professional golf tour," Irwin continued. "While that was not particularly successful, which many find it's not, Larry still distinguished himself by returning to the business community in Colorado. I have many pleasant and heartwarming memories of him and hope that his family and friends feel more inspired by his legacy than saddened by his passing. God speed, Larry!"
When McAtee graduated from CU in the spring of 1966, he had originally was drafted and was supposed to join the Army and to fight in Vietnam. But instead, he pursued another dream -- he agreed to a five-year commitment to the Navy and became an officer and a pilot. In July 1968, McAtee got his "wings of gold" to fly F-8 Crusader fighter jets.
"I wanted to serve my country and fly jets," McAtee also told the Post. He served most of his time in the military as a flight instructor.
Though his golf bag was always close -- he accumulated numerous base, district and regional military championships – including becoming the world-wide All-Navy champion in 1967, 1969 and 1970. In 1970, he was Interservice champion, meaning the top golfer, world-wide, in the U.S. armed forces. Along the way, he set competitive course records at several golf clubs around the country.
In 1972, McAtee returned to Colorado to win a fourth CGA Match Play title – making him the first four-time winner since Larry Bromfield won eight between 1912 and 1928 – and only equaled once since, by former Buff Mark Crabtree in the 90's.
After retiring from the Navy, a bout with mononucleosis first derailed his shot at earning his PGA Tour card; he tried twice more before moving on to take over the family business, Mr. Mack of Neusteter's, a downtown Denver beauty salon his father started.
He was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1992, the same year head was inducted to the CU's Golf Hall of Fame.
He was born on August 5, 1943, in Denver, and graduated from Wheat Ridge High School. One of his favorite hobbies was teaching golf to youngsters, stressing honesty and patience, until in recent years he had been battling Parkinson's Disease.
He is survived by two sisters, Peggy Parella and Trish York.
Any services or memorials are in the planning stages and will be announced at a later date.
Previous stories in the Denver Post and by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame contributed to this story.
A three-year letterman under coach Les Fowler between 1963 and 1966 (he redshirted in '65), he earned first-team All-Big Eight honors as a senior; while a Buffalo, he won three consecutive Colorado Match Play Championships (1963-64-65).
"We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Larry McAtee," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "Larry was a legend in Colorado golf history and a tremendous Buff with as good of an amateur, college, and junior golf career of as anyone in our state's history. He will be greatly missed."
But prior to CU, he had already built an impressive amateur resume.
He began playing golf at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Gene Root at Lakewood Country Club. The next 19 years took him all over the United States and parts of Europe after – at the age of 13 – he won the 1956 Lakewood Junior Club Championship. He successfully defended that title for the next four years.
In 1961, Larry was named the Colorado Junior Golfer of the Year by the Colorado Section of the PGA, which also named him Amateur of the Year in 1963. In-between, he accepted a scholarship from Fowler to play golf at CU and would team with Hale Irwin for two seasons as one of the top 1-2 punches in Buff annals.
The duo led the Buffs to a second place conference finish in 1966 – putting a scare into eight-time defending champion Oklahoma State. McAtee and Irwin were tied for medalist honors after two rounds and trailed OSU by just five shots before the Cowboys pulled away for a 10-stroke win. (Irwin closed with a 68 for a 2-under 208; OSU's Jim Hardy was in-between with a 1-over 211). The 1-3 individual finishes by Irwin and McAtee tied the previous best by CU in a league meet since 1948, and has not been matched since.
He would finish third with a 4-over par scorecard (71-69-74--214), six strokes back of Irwin, his junior teammate. It was his third Big Eight meet, with previous finishes of 20th and 15th, and he also played in two NCAA Championships, just the fourth Buff at the time to do so, with his best finish a tie 15th as a junior.
He and Irwin not only made noise collegiately, they did around the state.
"In those days, amateur golf in the state received major coverage," McAtee told the Denver Post in a 2013 article. "It was special. Hale and I were leading a trend that was indicating a takeover by younger golfers. While I was winning the match-play tournament, Hale was winning the stroke-play titles."
There was evidence to back up those thoughts. The two Buffaloes were consistently beating the state's veteran golf establishment – including their coach, one of the best amateurs in state history – and were causing the media to write about the young wave starting to take over the state's golf scene.
That sentiment was echoed in the writings of the Denver Post's Ralph Moore and the Rocky Mountain News' Dave Nelson. They referred to the '63 state events – McAtee's match play win and Irwin's 15-stroke romp in the stroke play – as "Custer's Last Stand" and "Changing of the Guard" as a tribute to the young core of golfers regularly beating the state's veteran golfers on a consistent basis.
"The state of Colorado and the world of golf have lost a man of great accomplishments and esteem," said Irwin. "Larry McAtee was a friend, a teammate, and a fellow competitor who always brought his "A" game and persona to everything he did. His golf successes are many and notable.
"But in my opinion he rose above all of that to serve his country as a naval aviator with distinction, after which he tried the professional golf tour," Irwin continued. "While that was not particularly successful, which many find it's not, Larry still distinguished himself by returning to the business community in Colorado. I have many pleasant and heartwarming memories of him and hope that his family and friends feel more inspired by his legacy than saddened by his passing. God speed, Larry!"
When McAtee graduated from CU in the spring of 1966, he had originally was drafted and was supposed to join the Army and to fight in Vietnam. But instead, he pursued another dream -- he agreed to a five-year commitment to the Navy and became an officer and a pilot. In July 1968, McAtee got his "wings of gold" to fly F-8 Crusader fighter jets.
"I wanted to serve my country and fly jets," McAtee also told the Post. He served most of his time in the military as a flight instructor.
Though his golf bag was always close -- he accumulated numerous base, district and regional military championships – including becoming the world-wide All-Navy champion in 1967, 1969 and 1970. In 1970, he was Interservice champion, meaning the top golfer, world-wide, in the U.S. armed forces. Along the way, he set competitive course records at several golf clubs around the country.
In 1972, McAtee returned to Colorado to win a fourth CGA Match Play title – making him the first four-time winner since Larry Bromfield won eight between 1912 and 1928 – and only equaled once since, by former Buff Mark Crabtree in the 90's.
After retiring from the Navy, a bout with mononucleosis first derailed his shot at earning his PGA Tour card; he tried twice more before moving on to take over the family business, Mr. Mack of Neusteter's, a downtown Denver beauty salon his father started.
He was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1992, the same year head was inducted to the CU's Golf Hall of Fame.
He was born on August 5, 1943, in Denver, and graduated from Wheat Ridge High School. One of his favorite hobbies was teaching golf to youngsters, stressing honesty and patience, until in recent years he had been battling Parkinson's Disease.
He is survived by two sisters, Peggy Parella and Trish York.
Any services or memorials are in the planning stages and will be announced at a later date.
Previous stories in the Denver Post and by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame contributed to this story.
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