Colorado State University sophomore Jake Staiano was in contention for an individual college title midway through Sunday’s final round of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., but a couple of hiccups on the back nine left him with a sixth-place finish.
Nevertheless, the golfer from Cherry Hills Village notched his third top-10 finish of the season, and he’s placed 11th and sixth in his last two starts.
Staiano, the 2013 CGA Junior Match Play champion who advanced to match play at the 2015 U.S. Amateur, shot rounds of 67-65-74 for a 7-under-par 206 total at the ASU Thunderbird, where he ended up six strokes behind champion Collin Morikawa of Cal.
Staiano (pictured) was 12 under par for the tournament through 45 holes, but two double bogeys on the back nine Sunday, when he shot a 5-over 42, spoiled his chances to make a run at the individual title.
As a team, CSU came into the last day in second place in the 16-team field, but finished seventh with a 4-under-par 848 total. Host Arizona State won with at 811.
ASU Thunderbird Invitational
March 18-19, 2017 (final) in Tempe, Ariz.
7. (out of 16 teams) Colorado State 276-274-298–848
6. Jake Staiano 67-65-74–206
27. Blake Cannon 68-71-74–213
37. Colton Yates 74-65-75–214
48. Max Oelfke 69-73-75–217
60. AJ Ott 72-74-75–221
Also
20. Coloradan Cole Nygren, Cal Poly 71-74-67–212
27. Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 72-69-72–213
