A day after the CSU men won the Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club (READ MORE), the CSU women wrapped up on Wednesday at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club.

In their first tournament under new head coach Laura Cilek, the Rams placed sixth out of 13 teams at Ptarmigan.

The Rams moved up one spot in the standings in Wednesday’s final round by shooting a 7-over-par 295 in round 3, giving them a 33-over 897 total. Boise State won the tournament at 879.

Haley Greb and Jessica Sloot, who recently teamed up to qualify in Colorado for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, led the way for the Rams by finishing 13th and 19th individually, respectively. (The two are pictured, with Greb at right.) Greb shot an even-par 72 on Wednesday to check in at 4-over 220, 10 strokes behind individual champion Tara Finigan of Boise State, which also captured the team title. Sloot ended up at 222 after closing with a 73.

The University of Northern Colorado, meanwhile, placed 12th at 914. Beah Cruz paced UNC by finishing 24th individually at 224.
 

Ptarmigan Ram Classic
Sept. 17-19, 2018 (final) at Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins
6. (out of 13 teams) Colorado State 305-297-295–897
13. Haley Greb 74-74-72–220
19. Jessica Sloot 75-74-73–222
27. Katrina Prendergast 78-71-76–225
51. Ellen Secor 78-79-74–231
62. Sydney Smith 81-78-77–236
Competing Only as Individual
28. Saga Traustadottir 80-76-70–226

12. Northern Colorado 309-304-301–914
24. Beah Cruz 72-76-76–224
33. Marisa Hisaki 80-73-74–227
39. Morgan Sahm 76-76-77–229
55. Nicole Polivchak 81-79-74–234
68. Aili Bundy 81-79-79–239
Competing Only as Individual
66. Jenna Chun 80-79-79–238

Others
44. Coloradan Erin Sargent, Wyoming 76-74-80–230
55. Coloradan Sarah Hankins, Wyoming 80-78-76–234

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

CSU has won the Ram Masters team title four consecutive years, and it appears primed to make it five in a row.

The Rams posted a stellar 14-under-par 266 total in round 2 on Monday afternoon at Fort Collins Country Club to open up an 11-stroke lead in the 17-team event.

CSU, which set a tournament record with a 17-under-par total in last year’s Ram Masters, is already at 13-under 547 with one round remaining. Illinois State checks in second at 558.

The University of Northern Colorado shares third place with South Dakota at 568, while the University of Denver is in seventh place at 573 after its first day of competition for the season.

CSU has four players in the top 11 in the 96-player field. Parathakorn Suyasri holds second place at 6-under-par 134, which leaves him one back of leader Dan Starzinski of Wyoming. Three Colorado residents are also in the top 11 for CSU: Jake Staiano (136, third place after a second-round 65); AJ Ott (138, seventh place) and freshman Davis Bryant (139, 11th place).

Ott and Staiano finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in last year’s Ram Masters.

Meanwhile, Joshua Matz is leading the way for UNC at 138 (seventh place), while Coloradan Coby Welch checked in at 139 (11th place).

Pacing DU individually is freshman Cal McCoy (142, 19th place), another Colorado resident.

Also in Fort Collins: The host CSU women, in their season opener, sit in 10th place out of 13 teams after Monday’s opening round of the Ptarmigan Ram Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. The Rams shot a 17-over-par 305 and trail leader Boise State by 12. Northern Colorado stands in 12th place at 309. Haley Greb is leading CSU individually (16th place, 74), while Beah Cruz shares sixth place at 72 for UNC.
 

RAM MASTERS INVITATIONAL
Sept. 17-18, 2018 at Par-70 Fort Collins CC
1. (out of 17 teams) Colorado State 281-266–547
2. Parathakorn Suyasri 68-66–134
3. Jake Staiano 71-65–136
7. AJ Ott 72-68–140
11. Davis Bryant 72-67–139
27. Cullen Plousha 72-71–143
Competing Only as Individual
27. Jack Ainscough 71-72–143
42. Andrew Lafferty 74-71–145
42. Oscar Teiffel 75-70–145
61. Akedanai Ponghathaikul 74-74–148

3. Northern Colorado 288-280–568
7. Joshua Matz 68-70–138
11. Coby Welch 72-67–139
49. Marcus Tait 77-69–146
55. Li Chen 73-74–147
85. Jack Castiglia 75-78–153

7. Denver 288-285–573
19. Cal McCoy 70-72–142
27. Jun Ho Won 74-69–143
42. Esteban Missura 72-73–145
42. Carson Griggs 74-71–145
55. Jackson Solem 72-75–147
Competing Only as Individual
27. Roy Kang 71-72–143
42. Eric Hagen 73-72–145
80. John Sand 75-77–152

Also
19. John Paterson, Colorado 74-68–142
61. Andre Leveque, Colorado 73-75–148

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

PTARMIGAN RAM CLASSIC
Sept. 17-19, 2018 at Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins
10. (out of 13 teams) Colorado State 305
16. Haley Greb 74
22. Jessica Sloot 75
41. Katrina Prendergast 78
41. Ellen Secor 78
60. Sydney Smith 81
Competing Only as Individual
55. Saga Traustadottir 80

12. Northern Colorado 309
6. Beah Cruz 72
27. Morgan Sahm 76
55. Marisa Hisaki 80
60. Nicole Polivchak 81
60. Aili Bundy 81
Competing Only as Individuals
55. Jenna Chun 80

Others
27. Coloradan Erin Sargent, Wyoming 76
55. Coloradan Sarah Hankins, Wyoming 80

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

It’s been an eventful last several months for the Colorado State University women’s golf team.

In May, CSU teammates Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor won the national title at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. In July, the Rams hired a new head coach, Laura Cilek. Last week, Prendergast led after the first two rounds of the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open and ended up finishing second while competing against a field comprised mainly of pros. And on Wednesday, for the third consecutive year in Colorado, a pair of CSU teammates earned medalist honors in the Colorado-based qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball.

And for the record, the college season hasn’t even begun.

CSU junior Jessica Sloot, from Fruit Heights, Utah, and sophomore teammate Haley Greb, from Pendleton, Ore., fired a 5-under-par 66 best-ball in Wednesday’s qualifying tournament at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Lakewood. That earned them the one available berth — out of an 11-team field — in the national Women’s Four-Ball, which will be played April 27-May 1 at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. (The qualifiers are pictured, with Sloot at left.)

The last two years in the Colorado-based qualifying tournament, Prendergast and Secor were the medalists. And, as noted, they went on to win the national title in May, which makes them exempt from qualifying for the 2019 championship.

“Knowing that they won this event last year kind of drives us a little bit because we’re so competitive,” said Sloot, who will be going to her fifth USGA championship (second Four-Ball to go with three U.S. Girls’ Juniors). “We want to be there and able to push them a little harder and try to give them some competition at the national level.”

Said Greb, a former 5A state high school champion in Oregon: “We compete all the time in practice with those two. You could maybe call us the underdog, but in our minds we’re not. It’ll be fun. Hopefully we get there and maybe even see them in the championship (match). That would be pretty cool.”

Another set of college teammates — the University of Denver’s Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch and Annie Heck from Eagan, Minn. (together at left) — finished a stroke behind the two Rams, at 67. It’ll be the second time Weinstein has been first alternate in a Colorado qualifying tournament for this event, as she also was in that role in 2015 with Jaclyn Murray. The first alternates from Colorado last year — Hailey Schalk and Charlotte Hillary — ended up landing a spot in the national championship in May.

Sloot and Greb shot a best-ball score of even-par 35 on the front nine on Wednesday, but kicked it into gear with an eagle by Greb on the 455-yard, par-5 10th hole. There, she hit a 4-iron from the rough to 8 feet and sank the putt.

“I’ve probably never hit that good of a 4-iron in my life before,” said Greb, who will be going to her first USGA national championship. “That helped our momentum going into the back nine because we only shot even on the front. We needed to get after the back and that definitely helped us get going. It led to a strong finish.”

Indeed, the CSU teammates shot a 5-under-par 31 on the back nine despite both bogeying the last hole after each driving a ball into the left hazard.

“I always thought, ‘We’re not playing well right now, but it’s going to turn around. We’re going to get after it,'” Greb said. “Once we had something happen. it seems so much easier after that.”

In addition to the eagle, they made four best-ball birdies, with Sloot sinking putts of 55 feet on No. 14 and of 45 feet on No. 17. Both putts hit the back of the cup, popped up in the air and fell in, meaning both would have rolled well past had they not gone in.

“After nine I said to (Greb), ‘We’ve got to go low on this back nine.’ And we did just that,” said Sloot (left), who previously played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball with Secor in 2016. “Us teammates, we’ve learned to ham and egg it really well. We play together all the time at practice, so playing with a teammate in this event helps out for sure.”
 

U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-71 Fox Hollow GC in Lakewood
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Haley Greb, Pendleton, Utah/Jessica Sloot, Fruit Heights, Utah 35-31–66
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Mary Weinstein, Highlands Ranch/Anni Heck, Eagan, Minn. 32-35–67
Paris Hilinski, La Quinta, Calif./Allyn Stephens, Houston 34-34–68

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.