After posting finishes of ninth and fifth place in Series events over the last seven months, the CU sophomore on Friday won the 112-player Saguaro Amateur at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.

Olkowski, a former Grand Junction resident who now lives in Las Vegas, carded rounds of 71-67-70 for an 8-under-par 208 total, good for a one-stroke victory over Sean Carlon of Albuquerque, N.M. In the final round, Olkowski made five birdies, giving him 16 for the three rounds. (Olkowski is pictured at left with Edwards in September at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, where the sophomore tied for first place but lost in a playoff.)

This week’s performance gave Olkowski the overall championship in the Troon Saguaro Amateur Series.

Olkowski was one of three players who grew up in Colorado to post top-10 finishes in the Saguaro Amateur on Friday. Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village, a senior at Colorado State, and Tyler Severin of Johnstown, a University of Wyoming freshman, tied for fourth place. Staiano, the 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, went 73-69-71 for a 3-under-par 213 total. He birdied two of his last three holes. Severin carded scores of 70-73-70 for his 213. He made the top five despite a 42 on the front nine on Thursday.
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For all the scores from the Saguaro Amateur, 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.
 

The former CGA Amateur and CGA Match Play champion from Littleton shot a 1-over-par 72 on Thursday at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, which puts him in 14th place in the 90-man field with one round remaining.

Korte (left) stands at 2-under-par 211, 11 strokes behind leader Isaiah Salinda of South San Francisco, who carded an impressive third-round 62.

One of the other two Coloradans in the field this week likewise made the 54-hole cut to the top 70 players and ties. Two-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Chris Thayer of Golden shares 69th place at 224. Meanwhile, Colorado State University golfer Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village, the 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year, missed the cut with a 232 total.

The three Coloradans combined to finish seventh on Tuesday in the 36-hole Morse Cup team competition, marking the state’s best showing in that 15-team event since 2012.

7. (out of 15 teams; team competition final after Tuesday) Colorado 145-142–287
14. Chris Korte, Littleton 70-69-72–211
69. Chris Thayer, Golden 77-73-74–224
Missed 54-Hole Cut
84. Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village 75-77-80–232

For all the scores from the Pacific Coast Amateur, CLICK HERE.

The CGA representatives placed seventh out of 15 teams Wednesday at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The Coloradans had been 10th each of the past four years in the Morse Cup, which features teams from the western U.S. and Canada.

With the top two scores from each team each day counting toward the team total, Colorado shot an even-par 142 on Wednesday, leaving it at 3-over 287 overall.

At 4-under 280, the Washington State Golf Association won the Morse Cup by one over Northern California.

While the Morse Cup has concluded, the individual competition at the Pacific Coast Am will continue through Friday.

Former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte, of Littleton, continues to be near the top of the scoreboard as a 2-under-par 69 on Wednesday put him in a tie for 10th place. The former CGA Amateur and CGA Match Play champion’s 3-under 139 total leaves him seven strokes behind leader Austin Eckroat of Edmond, Okla. (65-67).

Korte made four birdies and two bogeys on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Chris Thayer of Golden shares 71st place after going 77-73–150. And 2017 CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village is in 78th place (75-77–152).

7. (out of 15 teams) Colorado 145-142–287
10. Chris Korte, Littleton 70-69–139
71. Chris Thayer, Golden 77-73–150
78. Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village 75-77–152

For all the scores from the Pacific Coast Amateur, CLICK HERE.

The team representing the CGA posted a 3-over-par 145 total, leaving the Coloradans eight strokes behind Alberta in the Morse Cup team competition, which runs the first two days of the Pacific Coast Am.

With the best two scores from each team each day counting toward the team total, Korte contributed a 1-under-par 70, and current Colorado State University golfer Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village a 75. Rounding out Colorado’s scores was the 77 by two-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Chris Thayer of Golden.

Colorado has placed 10th in each of the last four Morse Cup competitions, which features teams from the western U.S. and Canada.

After being 2 over par through 13 holes, Korte (left) birdied three of his last five to post the subpar round, which put him in a share of 14th place individually. Meanwhile, Staiano and Thayer each carded two birdies on Tuesday. Thayer’s score was derail by a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 294-yard seventh hole.

Austin Eckroat of Edmond, Okla., leads the individual competition with a 6-under-par 65. 

The top three-ranked men’s amateurs in the world are in the field — Braden Thornberry (71), Justin Suh (71) and Collin Morikawa (72).

The individual competition will continue through Friday.

6. (out of 15 teams) Colorado 145
14. Chris Korte, Littleton 70
63. Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village 75
79. Chris Thayer, Golden 77

For all the scores from the Pacific Coast Amateur, CLICK HERE.

After all, the field includes the top three players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings — Braden Thornberry (1), Justin Suh (2) and Collin Morikawa (3) — and roughly 30 percent of the top 100.

In addition, the 52nd annual Pac Coast will be contested July 24-27 at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course (left) in San Francisco, which has hosted five U.S. Opens, most recently in 2012.

Besides being a 72-hole stroke play event for participating individuals, the first two rounds will include the 36-hole Morse Cup, in which 15 teams from the western U.S. and Canada will vie for the title. The best two individual scores each day will count toward the team total. The Colorado team has finished 10th each of the last four years in the Morse Cup and has never captured the title.

Representing Colorado next week in the 90-player event will be Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village, Chris Korte of Littleton and Chris Thayer of Golden. It will be the second Pacific Coast Amateur for Korte, who also played in 2016, and the first for both Staiano and Thayer.

Staiano, a senior-to-be on the Colorado State University golf team, was the CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year in 2017. Staiano finished eighth in last year’s CoBank Colorado Open, capturing low-amateur honors. He’s competed in two U.S. Amateurs, in 2015 and ’17. He went to the quarterfinals of last month’s CGA Match Play.

Korte, who recently wrapped up his college career at the University of Denver, has won both the CGA Amateur (2016) and Match Play (2017). He made it to the quarterfinals of this year’s Match Play.

Thayer, the lone mid-amateur on this year’s Colorado team, has won two of the last four CGA Mid-Amateurs (2014 and ’17) and was runner-up the two years in between. He’s been the CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year three years running (2015, ’16 and ’17).

For Tuesday’s first-round pairings at the Pacific Coast Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Having Pebble Beach Golf Links in the Monterey area of California serve as host will do that. And Spyglass Hill as the second stroke-play course isn’t bad either.

Pebble Beach GL, which will be home to the 2019 U.S. Open, will do the honors for the U.S. Am Aug. 13-19.

Two qualifying tournaments in Colorado will fill six spots in the 312-man international field. Fort Collins Country Club (on Monday, July 2) and Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley (July 16) will hold 36-hole qualifiers, with the top three finishers at each site earning trips to “Pebble”. The qualifying fields number 83 at Fort Collins and 84 at Columbine.

Three golfers who qualified for the 2017 U.S. Am will be back hoping for a return trip: Colorado State University players AJ Ott and Jake Staiano, along with the University of Northern Colorado’s Li Chen — all of whom are in the field at Fort Collins CC.

Ott, winner of the CGA Match Play last week, finished a stroke out of a playoff for the final match play spots at last year’s U.S. Am. Staiano also went to the U.S. Amateur in 2015. Chen was the medalist in qualifying at Fort Collins CC last year.

Two former CGA Players of the Year will be competing in Fort Collins: Staiano (2017) and Kyler Dunkle (2016). Another, Michael Harrington (2014), will be at Columbine.

Among the others competing Monday will be 2017 CGA Match Play champ Chris Korte, 2018 Match Play runner-up Ross Macdonald; 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year Davis Bryant, who was first alternate in U.S. Am qualifying in Fort Collins last year; 2016 CGA Amateur winner Colin Prater; and Hunter Paugh, who won a 5A state high school title at Fort Collins CC.

The competitors at Columbine, in addition to Harrington, will include three-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Jon Lindstrom, two-time U.S. Open Sectional qualifier Josh Seiple and 2012 CGA Match Play champion Brian Dorfman.

For tee times at Fort Collins CC, CLICK HERE.

For tee times at Columbine CC, CLICK HERE.

Korte, who just graduated from the University of Denver, was one of two former champions to win two matches on Wednesday and earn quarterfinal berths in the CGA’s oldest championship. Likewise advancing was 2012 champion Brian Dorfman of Cherry Creek Country Club.

Korte (left) defeated 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater of The Broadmoor Golf Club 3 and 1 in the round of 16. The former DU golfer made an eagle, seven birdies and nine pars in the 17 holes of a match in which he never trailed.

Meanwhile, Dorfman was 2 down to former University of Colorado golfer Brennan Dolan of Walnut Creek Golf Preserve through 15 holes, but won three of the last four to prevail in 19 holes in the round of 16. Earlier in the day, Dolan had beaten another former champion, 2015 winner Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course, 2 up.

Joining Korte and Dorfman in the quarterfinals will be Colorado State University teammates AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club and Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club; stroke-play medalist Jackson Solem of The Fox Hill Club, a DU teammate of Korte last season; University of Colorado golfer Ross Macdonald of the Country Club at Castle Pines; former CSU-Pueblo golfer Jake Ice of Walking Stick Golf Course; and Josh Hill of Guilford College and the Omni Interlocken Resort.

In Thursday’s quarterfinals, Korte will face Macdonald, Staiano will play Hill, Solem will take on Dorfman, and Ott will meet Ice. Then the semifinals await on Thursday afternoon, setting the stage for Friday’s 36-hole final.

For results from the CGA Match Play, CLICK HERE.

Jackson Solem of The Fox Hill Club, a University of Denver golfer, earned medalist honors with a 7-under-par 64 after an eight-birdie, one-bogey day. Solem, who made the match play round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur, will be the No. 2 seed in the match-play bracket, behind defending champion Chris Korte, who recently graduate from DU. Korte shot a 74 on Monday.

Colorado State University golfer AJ Ott of Ptarmigan Country Club finished second in Monday’s qualifying, shooting a 65. Another CSU Ram, 2017 CGA Player of the Year Jake Staiano of Glenmoor Country Club, carded a 67 for third place in stroke play.

Among the five players who posted a 68 was 2015 CGA Match Play champion Nick Nosewicz of Meadow Hills Golf Course. Another former champion, 2012 winner Brian Dorfman of Cherry Creek Country Club, also broke 70, with a 69.

In all, 64 players will advance to match play, which begins on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday will each feature two rounds of matches, setting the stage for Friday’s 36-hole final.

The golfers who shot 79 on Monday played off for the final spot in the match-play bracket, with Blake Schneiter earning the final berth.

Ravenna is hosting the CGA Match Play — the CGA’s oldest championship — for the second straight year, marking the first time the championship has been held at the same site in consecutive years since 2000-01.

For all the scores from Monday, CLICK HERE.

For the round-of-64 matchups, CLICK HERE.

With the top five team finishers at NCAA Division I Regional tournaments advancing to the national finals, several locals were definitely in the mix to extend their season, though all fell short:

— Colorado State finished seventh in the Reunion, Fla., Regional, ending up just four strokes out of fifth place. The Rams, seeking their first berth in nationals since 2011, posted a three-day total of 16-under-par 848, but it wasn’t good enough as Kent State secured the fifth and final spot (844) and Arizona placed sixth (846). Junior Jake Staiano, the 2017 CGA Player of the Year, and senior Max Oelfke led the way for CSU individually, tying for 14th at 4-under-par 212.

— The University of Colorado also recorded a seventh-place showing, in its case out of 13 teams at the Stockton, Calif. Regional. The Buffs finished 10 strokes behind fifth-place Oregon, CU’s Pac-12 opponent which was tied with the Buffs entering the final day. The showing was CU’s second-best at Regionals since the Buffs finished 10th out of 27 teams in 2002 and last advanced a team to the NCAA Finals (CU was sixth out of 14 teams in the 2015 Regionals). Colorado finished at 2-under-par 862 for three rounds. Buffs senior Yannik Paul paced the team individually in his college finale, placing 12th at 4-under-par 212. Paul set a CU record for single-season stroke average, with 70.24. Kansas, coached by former CSU coach Jamie Bermel, won the regional title by one stroke over Stanford.

— Junior Josh Seiple, a junior from Colorado who plays for Ole Miss, fell just short of returning to the NCAA Finals. His Mississippi team finished sixth in the team competition at the Bryan, Texas Regional, three strokes behind fifth-place Kentucky. Individually, Seiple placed 57th (74-73-80–227).

Meanwhile, the University of Northern Colorado finished 10th out of 13 teams in the Bryan Regional, UNC’s first regional appearance since 2014. The Bears recorded a 30-over-par 894 total, ending up 20 strokes out of fifth place. Big Sky Conference Player of the Year Joshua Matz led the Bears individually by placing 19th at 1-over-par 217.

 In addition to the top five team finishers, the top individual not on one of those teams from each regional advances to the NCAA Finals, set for May 25-30 in Stillwater, Okla.

Men’s NCAA Division I Regionals

May 14-16, 2018 (final) in Stockton, Calif.
7. (out of 13 teams) Colorado 290-282-290–862
12. Yannik Paul 71-69-72–212
16. Daniel O’Loughlin 73-69-71–213
19. Spencer Painton 71-70-73–214
67. John Souza 75-74-77–226
72. Ross Macdonald 75-80-74–229

May 14-16, 2018 (final) in Reunion, Fla.
7. (out of 14 teams) Colorado State 288-277-283–848
14. Jake Staiano 71-68-73–212
14. Max Oelfke 73-70-69–212
39. AJ Ott 71-75-70–216
39. Jack Ainscough 76-68-72–216
39. Parathakorn Suyasri 73-71-72–216

May 14-16, 2018 (final) in Bryan, Texas
10. (out of 13 teams) Northern Colorado 306-287-301–894
19. Joshua Matz 71-75-71–217
50. Andrew Romano 79-70-76–225
50. Coby Welch 78-73-74–225
67. Li Chen 78-69-85–232
75. Marcus Tait 84-83-80–247
Also
57. Coloradan Josh Seiple, Mississippi 74-73-80–227

May 14-16, 2018 (final) in Norman, Okla.
50. Chris Korte, Denver (competing only as individual) 76-70-78–224