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 Colorado State University golfer shot a 3-over-par 73 at Riviera Country Club — a PGA Tour venue — and shares 97th place out of 312 competitors at the halfway point of the stroke-play portion of the championship.

The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s male player of the year in 2016, Ott made two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on Monday.

Only the top 64 players after Tuesday’s second round of stroke play will advance to match play, which begins on Wednesday. After Monday’s opening round, the 64th position fell at 2 over par.

Meanwhile, former University of Colorado golfer Kenny Coakley started with a 75, good for 152nd place. The rest of the local contingent shook out this way: CSU golfer Jake Staiano, CU player John Souza and the University of Northern Colorado’s Li Chen all had 77s, leaving them in 212th place; and Steve Irwin of Arvada and incoming CSU golfer Parathakorn Suyasri carded 79s for a share of 262nd place.

University of Oregon golfer Norman Xiong, of San Diego, Oklahoma State’s Hayden Wood, of Edmond, Okla., and Virginia Tech’s Mark Lawrence Jr., of Richmond, Va., shot 6-under-par 64s to lead the way after Monday.

Players will switch courses for the second round — going from Riviera to Bel-Air Country Club or vice-versa.

U.S. Amateur
In Pacific Palisades, Calif.
97. AJ Ott of Fort Collins 73 (Riviera)
152. Former CU golfer Kenny Coakley 75 (Riviera)
212. Jake Staiano of Cherry Hills Village 77 (Riviera)
212. Li Chen of Broomfield 77 (Riviera)
212. CU golfer John Souza 77 (Bel-Air)
262. Steve Irwin of Arvada 79 (Riviera)
262. CSU golfer Parathakorn Suyasri 79 (Bel-Air)

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
 

Fifty years to the month after Columbine Country Club hosted the PGA Championship, Coloradan Jake Staiano, Colorado State University teammate Parathakorn Suyasri of Thailand, and UCLA golfer Cole Madey from West Linn, Ore., had reason to celebrate at the club on Monday.

The three qualified for the U.S. Amateur by setting the standard over 36 holes in a tournament field that originally numbered 83.

Suyasri, who turned 17 years old on Monday and will begin his CSU golf career in September, earned medalist honors by posting rounds of 67-68 for a 9-under-par 135 total at Columbine. Staiano went 66-71 and birdied the final hole from 8 feet to land the second spot at 137. And Madey, who just won the Oregon Amateur Championship, carded scores of 68-70 for a 138 total, then prevailed in a playoff against Henrik Olsson of Austin, Texas, a Southern Methodist University golfer who went 70-68.

Staiano (left) particularly relished earning a berth on Monday as it’ll be his second time around at the U.S. Am. Two years ago, as an 18-year-old, he tied for eighth place out of 312 golfers in stroke play, beating current PGA Tour players Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau (who claimed that U.S. Am title in match play) and 2017 NCAA champion Braden Thornberry in the medal-play portion of the championship. After a rough draw, the CSU golfer then bowed out in the first round of match play to Sam Horsfield of England, who was the No. 3-ranked amateur in the world before turning pro in May.

“It means a lot” to go the U.S. Am a second time, said Staiano, a junior-to-be at CSU. “It was a great experience (in 2015). Just having that experience under your belt is always key. I know what it takes to get into match play. If I can do that again, then I’ll see if I can make something special happen.”

What did Staiano take from the U.S. Am two years ago?

“Just the fact that I can play with the best players in the world. I beat Jon Rahm in the stroke-play portion, I beat DeChambeau in the stroke play. I beat a bunch of the top 20-30 players in the world. That sort of stands out and gives me confidence that I can compete with these guys and beat these guys, which is always good to feel.”

For Suyasri, Staiano and Madey, their U.S. Amateur berths will take them to Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., for the U.S. Amateur, which is set for Aug. 14-20. While it’ll be the second U.S. Am for the 20-year-old Staiano, it’ll be the debut for both Suyasri and Madey. Madey’s UCLA golf team plays frequently at Riviera and at Bel-Air Country Club, the compansion course for stroke play for next month’s U.S. Am. In fact, his college apartment is right across the street from Bel-Air CC.

“Especially with the U.S. Am at my home course, it’s pretty special,” Madey said.

On Monday at Columbine, after Madey made a 10-foot par putt on the first hole of sudden death, the 20-year-old hit a wedge on the second extra hole, the par-4 18th, from 81 yards to 6 inches from the cup and tapped in the birdie to advance. Olsson, whose approach shot from the right rough hit a tree but still managed to finish 30 feet behind the pin, left his birdie putt short and will be the first alternate from the Columbine site.

Zachary Zurcher of Parker, who made a hole-in-one on the 186-yard seventh hole in the afternoon, landed the second alternate spot at 140 after rounds of 73-67.

But it was Suyasri, on his 17th birthday, that really thrived on Monday. He finished the day with an eagle, 10 birdies and three bogeys over the two rounds. (Suyasri is pictured at left with Staiano.)

“My putting went well today,” he said. “It was really good today. My putting is bad one day, then another it’s really good. This was my (good) day.”

The Thai golfer is no stranger to playing well in big events as he’s posted two top-30 finishes in Asian Tour pro tournaments this year — as a then-16-year-old. He also won the 11-12 age division of the IMG Academy Junior World Championships — arguably one of the top two junior tournaments in the world — in 2012. But this will be his first U.S. Amateur. In fact, it will be his first USGA championship of any sort.

“I’m pretty excited because it’s my first time there,” said the lanky teenager. “I’ll try to do my best.”

As for his new CSU teammate Staiano, he was extra determined to earn a U.S. Amateur berth after missing out last year at Columbine, where he was in contention for a national spot until going triple bogey-double bogey on Nos. 5-6 — two par-4s under 350 yards — in the second round.

This time around, he wasn’t going to be caught unprepared, so Staiano played Columbine roughly a half-dozen times in the weeks leading up to Monday’s qualifier. The extra preparation paid dividends as he racked up a dozen birdies, offset by five bogeys.

“Playing it that much really helped me feel comfortable, especially with the tee shots,” Staiano said. “To do well on this course, I think you need to play it pretty aggressive off the tee. I hit drivers on holes where my playing competitor hit 4-iron.

“I was really determined to get back, especially after what happened last year.”

For Staiano, it will be his third USGA championship. Besides the two U.S. Ams, he went to the 2014 U.S. Junior Am, where he also made match play. He’s also advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying twice.

As for Madey (left), he’s been on a roll of late. As a UCLA sophomore, he finished ninth in the Pac-12 Championship tournament at Boulder Country Club at the end of April, then earned honorable mention all-conference honors. And last week, he won the Oregon Amateur on his home course in West Linn. And now, the U.S. Amateur awaits him.

He qualified at Columbine despite just playing nine holes of practice on the course after flying in on Sunday morning. Madey, who couldn’t try to qualify for the U.S. Am in the Northwest because of tournament conflicts, carded nine birdies and three bogeys on the day.

“I had to gather myself on each shot because I don’t play at elevation (much) like most of the players here and I don’t know the course as well,” he said. For the Pac-12 tournament, “My (UCLA) coach made a card for us to help with the yardage differences from sea level to up here. I used that this week.”

A second Colorado-based U.S. Amateur qualifying tournament will be held July 13 at Fort Collins Country Club, where the top three finishers will advance to the national championship.
 

U.S. Amateur QualifyingӬ
At Par-72 Columbine CC in Columbine Valley
QUALIFIED FOR U.S. AM
Parathakorn Suyasri, Thailand 67-68–135
Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village 66-71–137
Cole Madey, West Linn, Oregon 68-70–138
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Henrik Olsson, Austin, Texas 70-68–138
Zachary Zurcher, Parker 73-67–140

For complete results, CLICK HERE.