Colorado State men’s golf finished off the weekend with a second-place finish in the 2017 Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational on Sept. 8-10. The event was hosted by the Air Force Academy and was played at the par 72 Eisenhower Blue Course at USAFA, Colo.
CSU finished the tournament with a 24-under 840, second only behind the University of Wyoming who finished with a 29-under 835. The Rams finished ahead of in-state rival CU and defeated last year’s Mountain West Champion UNLV.
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Senior Max Oelfke was the highest placing Ram in the tournament shooting a 3- under 69 in the last round to finish as the runner-up behind John Murdock from Wyoming. Oelfke was 1-over at the turn but birdied the first four holes of the back nine to shoot a 4-under 32 for the side and post his third under-par round of the tournament.
“Max was great this weekend,” head coach Christian Newton said in a statement. “I’m pleased to see him continue his great play from the summer. His four birdies in a row came at a great time on the back nine.”
Colton Yates was the next Ram in the rankings, tying for seventh place with a 6-under 210. The senior recorded an even-par 72 in the final round to secure one of his career finishes.
Other Rams that performed well over the weekend were sophomore AJ Ott and junior Jake Staiano. Ott finished the weekend with his first collegiate top 10 finish, tying for tenth place with a 5-under 211. Staiano finished 17th at 3- under 213.
“AJ had a great event and has grown a lot in a year and this was a career best for him,” Newton said.
The Rams’ next tournament is the annual Ram Masters Invitational on Monday-Tuesday Sept. 18-19 at the Fort Collins Country Club. CSU enters the tournament as three-time defending champions after winning last year’s team title by seven shots.
Collegian sports reporter Evan Grant can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @EvanNGrant.