Getting to play two days of golf surrounded by friends, family and gorgeous green scenery is a nice consolation prize for Colorado State women’s golf.
Victory eluded CSU in its only home tournament of the season, the Ptarmigan Ram Classic. The Rams finished one above par through three rounds, falling short to Cal Poly, which finished 12 strokes under par, and UC Davis, which finished 20 strokes under par.
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Pemika Arphamongkol and Kara Kaneshiro were the Rams’ two highest finishers, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Arphamongkol shot five strokes under par, and Kaneshiro shot six strokes under par but finished her final round with no bogeys.
“It doesn’t happen too often, even with some of the tricky pins out there,” Kaneshiro said. “So it feels really good to have no bogeys — could have dropped a couple more putts, but overall, it was a good day.”
The one home tournament of the season is a nice break for the Rams, whose schedules are often filled with travel.
Even though the outcome wasn’t what the team hoped for, the ease of not having to travel is much appreciated.
“It’s definitely nice to sleep in our own beds,” Kaneshiro said. “But it’s also awesome because we know the course, we know we can play well, and so we just go out and have fun.”
Being able to get the rest that comes with not traveling is a nice little break for CSU.
“I agree that it’s good to be back home,” Arphamongkol said. “The hotel gives a different vibe, so I feel like we got the most rest out of all the tournaments.”
For a team as young as the Rams, being at home can help ground them and settle some nerves.
CSU had two first-year students, a sophomore and two seniors as part of its lineup on Tuesday. Senior Lacey Uchida finished four strokes above par, first-year Jacinda Lee finished eight strokes above par and first-year Ebba Thalen finished 18 strokes above par.
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Having those young players get the experience they have so far will be crucial for their development. In golf, coach Laura Cilek said they can practice a lot, but getting out there and playing is important to that development.
“When you’re practicing, it’s not the same as when you’re on the golf course,” Cilek said. “The pressure, all of that, just getting them in a tournament setting, in the lineup, feeling that pressure — the more they do it, the better they’re going to get.”
This was the 24rd installation of the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, something CSU has only won thrice in its history: in 2001, 2004 and 2023.
But not every school gets to have a home tournament, so no matter their finish, this one is special for the Rams.
“A lot of teams don’t ever host a home tournament,” Cilek said. “So we’re really lucky that we get to play at one of our home courses. … It’s like our one opportunity to play a home game.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
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