Colorado State men’s golf coach Christian Newton called it an “outlier” — in this case a very positive outlier that paved the way for the Rams’ second team victory of the young season.
Kyler Dunkle, a redshirt freshman from Larkspur, shot a competitive course-record 7-under-par 63 Monday at Fort Collins Country Club that set the tone for the Rams’ second consecuctive victory in the Ram Masters Invitational event they host.
To put the performance into perspective, the 63 was the lowest single-round score at this week’s tournament — by three strokes.
“I can’t say enough about the 63 yesterday,” Newton said on Tuesday. “Sometimes when you shoot such an outlier of a round, you give yourself a five- or six-shot (team) cushion before the thing even starts. There’s so much parity in these things; it’s going to be close no matter what. We were able to ride (that cushion) the whole time. It was awesome, one of the best rounds I’ve ever seen.”
In finishing fourth on Tuesday, Dunkle, a former Colorado 5A state high school champion, posted his second individual top-10 in two events this season. He was seventh on Sept. 13 at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
“I was in about as good of a rhythm as I can find that first round (at Fort Collins CC),” he said. “It was really cool. During a tournament setting, this is a hard course to play.”
But sometimes not so much for Dunkle (left). In July, he shot consecutive rounds of 69 at FCCC to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. And in intra-team qualifiers held leading up to the season, he went 65-67-64 in three straight rounds at the club for a 14-under par total.
“That stretch of three days was the best I’ve ever played in my life,” said Dunkle, who also this summer shot a 59 in a casual round at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Silver Course. “For me this course sets up really well. I love this place.”
Dunkle, who posted an even-par 210 total for three rounds, is one of three Coloradans on the CSU roster, and all three of them placed in the top 20 Tuesday out of a field of 88. Jake Staiano (left), a true freshman from Cherry Hills Village, ended up eighth (212) and junior Jimmy Makloski from Pueblo checked in at 19th (218).
“When I got here it really was a priority to recruit those guys and feel like you get the best one (in the state) every year,” said Newton, now in his fourth season at CSU. “I feel like we’ve done that and are continuing to do that. It’s great to see them play like I thought they could when I recruited them. It’s really awesome.”
Another Coloradan, sophomore Chris Korte from the University of Denver, who last month won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, also cracked the top 20 on Tuesday, finishing 12th at 216.
Ben Welle, who plays at Kansas for former CSU head coach Jamie Bermel, claimed the individual title at 4-under-par 206.
All told, Colorado State not only won the team title but put seven of its nine players in the top 20 individually. Senior Dominic Kieffer (left) and sophomore teammate Max Oelfke (below) tied for second place at 208. A week after finishing third at the Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club, Kieffer notched another top-three showing on Tuesday.
Staiano, who advanced to match play last month at the U.S. Amateur, was playing strictly as an individual at the Ram Masters Invitational, but had a strong showing in just his second college event, going 75-68-69–212. He made 11 birdies combined in the last two rounds.
“Obviously I had a good showing at the (U.S.) Am and I came up here and I think I put a little too much pressure on myself,” he said. “I haven’t been playing my best golf since I’ve been up here, but I finally got it going the last two rounds. I was really happy with how I fought back. I played my game for once, which felt good.”
As a team, the Rams fended off Kansas and finished at 1-under-par 839 for three rounds, winning by 10. DU (890) placed eighth, Air Force (894) 10th and Northern Colorado (899) 13th.
This after CSU won the Falcon Invitational by three over the University of Colorado on Sept. 13.
“To start out back-to-back is awesome,” said Newton, who this month has notched his third and fourth victories as a head coach, with three of the four having come in Colorado. “We’re in a good place right now.”
Staiano noted that he hasn’t shot higher than 74 in qualifying, but still hasn’t cracked CSU’s top five, which shows the Rams’ depth.
“I think we have something pretty special,” he said. “It’s just fun to be around a winning atmosphere. Our first qualifier, (Dunkle) shot 14 under (for three rounds). Obviously that’s going to make me a better player too. That’s the best part.”
Added Dunkle: “All of us are working our tails off and it’s finally starting to show. This week was really a testament to what we’ve been doing. Starting out with two wins doesn’t happen very often, especially with the competition we play against. It was really cool.”
And, not be lost in the big week for the Rams, one of the players who competed only as an individual at Fort Collins CC made a hole-in-one on Tuesday, as Alec Bone aced the 250-yard 17th hole.
Ram Masters Invitational
Sept. 21-22, 2015 (final) at Par-70 Fort Collins CC
1. (out of 15 teams) Colorado State 277-283-279–839
2. Max Oelfke 73-66-69–208; 2. Dominic Kieffer 68-72-68–208; 4. Kyler Dunkle 63-74-73–210; 19. Colton Yates 73-73-72–218; 19. Jimmy Makloski 76-72-70–218. Competing as individuals: 8. Jake Staiano 75-68-69–212; 14. Blake Cannon 71-71-75–217; 38. Alec Bone 77-73-73–223; 58. Logan Iverson 75-78-74–227.
8. Denver 304-295-291–890
12. Chris Korte 73-71-72–216; 19. Adam Ruben 69-75-74–218; 58. Arti Edelman 80-76-71–227; 66. Jake Kelley 82-73-74–229; 84. Petter Mikalsen 84-80-80–244. Competing as individuals: 58. Michael Boylan 79-72-76–227; 88. Johan Werge 81-92-84–257.
10. Air Force 303-296-295–894
19. Sunwoo Choi 74-73-71–218; 29. Brenden Bone 78-69-73–220; 52. Bryant Falconello 74-78-74–226; 70. Michael Fan 77-76-77–230; 84. Tate Tatom 84-78-82–244. Competing as individual: 62. Kyle Fuller 74-80-74–228.
13. Northern Colorado 291-311-297–899
35. Conner Barr 70-77-75–222; 35. Steven Kupcho 73-77-72–222; 58. Julian Woodfork 76-78-73–227; 62. Joshua Matz 72-79-77–228; 82. Sam Marley 77-85-78–240.
Also
19. Kade Crossland, Colorado 71-76-71–218
38. Wilson Belk, Colorado 74-73-76–223
66. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 76-75-78–229
