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.
