Colorado State University Athletics
Ott Captures Colorado Golf Association Match Play Championship
6/22/2018 6:00:00 PM | Men's Golf
(story courtesy Colorado Golf Association)
There's no two ways about it: AJ Ott was Ram tough on Friday.
There are examples of greater margins of victory in the finals of the CGA Match Play than the one the Colorado State University golfer dealt out this week, but not many.
When the player from Ptarmigan Country Club beat University of Colorado golfer Ross Macdonald, from the Country Club at Castle Pines, for the title in the CGA's oldest championship on Friday, it was by a formidable 9-and-8 score.
In the 118-year history of the tournament, that made it into the top five in terms of most lopsided results in scheduled 36-hole finals for this event.
The only ones higher on that list are:
-- 12 and 11: Brandt Jobe over Bill Fowler in 1985.
-- 12 and 11: Harold Fisher over D.B. Ellis in 1909.
-- 10 and 9: Zen Brown over Tom Glissmeyer in 2007.
-- 10 and 9: N.C. "Tub" Morris over E.A. Campbell in 1927.
And there are two other finals that matched the 9-and-8 score from Friday at The Club at Ravenna in Littleton.
But suffice it to say that Ott's performance was a rarity. In a matchup of two friends who happen to play at rival programs in Colorado, the Fort Collins resident never trailed and ended up playing the 28 holes of the match in 8 under par, with a few concessions thrown in that might have lessened that total slightly.
It was the first CGA championship for Ott, who was the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado's male player of the year in 2016.
Ott, a junior-to-be at CSU, birdied six of the first seven holes of the match -- with a bogey on No. 3 -- to grab a 5-up lead. From there on, Macdonald got no closer than 4 down.
The 20-year-old Ott shot a 4-under-par 67 in the first 18 and led 7 up. He earned a conceded eagle from 12 feet on the par-4 seventh hole in the afternoon to go 9 up, then halved the final three holes. Had Ott made a 4-foot par putt on the 28th hole, he would have won 10 and 8, but he lipped it out, settling for a 9-and-8 margin.
Macdonald, a former Colorado junior player of the year himself (in 2014), couldn't continue his strong play from Thursday, when he was a combined 8 under par for two matches. On Friday, the 2018 Pac-12 Conference runner-up was 5 over par for the 28 holes.
Each of the two finalists played eight rounds of golf in five days at Ravenna, including six rounds in the last three days.
Check back later for reaction and additional photos and details from Friday.
CGA Match Play
At The Club at Ravenna in Littleton
THURSDAY'S QUARTERFINALS
Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines, def. Chris Korte, CGA Club, 1 up
Josh Hill, Omni Interlocken Resort, def. Jake Staiano, Glenmoor CC, 19 holes
Brian Dorfman, Cherry Creek CC, def. Jackson Solem, The Fox Hill Club, 5 and 3
AJ Ott, Ptarmigan CC, def. Jake Ice, Walking Stick GC, 5 and 4
THURSDAY'S SEMIFINALS
Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines, def. Josh Hill, Omni Interlocken Resort, 1 up
AJ Ott, Ptarmigan CC, def. Brian Dorfman, Cherry Creek CC, 3 and 1
FRIDAY'S 36-HOLE FINAL
AJ Ott, Ptarmigan CC, def. Ross Macdonald, CC at Castle Pines, 9 and 8
