Oregon State’s Slama takes 6-shot lead into final round of Silverado Showdown
Ellie Slama of Oregon State hit one of the greatest shots of this year’s Silverado Showdown, holing a 50-degree wedge from 95 yards for an eagle-2 on the par-4 17th hole on Tuesday at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.
Slama, a junior from Salem, Oregon, fired a bogey-free 4-under-par 68 in the second round on the North Course and will take a commanding six-shot lead into Wednesday’s third and final round in the major college women’s golf tournament.
After hitting her drive to the middle of the fairway on №17, Slama, named to the All-Pac-12 First Team as a sophomore during the 2018–19 season, landed her approach shot on the elevated green, just to the right of the pin. The ball released to the left and rolled a distance of five feet and into the cup. The pin location was near the back of the green.
“It was a really good shot,” said Slama. “I hit the right slope and then it just trickled down into the hole.”
Slama said the 95-yard distance was the perfect number for her.
“I thought I was going to be a few feet from the hole, but it was a good surprise to find out it went in,” she said.
Slama and Stefanie Deng of Washington were tied for the 18-hole, first-round lead, with each player shooting 67, on Monday.
Slama continued her outstanding play during the second round, getting off to a super start with birdies on Nos. 3 and 6. She is at 9-under 135 after 36 holes.
“It feels really good,” she said. “I just went out and didn’t expect much and just hit good drives today, which was nice, and hit good approaches and made some of the putts and missed a few others. But it was very solid.”
Seven players are at even-par or lower. It was cold at the start of the day and there were several very tough pin positions. The tee was moved up on the par-4, 12th hole.
Northern California Golf Association staff and rules officials are on hand to assist the tournament.
The course, known for its challenging, fast greens and narrow fairways, is set up as a par-72, 6,202-yard layout. There are dry, firm, fast conditions.
“I just tried to go out and commit to my shots,” said Slama, who hit seven fairways in regulation. “I hit it a lot better. The (fairways) that I missed, it was only in the first cut of rough. I missed a few more putts today. My chipping was really good.”
One of the keys for Slama has been adjusting to the speed of the greens at Silverado. She got to experience fast greens when she played a practice round at the Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters, on April 2 as part of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“I think the greens really fit my game. They’re a good speed and I’m hitting them in the right spots on the green, so that I’m having a lot of good attempts at birdie putts,” she said.
Her longest birdie putt on Tuesday was from 10 feet on the third hole.
“I was putting on really similar greens and had a lot of hard shots (at Augusta National). Coming here and having similar greens was nice,” said Slama.
“I’m just going to try and do the same thing — go out and have fun and commit to my shots. Hopefully it will go well.”
Dawn Shockley, Oregon State’s head coach, walked with Slama during the round.
“It was nice having my coach walk with me and help me out and read some putts with me,” said Slama.
Slama had seven Top-10 finishes, a single-season Oregon State record, during her sophomore season.
The three-day, 54-hole Silverado Showdown, co-hosted by Colorado and Oregon, is in its sixth year. There are 13 teams in the event.
Emma Spitz of UCLA (71–70–141) and Allisen Corpuz of Southern California (70–71–141) are tied for second.
Yuki Yoshihara of UCLA (70–72–142) and Deng (67–75–142) are tied for fourth.
Alessandra Fanali of Arizona State (70–73–143) is sixth.
Amanda Minni of Oregon State (71–73–144) is seventh.
Amelia Garvey of Southern Cal (73–72–145) and Alyaa Abdulghany of USC (72–73–145) are tied for eighth.
There are four players tied for 10th: Kajsa Arwefjall of San Jose State (74–72–146), Alexandra Forsterling of Arizona State (74–72–146), Annabel Wilson of UCLA (73–73–146), and Jennifer Cai of Northwestern (73–73–146).
In the team scoring, UCLA is in first place, with rounds of 288 and 289 for a 577 total. UCLA was also the first-round leader.
UCLA is followed by Southern Cal (291–290–581), Oregon State (291–291–582), Arizona State (292–296–588), Oregon (295–298–593), Washington (290–304–594), Northwestern (300–301–601), San Jose State (295–307–602), Iowa State (299–304–603), UNLV (296–312–608), UC Berkeley (304–305–609), Colorado (306–306–612), and San Diego State (308–311–619).
Wednesday’s final round has an 8 a.m. shotgun start. An awards ceremony follows play at 1:30 p.m.
