Oregon State’s Slama, Washington’s Deng share Silverado Showdown lead
Last week, Ellie Slama played in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in Georgia. The Oregon State junior called it an “amazing experience,” joining an elite field and also getting to play a practice round on April 2 at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters.
“I just had a blast being out there,” said Slama, who is from Salem, Oregon. “Driving down Magnolia Lane and everything, the colors of the flowers — the whole experience is just incredible. The course has no blemishes. It’s just magnificent. Words can’t describe it.”
This week, Slama is in Napa, playing for Oregon State at the Silverado Showdown, a three-day, 54-hole major college tournament that is co-hosted by the University of Colorado and University of Oregon. It’s being played on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa, a par-72, 6,202-yard layout that presents challenges with narrow fairways, rough and fast greens.
Slama did not get into town until early Sunday afternoon, after a practice round for each of the 13 teams had already started. She caught up to her teammates on the course and worked on her short game — chipping and putting.
“Coming to this tournament, it’s a fresh start. I just tried to start over,” she said. “I’ve only been to Napa once. It’s beautiful. It reminds me a little bit of home.”
Slama is off to a super start, as she shot a 5-under-par 67 on Monday, a round highlighted by seven birdies.
Slama and Stefanie Deng of Washington are tied for the 18-hole lead. Deng had five birdies during a bogey-free round.
“I kind of went into it with no expectations. I’ve had two tournaments in a row, and it’s been a pretty busy week,” said Slama. “I’m pretty tired. But I just went out there and tried to play my best. It went well.”
Allisen Corpuz of Southern California, Alessandra Fanali of Arizona State and Yuki Yoshihara of UCLA are tied for third place, each at 70.
UCLA has the lead in the team scoring, as the Bruins shot even-par 288.
Washington is two shots back at 290. Southern Cal and Oregon State are tied for third at 291.
“The putting was real fast today,” said Tom Sims, Silverado’s head PGA golf professional, adding that the greens were rolling 12.6 on the Stimpmeter. “And so what they saw (Sunday) in the practice round is very similar with what they saw today. It just takes a little while to get used to. (Silverado Director of Agronomy) Mat (Dunmyer) does a great job of keeping them very consistent. A little softer greens, so they still could hit the ball in there and stop the ball.
“Nice, fast fairways. Everything is in real good shape.”
Slama birdied Nos. 5, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17 and 18. She chipped in for birdie with a wedge from 20 yards away on the 10th hole.
She hit four fairways in regulation, but recovered by hitting quality second shots.
“I think I was picking really good targets on my second shot and just committing to that line and having a smooth swing and the ball was going where I wanted it to on my approaches, which was really nice,” said Slama. “I made it a little tougher on myself by missing the fairway.”
Slama had 26 putts. She hit 12 greens in regulation.
“I made a lot of really good lag putts when I was outside of 30 feet. All the putts that I made, I was keeping my head down and just picked a line.
“It’s a beautiful golf course. And I love the scenery and everything. The greens are really tough. I love fast greens.
“The rough is tough, for sure. And I think just some of the fairways are pretty tight.”
Slama did not made the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur after rounds of 74 and 79 for a 153 total at the Champions Retreat Golf Club.
“I played really well the first day. The second day was not my best golf. It was very tough conditions,” she said.
Slama has had an outstanding career at Oregon State.
She was named to the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll during the 2019–20 season.
She was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and was selected Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention during the 2018–19 season.
Deng, who is from Shanghai, China, had birdies on Nos. 9, 10, 11, 13 and 16.
“I really like this course. The greens are rolling really nicely and I really like the speed,” said Deng. “The fairways are pretty narrow. It’s just really getting used to shaping the ball.
“Today, I just stayed really calm. I was really confident on the tees. I wasn’t really in much trouble today.”
This is the sixth year of the Silverado Showdown.
Players will again start from the Nos. 1 and 10 tees for the second round on Tuesday, from 8 to 10 a.m.
There is an 8 a.m. shotgun start for Wednesday’s final round. An awards ceremony follows at 1:30 p.m.
The field also has Arizona State, San Jose State, UNLV, Iowa State, Northwestern, UC Berkeley and San Diego State.
Corpuz tied for 13th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on April 3.
