San Jose State holds off Oregon to claim team crown in Silverado Showdown

    The two hottest teams in women’s college golf went toe to toe for three days in the Silverado Showdown with San Jose State, No. 5 in the latest Golfstat rankings, edging No. 2 Oregon by two shots to capture the team title Wednesday at the Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, Calif.

   The Spartans, representing the Mountain West Conference, came into the Silverado Showdown with wins in the Lamkin Invitational at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. and in the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational that they hosted at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif. and a runnerup finish in the Mountainview Collegiate at Mountainview Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz.

   San Jose State slayed a fully loaded No. 1 Stanford by a shot in the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational.

   Oregon, out of the Pac-12, had claimed wins in the Florida State Match Up at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. and the Northrop Grumman Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. before finishing second to host Arizona State in the PING/ASU Invitational at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz.

   San Jose State had grabbed a one-shot lead over the Ducks with an opening round of 1-under-par 287 over a 6,192-yard, par-72 Silverado Resort layout that played tough all week. The Spartans added a 2-over 290 in the second round that gave them an eight-shot lead over Oregon heading into Wednesday’s final round.

   Oregon gave it a run, registering a solid 1-under 287 in the final round, but San Jose State was able to hold on, carding a 5-over 293 for a 6-over 870 total that was two shots better than the Ducks’ 8-over 872 total.

   It was eight shots back to No. 11 Texas A&M, out of the Southeastern Conference, and No. 26 Arizona, one of Oregon’s Pac-12 rivals, in a tie for third place, each landing on 16-over 880.

   The Aggies sandwiched a 4-over 292 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 6-over 294s. The desert Wildcats added a 4-over 292 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 297 before closing with a solid 3-over 291.

   It was seven shots back to No. 12 Southern California, the reigning Pac-12 champion, in fifth place with a 23-over 887 total. The Trojans struggled a little in the first two rounds, adding a 9-over 297 in Tuesday’s second round to an opening-round 300 before finishing up with a solid 2-over 290.

   Oregon’s Pac-12 and in-state rival Oregon State, ranked 33^rd, finished with a rush, the Beavers closing with the best team round of the week, a 6-under 282, to finish alone in sixth place, three shots behind Southern Cal with a 26-over 890 total. Oregon State had opened with a 305 before adding a 303 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Arizona State, behind individual champion Alessandra Fanali, a senior from Italy, shared seventh place with Northwestern of the Big Ten in a really strong 16-team field, each ending up with a 28-over 892 total, two shots behind Oregon State.

   The No. 6 Sun Devils, coming off an impressive win in their PING/ASU Invitational, added a 300 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 302 before finishing up with a solid 2-over 290.

   Fanali trailed San Jose State’s Antonia Malate, a senior from Seaside, Calif., by three shots going into the final round after Fanali added a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening round of 3-under 69. Fanali carded her second 69 of the week in Wednesday’s final round to finish three shots clear of the field with a 7-under 209 total.

   Northwestern, typically underrated at No. 38, bounced back from an opening-round 300 with a 5-over 293 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 299.

   The Chicago Wildcats typically use the Silverado Showdown as a springboard to a solid showing in the Big Ten Championship, which tees off April 22 at Fox Chapel Golf Club in suburban Pittsburgh.

   It was the final tuneup for San Jose State before the Mountain West Conference Championship, which tees off April 18 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. And the Spartans will head into their conference championship on a pretty nice roll.

   Malate led the way for San Jose State in the Silverado Showdown. She added a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 69 to take a three-shot lead in the individual chase into the final round. Malate cooled off with a final-round 76 as she finished in third place with a 3-under 213 total, four shots behind Fanali.

   Malate was coming off a solid showing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur as she survived the 36-hole cut at the Champions Retreat Golf Club and carded a 6-over 78 in the final round at the Augusta National Golf Club to finish in a tie for 25^th place with an 11-over 227 total.

   Kajsa Arwefjall, a junior from Sweden and No. 68 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), backed up Malate for the Spartans as she sandwiched a 73 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s to finish in a tie for sixth place with a 1-under 215 total.

   Natasha Andrea Oon, a senior from Malaysia and No. 13 in the Women’s WAGR, gave San Jose State a third finisher in the top 10 as she finished among a foursome tied for 10^th place with a 1-over 217 total.  Oon struggled a little in Tuesday’s second round with a 76, but sandwiched that with a pair of even-par 72s in the first and final rounds.

   Oon teed it up in The Chevron Championship, the first major of the season on the LPGA Tour, last week at Mission Hills Country Club’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Oon missed the cut, but with rounds of 74 and 73, she was only two shots away from playing the weekend.

   Lucia Lopez-Ortega, a freshman from Spain, finished among the group tied for 33^rd place with a 9-over 225 total as added a 76 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening round of 3-over 75 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the San Jose State lineup was Louisa Carlbom, a sophomore from Sweden who added a final round of 4-over 76 to the pair of 79s she registered in the first two rounds for a 234 total that left her in the group tied for 70^th place.

   Another player coming off a solid showing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, TCU’s Caitlyn Macnab, a freshman from South Africa and No. 58 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a 2-under 70 to earn runnerup honors with a 4-under 212 total that left her three shots behind Fanali.

   After a pair of 2-over 74s at Champions Retreat, Macnab matched par in the final round with a 72 over the iconic Augusta National layout to finish alone in 11^th place in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur with a 4-over 220 total.

   Macnab came out of the gate a little slowly at Silverado, opening with a 2-over 74, but she quickly found her stride, moving into contention with a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round before her final-round 70.

   Arizona State’s Alexandra Forsterling, a senior from Germany and No. 12 in the Women’s WAGR, and Texas A&M’s Hailee Cooper, a senior from Montgomery, Texas, finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 2-under 214, a shot behind San Jose State’s Malate.

   Forsterling missed the cut in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, but was the individual champion in the PING/ASU Invitational at Papago. Forsterling started slowly at Silverado, opening with a 3-over 75 and matching par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72. But she matched the best individual round of the week in the final round with a sparkling 5-under 67 to move up the leaderboard.

   Cooper was tied for the lead following her opening round of 3-under 69. She cooled off a little with a 73 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Joining San Jose State’s Arwefjall in the trio tied for sixth place at 1-under 215 were Oregon State’s Chayse Gomez, a junior from Yorba Linda, Calif., and Arizona’s Carolina Melgrati, a freshman from Italy.

   Gomez, like Arizona State’s Forsterling, closed with a 5-under 67 to move into the top 10. Gomez had opened with a 3-over 75 before adding a 73 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Melgrati, coming off a missed cut in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, also opened with a 3-over 75, but quickly turned things around with a 71 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 3-under 69.

   Colorado’s Hailey Schalk, a sophomore from Erie, Colo., finished alone in ninth place with an even-par 216 total as she added back-to-back 1-under 71s in the last two rounds to her opening-round 74.

   Joining San Jose State’s Oon in the quartet tied for 10^th place at 1-over 217 were Oregon State’s Ellie Slama, a senior from Salem, Ore., Melgrati’s Arizona teammate, Lilas Pintheir, a freshman from France, and Oregon’s Cheng-Tzu Chen, a junior from Taiwan.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Slama, coming off a missed cut in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, struggled to a 78 in Tuesday’s second round before matching the low round of the week with a 5-under 67 in the final round.

   Pinthier kept getting better as the week wore on as she added a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 74 before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Chen opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 74 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Chen and the Ducks will play the host for what promises to be a fascinating renewal of the Pac-12 Championship, which tees off April 18 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.