Colorado University Athletics
CU And Oregon To Host Silverado Showdown
NAPA, Calif. GÇô The Colorado and Oregon womenGÇÖs golf teams will
co-host the inaugural Silverado Showdown here April 14 and 15 at
the prestigious Silverado Resort and Spa.
The 54-hole tournament will begin with two rounds of golf on
Monday, April 14 and conclude with 18 holes on Tuesday, April 15,
with an estimated 8:30 a.m. shotgun start planned for each day.
Spectators are welcome to come watch the future stars of womenGÇÖs
golf free of charge.
The tournament came to be after a discussion between Colorado and
OregonGÇÖs head coaches. CUGÇÖs Anne Kelly
and UOGÇÖs Ria Scott agreed that their teams needed an event to
compete in before the Pac-12 Championships, which this season begin
on April 25.
"We are grateful for our partnership with Silverado Resort, the
University of Colorado and the great people of the Napa Valley,GÇ¥
Scott said. GÇ£We are looking forward to showcasing some of the best
teams in collegiate women's golf, while also exposing them to a
unique Napa Valley experience."
The tremendous field assembled for the inaugural tournament will
include 15 teams. The field boasts nine teams ranked in the
Golfstat (4/9) top 50. No. 1 Southern California leads the way with
seven tournament victories under its belt. Arizona is the ninth
ranked team, while Washington rounds out the top 11.
The rest of the field also impresses, with all 15 teams ranking in
the top 106 in the nation according to Golfstat: Northwestern (20),
California (33), Oregon (35), San Diego State (43), UNLV (44),
Wisconsin (46), Colorado (52), New Mexico (69), San Jose State
(72), Oregon State (73), Washington State (79) and Fresno State
(106).
The teams also star seven individuals who rank in GolfstatGÇÖs top
25. USC has four players ranked in the top 21. Kyung Kim leads the
Women of Troy at No. 6. Annie Park is the 10th ranked individual,
and Sophia Popov ranks 14th. Karen Chung is 21st. Three players
from other teams are all in close contention, with UNLVGÇÖs Dana
Finkelstein ranking 15th, WashingtonGÇÖs Jennifer Yang 16th and
ArizonaGÇÖs Lindsey Weaver 17th.
Former CU All-American golfer Emily Talley and her parents Kim and
Rob, natives of Napa, Calif., were an important part of getting the
tournament to Silverado, which has been a California landmark for
more than 140 years.
GÇ£The management at Silverado embraced the idea of hosting an NCAA
Division I collegiate event,GÇ¥ Kelly said. GÇ£We are thrilled to
co-host this event with Oregon and very thankful to Silverado
Resort and Spa for making their facility available for this
talented field of collegiate golfers GǪ We are very honored for our
teams to play on such a prestigious venue.GÇ¥
Silverado has two championship courses and will host the first
event of the PGA TOUR schedule, the Frys.com Open, on the recently
renovated North Course from October 7-13. Since its inception in
2006, the Frys.com Open has generated five million dollars to local
and national charities.
The collegiate golfers will have a fantastic experience at the
Silverado Showdown, where they will be playing on the North Course,
named the No. 16 golf course in California on GolfweekGÇÖs GÇ£Best
Courses You Can PlayGÇ¥ list and No. 27 amongst AmericaGÇÖs Top 50
Courses for Women.
The course, which features dozens of water crossings, elevation
changes and routing through historic oak trees, was recently
redesigned by Johnny Miller, an outstanding former PGA TOUR
professional, World Golf Hall of Fame Member and current lead golf
analyst for NBC Sports.
GÇ£The Silverado Resort is incredibly excited about hosting this
wonderful event,GÇ¥ said Silverado Director of Golf Tim Geesey. GÇ£The
quality of the golfers in this field is sure to lead to a thrilling
competition. We are all looking forward to seeing the best college
golfers take on same course that will host a PGA TOUR event in the
fall. With the tremendous support of the host universities,
Colorado and Oregon, I'm sure the Silverado Showdown will be a huge
success.GÇ¥