Ross Thornton

Height:
6-3
Weight:
180
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Leawood, Kan.
High School:
Blue Valley North

College—2013-14 (Soph.): He did not see any action in the fall, as the plan for him was to redshirt for the season, but in the spring, he made the decision to no longer play college golf but to remain at CU to continue his studies.

2012-13 (Fr.): He competed as a true freshman, as he played in three tournaments, two in the fall and one in the spring (all as an individual; his rounds did not count toward CU’s team scoring). He tied for 80th in his first collegiate meet, the Air Force-Gene Miranda Invitational (236, +20); he bounced right back with his best round of the fall, a 2-over 74 in the first round of CU’s Mark Simpson Invitational, but his second round effort was disqualified when he signed an incorrect scorecard. In his lone spring event, he tied for 59th in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic (231, +15). He had 23 birdies in his 144 holes played, that 16.0 percent figure third best on the team.

High School-A four-time letterman under coach Susan O’Dell, he posted four top 12 finishes in the Kansas 6A state tournament: third as a senior, 12th as a junior, seventh as a sophomore and sixth as a freshman. He led Blue Valley North to the 6A state championship his senior season when he owned a 72 stroke average; BVN was the state runner-up both his freshman and sophomore seasons. He earned first-team All-Eastern Kansas League (EKL) honors as junior and senior, when he also garnered honorable mention All-Metro accolades. He earned honorable mention All-Sun honors as freshman and junior (an all-area team), with first-team honors as a junior. He shaved two strokes off his average every year, posting a 78 norm as a freshman, then 76 as a sophomore, 74 as a junior and finally the 72 his senior year. He also lettered three times in basketball (power forward), averaging nine points and six rebounds as a senior; he set the school record for single-season free throw percent (88 percent) as a senior. He earned second-team All-EKL honors as a senior, when he was a team captain; he was an honorable mention performer as a junior.

Other-2013: He qualified out of the stroke play to reach the final 64 of the Missouri Amateur, but fell in the first round.
2012: He finished 26th in the Watson Challenge (70-74-78-222, +6; Indian Hills CC, Kansas City); he was tied for sixth after the first round, in which host Tom Watson shot a 72. 2011: He was named the 2011 Kansas City Golf Association Junior Player of the Year. He qualified for and competed in the USGA Junior Amateur in Bremerton, Wash., where he tied for 20th in the stroke play (72-75), but lost his first round match. He tied for third in the Kansas Junior Amateur (71-68-66-205), tied for sixth in the Kansas City Amateur (71-71-73-215) and tied for 16th in the AJGA Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Classic (72-73-76-221).

Best Career Round In Competition-66 (-4; 2011 Kansas Junior Amateur, Salina Municipal, Salina, Kan.)

Academics-He is majoring in Business (Finance) at Colorado. He had an impressive academic record in high school, owning a weighted 4.1 grade point average that included both advanced placement and college courses. He was on the Principal’s Honor Roll throughout high school, was a member of the National Honor Society and scored a 32 on the ACT.

Personal-He was born October 6, 1993 in Kansas City, Kan. His hobbies include playing basketball and going to his favorite family lake. Growing up in and around the Kansas City area, he had the opportunity to get to know PGA/Champions Tour Star Tom Watson.

	Overall					Spring			Fall
Season	Rd	Strokes	Avg.	Lo	Hi	Rd	Strk	Avg	Rd	Strk	Avg.
2012-13	8	619	77.38	74	82	3	231	77.00	5	388	77.70

Rounds Toward Team Scoring: 0 of 0 (0%; 8 played as an individual).
Stroke Count In Relation To Par (+43/+5.38): +43/+5.38 (2012-13).
Finishes-Wins: 0 Top 5: 0 Top 10: 0 Top 20: 0

Fall 2012
*AFA Miranda Invitational	82-76-78--236	+20	t80th
*CU-Simpson Invitational	74-DQ-78--xxx	+ 8	80th

Spring 2013
*Wyoming Desert Classic	76-75-80--231	+15	t59th