Boise State Athletics
Tuesday, September 24
Fort Collins, Colo.
All Day
Boise State
at
Ptarmigan Ram Classic
Perry Claims Ptarmigan Ram Classic Title With Clutch Birdie
9/24/2019 4:08:00 PM | Women's Golf
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Junior Lexi Perry broke a tie for the lead with a clutch birdie on her final hole, and her one-stroke lead held up as she claimed medalist honors at the 2019 Ptarmigan Ram Classic.
It was a solid bounce back for Perry (72-72-73=217, +1), who dropped into the three-way tie after a bogey on the Par-3 No. 6 before carding a 3 on the Par-4 No. 7 at Ptarmigan Country Club to claim the title. The birdie would provide the winning margin as she held off Northern Colorado's Abbi Fleiner (76-68-74=218, +2) by a stroke.
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Perry's first medalist honor makes her the 12th Bronco women's golfer to win an individual title, and the title is the 17th overall for the program. Her victory also marks Boise State's second-straight medalist at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, as then-senior and current assistant coach Tara Finigan claimed last year's title .
"I'm really proud of how I played this week. I did not have my best golf today but I battled," Perry said. "I found ways to make pars no matter where I was, and kept a positive attitude through it all."
As a team, Boise State finished the event seventh at +48 (306-304-302=912). New Mexico State captured the team title at +29 (298-291-301=890).
"I'm so proud of Lexi for her grit today," said Boise State head coach Nicole Bird. "She knew where she stood after 17 holes and had a good idea that she needed par or better on the last hole. She knew she needed [her birdie putt] and to make it under that kind of pressure is amazing. It's hard to win in college golf and I am so happy for her."
But the story of the day was the race to the individual title. Entering the day a stroke back at even par, Perry bogeyed her opening hole at No. 8, before carding birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 to move to 1-under for the day and the tournament, and the top of the leaderboard.
Bogeys at 16 and 18 dropped her to 1-over and into a three-way tie with New Mexico State's Dominique Galloway, the leader entering Tuesday's final round, and San Francisco's Pearl Rojanapeansatith early into the back nine. Five-straight pars on Nos. 1-5 would keep Perry at 1-over, and she would reclaim the top spot on the leaderboard as Galloway would bogey No. 16, her third-to-last hole, and Rojanapeansatith had back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 1-2, her 14th and 15th holes of the round, respectively.
A bogey at No. 6 dropped Perry back to 2-over, and into a tie with Fleiner. The Northern Colorado freshman entered the day tied for second with Perry at even par, and looked to have fallen out of contention at 4-over through 10 holes of Tuesday's round, but birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 brought her to 2-over and tied with Perry after Perry's bogey on No. 6.
But Perry would apply the pressure on her final hole. She hit her tee shot down the left side of the fairway, then from 90 yards out and facing an uphill green, left her approach 12 feet from the pin. Perry's birdie putt would break slightly left but find the bottom of the cup to send her in as the clubhouse leader.
Needing to play her final two holes, Nos. 10 and 11, at least 1-under to force a playoff, Fleiner ​​​​​​shot par on each, making Perry the medalist.
"This is one of my favorite tournaments and I feel so lucky that my first collegiate win was on one of my favorite golf courses in front of our host families and my parents," Perry added.
In the team standings, the Broncos finished the day where they began, in seventh place. Junior Nicole Suppelsa and senior Valentine Lacaze each carded a 3-over 75, with Suppelsa (79-73--75=227, +11) nabbing a top-25 finish at T-22, and Lacaze finishing tied for 35th at +15 (75-81-75=231). Freshman Taylor Koch (80-78-79=237) ended her tournament with a 79, while sophomore Cora Mickelsen (83-83-84=250) shot 84.
"Nicole and Val played solid today. They had some great birdies and a few holes that could've gone better but they hung in there and fought until the end. We are definitely headed in the right direction." Bird said.
2019 Ptarmigan Ram Classic Team Results
1. New Mexico State (298-291-301=890)
7. Boise State (306-304-302=912)
Boise State Individual Results
1. Lexi Perry (72-72-73=217)
T22. Nicole Suppelsa (79-73-75=227)
T35. Valentine Lacaze (75-81-75=231)
T46. Taylor Koch (80-78-79=237)
70. Cora Mickelsen (83-83-84=250)
It was a solid bounce back for Perry (72-72-73=217, +1), who dropped into the three-way tie after a bogey on the Par-3 No. 6 before carding a 3 on the Par-4 No. 7 at Ptarmigan Country Club to claim the title. The birdie would provide the winning margin as she held off Northern Colorado's Abbi Fleiner (76-68-74=218, +2) by a stroke.
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It's official!@_lexiperry_ (72-72-73=217, +1) has won the 2019 Ptarmigan Ram Classic!#BleedBlue #PlayWithFire #ncaawgolf pic.twitter.com/JJy9E3YJXn
— Boise State WGolf (@BroncoSportsWGF) September 24, 2019
Perry's first medalist honor makes her the 12th Bronco women's golfer to win an individual title, and the title is the 17th overall for the program. Her victory also marks Boise State's second-straight medalist at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, as then-senior and current assistant coach Tara Finigan claimed last year's title .
"I'm really proud of how I played this week. I did not have my best golf today but I battled," Perry said. "I found ways to make pars no matter where I was, and kept a positive attitude through it all."
As a team, Boise State finished the event seventh at +48 (306-304-302=912). New Mexico State captured the team title at +29 (298-291-301=890).
"I'm so proud of Lexi for her grit today," said Boise State head coach Nicole Bird. "She knew where she stood after 17 holes and had a good idea that she needed par or better on the last hole. She knew she needed [her birdie putt] and to make it under that kind of pressure is amazing. It's hard to win in college golf and I am so happy for her."
But the story of the day was the race to the individual title. Entering the day a stroke back at even par, Perry bogeyed her opening hole at No. 8, before carding birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 to move to 1-under for the day and the tournament, and the top of the leaderboard.
Bogeys at 16 and 18 dropped her to 1-over and into a three-way tie with New Mexico State's Dominique Galloway, the leader entering Tuesday's final round, and San Francisco's Pearl Rojanapeansatith early into the back nine. Five-straight pars on Nos. 1-5 would keep Perry at 1-over, and she would reclaim the top spot on the leaderboard as Galloway would bogey No. 16, her third-to-last hole, and Rojanapeansatith had back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 1-2, her 14th and 15th holes of the round, respectively.
A bogey at No. 6 dropped Perry back to 2-over, and into a tie with Fleiner. The Northern Colorado freshman entered the day tied for second with Perry at even par, and looked to have fallen out of contention at 4-over through 10 holes of Tuesday's round, but birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 brought her to 2-over and tied with Perry after Perry's bogey on No. 6.
But Perry would apply the pressure on her final hole. She hit her tee shot down the left side of the fairway, then from 90 yards out and facing an uphill green, left her approach 12 feet from the pin. Perry's birdie putt would break slightly left but find the bottom of the cup to send her in as the clubhouse leader.
Needing to play her final two holes, Nos. 10 and 11, at least 1-under to force a playoff, Fleiner ​​​​​​shot par on each, making Perry the medalist.
"This is one of my favorite tournaments and I feel so lucky that my first collegiate win was on one of my favorite golf courses in front of our host families and my parents," Perry added.
In the team standings, the Broncos finished the day where they began, in seventh place. Junior Nicole Suppelsa and senior Valentine Lacaze each carded a 3-over 75, with Suppelsa (79-73--75=227, +11) nabbing a top-25 finish at T-22, and Lacaze finishing tied for 35th at +15 (75-81-75=231). Freshman Taylor Koch (80-78-79=237) ended her tournament with a 79, while sophomore Cora Mickelsen (83-83-84=250) shot 84.
"Nicole and Val played solid today. They had some great birdies and a few holes that could've gone better but they hung in there and fought until the end. We are definitely headed in the right direction." Bird said.
2019 Ptarmigan Ram Classic Team Results
1. New Mexico State (298-291-301=890)
7. Boise State (306-304-302=912)
Boise State Individual Results
1. Lexi Perry (72-72-73=217)
T22. Nicole Suppelsa (79-73-75=227)
T35. Valentine Lacaze (75-81-75=231)
T46. Taylor Koch (80-78-79=237)
70. Cora Mickelsen (83-83-84=250)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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