Colorado State University Athletics
Men's Golf Preview: MWC Championships
4/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 26, 2006
Next on the Tee...
Colorado State will compete in the Mountain West Conference Championships in Sunriver, Ore., April 27-29. The tournament will be held at the Crosswater Course, a par-72, 7,630-yard course. The MWC Championships have been played at Crosswater five out of the six years the MWC Championships have existed. 54 holes will be played at the tournament with 18 holes taking place each day. Tee times will begin Thursday-Saturday at 9 a.m. PT. The tournament will have a nine team field for the first time in history with Texas Christian making their inaguaral Mountain West run. The Rams competing are Zen Brown, Kevin McAlpine, Nate Pettitt, Aaron Weston and Derrick Whiting. Live scoring from the tournament will be available on both theMWC.com and golfstat.com.
Rams Recap...
Colorado State recorded rounds of 283-274-285 at the Cougar Classic April 14-15 to mark their tenth-straight top-10 team finish of the season. The Rams earned a three-round total of 842 to achieve a tie for sixth place. The Rams achieved their lowest team single round score of the season, 274, in the second round of the tournament. The Cougar Classic is the third-straight tournament that all five competing Ram golfers carded a par, or sub-par, round. The Rams carded an 832 total at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate February 22-24, their lowest tournament score. Four different Ram golfers have multiple top-20 finishes this season. The only tournament the Rams earned above a top-10 team finish was the Tucker Intercollegiate on Sep. 16-17 where the Rams took 16th place.
Mountain West Tee Times...
Colorado State will be paired with Air Force and Brigham Young University for round one. Aaron Weston will be the first golfer to tee off for Colorado State, with his tee time set for 9:50 a.m., Thursday, April 27. He is paired with Matt Tanis of Air Force, and Nick Becker of Brigham Young University. Nate Pettitt will follow Weston, and will tee off at 10 a.m. He is paired with Bob Whitney of Air Force, and Clay Ogden of Brigham Young University. Zen Brown is paired with Chad Follet of Air Force, and Daniel Summerhays of Brigham Young University. Brown will tee off at 10:10 a.m. Kevin McAlpine is set for a 10:20 a.m. tee time, along with Tyler Labrum of Air Force, and Jake Ellison of BYU. Derrick Whiting has the latest start, and will tee off at 10:30 a.m. along with Tyler Goulding of Air Force and Oscar Alvarez of BYU.
Mountain West Past Success...
Colorado State has never achieved a finish higher than third place at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Colorado State has earned third place twice before, and fifth place three times. The Rams have earned sixth place once, their lowest finish in the history of the tournament. Martin Laird achieved the individual championship in 2002, and is the only Ram to ever do so. In 2002 he carded 72-70-70 for a three-roud 212 total and won the individual crown by three strokes. He also holds records for lowest single round, (64) first round (64) and the lowest 36 hole (136) total. He carded the 64 in 2004, and the 136 in 2003. Also in 2003, Laird lost a playoff to Michael Letzig of the University of New Mexico. Both golfers had earned a 210 three-round total. Colorado State's lowest team total is an 870 three-round total that the Rams carded in 2000. Also in 2000, the Rams carded their lowest team single round score, 283, in the second round of the tournament. The 2000 MWC Men's Golf Championship is the only tournament that was played at the PGA-West Course in Palm Desert, Calif. Nolan Martin holds the lowest three-round total at the MWC Championships. In 2004 he earned second place after carding rounds of 72-67-70 achieving a 209(-7) three-round total. New Mexico has won the tournament the past three years.
Freshman Zen...
Zen Brown carded the lowest stroke round in the history of Colorado State University at the Cougar Classic April 14-15. When Brown carded a 63 in the final round of the Cougar Classic it was not only his career low but also a Colorado State low. The closest to him in the Ram record books are Nolan Martin and Martin Laird who both carded a 64 in their Ram careers. Brown is the only golfer in the Mountain West to accomplish a single round lower than a 64 this season. Brown finished in a tie for 34th at the Cougar Classic after carding a 77 and 75 in his first two rounds. These rounds led him to a three-round 215 total. Brown has also carded a sub-par round in eight different tournaments this year. Brown has led Ram golfers at five tournaments this year. Derrick Whiting is closest to Brown; Whiting has led the Rams in three tournaments this season. Both Whiting and Brown have carded at least one sub-par round in eight tournaments this season. Brown has three top-20 finishes this year; the Del Walker; the Lexus; the Wolfpack Invitational; and the Farms Collegiate. Brown currently holds a 72.67 stroke average. Brown is currently 11th in the Mountain West Conference in terms of stroke average.
Dangerous Derrick...
Derrick Whiting carded two sup-par rounds for the third-straight tournament at the Cougar Classic. Whiting has maintained his consistency and still holds the lowest stroke average on the team. Whiting has held the lowest stroke average on the team since Colorado State's first tournament, the Tucker Intercollegiate Sep. 16-17. At the Cougar Classic, Whiting carded rounds of 70-68-74 to lead him to a tie for 29th and a 212 three-round total. This is the fifth time this season that Whiting shot multiple sub-par rounds in one tournament. The Del Walker and Farms Collegiate are the only tournaments where Whiting did not card a par or sub-par round this season. He currently holds a 72.18 stroke average. The Farms Collegiate is the only tournament that Whiting carded a three-round total above 221 this season. He currently is seventh in the Mountain West in terms of stroke average.
Highs then Lows...
The Rams began the season with a 16th place finish at the Tucker Intercollegiate and carded rounds of 293-313-288 to give them an 894 three-round total. Since then the Rams have carded three-round totals of 856, 849, 844, 842 and a season low of 832. The Rams have also carded team finishes of 10th, 9th, 6th, 5th, 4th and 2nd.
Pettitt Potential...
Senior Nate Pettitt surpassed fellow senior Kevin McAlpine in stroke average after the Ron Moore Invitational March 20-21. Pettitt held on to this lead by carding rounds of 72-69-72 at the Cougar Classic April 14-15. This earned Pettitt a three-round 213, and a tie for 31st. Pettitt is the only Ram to card a top-20 finish in the month of March after achieving a sixth place finish at the Ron Moore Invite. There he carded two rounds of 69, and shot his career low, 67, in the second round of the tournament. This led Pettitt to a 205 three-round total, his career low. The 205 total matches the second-lowest Ram individual tournament total this season, behind the 203 Derrick Whiting carded at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Pettitt is one of four Rams to card a 205 or lower in Colorado State history; the other three are McAlpine, Whiting, and Nolan Martin. The 205 total also ties the fourth lowest individual total in Ram history. He is currently 15th in the Mountain West Conference in terms of stroke average.
McAlpine McAwesome...
Kevin McAlpine led the Rams at the Cougar Classic, marking the second time this season he has led the team in a tournament. McAlpine carded rounds of 68-72-71 earning him a 211 three-round total, his second-lowest of the season, and a tie for 23rd. McAlpine tied the fourth-lowest single round Ram score in Colorado State history with a 66 on his final round at the John Burns Intercollegiate. He became the eighth Ram to ever card a 66 or below. The last Ram to card a 66 was Nolan Martin in the Ron Moore Invitational Sept. 29, 2003. The 205 three-round total that McAlpine carded at the Barona Collegiate Cup Oct. 24-25 put him in the Ram record book. He carded the fourth lowest all-time individual tournament low with rounds of 69-67-69.
Best Weston...
The past three tournaments have marked Aaron Weston's lowest tournament totals of the season. Weston earned his second-lowest tournament total of the season after carding rounds of 73-75-69 earning him a tie for 44th and a 217 three-round total. Weston carded his season low three-round total at the Ron Moore Invitational March 20-21 after carding rounds of 71-69-74 which led him to a 214 three-round total and a tie for 22nd, his highest place this season. The 214 is the lowest tournament total that Weston has carded this season. Weston carded his lowest round of the season, 69, in the second round of the Ron Moore Invite.
CSU Recruit...
Colorado State men's golf coach Jamie Bermel announced that Dustin Morris of Crosby, Texas has signed a National Letter of Intent to play golf at CSU. Morris earned a top ten finish in the Texas State 4A Boy's State Tournament in May of 2005 and has been ranked 101st in the 2006 recruiting class by the Junior Golf Scoreboard. "Dustin is a great recruit for CSU," commented Bermel. "I think he will come in and compete for a spot on the top five immediately. Not only is he a great golfer, he is a very good student and person. He has a chance to be a very special player while at CSU."
Derrick's Legacy...
At the John Burns Intercollegiate the junior earned a 203 three-round total, his career low, and a tie for third place. The 203 tied the second-lowest three-round tournament score. The only Ram other than Whiting to ever card a 203 or below is Nolan Martin. Martin carded a 203 at The Nelson Oct. 20-21, 2003. Whiting's 203 is only one stroke away from the all-time Ram individual tournament low, 202, that Martin carded at the John Burns Intercollegiate Feb. 18, 2004. Whiting's 67 matches his career low round. Whiting also carded a 67 in the final round of the Barona Cup Sept. 17, 2005. Whiting captured the Rice Intercollegiate individual championship after winning a playoff with three other golfers on February 7. Whiting became the first player since 2004 to achieve an individual championship for the Rams. His rounds of 72-77-70 earned him the 219 three-round total that led him into the playoff. He became the ninth Ram to have ever achieved an individual tournament championship. The last golfer to do so was Martin Laird who won the Border Olympics in 2004. This marked Whiting's first individual collegiate victory. Whiting was named the Golfer of the Month, for the month of February, by the Mountain West Conference. The award was his first career monthly award.
