Colorado State University Athletics
Preview: Men's Golf Falcon Invitational
9/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 8, 2006
Next on the Tee...
The Colorado State Men's Golf team will play their first tournament of the 2006-2007 season in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 9-10. The 38th annual Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, hosted by Air Force, marks the only tournament CSU will play in Colorado this season. The Falcon Invite will take place at the Eisenhower Golf Club--Blue Course, a 7,301-yard, par-72 course. The 54-hole tournament will begin with two rounds on Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m., and the final round will take place Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Nineteen teams will compete in the tournament, including five Mountain West teams; Air Force, CSU, New Mexico (B), Utah, and Wyoming. The Ram golfers set to compete in the tournament are Riley Arp, Zen Brown, Dustin Morris, Aaron Weston and Derrick Whiting. Bryce Hanstad will compete as an individual in the tournament.
2005 Falcon Invitational...
Air Force captured the team title at the 2005 Falcon Invitational, shooting a 4-over-par 868 and finishing four strokes ahead of second-place Weber State. Meanwhile, Boise State's Graham Delaet won medalist honors, finishing at 10-under par (206) to place six strokes ahead of Utah Valley State's Nic Van Vuuren. Colorado State did not participate in the tournament.
Home Grown...
Chase Watkins, a transfer from Midland College who joined the team this year, is one of two current Ram golfers that played high school golf in Fort Collins. Watkins and Ram sophomore Riley Arp were teammates at Fort Collins High School. Watkins is also the fourth player on the team raised in Colorado. Aaron Weston is from Denver, Colo., and Zen Brown is from Arvada, Colo.
Rams Recap...
Colorado State earned eleven-straight top-10 team finishes last year. The only tournament the Rams did not achieve a top-10 finish was their first tournament of the season, the Tucker Intercollegiate.
Minnesota Triples...
Bryce Hanstad, Derrick Whiting and Tyler Whiting are all from Alexandria, Minn. Hanstad and Tyler are both freshmen this year while Derrick will be entering his final year as a Ram. Each played golf at Jefferson High School and earned all-state honors. Tyler and Hanstad were both a part of the 2006 State Championship team.
Best Weston...
Aaron Weston played Zen Brown for the Colorado Golf Association's Match Play Championship this summer. Weston won the Championship with a 2 and 1 victory at the Plum Creek Golf and Country Club in Castle Rock. Brown beat Klinton Krieger 7 and 6 in their semifinal match to earn a berth in the final, while Weston defeated the University of Colorado's Ryan Anderson 3 and 2 in the other semifinal.
Wrecking Records...
Zen Brown carded the lowest stroke round in the history of Colorado State University, 63, at the Cougar Classic April 14-15.The closest to him in the Ram record books are Nolan Martin and Martin Laird who both carded a 64 in their Ram careers. Whiting holds the second-lowest three-round tournament score after carding a 203 last year at the John Burns Intercollegiate Feb. 12-14. The only Ram other than Whiting to ever card a 203 or below is Nolan Martin. Whiting was also named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Month for February 2006. Whiting captured the Rice Intercollegiate individual championship after winning a playoff with three other golfers Feb. 7, 2006. 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 is the ninth Ram to have ever achieved an individual tournament championship.
Ram Scholars...
CSU men's golfers Nate Pettitt and Derrick Whiting were selected to the GCAA Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar List this summer. Only juniors and seniors are eligible to be a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar and must have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average. In addition, golfers must have under a 76.0 stroke average. Whiting registered a 3.363 GPA majoring in speech communications. He led CSU with a 72.21 stroke average in the 2005-06 season and was CSU's sole representative in the NCAA Regional Tournament where he finished 46th. He had five top-20 finishes.
Marvelous Morris...
Morris, a freshman on the 2006-07 Ram squad, was the 4A Texas State Champion in 2006. Morris was ranked 101st in the 2006 recruiting class by the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
