Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Men's Golf set for MWC Championship
4/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 24, 2007
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Next on the Tee...
The Colorado State Men's Golf team will travel to Tucson, Ariz., to compete in the Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship, April 26-28. The nine-team tournament will be contested at the par-71, 7,136-yard Catalina Course. The 54-hole tournament will tee off each day at 8:30 a.m. PT, with 18 holes scheduled for each day. The Rams set to compete in the tournament are Zen Brown, Bryce Hanstad, Dustin Morris, Aaron Weston and Derrick Whiting. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
MWC History...
Colorado State has never won a Mountain West Conference team title. Martin Laird's victory in 2002 marks the highest individual finish of any Ram golfer. He won by three strokes which ties the highest margin of victory in MWC Championship history. Martin Laird also holds the lowest single round individual score for Colorado State and the MWC tournament. Laird carded a first round 64 in 2004. Colorado State's highest finish is third place which they have achieved twice and their worst finish is sixth place. Last year, Derrick Whiting earned a tie for 14th after posting rounds of 79-67-74=220. In his first year at the MWC Championship, Zen Brown earned a tie for 20th after shooting rounds of 75-73-75=223. Aaron Weston tied for 30th after recording rounds of 76-74-76=226. Colorado State's lowest team score came in the inagural MWC Championship in 2000. There, the Rams carded rounds of 287-283-300 for an 870 total. Their lowest single round score is a 283 which they have recorded on two occasions.
Mountain West Pairings...
Colorado State will be in Group 2 paired with Air Force and Wyoming in the first round. Bryce Hanstad will tee off first at 9:20 a.m. with Bob Whitney of Air Force and Max Curnow of Wyoming. Dustin Morris is after him and will tee off at 9:30 a.m. with Chad Follett of Air Force and Brandon McCoy of Wyoming. Derrick Whiting will tee off at 9:40 a.m. with Andrew Gibson of Air Force and Ryne Paulson of Wyoming. Aaron Weston will tee off at 9:50 a.m. with Shaun O'Bryant of Air Force and Jeff Franks of Wyoming. Zen Brown is the last Ram to tee off. He will tee off at 10 a.m. with Tyler Goulding of Air Force and Niel King of Wyoming.
Last Time Out...
Colorado State earned their 11th straight top-10 team finish at the Cougar Classic, April 20-21. The Rams posted rounds of 285-289-282 to achieve an 856 total and third place. This is their highest finish since the Barona Collegiate Cup, Oct. 23-24. Three Rams notched top-20 finishes at the Classic. This is the third time this season that this has been accomplished. Bryce Hanstad led the Rams at the tournament recordeding rounds of 71-73-67 to earn a 211 total and sixth place, the highest finish of his young career. Aaron Weston shot rounds of 70-71-72 to achieve a 213 total and a tie for 14th. Riley Arp, who played as an individual, recorded rounds of 77-68-69 to earn a 214 total and a tie for 18th. Zen Brown posted rounds of 70-75-71 for a 216 total and a tie for 37th. Derrick Whiting earned a tie for 41st after shooting rounds of 74-74-72=220. Dustin Morris finished one stroke behind Whiting at a 221 after carding rounds of 74-71-76 achieving a tie for 45th.
Master's Connection...
Zach Johnson, the winner of the 2007 Masters tournament, has Colorado State connections. Johnson played three seasons for Coach Jamie Bermel while attending Drake University. Johnson donned the green jacket after besting Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbatini by two strokes. Bermel spent five seasons as Drake's head coach (1992-93 to 1996-97.)
Laird Victory...
Former Colorado State golfer Martin Laird won the Athens Regional Foundations Classic on Sunday. This marks his first Nationwide Tour Championship. Laird shot a 3-under-69 and birdied the final hole to solidify the win. The win moves him to No. 7 on the money list at $109,691. The top 25 Nationwide golfers at the end of the season automatically earn a PGA tour card.
Rams Recap...
In every tournament this year the Rams have earned a top-10 finish. The Ron Moore Invite is the only tournament this year that at least two Colorado State golfers did not earn a top-20 finish. Zen Brown was the only Ram to accomplish a top-20 at the Ron Moore. The Rams earned second place at the Miranda Invitational, Sept. 9-10 after shooting rounds of 286-280-288 for an 854 total. This is their highest finish since the Rice Intercollegiate, Feb. 6, 2006. Colorado State's lowest total is an 845 that they earned at the Barona Collegiate Cup, Oct. 23-24. There, the recorded rounds of 277-288-280 to earn third place.Golfweek has named Colorado State as 68th in the nation.
Brown Bagging...
Brown has carded three top-fives, six top-10s, and eight top-20s this season. In contrast, Brown earned three top-20 finishes in the entire 2005-06 regular season. At the Wolf Pack Classic, Oct. 2-3, Brown earned his highest finish of the season, second place. There, he recorded three-straight sub-par rounds (67-70-71) to earn a 208 three-round total, and a second-place finish. Brown was three strokes away from individual champion Dustin Pimm of Utah. Pimm carded a three-round 205. The first-round 67 is Brown's lowest single round score this season. The second place finish is Brown's highest finish of his career. At the Miranda Invitational, Sept. 9-10, he began the tournament with a round of 74 and followed up with a 68 and 69 to earn a tie for fourth place with teammate Dustin Morris. As of April 24, 2007, Brown is in fifth place in the Mountain West Conference in terms of stroke average. Brown is currently ranked 35th in the nation in the Golfstat Cup. He has led the team since the first tournament of the season in stroke average, and holds a 71.90.
Wild Weston...
Senior Aaron Weston was named Mountain West Conference Co-Golfer of the month for February. He shared the honors with Jarred Texter of UNLV. Weston was also named men's college player of the week for Feb. 19 by both Golf World and Golfweek. He was awarded this honor after winning the Pat Hicks Invite, Feb. 12-13. There, he recorded rounds of 71-64. This led him into a tie with Duncan Stewart of Jacksonville at a two-round 135. A playoff ensued, which Weston won on the first hole after recording a birdie. This led Weston to his first career collegiate victory. He becomes the 10th Ram in CSU history to capture an individual tournament victory. His second-round 64 is the second-lowest single round score in Colorado State history. Weston joins Martin Laird and Nolan Martin as the only Rams to ever card this score. It is second only to the 63 Zen Brown carded at the Cougar Classic, April 15, 2007. He achieved a 69.20 stroke average for the month of February. Weston achieved a tie for 13th at the Burns Intercollegiate, Feb 21-23. This marked his fourth top-20 finish of the season. Weston carded only one sub-par round in his first six of this season. Since, Weston has carded 19 par or sub-par rounds. Weston is ninth in the Mountain West in terms of stroke average, and holds a 72.06.
Rams Round-Up...
Dustin Morris has carded four top-20 and eleven sub-par rounds in his first collegiate season. He is currently 16th in the Mountain West in terms of stroke average and holds a 72.66. Derrick Whiting earned his third top-20 finish of the season at the Callaway Invite. He has recorded ten sub-par rounds this season. Whiting is 26th in the Mountain West in terms of stroke average and holds a 73.28. Bryce Hanstad has earned two top-10s in his inaugural collegiate season. Riley Arp carded his lowest single round score, 68, and tournament total, 214 at the Cougar Classic. This led Arp to a tie for 18th, the highest place finish of his career.
