Men's Golf Back On Course at Paintbrush Invitational, Oct. 9-10

Tournament: Paintbrush Invitational
Date: October 9-10, 2017
Host: Denver University
Location: Parker, Colo.
Course: Colorado Golf Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,465 (Mon)/7,513 (Tue.) yards
Host Web Site: http://www.denverpioneers.com
Live Scoring: http://www.golfstatresults.com
Tournament Field (11): Colorado State, Denver, Air Force, Arizona State, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Pacific, Texas Tech, Washington State, Wyoming

Next on the Tee: The Colorado State men's golf team returns to action at the 2017 Paintbrush Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Denver University, will be played at Colorado Golf Club (Par 72 - 7,465 yards) in Parker, Colo. Groups will tee off an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start for 36 holes on Monday, Oct. 9. Live scoring will be available at GolfStatResults.com.

Recent History at the Paintbrush Intercollegiate: In last year's inaugural event, Colorado State couldn't find their stride on the final day of play and finished 11th at the Paintbrush Invitational.
          CSU could not get things going in challenging conditions for the rest of the day and posted a 20-over 308 to finish at 32-over 896. Oklahoma State, ranked sixth in the country, took the tournament title at 14-under 850, nine shots clear of runner-up Colorado at 5-under 859. Individually, CSU's team score was led by sophomore Jake Staiano, who shot a team-best 3-under 69 in the last round and moved into a tie for 31st at 5-over 221.

Handicapping the Field: There are 11 teams in the field for the second Paintbrush Invitational. Joining the Rams will be host Denver, Air Force, Arizona State, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Pacific, Texas Tech, Washington State, Wyoming. In the field, five teams competed in the 2017 NCAA Regionals, with two other schools qualifying individuals for the postseason.

Lineup for the Paintbrush Invitational: The Rams are in a standard play five, count four event this week. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.        Max Oelfke
2.       AJ Ott
3.       Jake Staiano
4.       Colton Yates
5.       Parathakorn Suyasri

Last Time on the Tee: Colorado State men's golf defeated several rivals and finished fifth at the 2017 William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, Sept. 22-23.
          Wrapping in their second tournament in just six days, the Rams were able to put together a 4-over 292 in the final 18 holes and placed fifth at 17-over 881. CSU earned wins over several key opponents, including in-state rival Colorado and Mountain West foes New Mexico, on its home course, Senior Max Oelfke was the top finisher for the Rams, posting his second top-10 finish of the year by moving up five spots and placing ninth at 1-over 217. Oelfke recorded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the second and third round.   (complete recap on page 4)

Record Setting Event at Ram Masters: CSU had its name all over the Ram Masters Invitational record book during the 2017 event. As a team, the Rams set new records for lowest single-round score (-12, 268 in opening round), lowest 36-hole score (-12, 548) and lowest 54-hole score (-17, 823) in the tournament's history. The Rams' third round of 5-under 275 is also the fourth lowest in the tournament's annals. Individually, AJ Ott's 4-under 206 is tied for the sixth-lowest 54-hole score, while Jake Staiano's 3-under 207 is tied for ninth. Staiano's 4-under 66 in the first round is tied for the 10th lowest single-round score.

Ott Racks Up First Career Top-5 Finish, Starting Strong: Sophomore AJ Ott posted his first collegiate top-5 and second top-10 finish of the year with a fourth at the Ram Masters Invitational, Sept. 18-19. The Fort Collins native previously tied for 10th at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational for his first collegiate career top 10. In his three tournaments, he has tied for 10th, finished fourth and tied for 16th, joining junior Jake Staiano with three top-20s in the opening part of season.

Putting Together Top-10s This Season: In the early going, CSU is playing extremely solid golf, showing in the rankings. Sophomore AJ Ott has three top-16 placings, while senior Colton Yates and Max Oelfke each have two top-10 finishes so far on the year. Junior Jake Staiano and freshman Parathakorn Suyasri finished fifth and tied for eighth, respectively, at the Ram Masters Invitational, with Staiano having recorded three top-20s in three events. That gives the Rams three top-five, eight top-10 and 11 top-20 finishes so far this year.

Rams Successful In Summer Months: CSU was well represented in numerous U.S. and international tournaments this summer. Three Rams competed in the U.S. Amateur, as Jake Staiano, AJ Ott and Poon Suyasri all advanced to the premiere amateur event. Max Oelfke captured the German Amateur and Luxembourg Amateur titles in his summer play. Additionally, Suyasri qualified for and made the cut at the Asian Tour's Thailand Open.

On the CSU Career Chart: Junior Jake Staiano continues to be among the best to have played at CSU so far in his career. His scoring average of 72.17 in 60 competitive rounds ranks second all-time.

Showing the Growth: Under head coach Christian Newton, CSU continues to show growth on the national stage, as the Rams play a high-level schedule each year. With the performance so far this season, Newton's teams moved to a 59.4 percent winning record in his five-plus years according to Golfstat. Newton moved ahead of Mark Crabtree (1994-99) on the list at 57.0 percent and both coaches have five career CSU team tournament titles.

Rams on Tour: Former Colorado State standout Martin Laird, a PGA tour veteran, has had a solid 2017 season so far on the tour, currently with $1,759,706 in earnings and finished 56th in the FedEx Cup. He has made the cut in 18 of 25 events played with five top 10s, eight top 25s, with the best finish a tie for third at the Quicken Loans National in July. In 2017, his efforts during the regular season earned him a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs for the eighth time. For his career, he has now surpassed the $15.63 million in winnings. Laird is scheduled to be inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame later this fall.

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