Rams Open Season at Nationally-Renowned Carpet Capital Collegiate

Tournament: Carpet Capital Collegiate
Date: Sept. 7-9, 2018
Host: Georgia Tech University
Location: Rocky Face, Ga.
Course: The Farm Golf Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,154 yards
Host Web Site: http://www.ramblinwreck.com
Live Scoring: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=15985
Tournament Field (15): Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Auburn, California, Chattanooga, Clemson, Dalton State, Florida, Kennesaw State, LSU, North Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

Next on the Tee: The Colorado State men's golf team will open the 2018-19 season at the nationally-renowned Carpet Capital Collegiate, Sept. 7-9. The Rams will start off No. 1 at 8 a.m. on Sept. 7, playing with Clemson and North Florida.

Handicapping the Field: There are 15 teams in the field for the Carpet Capital Collegiate, including nine ranked in Golfweek's Lance Ringler's preseason top 30. In the field along with the No. 28 Rams are host Georgia Tech (#9), Auburn (#4), LSU (#6), California (#7), Florida (#8), Alabama (#11), Clemson (#14), North Florida (#19), Chattanooga, Dalton State, Kennesaw State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
   Of the 14 Division I teams in the tournament, 13 of them were in the NCAA Regionals last year, with five advancing to the NCAA Championships. The lone non-D-I school, Dalton State, was the 2018 NAIA National Runner-up and ranked No. 2 preseason, making this one of the top fields on CSU's schedule this year.

Lineup for the Carpet Capital: The Rams are in the play-five, count-four event this week at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. For CSU, the lineup will feature two players making their debuts in the team lineup:
1.   Jake Staiano
2.   AJ Ott
3.   Davis Bryant
4.   Parathakorn Suyasri
5.   Cullen Plousha

On the World Stage: Six Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 1400 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player   WAGR
AJ Ott   233
Jake Staiano   425
Parathakorn Suyasri   719
Davis Bryant    1072
Jack Ainscough   1230
Akedanai Ponghathaikul   1377
Oscar Teiffel   2305

Memorial Bag Established: CSU will honor former golfer and late U.S. Army veteran James "Jerry" Jackson with a memorial golf bag, head coach Christian Newton announced today.
   Jackson served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, eventually passing away from lasting effects from exposure to Agent Orange from his service. After his passing, a group established the Friends of Jackson Endowed Scholarship for a golf student-athlete pursuing a degree in the College of Agriculture, as he played golf for the Rams during his collegiate career.
   "It's very important to me that our players understand the sacrifices that were made by our veterans that affords us our day to day liberties," Newton said. "We are all so fortunate to reside in this country. That fact that we can honor a veteran, alum, and former player will make it that much more meaningful."
   The bag will be carried by the top CSU finisher from the previous tournament during the 2018-19 season. Senior Jake Staiano earned the honor after winning the qualifying event for this week's Capital Carpet Collegiate at Georgia Tech, Sept. 7-9.
   Donations can be made to enhance the endowment through the Ram Club by contacting Jay McMillin at 970.491.7346 or jay.mcmillin@colostate.edu.

Last Time Out: On the final day of the event, the Colorado State men's golf team battled but came up short of advancing, finishing seventh at the 2018 NCAA Kissimmee Regional, May 14-16. The three-day, 54-hole event, hosted by the University of Central Florida, was played at the Reunion Resort's Watson Course (Par 72 – 7,154 yards) in Kissimmee, Fla.
   Sitting in a tie for fifth at the start of the day with two of the top three seeds in Vanderbilt and North Carolina, the Rams surged up to as high as fourth in the early going, as the teams started on holes 6-10 in the adjusted shotgun start. However in its first regional appearance since 2012, CSU could not string together enough early birdies to hold on late and finished at 5-under 283 for the day and 16-under 848 for the tournament. Florida won the regional at 42-under 822, finishing 12 shots ahead of host UCF in second at 30-under 834. Vanderbilt was third at 22-under 842, with North Carolina at 21-under 843 and Kent State at 20-under 844 taking the final advancing spots to the NCAA Championship. CSU's three-round total of 848 was the second-lowest total in a NCAA Regional in program history, only surpassed by 2007's 844 (-20) in the West Regional at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The seventh-place finish was also the third-best ever in the program's 17 regional appearances.
   On the day, senior Max Oelfke had the top score CSU, shooting a 3-under 69 on the day that included his 22nd career eagle, a new school record. Oelfke finished the tournament in a tie for 14th at 4-under 212 with teammate junior Jake Staiano, who had a final round 1-over 73. Sophomore AJ Ott rebounded on the final day with a 2-under 70 to improve to even-par 216 and a tie for 39th with CSU freshmen Jack Ainscough and Parathakorn Suyasri. The freshman duo each posted an even-par 72 on the last 18 of the event. Florida took the top two individual spots, with Andy Zhang shooting a 13-under 203, one shot ahead of Chris Nido. Arizona's George Cunningham was the individual qualifier on a non-advancing team from the Kissimmee Regional, tying for sixth at 9-under 207.
(complete recap on page 8)

Individual National Rankings: Colorado State's success on the course is due to the entire lineup, as all five golfers in the NCAA Regional lineup were ranked significantly in the key NCAA Division I metrics. The Rams rankins at the end of last season were:
Player   Golfweek   Golfstat
AJ Ott   174   188
Max Oelfke   181   194
Jake Staiano   262   296
Jack Ainscough   336   398
Parathakorn Suyasri   372   494

Newton MW Coach of the Year; Ott, Oelfke Honored: Coming off its second straight runner-up finish in the Mountain West and highest ranking in six years, the Colorado State men's golf program earned a trio of postseason awards as head coach Christian Newton was named MW Coach of the Year while sophomore AJ Ott and senior Max Oelfke were named to All-Mountain West today. The honors were determined in a vote by the league's coaches.
   In earning his first league honor, Newton led CSU to its current ranking of No. 39 according to Golfweek and No. 44 according to Golfstat, as well as back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Mountain West Championship, the top back-to-back combined placings in program history. The program is also assured of its first NCAA Regionals berth as a team since 2012 under his leadership. He is just the fourth CSU coach to ever earn the honor, as Jamie Bermel garnered the award three times, and first since 2009-10.
   Ott led the Rams in scoring average this season, averaging 71.63 strokes in 30 rounds played, an improvement of almost four strokes a round over his freshman year. He posted a pair of top-five and three top-10 finishes on the year, highlighted by a fourth in the Ram Masters Invitational and a tie for fifth at the recent Mountain West Championship. He had 14 rounds of par or better, with a career-best 6-under 66 in the first round of the MW event, and placed in the top 26 in eight of 10 tournaments played this season. Having started the year not ranked in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Ott has jumped all the way to 290th in the world from his play this year. He also is currently sixth on CSU's single-season chart with his 71.63 scoring average.
    Oelfke was second for CSU in scoring right behind at 71.80 strokes per round, including a pair of top-five placings and three top 10s. The senior's top finishes were a second at the season-opening Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational and a tie for fifth with Ott and fellow Ram Jake Staiano at the Mountain West Championship. For the year, he had 17 rounds of par or better and finished in the top 21 in six events, including top-15s in the nationally-renowned Oregon Duck Invitational and Western Intercollegiate this spring. His average has him 11th on CSU's single-season scoring list entering the postseason.
   The duo are the 20th and 21st Rams to be honored since the league started in 1999-2000. Additionally, this gives CSU three players that have been recognized on the squad as junior Jake Staiano was a selection last season.

On the CSU Career Chart: The current roster etched their names on the CSU record book (since 1993-94) with their performances last season along with one of the graduates.

Senior Jake Staiano continues to be among the best to have played at CSU so far in his career. His scoring average of 72.29 in 84 competitive rounds ranks fourth all-time in average and sixth versus par at +0.82.
He is one of six players in CSU history to have 50 percent or more of his collegiate rounds played at par or better (currently 46 of 84 - 54.8 percent). Last season, he has 20 of his 33 rounds at par or better, (60.6 percent) just cracking the top 15 in school history.
Staiano has an all-time win percentage of 70.7 percent, currently sixth in CSU annals, while recent graduate Max Oelfke ranked 13th in the category at 63.5 percent.
Junior AJ Ott finished eighth in single-season scoring average at 71.67 strokes per round.
Oelfke showed his ability to post quite a few under-par holes in his career. He set the school record for career eagles on his final par-5 at the NCAA Regional, finishing with 22 in 126 rounds played. He also has 414 career birdies (averaging 3.29 per round), which is sixth.
Staiano also ranks on the eagles made chart with 11, tied for eighth.

Putting Together Top-10s Last Season: CSU has played extremely solid golf in the 2017-18 season, showing in the rankings. Sophomore AJ Ott, senior Max Oelfke and junior Jake Staiano each had four top-16 placings. Staiano and freshman Parathakorn Suyasri finished fifth and tied for eighth, respectively, at the Ram Masters Invitational. Suyasri also finished in a tie for eighth at Saint Mary's, Yates tying for 14th and Ott tying for 20th. The top trio for CSU (Ott, Oeflke, Staiano) all tied for fifth at the recently played Mountain West Championship, solidifying the team's berth in the NCAA Regionals. For last year, the Rams had six top-five, 14 top-10 and 27 top-20 individual finishes.

Making A Mark Nationally: The Rams made their presence known on the national scene last year. With four top-five finishes in the fall and solid placings in the top spring events, CSU finished the season ranked No. 41 in the nation according to the Golfweek ratings & No. 45 according to Golfstat's ratings.

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 59.5 percent winning record in his six years according to Golfstat. Newton moved ahead of Mark Crabtree (1994-99) on the list at 57.0 percent and Newton has six career CSU team tournament titles to Crabtree's five.

Another Notable Accomplishment: Colorado State finished the 2017-18 slate with a head-to-head mark of 116-51 (.695) on the season against one of the toughest schedules in school history, far above the minimum .500 record for consideration for the NCAA Regional at-large bid they received.

Record Setting Event at Ram Masters: Looking ahead briefly to the next tournament, 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.

Ram on Tour: Former Colorado State standout Martin Laird, a PGA tour veteran, had a solid 2018 season on the tour, currently with $1,017,580 in earnings and currently 115th in the FedEx Cup. He made the cut in 14 of 22 events played with three top 10s and seven top 25s, with the best finish a tie for seventh at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a 17-under 271. In 2018, his efforts during the regular season earned him a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs for the ninth time. For his career, he has now surpassed $16.65 million in winnings and made the cut in two-thirds of his 261 PGA Tour starts in his 11 years on the top golf tour. Laird was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame last fall.

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