Rams travel to California for nationally-televised Western Intercollegiate

Tournament: Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf
Dates: April 15-17, 2019
Host: San Jose State University
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif.
Course: Pasatiempo Golf Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 70 / 6,615 yds
Host Web Site: https://sjsuspartans.com/mgolf
TV: Golf Channel
Live Scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=17469
Tournament Field (13): Colorado State, San Jose State, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Irvine, USC, UTEP, Washington

Next on the Tee: Colorado State will return to competition after almost a month off the course when it plays at the 2019 Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf Monday-Wednesday, April 15-17. The three-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by San Jose State University, will be played at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif.

National TV Coverage: The Rams are going to be part of national coverage of college golf during the Western Intercollegiate. The Golf Channel announced it would show three live hours daily of the event, as the tournament shifted from two days to a three-day format on April 15-17. Last year, CSU finished eighth in the 15-team field that had 11 teams advance to NCAA Regionals along with two other schools sending individuals.
       The tournament will be televised on Monday and Tuesday from 5-8 p.m. MT and Wednesday's final round will be on from 2-5 p.m. MT.

Handicapping the Field: CSU returns to the nationally-renowned Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf that features 10 of the 13 teams ranked in the top 70 currently. In the field along with the No. 46 Rams are host San Jose State (#55), USC (#6), California (#11), Stanford (#16), Pepperdine (#18), Oregon (#38), Arizona (#47),San Diego State (#70), Washington (#73), UTEP (#130), UC Irvine (#157) and Hawai'i (#205).
       In this week's field, 11 of the 13 teams were represented in NCAA postseason competition last year, with nine (CSU, Arizona, California, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Irvine, USC) sending teams and two (UTEP and Washington) with individuals. Oregon and Stanford eventually advanced to the NCAA Championship.
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Lineup for the Western Intercollegiate: The Rams are in the unique play-six, count-five event this week at the Western Intercollegiate. For CSU, the lineup will feature Rams playing together in pairs with another duo, with our pairings being Oscar Teiffel/Jack Ainscough, Davis Bryant/Jake Staiano and Parathakorn Suyasri/AJ Ott.

Last Time Out: Colorado State tied for the second-best final round and moved up two spots to finish fourth at the 2019 National Invitational Tournament March 18-19. The two-day, 54-hole event, hosted by the University of Arizona, was played at Omni Tucson National Resort Catalina Course (par 72 – 7,200 yards), the site of the 2019 Mountain West Championship.
       Playing in a field of 16 teams in which 12 were represented in NCAA postseason competition last year, the No. 52 Rams shot their best round of the tournament with a 10-under 278 to move up to fourth at 25-under 839. No. 4 Arizona State held its lead through 36 holes with a 17-under 271 in the final round to finish at 50-under 814, 21 shots ahead of No. 7 Southern Cal in second at 29-under 835. No. 5 Oklahoma placed third, just three shots ahead of CSU at 28-under 836. No. 42 Iowa State rounded out the top five teams at 24-under 840.
       All five Rams finished under par for the tournament, led by the trio of sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri, senior Jake Staiano and freshman Oscar Teiffel in a tie for 13th at 6-under 210. Suyasri had the best round of the day for CSU with a 5-under 67, including seven birdies and an eagle on the eighth hole, his fifth hole of the day in the shotgun start. Junior AJ Ott fired a 4-under 68 on the day with six birdies and two bogeys en route to a tie for 26th at 3-under 213. Freshman Davis Bryant also finished at 1-under 215 for the tournament, tying for 37th.
(complete results and recap on page 7)

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.
       This year, the Rams have two victories and five top-five placings on the season. They are currently ranked No. 46 according to Golfstat and No. 48 by Golfweek. Utilizing Golfstat which is the way teams are determined for NCAA Regional at-large berths, CSU is the top-ranked Division I golf team in the state and second in the Mountain West behind UNLV.
       Within the region, CSU holds a 56-20 head-to-head record with an 12-8 record against Pac-12 schools and 12-6 versus the Mountain West, which currently has seven teams ranked in the top 70 nationally according to Golfstat (#33 UNLV, #46 CSU, #48 Nevada, #55 San Jose State, #62 New Mexico, #63 Boise State and #70 San Diego State).
       Over the last year-and-a-half, CSU has a 27-27 record against the Pac-12 and 5-0 versus Big Ten schools.
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 60.6 percent winning record in his six-plus years according to Golfstat. Newton moved ahead of Mark Crabtree (1994-99) on the list at 57.0 percent and Newton has eight career CSU team tournament titles to Crabtree's five.

Individual National Rankings: Colorado State's success on the course is due to the entire lineup, as several golfers are ranked significantly in the key NCAA Division I metrics. The Rams' rankings, as of April 5, are:
Player                       Golfweek                Golfstat
Davis Bryant              313                          182
Jake Staiano             228                          239
Oscar Teiffel              222                          281
Parathakorn Suyasri 204                         363
AJ Ott                        391                          462
Cullen Plousha          685                         745
Jack Ainscough         701                          791

Freshman Ranking for CSU: The freshman combination of Oscar Teiffel and Davis Bryant are making an impact for CSU. The duo is ranked seventh nationally, according to Golfstat, on their contribution to the team this season.

Putting Together Top-20s This Season: CSU has some very good outings in the 2018-19 season, showing in the rankings. As a group, the Rams have one win, seven top-five, 12 top-10 and 25 top-20 individual finishes in eight team tournaments and four individual-only events.
       Freshman Oscar Teiffel has one tournament title, 3 top 10s and 5 top-15 placings, while fellow freshman Davis Bryant has one top 10 and five top-20 finishes events. Junior AJ Ott has two top-10 results, sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri with one top 10 and three top-20s, including a runner-up finish and senior Jake Staiano with one top 10 and two top-20s.
       In comparison for 2017-18, the Rams had six top-five, 14 top-10 and 27 top-20 individual finishes. Current junior AJ Ott, graduated senior Max Oelfke and current senior Jake Staiano each had four top-16 placings.

Other Fall Highlights: Here's a quick list of highlights from this fall's action for the Rams:
The Rams defended their team title at the Ram Masters Invitational, winning the event for the fifth consecutive year
Colorado State had four players in the top nine individuals at the Ram Masters Invitational
CSU won the Paintbrush Invitational, its second win of the season.
Oscar Teiffel became the first Ram ever to earn medalist honors in his first tournament in the lineup when he won the Paintbrush Invitational
Teiffel's individual tournament win at the Paintbrush Invitational was the 41st for a CSU player since 1996-97, according to Golfstat
Head Coach Christian Newton has had his Rams win at least one tournament title the last five years, tying current Kansas coach and former Ram leader Jamie Bermel for the most consecutive seasons with a team win.
The Paintbrush Invitational win was the second team win of the season, marking the fourth time in the last five years that a Newton-led squad has won two tournaments in a season
The Rams finished the fall with a 52-22 (.703) head-to-head record against a very challenging schedule, far above the minimum .500 record for consideration for the NCAA Regional consideration. Last year, CSU finished at 116-51 (.695).

Ott Named CGA Player of the Year: Colorado State men's golf continues to make its impact on the state's golf scene, as junior AJ Ott has been named the Colorado Golf Association Les Fowler Player of the Year as the state's top amateur golfer, the organization announced. He is the second straight CSU golfer to earn the award as current Ram senior Jake Staiano took home the award last season.
       Ott had a solid amateur season, winning the 118th CGA Match Play event and qualifying for his second straight U.S. Amateur. At the match play event, Ott shot a 6-under 65 to finish second in the qualifying round and then won six straight matches, including one of the most lopsided finishes in the 36-hole final, defeating Ross Macdonald 9 and 8 to earn the victory. In U.S. Amateur qualifying at Fort Collins Country Club, Ott fired rounds of 68-65 to finish second and earn a berth in the national championship.
       Elsewhere this year, Ott placed 19th in the CoBank Colorado Open -- third among amateurs -- and 10th in the CGA Amateur. In college events in 2018, He finished fifth in the Mountain West Conference Championship and ninth in both the Ram Masters Invitational and the Paintbrush Invitational, earning All-Mountain West honors and leading CSU to its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2012.
       The CGA Les Fowler Player of the Year honor is the second statewide POY award for Ott, who was the 2016 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado's Boys Player of the Year.

On the CSU Career Chart: The current roster has a player that has etched his name on the CSU record book (since 1993-94) with his performances so far in his career.
Senior Jake Staiano continues to be among the best to have played at CSU so far in his career. His scoring average of 72.40 in 109 competitive rounds ranks fifth all-time in average and tied for sixth versus par at +0.90.
Sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri is now 12th at 72.85 strokes per round and 11th at +1.37 versus par in 52 rounds played.
Staiano has an all-time win percentage of 70.6 percent, currently seventh in CSU annals.
Staiano also ranks on the eagles made chart with 14, currently fifth and just recently cracked the top 15 in career birdies, now 12th with 363.

On the World Stage: Five Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 1200 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, as of April 5. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player                                     WAGR
AJ Ott                                      347
Jake Staiano                            498
Parathakorn Suyasri                542
Davis Bryant                             722
Oscar Teiffel                             1086
Jack Ainscough                        1133
Akedanai Ponghathaikul          1395
       Additionally, Suyasri competed in the Asia-Pacific Amateur championship in Singapore, which ended Oct. 7, 2018. Suyasri tied for 40th, including a 2-under 68 in the third round.

Memorial Bag Established: CSU is honoring former golfer and late U.S. Army veteran James "Jerry" Jackson with a memorial golf bag, head coach Christian Newton announced.
       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 the first week's Capital Carpet Collegiate at Georgia Tech, Sept. 7-9. Four different Rams have carried the bag during the season so far, with Staiano the first to have had it twice and freshman Oscar Teiffel becoming the first player to carry it in back-to-back events when he was on the bag for the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate to start the spring schedule.
Tournament                                       Player Carrying                Finish
Carpet Capital Collegiate                    Jake Staiano                    t-27th
Ram Masters Invitational                     Davis Bryant                     t-6th
William H. Tucker Intercollegiate         Parathakorn Suyasri         t-80th
Paintbrush Invitational                         Jake Staiano                    t-32nd
Saint Mary's Invitational                      Oscar Teiffel                     t-12th
Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate          Oscar Teiffel*                    t-52nd
Lamkin San Diego Classic                   Davis Bryant                     t-45th
National Invitational Tournament        Parathakorn Suyasri         t-13th
Western Intercollegiate                       Parathakorn Suyasri

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.
       He posted his first top-10 of the 2019 season with a tie for seventh at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the end of October and then tied for 14th at the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf. This season he has made seven of 12 official cuts. For his career, he has now surpassed $16.95 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in two-thirds of his 273 PGA Tour starts in his 11-plus years on the top golf tour. Laird was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame last fall.

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