Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, September 17
Fort Collins, Colo.
All Day
Colorado State
vs
Ram Masters Invitational Day 2
Rams Capture Sixth Straight Ram Masters Invitational Presented by Pedersen Toyota Title
9/17/2019 7:17:00 PM | Men's Golf
CSU with three players in the top five, including two tying for runner-up honors
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Every aspect of the start of the season was varied.
The trip down to Georgia was filled with ranked teams, playing in some heat and humidity at sea level. Back home to altitude at Fort Collins Country Club – a turnaround of eight days – Colorado State's men's golf team was out to defend its title at the Ram Masters Invitational Presented by Pedersen Toyota.
The Rams improved their finish at the Carpet Classic Invitational, and after a rough start to their own show, posted a blistering round on the second half of the opening day, cruising to the team title on Tuesday. They did it four-legged, with Cullen Plousha unable to finish the third round due to a shoulder injury.
CSU closed out with a 9-under 831 team score, the only squad in the field to finish in red numbers. Adding it all up, the Rams have received all they need from the first two tournaments of the season.
"Absolutely. It was a great two tournaments to start," Davis Bryant said. "We did what we wanted to, improving on last year's finish in Georgia, then playing well here. We're excited for Alabama coming up. Everyone is progressing, and you can tell that everyone is learning how to keep it going every day, which is awesome."
As a team, the Rams were easily clear of Wyoming, 14 shots back. They did it as, individually, the team had three players finish in the top five. Bryant and A.J. Ott were part of a three-way tie for second at 3-under 207, with Parathakorn Suyasri one stroke back in a three-way tie for fifth.
Just as the first two events were different, Monday's opening rounds for the Rams couldn't have been more conflicted. The 281 to close was about what CSU coach Christian Newton has come to expect from the final round. The 285 they posted to start was not to the Rams' standard, but the 265 they followed up with was incredible.
Talk about an over-correction -- Oscar Teiffel shaved 12 strokes, Plousha 11 to put Monday to bed.
"To me, the impressive part was what Cullen and Oscar did," Newton said. "They both had really rough mornings, and I wasn't sure what the afternoon was going to look like, but they turned it around, and A.J., Davis and Poon continued to play good.
"I saw a lot of putts go in, which is something that has to happen if you shoot 15-under. I'm more concerned with how you respond to adversity, quite honestly, than I am about the result. I know long term that will bode well for us. That was awesome to see that."
That's what Bryant really likes about the makeup of the roster, the ability to bounce back, to find a way to make a difference.
He noticed it upon their return from Georgia. In his view, one of the team's strengths comes off the course, their analytical way of looking at their numbers and finding what has to improve to reach goals.
The ability to finish can't be overlooked, and Suyasri has such a knack, Newton said.
His 71 in the middle round wasn't good enough to count, but his 2-under 68 paced the Rams on Tuesday when they were a man short. His internal task was simple: Go low, shoot the best round he could and jump up the leaderboard.
"He's shown the propensity to play good in the last round, which tells a lot about the kind of player he is, the changing conditions and adjusting to the golf course," Newton said. "He's going to be a big part of what we're doing as an upperclassman."
Newton witnessed some negatives, namely soft bogeys. Those are easy to clean up from a coaching perspective. The positives aren't as easy, and for him, it's the leadership and maturity his team put on display over the two days, which allows them to respond to the adversity they'll most definitely find down the road.
The Rams, they feel they're more than ready for the challenges ahead, especially with a victory behind them.
"This tournament gave us the confidence for the rest of the year," Suyasri said. "We played well. It's not easy to win around here, with all the teams around here. Some of us didn't have many tournaments during the summer, and Georgia got us back to being more competitive, and that got us ready for this tournament."
HIGHLIGHTS/NOTES:
The trip down to Georgia was filled with ranked teams, playing in some heat and humidity at sea level. Back home to altitude at Fort Collins Country Club – a turnaround of eight days – Colorado State's men's golf team was out to defend its title at the Ram Masters Invitational Presented by Pedersen Toyota.
The Rams improved their finish at the Carpet Classic Invitational, and after a rough start to their own show, posted a blistering round on the second half of the opening day, cruising to the team title on Tuesday. They did it four-legged, with Cullen Plousha unable to finish the third round due to a shoulder injury.
CSU closed out with a 9-under 831 team score, the only squad in the field to finish in red numbers. Adding it all up, the Rams have received all they need from the first two tournaments of the season.
"Absolutely. It was a great two tournaments to start," Davis Bryant said. "We did what we wanted to, improving on last year's finish in Georgia, then playing well here. We're excited for Alabama coming up. Everyone is progressing, and you can tell that everyone is learning how to keep it going every day, which is awesome."
As a team, the Rams were easily clear of Wyoming, 14 shots back. They did it as, individually, the team had three players finish in the top five. Bryant and A.J. Ott were part of a three-way tie for second at 3-under 207, with Parathakorn Suyasri one stroke back in a three-way tie for fifth.
Just as the first two events were different, Monday's opening rounds for the Rams couldn't have been more conflicted. The 281 to close was about what CSU coach Christian Newton has come to expect from the final round. The 285 they posted to start was not to the Rams' standard, but the 265 they followed up with was incredible.
Talk about an over-correction -- Oscar Teiffel shaved 12 strokes, Plousha 11 to put Monday to bed.
"To me, the impressive part was what Cullen and Oscar did," Newton said. "They both had really rough mornings, and I wasn't sure what the afternoon was going to look like, but they turned it around, and A.J., Davis and Poon continued to play good.
"I saw a lot of putts go in, which is something that has to happen if you shoot 15-under. I'm more concerned with how you respond to adversity, quite honestly, than I am about the result. I know long term that will bode well for us. That was awesome to see that."
That's what Bryant really likes about the makeup of the roster, the ability to bounce back, to find a way to make a difference.
He noticed it upon their return from Georgia. In his view, one of the team's strengths comes off the course, their analytical way of looking at their numbers and finding what has to improve to reach goals.
The ability to finish can't be overlooked, and Suyasri has such a knack, Newton said.
His 71 in the middle round wasn't good enough to count, but his 2-under 68 paced the Rams on Tuesday when they were a man short. His internal task was simple: Go low, shoot the best round he could and jump up the leaderboard.
"He's shown the propensity to play good in the last round, which tells a lot about the kind of player he is, the changing conditions and adjusting to the golf course," Newton said. "He's going to be a big part of what we're doing as an upperclassman."
Newton witnessed some negatives, namely soft bogeys. Those are easy to clean up from a coaching perspective. The positives aren't as easy, and for him, it's the leadership and maturity his team put on display over the two days, which allows them to respond to the adversity they'll most definitely find down the road.
The Rams, they feel they're more than ready for the challenges ahead, especially with a victory behind them.
"This tournament gave us the confidence for the rest of the year," Suyasri said. "We played well. It's not easy to win around here, with all the teams around here. Some of us didn't have many tournaments during the summer, and Georgia got us back to being more competitive, and that got us ready for this tournament."
HIGHLIGHTS/NOTES:
- The Rams earned their sixth consecutive Ram Masters Invitational team title in the eight-year history of the event
- The 9-under total was the second lowest 54-hole total in tournament history
- The 14-shot margin of victory is tied for the second largest difference in the Ram Masters.
- This is the second time that CSU has had three individuals that counted towards the team score and also finished in the top five and ties (other was 2015).
- CSU's 831 total is tied for the seventh lowest 54-hole total in program annals, while the 265 in the second round is tied for the third lowest single-round score since 1993-94
- Senior AJ Ott had his best individual finish in his hometown tournament and best finish in his CSU career, tying for second. He also was a major part of the Rams winning the last four Ram Masters Invitationals, having had all 12 of his rounds count to the team total.
- Sophomore Davis Bryant posted his top collegiate finish and his third top-10 of his career in just 15 events.
- Junior Parathakorn Suyasri also had his third top-five placing of his career.
Winning is always fun 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 straight Ram Masters Presented by @pedersentoyota ! HC Christian Newton talks about the accomplishment!#CSURams | #ProudToBe pic.twitter.com/5eBNxvjM9W
— Colorado State Men's Golf (@CSUMGolf) September 18, 2019
| Team Finishes | ||
| 1 | Colorado State | 285-265-281=831 (-9) |
| 2 | Wyoming | 280-277-288=845 (+5) |
| 3 | Cal State Fullerton | 287-280-279=846 (+6) |
| 4 | UTEP | 279-281-288=848 (+8) |
| 5 | Denver | 283-284-286=853 (+13) |
| 6 | Fresno State | 289-280-286=855 (+15) |
| 7 | Northern Colorado | 285-288-284=857 (+17) |
| 8 | South Dakota | 284-284-292=860 (+20) |
| 9 | Utah Valley | 292-282-290=864 (+24) |
| 10 | Grand Canyon | 287-295-285=867 (+27) |
| 11 | Air Force | 288-290-290=868 (+28) |
| 12 | Utah State | 293-291-295=879 (+39) |
| 13 | Pacific | 300-281-300=881 (+41) |
| 14 | Cal Poly | 296-294-292=882 (+42) |
| 15 | Wichita State | 302-294-289=885 (+45) |
| 16 | Houston Baptist | 292-294-303=889 (+49) |
| 17 | Creighton | 297-304-300=901 (+61) |
| Top Five Individuals Plus CSU | ||
| 1 | Oskar Ambrosius (UTEP) | 65-68-68=201 (-9) |
| T2 | Davis Bryant (Colorado State) | 71-66-70=207 (-3) |
| T2 | AJ Ott (Colorado State) | 68-67-72=207 (-3) |
| T2 | Tanner Podres (Cal Poly) | 71-69-67=207 (-3) |
| T5 | Parathakorn Suyasri (Colorado State) | 69-71-68=208 (-2) |
| T5 | Derek Castillo (Cal State Fullerton) | 72-68-68=208 (-2) |
| T5 | Michael Cliff (Fresno State) | 67-67-74=208 (-2) |
| T28 | Oscar Teiffel (Colorado State) | 78-66-71=215 (+5) |
| T28 | Jack Ainscough (Colorado State-Ind.) | 72-71-72=215 (+5) |
| T64 | Akedanai Ponghathaikul (Colorado State-Ind.) | 74-73-77=224 (+14) |
| T87 | Andrew Lafferty (Colorado State-Ind.) | 77-77-78=232 (+22) |
| WD | Cullen Plousha (Colorado State) | 77-66-WD (Injury) |
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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