Rams Open Season At Carpet Capital Collegiate Sept. 6-8

Tournament: Carpet Capital Collegiate
Dates: Sept. 6-8
Host: Georgia Tech
Location: Rocky Face, Ga.
Course: The Farm Golf Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,154 yds
Host Web Site: https://ramblinwreck.com
Live Scoring: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=18617
Tournament Field (15): Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Florida, Kennesaw State, North Florida, San Francisco, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Virginia

Next on the Tee: Colorado State is headed back to Georgia for the second straight time to open the season at the Carpet Capital Collegiate, Sept. 6-8. The three-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Georgia Tech, will be played at the The Farm Golf Club (Par 72 - 7,154 yards) in Rocky Face, Ga.

Handicapping the Field: CSU heads to the Carpet Capital to face one of the top fields it will play in all year. Of the 15 teams in the field, 13 were represented in the NCAA Regionals last year (11 teams, 2 with individuals), with four of them advancing to the NCAA Championship. From the Rams' regional in Pullman, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Florida and CSU were teams with San Francisco sending an individual. Ten teams have sent full squads to the last two NCAA Regionals, with 14 of 15 seeing some level of postseason play.
       All 15 teams finished the year inside the top 125 in 2018-19 according to Golfstat, with 13 in the top 85. CSU finished the year ranked No. 41. Heading into this season, five teams are ranked in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll (#3 Georgia Tech, #17 Clemson, #21 Alabama, #22 South Carolina and #25 Florida) with three (North Florida, Tennessee and Virginia) receiving votes.

Lineup for the Carpet Capital Collegiate: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at The Farm Golf Club. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.       Davis Bryant
2.      AJ Ott
3.      Cullen Plousha
4.      Parathakorn Suyasri
5.      Oscar Teiffel

Last Time Out: Golf is a game of inches and over 54 holes of team play, Colorado State had done enough to get into a tie for fifth at the 2019 NCAA Pullman Regional. However, it was also by a matter of inches that the Rams fell in the team one-hole playoff to South Carolina for the final advancing spot at Palouse Ridge Golf Club (Par 70 – 7,232 yards) in Pullman, Wash.
       Starting in the first wave off No. 10, the Rams got it rolling again in the early stages of the day, making the turn in 12-under for the day and at 24-under par. The wind had shifted in the opposite direction from the first two days and the Rams fought it in the final nine and finished at 21-under in a tie with Gamecocks. After the field finished, the two teams headed back out to the ninth hole in two waves. The two teams were tied at even after the first wave, but South Carolina managed a birdie among their final three players and CSU was unable to match, advancing the Gamecocks as the final team in the NCAA Championship field.
       Second-round leader No. 20 Texas A&M maintained its lead and won the event at 33-under 807, two shots better than No. 32 BYU at 31-under 809. No. 5 Oklahoma at 30-under 810 and No. 8 Georgia Tech at 22-under 818 also advanced out of the regional.
       CSU was led by senior Jake Staiano, who posted a 1-under 69 in the final 18 and finished at 7-under 203 in a tie for 12th. Junior AJ Ott was one shot back at 6-under 204 after a 2-under 68 in the last round and tied for 17th. Freshman Davis Bryant had the low final round for the Rams, shooting a 4-under 66 and finishing at 4-under 206, tying for 27th. Freshman Oscar Teiffel tied for 33rd at 2-under 208, while sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri tied for 47th at 2-over 212. BYU's Rhett Rasmussen was the regional medalist, finishing at 15-under 195 for the three rounds.
(complete results and recap on page 9)

Teiffel Earns Postseason Honors: Colorado State freshman Oscar Teiffel was named 2019 Mountain West men's golf Co-Freshman of the Year and All-Mountain West. The honors were voted on by the 11 head coaches of the Mountain West.
       Teiffel was the second Ram ever to earn the Freshman of the Year award, joining Zahkai Brown in 2008-09. This also marked the third consecutive season that head coach Christian Newton has had at least one CSU golfer earn All-Mountain West recognition.
       A native of Gothenburg, Sweden, Teiffel led the Rams in scoring average at 71.71 strokes per round (+0.37 versus par) in 35 rounds and 12 tournaments, with 17 rounds of par or better with eight rounds in the 60s. He has one individual win, four top 10s and six top-20 finishes, as he was medalist at the Paintbrush Intercollegiate with a 10-under 206 in cold and windy conditions in his first collegiate tournament in the lineup. He shot three under-par rounds in the Paintbrush, going 2-under 70 in the first round before 3-under 69 and 5-under 67 in the second and third rounds, respectively.. Most recently , he placed 10th at the PING Cougar Classic, shooting a 4-under 212 with all three rounds under-par and followed that up with a tie for 12th at the Mountain West Championship at 7-under 209, helping CSU to a runner-up finish. In his first league championship, he shot rounds of 70, 69 and 70.

Last Season at the Carpet Capital: The Colorado State men's golf team posted the second-best final round in the field and moved up four places to finish 10th at the Carpet Capital Collegiate, Sept. 7-9. The three-day, 54-hole event, hosted by Georgia Tech University, was played at The Farm Golf Club (Par 72 – 7,178 yards) in Rocky Face, Ga.
       The Rams rallied in the final 18 holes for its best score of the event and the second lowest among the 13 2018 NCAA Regional teams and the NAIA National Runner-up. CSU had four rounds of par or better to post a 7-under 281 and finish the tournament at 17-over 881, defeating nationally-ranked California and Florida among its victories. Tennessee took the tournament title after winning a playoff over Georgia Tech after both teams tied at 21-under 843. Alabama placed third at 19-under 845, with Clemson, who shot the low round of the day at 9-under 79, and South Carolina tying for fourth at 1-under 863.

Summer Success: The Rams took advantage of the summer months to play in some outstanding amateur competition. Among the successes that CSU golfers had are:
AJ Ott - Southwestern Amateur champion; US Amateur qualifier for the third year in a row, tying for 62nd and advancing to a 27-for-3 playoff for final spots in match play; Colorado Open Low Am, US Am qualifier
Cullen Plousha - US Amateur qualifier for second consecutive year
Jack Ainscough - British Amateur qualifier, advancing to match play
Davis Bryant - Colorado Am champion
Parathakorn Suyasri - Winner of two Thailand Junior events, Qualified for 2019 Asian-Pacific Amateur

Making A Mark Nationally: The Rams made their presence known on the national scene last year the last two years, finishing No. 41 in the nation according to the Golfweek ratings & No. 45 according to Golfstat's ratings in 2017-18 and ranked No. 41 according to Golfstat and No. 43 by Golfweek last season. Utilizing Golfstat, CSU was the top-ranked Division I golf team in the state and second in the Mountain West behind UNLV.
       Within the region in 2018-19, CSU recorded a 84-28-1 head-to-head record with an 18-12-1 record against Pac-12 schools and 26-11 versus the Mountain West, which had five teams in the Regionals for the first time since 2012 (#27 UNLV, #41 CSU, #49 Nevada, #58 San Jose State and #70 New Mexico).
       Over the last two years, CSU has a 35-30-1 record against the Pac-12 and 7-0 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 this season, Newton's teams moved to a 61.1 percent winning record in his seven 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.
       As a team last year, the Rams were ranked #5 in the region in scoring versus par at +0.27 per round.

Freshman Ranking for CSU: Last year's freshman combination of Oscar Teiffel and Davis Bryant made an impact for CSU. The duo ranked fifth nationally, according to Golfstat, on their contribution to the team this season, with an average score of 71.96 in rounds played.

Putting Together Top-20s Last Season: CSU had some very good outings in the 2018-19 season, showing in the rankings. As a group, the Rams had one win, 11 top-five, 18 top-10 and 35 top-20 individual finishes in 12 team tournaments and four individual-only events.
       Freshman Oscar Teiffel has one tournament title, four top 10s and seven top-20 placings, while fellow freshman Davis Bryant has two top 10s and six top-20 finishes in events. Junior AJ Ott has four top-10 and five top-20 results, sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri with two top 10s and five top-20s, including two runner-up finishes and senior Jake Staiano with two top-10 and five top-20s.

2018-19 Highlights: Here's a quick list of highlights from last season's action for the Rams:
CSU qualified as a team for the 2019 NCAA Pullman Regional, its second straight regional appearance and third straight year with postseason participation.
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 third time in the last five years that a Newton-led squad has won two tournaments in a season.

On the CSU Records Chart: The current roster has two players that have etched his name on the CSU record book (since 1993-94) with their performances so far in their careers.
Sophomore Parathakorn Suyasri is now sixth in career scoring average at 72.41 strokes per round and eighth at +1.02 versus par in 64 rounds played.
Freshman Oscar Teiffel finished 2018-19 with a scoring average of 71.71 in 35 rounds played for the year, ranking 10th for a single-season in CSU annals.

On the World Stage: Five Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 1250 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, as of Sept. 4. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player                                      WAGR
AJ Ott                                       184
Parathakorn Suyasri                   454
Davis Bryant                              539
Jack Ainscough                        898
Oscar Teiffel                             1236

Military Tribute Bag Continues: In 2019-20, CSU is continuing its tradition of honoring those who have served our country through the military. This year, the program is recognizing U.S. Army veteran Charles W. Williamson III.
       Williamson served almost 17 years on active duty before medically retiring as a Sergeant First Class in 2007. He was part of a tank effort in Operation Desert Storm and through his first nine years of service, he was an Armor Crewman and held every position on a tank, including tank commander. During his military career, he also served as a Platoon Sergeant and Head Cadre, the instructor for the Individual Readiness Training for Bosnia rotations. He also served as a recruiter for the Army, retiring as Commander of a six-man recruiting station. From his service, he received numerous awards, bages, ribbons and commendations, including for meritorius service, His daughter Katelyn is a senior at CSU and is a Folds of Honor Scholarship recipient studying bio-medical sciences.
       The bag is being carried by the top CSU finisher from the previous tournament during the 2019-20 season. Davis Bryant earned the honor after winning the qualifying event for the first week's Capital Carpet Collegiate at Georgia Tech, Sept. 6-8. Five different Rams carried the bag during the 2018-19 season.
       Last year, the military tribute bag debuted, honoring former golfer and late U.S. Army veteran James "Jerry" Jackson. Jackson had 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.

Tournament                                        Player Carrying                  Finish
Carpet Capital Collegiate                      Davis Bryant

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 was named the 2018 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.

Ram on Tour: Former Colorado State standout Martin Laird, a PGA tour veteran, had a solid 2019 season on the tour, with $863,054 in earnings and finishing 121st in the FedEx Cup. He made the cut in 18 of 26 events played with four top 10s and five top 25s, with the best finish a tie for seventh at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the end of October (13-under 275). In 2019, his efforts during the regular season earned him a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs for the 10th time.
       For his career, he has surpassed $17.51 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in two-thirds of his 287 PGA Tour starts in his 13 years on the top golf tour. Laird was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2017.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results