Rams' Season Still Successful Despite Early Ending

Next on the Tee: Colorado State, ranked #16 in Golfweek, #19 according to Golfstat and #20 in the Golf Coaches Poll, has ended its 2019-20 season early due to the national health crisis that led to the cancellation of all NCAA sports for the remainder of the year.

Fast Five On the 2019-20 Season:

The Rams won three of their six tournaments played during the year and finished in the top seven of all of them, just the fourth time in program history that CSU has recorded three or more wins in a season.
The team averaged 283.06 strokes per competition round, the lowest next scoring average in history and the 1.61-under par per round is second in school annals.
Davis Bryant, Parathakorn Suyasri and AJ Ott also made their mark on the single-season scoring average, as the trio is now fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, for a single season versus par (minimum of 15 rounds).
Five Rams (Suyasri, Bryant, Ott, Jack Ainscough and Oscar Teiffel) all ended the season ranking in the top 15 in career scoring at CSU, heading into next year.
Head coach Christian Newton now has 11 tournament victories in his eight years as leader of the Rams.

Last Time Out Highlights at Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic:
Colorado State battled one of its toughest fields of the year and finished seventh at the 2020 Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic, March 9-10.
In a field that featured nine teams in Golfstat's top 50 and 17 in the top 100, the #19 Rams shot their best round of the tournament with a 3-under 285 in the final round to finish at 1-over 865. No. 37 Tennessee took home the team title at 8-under 856, four shots better than #3 Arizona State and #28 San Diego State in a tie for second.
Just 11 shots separated first from eighth in the final standings.
(complete results and recap on page 6)

More Tap-In Putts On CSU:

This season, the Rams against schools from the various conferences are:
- Mountain West – 12-1
- Pac-12 – 8-2 (43-32-1 over last three years)
- Big Ten – 1-0 (8-0 over last three years)
- Southeastern Conference (SEC) – 6-3
- Atlantic Coast Conference – 1-1-1
The Rams finished in the top five in four of their six events this year, holding a 78-15-2 head-to-head record.
CSU had one individual win, eight top-five, nine top-10 and 14 top-20 finishes in just six events.
Sophomore Davis Bryant posted par or better scores in 12 of his last 14 rounds as he posted his third top-5 finish of the year and his collegiate career.
Junior AJ Ott posted 11 of his 17 rounds at par or better this year
After a slow start in the opening tournament, junior Parathakorn Suyasri finished in the top five of three of his next five and top-25 in all five tournaments (T-5, 1st, T-3, T-21, T-24)

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).
       This year, the Rams were a stellar 46-5-1 against West region teams and 78-15-2 overall in head-to-head matchups. Against top-25 teams, the Rams finished 7-5-2 overall (.571). Finishing 21st in team scoring versus par this year, CSU ended the season as the top team in the state (by 58 places over Colorado in second and 79 over Denver in third) and Mountain West (nine places ahead of San Diego State) and fourth in the West region.

On the World Stage: Five Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 800 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, as of March 18. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player                                    WAGR
AJ Ott                                    116
Parathakorn Suyasri          117
Davis Bryant                       376
Jack Ainscough                  762
Oscar Teiffel                        763

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 March 23, are:
Player                     Golfweek              Golfstat
Davis Bryant         53                           39
Parathakorn Suyasri                           55    80
AJ Ott                     60                          124
Jack Ainscough    349                        244
Oscar Teiffel         641                         690
*The top three Rams ranked higher than all other collegiate golfers in the state of Colorado by at least 165 places.

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                t-18th
Ram Masters Invitational            AJ Ott                            t-2nd
Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate                                   AJ Ott     t-7th
Saint Mary's Invitational              Parathakorn Suyasri t-3rd
Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate                                       Davis Bryant t-31st
Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic                                      Davis Bryant t-5th

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 62.9 percent winning record in his eight years according to Golfstat. Newton moved ahead of both Jamie Bermel (1994-99 - 62.1 percent) Mark Crabtree (1994-99 - 57.0 percent) and Newton has 11 career CSU team tournament titles to Crabtree's five.
       As a team in 2018-19, the Rams were ranked #5 in the region in scoring versus par at +0.27 per round. This season, the Rams were #7 at -1.61 per round.

Bryant Named CGA Player of the Year: Colorado State men's golf continues to make its impact on the state's golf scene, as sophomore Davis Bryant 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 third straight CSU golfer to earn the award as former Ram Jake Staiano took home the award in 2017 and current senior AJ Ott won the award in 2018.
       Bryant won the honor in part from his title in winning the CGA Amateur at Lakewood Country Club this past summer in his first time in competing in the championship. He also finished second among the amateurs (to Ott) at the CoBank Colorado Open. In addition, Bryant advanced to the round of 16 at the CGA Match Play and eventually finished atop the CGA Player of the Year standings.

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 Asia-Pacific Amateur (second straight year and back-to-back top 50 finishes as competed Sept. 26-29)

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.

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 last 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.

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 $17.75 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in two-thirds of his 299 PGA Tour starts in his 13-plus years on the top golf tour. Laird was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2017.

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