CSU Opens With Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 20-21

Tournament: Ram Masters Invitational
Dates: Sept. 20-21, 2021
Host: Colorado State University
Location: Fort Collins, Colo.
Course: Fort Collins Country Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 70 / 7,234 yds
Host Web Site: https://CSURams.com
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/2021RamMastersScoring
Tournament Field (16): Colorado State, Air Force, Cal State Fullerton, Creighton, Grand Canyon, Illinois State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Pacific, Sacramento State, South Dakota, UC San Diego, Utah State, Utah Valley, Wichita State, Wyoming, Colorado (Ind. Only)

Next on the Tee: Colorado State is coming home to host the annual Ram Masters Invitational, Sept. 20-21. The two-day, 54-hole tournament is being played at Fort Collins Country Club in Fort Collins, Colo.

Handicapping the Field: CSU heads into the Ram Masters Invitational as the six-time defending champion of the event, having won 2019's tournament by 14 shots over Wyoming. This year's field includes the Rams, Air Force, Cal State Fullerton, Creighton, Grand Canyon, Illinois state, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Pacific, Sacramento State, South Dakota, UC San Diego, Utah State, Utah Valley, Wichita State and 2019 runner-up Wyoming.

Lineup for the Ram Masters Invitational: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at Fort Collins Country Club. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.             Davis Bryant
2.             Oscar Teiffel
3.             Connor Jones
4.             Christoph Bleier
5.             Jay Pabin

Last Time at the Ram Masters in 2019: 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."

Fast Five On The Rams:
CSU will have three players (Connor Jones, Christoph Bleier, Jay Pabin) making the debut in the Green and Gold at the Ram Masters Invitational.
The Rams have had representation in the last four NCAA Regionals competed -- twice by individuals (2017, 2021) and twice with a full team (2018, 2019). The 2020 regionals were not played due to COVID, but CSU was ranked in the top 30 nationally when the season ended early.
The Rams will play in seven different states for their 11 scheduled tournaments this year, with 10 of them in the Mountain or Pacific time zones. The only trip out of those will be the third tournament of the year, when CSU competes in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.
Two returning Rams (Davis Bryant and Oscar Teiffel) are in the top 15 in career scoring at CSU.
Head coach Christian Newton now has 11 tournament victories in his nine years as leader of the Rams.

Military Tribute Bag Continues: In 2021-22, CSU is continuing its tradition of honoring those who have served our country through the military. This year, the program is again recognizing U.S. Army veteran Charles W. Williamson III, due to the shortened seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
                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 was carried by the top CSU finisher from the previous tournament during the 2019-20 season. AJ Ott carried it the 2020-21 season due to COVID protocols, taking it all the way to the NCAA Championships as an individual. This year, senior Davis Bryant will carry the bag all season as part of those same protocols.
                In 2019-20, 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.

On the World Stage: Two Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 400 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, as of Sept. 15 The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player     WAGR
Christoph Bleier   125
Davis Bryant         381

Newton Named to GCAA National Advisory Board
Head coach Christian Newton was named to the Golf Coaches Association of America National Advisory Board, effective July 1, 2020. This is the first time that a CSU coach has been named to this prestigious position.
Newton was elected by his fellow coaches at the GCAA National Convention in December of 2019 and will become the Third Vice President on July 1, 2020.
It is a 10-year commitment, where every two years he will move up the ranks after each President's term is up. He will become the Second Vice President from 2022-24, First Vice President from 2024-26 before becoming President in 2026-28. Following that, he will serve a two-year stint as the Past President from 2028-30.

Ram on Tour: Former Colorado State standout Martin Laird, a PGA tour veteran, has made a statement already in the 2021 season with his fourth career victory on tour, a playoff win at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. This was his second in in the event as he also captured the title in 2009.
                He made the cut in 14 events, with the win and two other top-25 placings as his top finishes. He earned $1.81 million this season after the 2020 season was halted due to the pandemic. In 2021, his efforts during the regular season earned him a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs for the 11th time in 13 seasons.
                For his career, he has surpassed $19.46 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in almost two-thirds of his 318 PGA Tour starts, including the most-recent The Masters, 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. ;

Ott Named All-Mountain West in 2021: Senior AJ Ott was named All-Mountain West for his play in 2020-21, the league announced. He is one of 10 selected by the league's coaches to receive the honor.
                "Any time you can make all-conference in the Mountain West is a pretty good honor," head coach Christian Newton said. "The conference is always very deep with really good players. I'm happy for AJ, as this is another accolade for him to add to his awesome career here at CSU."
                Ott led the Rams in scoring this year prior to postseason play, averaging 71.08 strokes per round (-0.54 versus par) in 24 rounds, with 14 of those under par, en route to earning an individual berth in the NCAA Stillwater Regional May 19-21. A 2019-20 All-American, the Fort Collins native picked up his first two individual collegiate wins this season, winning The Prestige Individual Invitational and Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. In The Prestige, he won a one-hole playoff to earn the title after shooting a career-best 12-under 204 and then followed it up with an 11-under 205 for a two-shot victory at the Wyoming event.
                For his career, Ott has a 72.44 stroke average in 147 rounds played, with his average ranking eighth in CSU annals and his 144 career rounds currently second behind Zen Brown (2005-09) with 147. He has 62 rounds of par or better (seventh at CSU) and 28 in the 60s (sixth at CSU). He has posting seven top-five, 12 top-10 and 21-top 21 finishes in 49 career events, tied for fourth, tied for seventh and sixth, respectively. He will be the 14th CSU player to make three or more regional appearances.
                This is the third time that Ott has been named to the league's top squad, also garnering the award in 2017-18 and 2019-20. He is just the second Ram to be named All-Mountain West three times, joining four-time PGA Tour winner Martin Laird in that elite group, as Laird received the honor in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results