Rams Take Climbing Literally on Second Day

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Tuesday was all about climbing.

For Colorado State's men's golf team that meant literally and figuratively as they stormed through the third round of the Ram Masters Invitational to come from four strokes back at the start of the day to win the tournament they host by eight strokes with a round of 5-under par 275.

Davis Bryant and Christoph Bleier, the Rams' final pairing, each carded rounds of 3-under 67 to pace the effort on a day which was in complete contrast to the two rounds played the day prior. The sun was out, there was no wind outside of a gentle breeze and the greens were much more receptive. Monday, not a single golfer could even shoot par and every one of the 32 team rounds finished above 300.

Tuesday, three golfers shot below par, all three of those rounds belonging to Ram as Connor Jones finished with a 2-under 68. As a team, they were 11 strokes better in the round than Pacific, which finished second in the field.

Wins feel great, even better when you're hosting.

"They did really good. It's honestly one of my prouder moments," CSU coach Christian Newton said. "I couldn't ask for anything more. Yesterday was such a hard day, and they were so worn out. I told them before the end of the day, we think something special is going to happen tomorrow, just come out with the right mindset."

A little rain and a bit of watering for the greens took away the final obstacle from the day prior, leaving the course open for better scoring. The Rams took advantage, with Oscar Teiffel's 3-over 73 rounding out CSU's team scorecard.

This is one of a few tournaments which pairs teammates in the same playing group, something Newton took a liking to, so he adopted it for his annual event a few years back.

His anchors liked it, as well, as they battled each other to the same score, each going about it in a different manner, Bryant likes it because he like to talk on the course, but opponent's don't always want to join the conversation. A teammate will, so he and Bleier took advantage of the time together.

Most of all, they both played well and did so together.

"We knew the course was going to be a lot more scoreable and fair, and we knew the wind wouldn't be much at all and the greens were softer," Bryant said. "Going into today, we knew we had to make some birdies, and we did that. Christoph and I just fed off each other all day. He'd make a birdie, I'd make a birdie, we'd both birdie the same hole, whatever it may be.

"He's so much fun to play with. I'm Walmart distance behind him off the tee with the driver, but we had a great time."

Bryant finished in a tie for second on the individual board with a three-day total of 10-over 220, a score matched by Leonardo Rigamonti of Pacific, trailing individual champion Jack Castiglia of Northern Colorado who finished at 216.

Bleier was tied for sixth at 222, while Jones finished 11^th with a tournament total of 226.

Bryant owes one stroke and his finish to a rather agile spectator. On the 17^th hole, his tee shot ventured to the right and into a tree. The small gathering saw it go into the tree, but never come out.

Fine. A keen eye spotted a ball in a cluster of branches in the pine, and when the rules official explained that if they knocked it out and Bryant identified it as his, he could play it with a 1-stroke penalty. If Bryant played the provisional he hit (which landed in a bunker to the right), it would have been 2-strokes against him.

The story only became more bizarre, because when the ball was knocked free, it wasn't Bryant's.

"I was like, 'oh man.' I was trying to figure out if he could play the provisional and make a five that way," Newton said. "Luckily we could find it."

They did, because the official told Bryant he could climb the tree and try to shake it to knock a ball loose, and while he considered the potential ramifications – "I was debating whether I should do it and potentially hurt myself and not be able to play" – somebody else scaled the tree with a boost, went about halfway up and started shaking the whole thing.

Out fell a ball, and it was Bryant's, who then dropped, chipped onto the green and knocked it in for a double bogey. He then birdied 18, his fourth of the day.

Bryant now has to figure out how to say thank you to the very agile spectator.

"I owe him something special after that," he said. "I need to think on it."

But after the mental exhaustion of the opening day, blue skies and red on the scorecard were a great way to recover. This is the course where the Rams held their qualifying rounds, and it didn't hurt to play where they are very comfortable with the layout.

It made it a great day to climb to the top, right at the start of the season. Especially when it is the seventh consecutive championship in their home tournament.

"It's imperative to start off on a strong note," Bryant said. "Coach said something really good my freshman year. We won this tournament. He said winning doesn't happen very often, so enjoy it while you have it. Whether you win by two or you win by 20, a win is a win. It's hard to be consistent in this sport. We were able to do that."

Teams
1	Colorado State	314-312-275=901 (+61)
2	Pacific	317-306-286=909 (+69)
3	Sacramento State	316-312-292=920 (+80)
	Utah Valley	315-314-291=920 (+80)
5	Grand Canyon	316-308-297=921 (+81)
6	Illinois State	315-319-290=924 (+84)
	Wichita State	318-307-299=924 (+84)
8	Creighton	318-310-297=925 (+85)
9	Northern Colorado	313-309-305=927 (+87)
10	Wyoming	314-312-303=929 (+89)
11	South Dakota	318-321-302=941 (+101)
12	Cal State Fullerton	332-313-300=945 (+105)
13	UC San Diego	324-323-299=946 (+106)
14	Air Force	330-324-303=957 (+117)
15	Northern Iowa	337-316-307=960 (+120)
16	Utah State	331-331-300=962 (+122)

Top Five Plus CSU Individuals
1	Jack Castiglia (Northern Colorado)	73-71-72=216 (+6)
2	Davis Bryant (Colorado State)	76-77-67=220 (+10)
	Leonardo Rigamonti (Pacific)	75-74-71=220 (+10)
	Nate Vontz (Creighton)	77-71-72=220 (+10)
5	Brady McKinlay (Utah Valley)	74-74-73=221 (+11)

6	Christoph Bleier (Colorado State)	78-77-67=222 (+12)
11	Connor Jones (Colorado State)	80-78-68=226 (+16)
34	Oscar Teiffel (Colorado State)	80-81-73=234 (+24)
T57	Jay Pabin (Colorado State)	84-80-77=241 (+31)

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