Rams Win Third Tourney Title of the Fall

BERTHOUD, Colo. – There hasn't been much Michael Wilson has wanted to change about the program he took over.

He liked the mental makeup of the team and most definitely the character. What he did want to alter was the way they prepared, making sure competition was intertwined with practice sessions his Colorado State men's golf team partakes.

Last week, doing a driving-skills challenge was a prime example.

"I think it's just kind of a way you do anything is the way you do everything. I see it in practice, I see it in tournaments, that's the way they are," Wilson said. "There was a day last week and there was a storm coming in. It was a team practice, and it wasn't quite done, a couple of guys had to finish up, but we'd gotten a lot done. It was windy and it got cold, started raining. I didn't need to say anything. They all stayed out there, and they all got in on it. It wasn't just a few guys; it was everybody and we were out there another hour. They were loving every second of it and laughing."

A few Caddyshack lines were delivered, but so was a message. The team will fight through anything, and they did in the final round of the DU TPC Invitational at TPC Colorado, claiming the third team title in as many tournaments this fall.

It's the first time since 2008-09 the program has had such a round, and it came about with a finally tally of 852 over three days and rounds as the No. 16 Rams edged No. 39 BYU by four strokes.

While Connor Jones, ranked No. 15 in the country by Golfstat was putting the finishing touches on his second individual title of the season, his teammate Davis Bryant – ranked No. 12 -- was having a day to forget. The fact the Rams could have a player of such caliber shoot well under his normal production and still win speaks volumes to the makeup of the team.

"It's pretty amazing. A total team effort today," Wilson said. "Anytime one of your best players, if not your best player for sure, has the round he does … I told him that's probably his worst round of the year when it's all said and done, and everyone else steps up. Like Jay Pabin, that was awesome. Rasmus Hjelm didn't have his best tournament, but really stuck together and he holed out for eagle on his last hole from 50 yards out. They buoyed him up while he was down, so that was cool."

Wednesday's final round of 288 was the worst of the bunch for the Rams, who shot 287 on the first day and a spectacular 277 on Tuesday. It gave them an eight-stroke lead heading into the final day, one where Jones and Pabin both shot 1-under 71s. Pabin tied for seventh with teammate Christoph Bleier, who shot 1-over as both finished at 216. Hjelm's 1-over rounded out the final scorecard for the team in the final round.

Each day on the course brought something new, and some of the pin placements suggested somebody woke up angry in the morning. Still, the course was the most forgiving it had been, with 14 rounds under par. North Dakota State took the most advantage, shooting a 15-under round to move into third.

But the run Colorado State is on is proving tough to beat, and the confidence it gains from each player is taking root.

"It's incredible. We're just playing such good golf right now," Pabin said. "Everybody is, and it's so cool to be a part of it. It's special, it doesn't happen that often. Everybody is bought in from top to bottom. Everybody is super competitive. If you don't want to be here, you don't like golf. It's just really cool.

"You have the 12th- and 15th-ranked guys in the country, and if you're competing with them every day, you know your game is good enough to travel around the country and play any college event. It's a good group to be around. Davis and Connor are really good leaders. They're send messages to everybody on the team, just after the round and texting everybody. They're the leaders of our team, and I think they make us better every day and they make each other better. It's just a really good culture of golf, and it's representing CSU and we're all prideful in our school and community, so it feels great."

Jones entered the season confident in his game, and while he started with some expectations, mostly he's just letting his game dictate what is happening, as each day is different. While he said the course on Wednesday as the most "gettable" it's been all week, he was five strokes better the day before. That's not to take away from the solid round he posted to close out his win.

On top of that, he was the guy in his group who was updating the live scoring, so he always knew where he sat, just the way he likes.

"I mean, I like watching it. It kind of gives me a gauge for where I'm at, so I was watching every hole, so I knew where I was at all day," said Jones, who opened the year with a title at Air Force. "I like it. We practice all the time, and this is what we play for is to come play and try to win tournaments. It gives you a rush being in the moment."

He entered the final day with a 4-stroke lead over BYU's Carson Lundell and finished with a 2-stroke advantage over the Cougars' David Timmins, who tied for the second-best round of the day at 4-under.

Watching the leaderboard while playing is one thing, but the night in between the senior gave himself a mental break and let his thoughts take him elsewhere. When he stood at the first tee box, he was ready to allow the day to unfold.

"I tried to forget about golf last night, and then I came here in the morning and tried to hit the first fairway and let the round develop," he said. "They're all different. You can't plan out where you're going to hit it, so I just tried to hit the first fairway and go from there. It's a long day with a lot of shots, so I just try to focus on each one."

It's been a spectacular start to the season with one more fall tournament to play, the St. Mary's Invitational beginning Halloween in Pebble Beach, Calif. To this point, the team has proven to be really good front runners, and they've come back with great rounds after good ones.

In this instance, they even proved they can be the best when one of their leaders is not as his.

"It's pretty special. They're just a great bunch of guys," Wilson said. "It's a really good culture, they care about one another. They want to win, they compete hard. Even when no one is looking, I think they're doing the right things, and that says a lot. It says everything, really."

To him, even more so than the scores and trophies.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christoph Bleier

Davis Bryant

Rasmus Hjelm

Connor Jones

Jay Pabin