CSU Back On the Course For the National Invitational Tournament

Tournament: National Invitational Tournament
Dates: March 18-19, 2022
Host: University of Arizona
Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Course: Omni Tucson National Resort - Catalina Course
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,200 yds
Host Web Site: https://arizonawildcats.com/
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/36ognm2
Tournament Field (15): Colorado State, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Diego State, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Texas, UNLV, Wyoming
Next on the Tee: Colorado State is on the course at the nationally-renowned National Invitational Tournament, Friday-Saturday, March 18-19. The two-day, 54-hole event, hosted by the University of Arizona, is being played again at Omni Tucson National Resort's Catalina Course (Par 72 - 7,200 yards) in Tucson, Ariz.

Fast Five On The National Invitational Tournament:

This will be the 10th time that CSU has played in the event with its best finish a fourth in 2019.
Of the 15 programs competing, 14 had participants as either a team or individual in the 2021 NCAA Regionals (12 teams, two schools with individuals), with nine teams and an individual rep that advanced to the NCAA Championships, including 2017 National Champion Oklahoma, 2018 Champion Oklahoma State and defending champion Pepperdine.
In the field, all 15 teams are ranked in the top 115 nationally according to Golfstat, with nine in the top 30, including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 25 Illinois, No. 28 New Mexico and No. 30 Arizona.
Only five teams in the field (Oklahoma State, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State and Arizona) have won the event before.
This is the 19th time the event has been held as it was started in 2003, with the only year missed at Omni Tucson National was 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

CSU History In National invitational Tournament
3/22-23/2009     8th/15   295-286-299=880 (+16)
3/17-18/2010     6th/14   297-293-283=873 (+9)
3/21-22/2011     8th/15   302-294-292=888 (+32)
2/28-3/2/2015   t-10th/15             300-293-297=890 (+26)
2/28-3/1/2016   6th/14   286-290-283=859 (-5)
2/27-28/2017     7th/16   293-282-289=864 (E)
2/25-26/2018     8th/16   282-283-290=855 (-9)
3/18-19/2019     4th/16   280-281-278=839 (-25)
3/20-21/2021     17th/18                292-296-298=886 (+22)

Lineup for the NIT: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at Omni Tucson National Resort. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.            Rasmus Hjelm
2.            Davis Bryant
3.            Christoph Bleier
4.            Connor Jones
5.            Jay Pabin

Last Time Out: Colorado State slipped two spots on the final day and finished eighth at the 2022 Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic Tuesday. The two-day, 54-hole tournament, co-hosted by San Diego State University and the University of San Diego, was played at San Diego Country Club (Par 72 – 7,003 yards) in Chula Vista, Calif.
               Against a field that featured 14 of the 16 teams ranked in the top 125 according to Golfstat, the Rams shot their only over-par round of the tournament, a 6-over 294, and finished at even-par 864 for the event. No. 25 LSU won the event at 37-under 827, eight shots ahead of runner-up No. 8 Washington. No. 16 Notre Dame was third at 27-under 837, with San Diego in fourth at 25-under 839. No. 45 Nevada finished fifth at 13-under 854. The Rams picked up wins over conference foes Wyoming and San Diego State as well as in-state rivals Colorado and Denver.
               The Rams' top finisher was senior Davis Bryant, as he shot a team-best 3-under 69 in the final round to finish in a tie for 28th at 1-under 215. Junior Connor Jones was one shot back at even-par 216 in a tie for 38th, while sophomore Rasmus Hjelm tied for 46th at 2-over 218. Freshman Christoph Bleier tied for 51st at 3-over 219, while senior Oscar Teiffel completed the Rams' effort in 84th at 10-over 226. LSU's Nicholas Arcement won medalist honors at 13-under 203, two shots ahead of a pair of Washington golfers at 11-under 205.

Last Time at the NIT: Against one of the top fields this year, Colorado State faced blustery conditions and finished 17th at the National Invitational Tournament, March 20-21. The two-day, 54-hole event, hosted by the University of Arizona, was played at Omni Tucson National Resort Catalina Course (Par 72 – 7,167 yards) in Tucson, Ariz.
               With all teams ranked in the top 118 according to Golfstat and all but three in the top 85, CSU was unable to get it going in any of the three rounds and finished at 22-over 866. No. 8 Oklahoma State won the event at 47-under 817, four shots better than No. 2 Oklahoma in second at 43-under 821. No. 6 Texas was third at 31-under 833, with No. 41 San Diego State (29-under 835) in fourth and No. 17 Arizona and No. 4 Illinois tied for fifth at 28-under 836.
               AJ Ott was the top team member at 1-over 217 in a tie for 53rd. Parathakorn Suyasri was next at 5-over 221 in a tie for 74th. Rasmus Hjelm tied for 84th at 7-over 223, while Davis Bryant tied for 84th at 14-over 230. Gunnar Broin finished 99th at 16-over 232. Playing as an individual, Cullen Plousha tied for 44th at even-par 216.

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 was a Folds of Honor Scholarship recipient at CSU, earning her degree in 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 carried the bag during the fall and Connor Jones had it for The Prestige as CSU's top finisher in the team's last fall event. Bryant will use the bag at the National Invitational Tournament as CSU's leader at Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic.
               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.

Bryant, Bleier Earn MW Monthly Awards: Colorado State Davis Bryant and Christoph Bleier have been named Mountain West Golfer and Freshman of the Month, respectively, for September, the league announced today. This is the second conference monthly/weekly award in Bryant's career and the first for Bleier.
               Bryant and Bleier led the Rams to their seventh consecutive Ram Masters Invitational in come-from-behind fashion after weather conditions on the first day led to higher-than-average scores. Bryant tied for runner-up honors in the event for the second time in his career, including a final-round 3-under 67 to help the Rams post a 5-under 275, the only under-par round of the tournament. In his first collegiate event, Bleier also shot a 3-under 67 in the last round to tie Bryant for the low score of the tournament and finish in a tie for sixth in the tournament.

Fast Five On The Rams:

CSU returns to its lineup that played in most of the fall events.
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 was the third tournament of the year, when CSU competed in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.
Davis Bryant is currently second in career scoring at CSU.
Head coach Christian Newton now has 13 tournament victories in his nine-plus years as leader of the Rams.

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 March 16. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.

Player   WAGR
Christoph Bleier 313
Davis Bryant       333

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.

Rams on Tour: Former Colorado State standout Martin Laird, a PGA tour veteran, 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.
               This year, he has made the cut in five of seven events and has three top-25 placings.
               For his career, he has surpassed $19.95 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in almost two-thirds of his 333 PGA Tour starts in his 14-plus years on the top golf tour. Laird was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2017.
               Recent standout Jake Staiano earned a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour this year and made the cut in his first event at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in Columbia in mid-February. He moved up the rankings and will have additional guaranteed starts now due to his result.

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