CSU Continues Spring Season at Wyoming Cowboy Classic April 4-5

Tournament: Wyoming Cowboy Classic
Dates: April 4-5, 2022
Host: University of Wyoming
Location: Chandler, Ariz.
Course: Whirlwind Golf Club-Cattail Course
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,334 yds
Host Web Site: https://gowyo.com.com/
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/370CGhD
Tournament Field (25): Colorado State, Wyoming, Cal State Fullerton, Colorado, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Diego, San Diego State, Southern Utah, TCU, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UNCW, UNLV, Utah State, Utah Valley, UTSA, Weber State

Next on the Tee: Colorado State is back in competition at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, Monday-Tuesday, April 4-5. The two-day, 54-hole event, hosted by the University of Wyoming, is being played again at Whirlwind Golf Club's Cattail Course (Par 72 - 7,334 yards) in Chandler, Ariz.

Par Four On The Wyoming Cowboy Classic:

This will be the fifth time that CSU has played in the 19th annual event with its best finish a third in 2011.
Of the 25 programs and 128 players competing, 18 had participants as either a team or individual in the 2021 NCAA Regionals (nine teams, nine schools with individuals), with three teams and an individual rep that advanced to the NCAA Championships.
In the field, 18 of the 24 participating teams are ranked in the top 125 nationally according to Golfstat, with four in the top 60, including No. 19 Kansas, No. 38 Nevada, No. 53 UC Davis and No. 59 San Diego.
Whirlwind Golf Club is a truly unique Southwest golf experience sensitively designed to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Gila River Indian Community. The two courses, Devil's Claw and Cattail, are masterpieces developed by Gary Panks covering 500 acres, with 250 acres of turfed area and 250 acres of desert landscape.

CSU History In Wyoming Cowboy Classic
4/4-5/2011          3rd/20         284-277-280=841 (+1)
4/9-10/2012       5th/23        277-270-287=834 (-6)
4/8-9/2013         t-9th/24            316-277=593 (+33)
4/10-11/2017       6th/18        294-284-288=866 (+2)

Lineup for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at Whirlwind Golf Club's Cattail Course. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.      Davis Bryant
2.     Christoph Bleier
3.     Connor Jones
4.     Rasmus Hjelm
5.     Oscar Teiffel

Last Time Out: Taking on one of the top national fields this year, Colorado State moved up two places and tied for 12th at the 2022 National Invitational Tournament Saturday. The two-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by the University of Arizona, was played at Omni Tucson National Resort's Catalina Course (Par 72 – 7,200 yards) in Tucson, Ariz.
       Against a field where all 15 teams were ranked in the top 115 nationally according to Golfstat, including nine in the top 30, the Rams improved again, putting together a 5-under 283 and moving up to tie for 12th with Wyoming at even-par 864. No. 2 Oklahoma State won the team title at 53-under 811, 21 shots ahead of runner-up No. 12 Texas at 32-under 832. Defending national champion No. 9 Pepperdine was third at 28-under 836, with No. 1 Oklahoma was fourth at 27-under 837. No. 30 and host Arizona rounded out the top five teams at 26-under 838. The Rams did pick up wins against Mountain West foes San Diego State and UNLV in the event.
       The Rams were led by senior Davis Bryant and freshman Christoph Bleier, who tied for 34th at 3-under 213 for the tournament. Bryant rallied after an illness on Friday with a stellar 6-under 66 on Saturday that included seven birdies and just one bogey, while Bleier recorded an even-par 72 in the final 18. Sophomore Rasmus Hjelm shot even-par 72 on the last day and was next at 3-over 219 in a tie for 65th, while junior Connor Jones was at 6-over 222 in a tie for 77th. Freshman Jay Pabin completed CSU's effort at 8-over 224 in a tie for 80th, shooting a 1-over 73 in the final round. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, ranked No. 11 in the nation, took home medalist honors at 20-under 196, five shots ahead of runner-up and No. 63-ranked Christian Banke of Arizona at 15-under 201. In all, 11 of the top 12 finishers are all ranked in the top 100 nationally, with 23 total in the 88-player field.

Last Time at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in 2017: The Colorado State men's golf team couldn't get a solid fourth score in its final round and finished sixth through at the Cowboy Classic, April 10-11. Hosted by Wyoming University, the two-day, 54-hole tournament was played at Whirlwind Golf Club's Cattail Course (Par 72 – 7,334 yards) in Chandler, Ariz.
       The Rams had three under-par rounds but were unable to post a fourth and finished the day at even-par 288 to record a 54-hole total of 2-over 866. UC Santa Barbara posted a tournament-low 16-under 272 on the final day to take the tournament title at 21-under 843, 11 shots ahead of runner-up Kansas at 10-under 854. Second-round leader Long Beach State dropped to third at 9-under 855, with Sacramento State (4-under 860) and UC Davis (2-under 862) completing the top five teams in the 18-team field.
       Colorado State was led by sophomore Jake Staiano, who had three birdies and no bogeys for a 3-under 69 to finish in fifth at 7-under 207, his fourth top-10 and seventh top-25 finish of the year. For the tournament, Staiano had 11 birdies and four bogeys in his 54 holes, including a stretch of 29 straight holes without a bogey. Senior Blake Cannon had his best round of the tournament with a 2-under 70 to improve to 1-under 215 and a tie for 17th. Junior Max Oelfke matched Cannon with a 2-under 70 and moved up to a tie for 24th at 1-over 217. Junior Colton Yates tied for 79th at 12-over 228, while senior Jimmy Makloski tied for 96th at 20-over 236. The Rams also had three individuals in the field, led by freshman AJ Ott at even-par 216, tying for 22nd. Senior Logan Iverson tied for 51st at 6-over 222, with sophomore Pierce Aichinger also in a tie for 96th at 20-over 236.
       UC Santa Barbara's Zach Smith shot a 5-under 67 in the final round and won medalist honors at 10-under 206, one shot better than Aaron Beverly of Sacramento State.
       "We had great rounds out of three guys today," head coach Christian Newton. "The fourth score held us back from being able to move up the leaderboard. Jake had a great week. He is maturing each event. He is learning to post good scores without having his best ball striking. His top five was great! Blake and Max also had good finishes, which is great see heading into the Mountain West Championship."

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 again use the bag at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic as CSU's leader at the National Invitational Tournament and 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 30. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player                                     WAGR
Christoph Bleier                      307
Davis Bryant                           324

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 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 last 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 $20.29 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in almost two-thirds of his 336 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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