CSU Travels To Utah For 57th PING BYU Cougar Classic

Tournament: PING BYU Cougar Classic
Dates: April 22-23, 2022
Host: Brigham Young University
Location: Provo, Utah
Course: Riverside Country Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,142 yds
Host Web Site: http://www.byucougars.com
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/3jWHgkr
Tournament Field (13): Colorado State, BYU, Air Force, Boise State, Dixie State, Nevada, New Mexico, Pacific, San Diego, Saint Mary's (CA), Utah Valley, Washington State, Wyoming

Next on the Tee: Colorado State is on the course for its final event prior to the conference tournament, playing in the 57th PING BYU Cougar Classic, April 22-23. The two-day, 54-hole event, hosted by Brigham Young University, is being played at Riverside Country Club (Par 72 - 7,142 yards) in Provo, Utah.

Par Five On The PING BYU Cougar Classic

This will be the 18th time that CSU has played in the annual event, having taken home team titles six times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011 and 2015).
The Rams also have had three individual medalists in the event: Tom Richardson (1998), Martin Laird (2003) and Zahkai Brown (2012).
Of the 13 programs and 84 players competing, seven had participants as either a team or individual in the 2021 NCAA Regionals (four teams, three schools with individuals), with an individual rep that advanced to the NCAA Championships.
In the field, nine of the 13 participating teams are ranked in the top 115 nationally according to Golfstat, with four in the top 50, including No. 32 New Mexico, No. 34 Nevada, No. 49 BYU and No. 50 Boise State.
Riverside Country Club was designed by William F. Bell whose career courses have hosted PGA, LPGA, and other major championship tournaments.

CSU History In PING BYU Cougar Classic
4/21-22/2000     t-6th/15               290-292-290=872 (+8)
4/13-14/2001     t-5th/16               299-293-279=871 (+7)
4/19-20/2002     t-1st/15                284-285=569 (-7)
4/25-26/2003     1st/12   283-288-286=857 (-7)
4/23-24/2004     1st/15   286-287-272=845 (-19)
4/22-23/2005     3rd/20   284-267-278=829 (-35)
4/14-15/2006     t-6th/16               283-284-275=842 (-22)
4/20-21/2007     3rd/18   285-289-282=856 (-8)
4/24-25/2009     2nd/14 289-285-277=851 (-13)
4/23-24/2010     1st/18   285-284-281=850 (-14)
4/15-16/2011     1st/18   284-288-275=847 (-17)
4/27-28/2012     2nd/9    285-293-277=855 (-9)
4/26-27/2013     8th/9     287-293-296=876 (+12)
4/24-25/2015     1st/11   278-286-289=853 (-11)
4/11-12/2016     4th/10   289-287-287=863 (-1)
4/19-20/2019     3rd/15   277-288-282=847 (-17)
4/23-24/2021     5th/20 281-282-282=845 (-19)

Lineup for the PING BYU Cougar Classic: The Rams are in the traditional play-six, count-five event this week at Pasatiempo Golf Club. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.            Davis Bryant
2.            Rasmus Hjelm
3.            Connor Jones
4.            Christoph Bleier
5.            Gavin Hagstrom
Ind.        Jay Pabin

Last Time Out: Sophomore Rasmus Hjelm earned his highest individual finish, tying for runner-up honors as Colorado State tied for eighth at the 75th annual Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf and Titleist Wednesday. The three-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by San Jose State University, was played at the renowned Pasatiempo Golf Club (Par 70 – 6,615 yards) in Santa Cruz, Calif.
                Winds were still up but lighter than the first two days, but Colorado State, starting in the final wave off No. 10, could not take advantage of the improved conditions and shot 15-over 365 for the third round and a 67-over 1117, tying with No. 30 Arizona. No. 9 Texas took home the team title at 25-over 1075, one shot ahead of No. 8 Pepperdine at 26-over 1076. No. 6 Washington was third at 41-over 1091 with San Diego State in fourth at 42-over 1092. BYU rounded out the top five teams at 47-over 1097.
                Hjelm picked up wins over 10 players ranked in the top 100 nationally according to Golfstat, as he finished the day at 3-over 73 for the round and 2-over 212 for the tournament, three shots behind medalist Dylan Menante of Pepperdine. Junior Connor Jones tied for 25th at 10-over 220 following a final-round 2-over 72. Freshman Christoph Bleier was next in a tie for 44th at 16-over 226, while senior Davis Bryant finished at 19-over 229, tied for 61st. Redshirt-freshman Gavin Hagstrom finished 84th at 28-over 238, with senior Oscar Teiffel completing the team play at 30-over 240, tied for 85th.

Last Time at the PING BYU Cougar Classic in 2021: Colorado State put together its most solid tournament of the year, posting three under-par rounds to finish fifth at the 2021 PING BYU Cougar Classic Friday and Saturday. The two-day, 54-hole event, hosted by Brigham Young University, was played at Riverside Country Club (Par 72 – 7,142 yards) in Provo, Utah.
                "That was obviously much better," head coach Christian Newton said. "We had struggled big time the last three events. It was great to see the guys play up to their potential. We're going to go home, practice and rest for three days and get ready for conference."
                In the 20-team field, the Rams shot a 7-under 281 and followed it up with a pair of 6-under 282's to finish at 19-under in fifth. No. 28 San Francisco won the tournament at 41-under 823, 13 shots clear of runner-up Boise State at 28-under 836. Host BYU was third at 26-under 838, followed by No. 29 New Mexico at 21-under 843 in fourth and then the Rams.
                CSU had three top-25 individual finishes, led by AJ Ott in a tie for 12th at 6-under 210, as the Fort Collins senior was consistent in the event with three consecutive 2-under 70 scores. Rasmus Hjelm recorded his first top-20 finish of his collegiate career with a tie for 20th at 4-under 212, which included a team-best 3-under 69 in the final round. Davis Bryant tied for 25th at 3-under 213, with all three rounds at par or better. Oscar Teiffel was next in a tie for 39th at 1-under 215, which included a 3-under 69 in the opening round. Parathakorn Suyasri completed CSU's effort in a tie for 42nd at even-par 216, which also included a 3-under 69 in the second round. San Francisco's Tim Widing and BYU's Carson Lundell tied for medalist honors at 13-under 203.

Hjelm Earns MW Weekly Award: Sophomore Rasmus Hjelm was named Mountain West Men's Golfer of the Week, the league announced April 14. This is the first weekly honor for Hjelm.
                Hjelm earned his highest individual finish, tying for runner-up honors as Colorado State at the 75th annual Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf and Titleist. Hjelm picked up wins over 10 players ranked in the top 100 nationally according to Golfstat, as he finished at 2-over 212 for the tournament, three shots behind medalist Dylan Menante of Pepperdine. He was among the leaders the entire event, played in very windy conditions. It was his first career top-10 finish and second top-20, with the previous best a tie for 20th at the 2021 PING BYU Cougar Classic.

Jones Named MW Golf of the Week: Junior Connor Jones was named Mountain West Co-Men's Golfer of the Week, the league announced April 7. This was the first weekly honor for Jones.
                Jones had his best collegiate 54-hole placing, tying for runner-up at 12-under 204, one shot back of medalist Isaac Rodea of Long Beach State at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. His 12-under total is tied for ninth in CSU's record book for 54-hole, under-par score, as he earned his third top-10 and fourth top-20 finish of the season. His 67s in the first and third round tied his collegiate career best and his 12-under 204 was also a career low. He led the Rams to a tie for third, as Colorado State picked up a significant number of wins against teams above them in the current rankings, including then-No. 19 Kansas, No. 53 UC Davis, No. 68 TCU and No. 78 Iowa State.

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 again used the bag for the last three events, before Jones reclaimed it with his runner up finish at the Wyoming Cowboy 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.

Fast Five On The Rams:

CSU returns to play a lineup that includes more than 88 percent of the team rounds this season.
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 are playing 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 in scoring average and fifth versus par.
Head coach Christian Newton now has 13 tournament victories in his nine-plus years as leader of the Rams.

On the World Stage: Four Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 1,000 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, as of April 20. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player   WAGR
Davis Bryant       337
Christoph Bleier 356
Rasmus Hjelm    730
Connor Jones     971

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.

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 became 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 seven of 11 events and has three top-25 placings.
                For his career, he has surpassed $20.79 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in almost two-thirds of his 337 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.

Next Up: The Rams head to Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash., for the 2022 Mountain West Men's Golf Championship, April 29-May 1, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results