Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, September 20
Fort Collins, CO
All Day
Colorado State
vs
Ram Masters Invitational Day 2
Rams Run Away With Ram Masters Title
9/20/2022 4:11:00 PM | Men's Golf
Bleier matches tourney record with 63
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In the morning at breakfast, Michael Wilson was talking with a few members of his team. The topic was simple: What's the best string of birdies any of them had ever had?
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Just a little shop talk to set the mood prior to the final day of the Ram Masters at the Fort Collins Country Club. The way Wilson remembers it, Jay Pabin had the best string of the group – five in all.
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But the whole team wasn't there, and the conversation would be entirely different after Tuesday's tournament came to a close with the Rams once again being crowned champions with a three-round total of 823, matching the tournament record CSU already owned.
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The Rams did it with a score of 11-under 269, the fourth best round in tourney history, giving the Rams the top five all time. The one in fifth was Tuesday's second round.
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They shot low from the start, led by Christoph Bleier, who was not part of the morning chat. Neither was Rasmus Hjelm, and both would have changed the narrative by the afternoon.
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Bleier opened his round with six consecutive birdies on his way to tying the tournament record for the lowest round, finishing with a 7-under 63, tying former Ram Kyler Dunkle, who hit the same score in 2015.
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"That's a first. That's pretty good," Bleier said. "I mean, the first par feels pretty bad to be honest. It was like a 4-meter putt," to which is playing partner Rasmus Hjelm noted – 'but it was an easy par 5'.
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"Yeah, you go into that hole thinking, alright, I'm going to make birdie, then you hit a bad drive and I had to chig it out," Bleier said.
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Even still, Bleier wouldn't win the morning conversation, because Hjelm once had a string of seven birdies in a round one day back home in Sweden. He told Bleier all about it, too.
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"Right after he had six in a row," Hjelm said.
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Bleier didn't have a bogey on the day, producing another birdie on the 15th hole. His score jumped him 26 spots on the leaderboard as he finished tied for fifth at 4-under 206 with three others, including CSU teammates Connor Jones and Matthew Wilkinson, who was playing independent. Jones shot 3-under on the day, Wilkinson 2-under.
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After carding a 75 in the opening round, his closing touch felt amazing.
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"Everything felt really, really good to be honest," he said. "I mean, I did what I always do. I just get prepared for the tournament, and I know I can go low. Today was one of those days where everything just went my way."
Â
Hjelm got off to a good start himself, with two opening birdies. He played under most of the day until a rough run the final three holes left him even on the day and for the tournament. Part of the fun of the day was playing with Bleier and seeing him get off to such an amazing start, and the two fed off each other, as well as the group behind them.
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That was the closing foursome which included Connor Jones and Davis Bryant, and the two Ram pairings had a small wager going with only bragging rights on the line.Â
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"It was fun, because we had a little side bet going with Connor and Davis, playing a little Ryder Cup, playing best ball," Bleier said. "It was like we fired each other up when we played good, so it was fun."
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The Rams have now won the tournament eight consecutive years, a run Hjelm said he team didn't discuss. Instead, they just go about what's important, which is how they play.
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"Not really. We just focus on playing our best golf," he said. "Obviously, we know the course, and everybody is playing good so we just focus on doing whatever we could. Sometimes other teams play really well and there's nothing you can do but control the controllables and do whatever we can.
I think everybody is really good, and the more rounds we play the better it's going to get."
Â
The low Ram on the day was Davis Bryant, who tied for second at 5-under 205 (tied for ninth best all-time) for the tournament after shooting 1-under the final round. Utah Valley's Brady McKinlay was the medalist with his 9-under 201, tied for the second-best score in tournament history.
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CSU Fullerton was a distant runner-up in the team race, 11 strokes back. Colorado State has entered two tournaments this year and won them both. Each time out, Wilson, the first-year coach is learning a little bit more about his team. All of it has been positive, too.
Â
"They're gamers. They're gritty and tough and they compete hard, and they play right to the end; they finish," Wilson said. "You can't ask for something better than that. It's one thing to start well, but the teams that win are the teams that finish, so that was good to see.
Â
"They want to win. They're really good at just sticking to the process, and that's how you do those things. Ultimately, that's how you win."
Â
A run of birdies doesn't hurt either.
Â
Â
Just a little shop talk to set the mood prior to the final day of the Ram Masters at the Fort Collins Country Club. The way Wilson remembers it, Jay Pabin had the best string of the group – five in all.
Â
But the whole team wasn't there, and the conversation would be entirely different after Tuesday's tournament came to a close with the Rams once again being crowned champions with a three-round total of 823, matching the tournament record CSU already owned.
Â
The Rams did it with a score of 11-under 269, the fourth best round in tourney history, giving the Rams the top five all time. The one in fifth was Tuesday's second round.
Â
They shot low from the start, led by Christoph Bleier, who was not part of the morning chat. Neither was Rasmus Hjelm, and both would have changed the narrative by the afternoon.
Â
Bleier opened his round with six consecutive birdies on his way to tying the tournament record for the lowest round, finishing with a 7-under 63, tying former Ram Kyler Dunkle, who hit the same score in 2015.
Â
"That's a first. That's pretty good," Bleier said. "I mean, the first par feels pretty bad to be honest. It was like a 4-meter putt," to which is playing partner Rasmus Hjelm noted – 'but it was an easy par 5'.
Â
"Yeah, you go into that hole thinking, alright, I'm going to make birdie, then you hit a bad drive and I had to chig it out," Bleier said.
Â
Even still, Bleier wouldn't win the morning conversation, because Hjelm once had a string of seven birdies in a round one day back home in Sweden. He told Bleier all about it, too.
Â
"Right after he had six in a row," Hjelm said.
Â
Bleier didn't have a bogey on the day, producing another birdie on the 15th hole. His score jumped him 26 spots on the leaderboard as he finished tied for fifth at 4-under 206 with three others, including CSU teammates Connor Jones and Matthew Wilkinson, who was playing independent. Jones shot 3-under on the day, Wilkinson 2-under.
Â
After carding a 75 in the opening round, his closing touch felt amazing.
Â
"Everything felt really, really good to be honest," he said. "I mean, I did what I always do. I just get prepared for the tournament, and I know I can go low. Today was one of those days where everything just went my way."
Â
Hjelm got off to a good start himself, with two opening birdies. He played under most of the day until a rough run the final three holes left him even on the day and for the tournament. Part of the fun of the day was playing with Bleier and seeing him get off to such an amazing start, and the two fed off each other, as well as the group behind them.
Â
That was the closing foursome which included Connor Jones and Davis Bryant, and the two Ram pairings had a small wager going with only bragging rights on the line.Â
Â
"It was fun, because we had a little side bet going with Connor and Davis, playing a little Ryder Cup, playing best ball," Bleier said. "It was like we fired each other up when we played good, so it was fun."
Â
The Rams have now won the tournament eight consecutive years, a run Hjelm said he team didn't discuss. Instead, they just go about what's important, which is how they play.
Â
"Not really. We just focus on playing our best golf," he said. "Obviously, we know the course, and everybody is playing good so we just focus on doing whatever we could. Sometimes other teams play really well and there's nothing you can do but control the controllables and do whatever we can.
I think everybody is really good, and the more rounds we play the better it's going to get."
Â
The low Ram on the day was Davis Bryant, who tied for second at 5-under 205 (tied for ninth best all-time) for the tournament after shooting 1-under the final round. Utah Valley's Brady McKinlay was the medalist with his 9-under 201, tied for the second-best score in tournament history.
Â
CSU Fullerton was a distant runner-up in the team race, 11 strokes back. Colorado State has entered two tournaments this year and won them both. Each time out, Wilson, the first-year coach is learning a little bit more about his team. All of it has been positive, too.
Â
"They're gamers. They're gritty and tough and they compete hard, and they play right to the end; they finish," Wilson said. "You can't ask for something better than that. It's one thing to start well, but the teams that win are the teams that finish, so that was good to see.
Â
"They want to win. They're really good at just sticking to the process, and that's how you do those things. Ultimately, that's how you win."
Â
A run of birdies doesn't hurt either.
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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