CSU Stays In-state For Paintbrush Invitational Oct. 4-5

Tournament: Paintbrush Invitational
Dates: Oct. 4-5, 2021
Host: Denver University
Location: Parker, Colo.
Course: Colorado Golf Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,513 yds
Host Web Site: https://denverpioneers.com
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/3kTZKDA
Tournament Field (11): Colorado State, Denver, Ball State, BYU, Georgia State, Long Beach State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Santa Clara, Wichita State, Wyoming, Colorado (Ind. Only), Oklahoma State (Ind. Only), Air Force (Ind. Only)

Next on the Tee: Colorado State will travel an hour south to play in the Paintbrush Invitational, Oct. 4-5.The two-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Denver University, is being played at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo.

Fast Five On the Paintbrush Invitational:

This is the third time that CSU is competing in the 54-hole tournament, winning the team title in its last appearance back in 2018, battling snow and sub-40 degree tempreatures the entire time.
Of the 14 programs represented in the tournament, seven had participants as either a team or individual in the 2021 NCAA Regionals - CSU, Denver, BYU, Long Beach State, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Santa Clara.
Oscar Teiffel took home individual honors in his first time in the lineup of a collegiate event in the 2018 tournament.
Colorado Golf Club was designed by Bill Coore and PGA Hall of Fame member Ben Crenshaw.
The course has hosted several major competitions, including the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup, won by Europe.

CSU History In Paintbrush Invitational
10/10-11/2016   11th/15                289-299-308=896 (+32)
10/8-9/2018        1st/12   287-294-289=870 (+6)

Lineup for the Paintbrush Invitational: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at Colorado Golf Club. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.            Davis Bryant
2.            Christoph Bleier
3.            Connor Jones
4.            Oscar Teiffel
5.            Jay Pabin

Last Time at the Paintbrush in 2018: Colorado State men's golf led from wire-to-wire in earning their second tournament victory of the year as the Rams won the 2018 Paintbrush Invitational presented by Inspirato, Oct. 8-9.
                Playing with temperatures in the mid-30s with regular snow that even stopped play for almost an hour, the Rams never let the lead get away in shooting a 1-over 289 for the day and finishing at 6-over 870, eight shots ahead of Oregon in second. The 1-over team score was the third best on the day as two of their main pursuers after 36 holes (Colorado and Loyola Marymount) faltered. The Ducks were runner-up at 14-over 878 after an even-par final round, with Northern Colorado in third at 19-over 883. Colorado and Loyola Marymount tied for fourth at 23-over 887.
                Playing in his first tournament in the lineup, freshman Oscar Teiffel took home medalist honors at 10-under 206 following a 5-under 67, the low round of the day by three shots in the brutal conditions. Teiffel had six birdies and just one bogey in the tough conditions and shot all three rounds (70-69-67) under par. Only eight players finished under par for the event, with Teiffel winning by three shots over second-round leader Riley Elmes of Loyola Marymount.
                This was a team effort as the Rams had three other top-20 finishers and all five scoring team members finish in the top 40. Junior AJ Ott had his best round of the event with a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish ninth at 1-over 217. Freshman Davis Bryant tied for 17th at 5-over 221. Senior Jake Staiano tied for 32nd at 11-over 227, with sophomore Cullen Plousha finishing tied for 39th at 13-over 229.
                Playing individually, redshirt-freshman Andrew Lafferty tied for 25th at 8-over 224 with a final-round 1-over 73. Freshman Akedanai Ponghathaikul tied for 30th at 10-over 226 with sophomore Jack Ainscough finishing in a tie for 47th at 15-over 231.
                In what the CSU records show, Teiffel's individual victory is the first time a CSU player has captured medalist honors in his first tournament in the lineup. It was the 28th individual victory for a CSU player since 1992 in a multi-round event.

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.

Last Time Out at the Ram Masters: Tuesday was all about climbing.
                For Colorado State's men's golf team that meant literally and figuratively as they stormed through the third round of the Ram Masters Invitational to come from four strokes back at the start of the day to win the tournament they host by eight strokes with a round of 5-under par 275.
                Davis Bryant and Christoph Bleier, the Rams' final pairing, each carded rounds of 3-under 67 to pace the effort on a day which was in complete contrast to the two rounds played the day prior. The sun was out, there was no wind outside of a gentle breeze and the greens were much more receptive. Monday, not a single golfer could even shoot par and every one of the 32 team rounds finished above 300.
                Tuesday, three golfers shot below par, all three of those rounds belonging to Ram as Connor Jones finished with a 2-under 68. As a team, they were 11 strokes better in the round than Pacific, which finished second in the field.
                Wins feel great, even better when you're hosting.
                "They did really good. It's honestly one of my prouder moments," CSU coach Christian Newton said. "I couldn't ask for anything more. Yesterday was such a hard day, and they were so worn out. I told them before the end of the day, we think something special is going to happen tomorrow, just come out with the right mindset."
                A little rain and a bit of watering for the greens took away the final obstacle from the day prior, leaving the course open for better scoring. The Rams took advantage, with Oscar Teiffel's 3-over 73 rounding out CSU's team scorecard.
                This is one of a few tournaments which pairs teammates in the same playing group, something Newton took a liking to, so he adopted it for his annual event a few years back.
                His anchors liked it, as well, as they battled each other to the same score, each going about it in a different manner, Bryant likes it because he like to talk on the course, but opponent's don't always want to join the conversation. A teammate will, so he and Bleier took advantage of the time together.
                Most of all, they both played well and did so together.
                "We knew the course was going to be a lot more scoreable and fair, and we knew the wind wouldn't be much at all and the greens were softer," Bryant said. "Going into today, we knew we had to make some birdies, and we did that. Christoph and I just fed off each other all day. He'd make a birdie, I'd make a birdie, we'd both birdie the same hole, whatever it may be.
                "He's so much fun to play with. I'm Walmart distance behind him off the tee with the driver, but we had a great time."
                Bryant finished in a tie for second on the individual board with a three-day total of 10-over 220, a score matched by Leonardo Rigamonti of Pacific, trailing individual champion Jack Castiglia of Northern Colorado who finished at 216.
                Bleier was tied for sixth at 222, while Jones finished 11th with a tournament total of 226.

Fast Five On The Rams:

CSU will have the same scoring lineup this week for the Paintbrush Invitational that won the Ram Masters two weeks ago.
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 will be the third tournament of the year, when CSU competes in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.
Two returning Rams (Davis Bryant and Oscar Teiffel) are in the top 17 in career scoring at CSU.
Head coach Christian Newton now has 12 tournament victories in his nine-plus years as leader of the Rams.

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 will carry the bag all season as part of those same protocols.
                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.

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 Sept. 29. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player   WAGR
Christoph Bleier 142
Davis Bryant       367

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.

Ram on Tour: Former Colorado State standout Martin Laird, a PGA tour veteran, has 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.
                For his career, he has surpassed $19.56 million in official PGA Tour winnings and made the cut in almost two-thirds of his 326 PGA Tour starts, including the most-recent The Masters, in his 13-plus years on the top golf tour. Laird was inducted into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2017.

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