CSU Going Against Elite National Field at Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Oct. 22-24

Tournament: Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate
Dates: Oct. 22-24, 2021
Host: Georgia Tech
Location: Alpharetta, Ga.
Course: The Golf Club of Georgia - Lakeside Course
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 7,092 yds
Host Web Site: https://ramblinwreck.com
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/2YM75ge
Tournament Field (14): Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Duke, East Tennessee State, Pepperdine, Southern Cal, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia, Wake Forest

Next on the Tee: Colorado State will travel East of the Mississippi River for the only time during the regular season to play in The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, Oct. 22-24. The three-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Georgia Tech University, is being played at The Golf Club of Georgia's Lakeside Course in Alpharetta, Ga.

Fast Five On The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate:

This is the first time that CSU is competing in this nationally-renowned 54-hole tournament.
Of the 14 programs competing, all 14 had participants as either a team or individual in the 2021 NCAA Regionals - with seven advancing to the 2021 NCAA Championship (host Georgia Tech, defending national champion Pepperdine, Clemson, East Tennessee State, TCU, Tennessee and Wake Forest). 2019 National Champion Stanford is also in the field.
All 14 teams are ranked in the top 60 nationally, according to Golfstat, including the Rams at No. 53.
The two courses at The Golf Club of Georgia (Lakeside and Creekside) were originally designed by renowned golf architect Arthur Hills and provide uniquely distinct playing experiences
Over the years, The Golf Club of Georgia, located in Alpharetta, has hosted PGA Champions Tour events, the historic Georgia Cup which annually pits the reigning amateur champions from the United States and Great Britain prior to their participation at The Masters, and the yearly Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate showcasing some of the finest highly-ranked teams from across the country. The course has hosted several major competitions, including the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup, won by Europe.

CSU History In Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate
First Appearance

Lineup for the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at The Golf Club of Georgia. 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: Colorado State's Davis Bryant earned his first collegiate tournament win and led the Rams to the team title at the 2021 Paintbrush Invitational, Oct. 4-5. The two-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Denver University, was played at Colorado Golf Club (Par 72 – 7,513 yards) in Parker, Colo.
      On Monday, CSU was one of just four teams to complete both its rounds in ideal conditions on the opening day, but knew it would be among the leaders when 36 holes were completed on Tuesday morning. First-round leader Denver, who was up three on the Rams after a 2-over 290, slipped in its second round and CSU moved into the lead at 10-over 586. Tuesday was different as the wind kicked up, making the greens firmer and faster for all competitors. However, CSU was still able to manage the third-best score of the day and finished at 26-over 890, six shots better than in-state rivals Denver and Northern Colorado at 32-over 896. North Dakota State was fourth at 37-over 901, with Long Beach State completing the top five teams at 38-over 903. CSU's success was due to consistent play, as the Rams ranked second in scoring on all three par-levels (par 3, 4 and 5) in the field.
      In earning the victory, CSU defeated three teams, including No. 3 BYU, ranked in Golfweek's top 100, improving the Rams to 5-0 against that group this season. This was also CSU's second consecutive team victory in the tournament, having won it in its last appearance in 2018 in extremely cold weather, and also crowned its second individual winner in the event as Oscar Teiffel took home medalist honors that year.
      Coming off a runner-up finish in the season-opening Ram Masters Invitational, Bryant was solid throughout the tournament. In Monday's 36 holes, Bryant posted a 3-under 69 in the morning and followed it up with a 4-under 68 in the afternoon and led at 7-under 137 after 36 holes. Bryant then battled a day where just four players in the field shot par or better, posting a 4-over 76 in the last 18 to finish at 3-under 213 and a two-shot victor over Oklahoma State's Jonas Baumgartner, as the pair were the only two individuals to finish at par or better. Bryant led the field in par-4 scoring at even-par and was third on par-5s at 5-under par. For his career, Bryant now has six top-5, nine top-10 and 15-top-20 placings in his 29 events played.
      In a team win in which every player contributed at least once to the team score, CSU also had two other top-20 finishes. Junior Connor Jones tied for ninth at 7-over 233, while freshman Christoph Bleier tied for 17th at 9-over 225. For both, it was their second top-20 finish on the young season. Freshman Jay Pabin tied for 40th at 14-over 230, with senior Oscar Teiffel tied for 44th at 15-over 231.

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.
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.

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 $19.72 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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