CSU To Wrap Up Fall Schedule At Saint Mary's Invitational Nov. 8-10

Tournament: Saint Mary's Invitational
Dates: Nov. 8-10, 2021
Host: Saint Mary's (Calif.) College
Location: Pebble Beach, Calif.
Course: Poppy Hills Golf Club
Course Par/Yardage: Par 71 / 7,002 yds
Host Web Site: https://smcgaels.com/
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/3weHMPY
Tournament Field (19): Colorado State, Saint Mary's (CA), BYU, Coastal Carolina, Fresno State, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle, Stanford, Washington State

Next on the Tee: Colorado State will travel back west to play in its final tournament of the fall, competing in the Saint Mary's Invitational, Nov. 8-10. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being played at Poppy Hills Golf Club (Par 71 - 7,002 yards) in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Fast Five On Saint Mary's Invitational:
This is the fourth time that CSU is competing in this event and enter as the defending champion from 2019 (as 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19).
Of the 19 programs competing, 15 had participants as either a team or individual in the 2021 NCAA Regionals (eight teams, seven schools with individuals).
In the field, 11 teams are ranked in the top 100 nationally, with five in the top 50, including No. 6 Stanford.
A proud, NCGA-owned course, Poppy Hills is the most accessible, nationally recognized championship course in Pebble Beach, California, and provides guests with what architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. calls "the closest you can get to playing golf in a National Park."
Known for its championship-ready turf, flawless bentgrass greens, and perfectly blended surroundings, Poppy Hills is recognized by Golf Digest's Top 100 Courses You Can Play.

CSU History In Saint Mary's Invitational
11/6-8/2017        3rd/18         283-286-271=840 (-12)
11/5-7/2018        5th/18         284-290-279=853 (+1)
11/4-6/2019        1st/16        267-280-280=827 (-25)

Lineup for the Saint Mary's Invitational: The Rams are in the traditional play-five, count-four event this week at Poppy Hills Golf Club. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.      Rasmus Hjelm
2.     Davis Bryant
3.     Christoph Bleier
4.     Connor Jones
5.     Jay Pabin

Last Time at the Saint Mary's Invite in 2019: Colorado State wrapped up one of the best fall slates in school history by capturing its third straight team tournament title by winning the 2019 Saint Mary's Invitational.
       The No. 20 Rams, according to Golfstat, entered the final round with a 6-shot lead as they started for the third consecutive day on the back nine. After briefly losing the lead at the end of nine holes, CSU rallied to go 12-under among the counters over the final nine holes to take a 5-shot victory over BYU, the team they tied with for the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate title in the previous tournament. The Rams finished at 25-under 827, with the Cougars, who entered ranked No. 6, at 20-under 832. No. 14 Arizona was third at 16-under 836, with New Mexico (11-under 841) and No. 17 Oregon State (even-par 852) rounding out the top five teams.
       This was the third time that CSU has won three consecutive tournaments in school history and the first under head coach Christian Newton. The other two came in 2003-04 and 2008-09, though this was the highest-ranked set of fields of those three groups. This was also only the fifth time in program history that a CSU team has won three or more events in a season.

IN THEIR WORDS
Head coach Christian Newton on the final round
What an incredible day for the team! We got off to a rough start but played the back 9 -12 with only one bogey. It was an awesome response to some adversity. I'm so proud of this team and their fight.

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: Battling against one of the strongest fields in the nation this year, Colorado State posted its best score of the tournament by more than 10 shots in the final round of the 2021 Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Sunday. The Rams finished 14th in the three-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Georgia Tech University, that was played at The Golf Club of Georgia (Par 72 – 7,092 yards) in Alpharetta, Ga.
       With all 14 teams in the field ranking in the top 60 according to Golfstat, Colorado State had a pair of individual under-par rounds and finished the day at 4-over 292 and with a 36-over 900 for the event. Defending national champion and No. 17 Pepperdine won the tournament with an event-record 42-under 822, four shots clear of runner-up No. 9 Texas A&M at 38-under 826. No. 16 Wake Forest was third at 23-under 841, with No. 21 Tennessee in fourth at 22-under 842. No. 4 Stanford rounded out the top five teams at 18-under 846.
       For the Rams, senior Davis Bryant shot a 1-under 71 on the final day and tied for 62nd at 6-over 222. Junior Connor Jones had the team-best round of the tournament, a 3-under 69 on the final day, and placed 68th at 8-over 224. Senior Oscar Teiffel and freshman Jay Pabin both finished at 13-over 229, tying for 70th, while freshman Christoph Bleier tied for 74th at 16-over 232.

Fast Five On The Rams:
CSU will have its first different lineup from the first three events of the year, as sophomore Rasmus Hjelm makes his season debut for the Rams.
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.

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 Nov. 3. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player                                     WAGR
Christoph Bleier                      190
Davis Bryant                           322

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 328 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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