Colorado State University men’s golf coach Christian Newton didn’t mince words or equivocate when asked about the performance of freshman Oscar Teiffel in brutal weather conditions this week at Colorado Golf Club in Parker.

“That’s the best competitive round I’ve ever seen — under pressure, playing for the lead, shoot 67 in blowing snow and 35 degrees. That’s as good as I’ve ever seen,” Newton said.

And it’s hard to argue.

Teiffel shot a 5-under-par 67 on a very tough golf course with snow flying and temperatures in the mid-30s to win the individual title at the Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club.

And to add to the accomplishment, Teiffel and the Rams (pictured below) also took home the team title while competing against a field that included three Pac-12 Conference schools, including the University of Colorado, which has won twice already this season.

Like CU, CSU has now claimed two team titles in the fall portion of the schedule — one in a tournament it hosts and another in Colorado. The Rams won the Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins in September.

This one, though, likely will be etched indelibly in the memory of the CSU players and coaches, given the conditions. All three rounds were played in temperatures between 35-40 degrees, with snow adding an especially unusual element on Tuesday.

“I think it’s the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in,” said Teiffel, who hails from Sweden. “It was snowy for nine holes and it was super cold. I have like three pairs of pants on me right now.”

Teiffel finished with a remarkable — given the conditions — 10-under-par 206 total, which was good for a three-stroke victory. On Tuesday, when eight players shot in the 80s, his 67 was the only score below 70.

“I had no idea what to expect before I went out,” said Teiffel, who notched his second top-10 finish of the season in major tournaments. “At first I was thinking 3 over was going to be a good score. But I got into a good flow, made a few putts and played pretty good. I’m happy with my score.

“I knew it was going to be tough for everyone. I didn’t have any expectations of myself. I was just going to accept whatever happened.”

Teiffel’s victory marks the first individual win by a CSU player since Blake Cannon won two events in a row two years ago.

As for capturing a title so early in his college career, Teiffel said, “It feels fantastic. You don’t get wins very often in this sport. When you do it’s pretty special. To do that so quickly after coming over here to college is also pretty cool. It’s an individual sport, but you’re playing as a team and it’s nice to win as a team as well.”

Indeed, on two days that very few golfers would even consider playing, the Rams finished with a 6-over-par 870 total for three rounds, which earned them an eight-stroke team victory over Oregon.

“Today was one of the better rounds that I’ve ever seen out of a team,” Newton said of his CSU squad, which shot a 1-over 289 on Tuesday. “We preached resiliency this whole week. (The CSU players) did a wonderful job. I’m very proud of them.”

Perhaps it has something to do with the makeup of the five players who constituted the Rams’ team this week. Four of the five are from places where it’s not unusual for golfers to battle the elements. As noted, there was Teiffel (left) from Sweden. And then there were three Coloradans — AJ Ott, Davis Bryant and Jake Staiano. And Californian Cullen Plousha rounded things out.

“When it starts getting windy, rainy and this cold, I think it really gives us an advantage,” said Bryant, who like Teiffel is a freshman. “I know Oscar has played in a lot of weather like this. And Jake, me and AJ have in similar stuff to this throughout our time living in Colorado. So I think it definitely helped us. And we’re a tough team mentally.”

As for the aforementioned Coloradans, Ott (below) finished ninth individually at 1-over-par 217, while Bryant was 17th at 221 and Staiano 32nd at 227. But they weren’t the top Colorado resident on the final Paintbrush scoreboard. That honor went to the University of Northern Colorado’s Coby Welch, who placed fifth on Tuesday at 2-under 214.

Remarkably, Welch was 5 under par through 11 holes of Tuesday’s round, but bogeyed three of his last seven to shoot 70.

“I just keep going as if it weren’t snowing,” Welch said. “I keep playing. There’s nothing I can do about it. I try to stay as focused as I can.

“I’m very happy with (the finish). I felt like I played well. Everyone was going to miss some short putts because of the greens and the snow — and I missed a few of those — but that’s OK. I felt like I played well. I hit the ball well and my short game was very good at this tournament.”

It was Welch’s third top-five individual finish of the season, with all three coming in Colorado as he placed third in both the Ram Masters and the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

Meanwhile, Welch’s UNC squad placed an impressive third out the 12 teams at the Paintbrush. The Bears checked in at 19-over-par 883, 13 behind CSU. Joining Welch in the top dozen individually for UNC were Joshua Matz (sixth at 215) and Li Chen (12th at 219).

CU, meanwhile, tied for fourth at 887 in its fall season finale. Daniel O’Loughlin had another strong showing for the Buffs, placing sixth individually at 215.

The host University of Denver ended up 12th on Tuesday with a 929 total. DU’s Roy Kang, competing only as an individual this week, finished 10th individually at 218.

Teiffel became the second Scandinavian player to win the individual title in the two years the Paintbrush Invitational has been held. DU’s Petter Mikalsen, of Norway, claimed the top spot two years ago. Last year’s Paintbrush was canceled due to snow.

With the U.S. Mid-Amateur being held at Colorado Golf Club next September, the Paintbrush Invitational will take a one-year hiatus from the schedule before an anticipated return in 2020.

This year’s Paintbrush marks the seventh and final NCAA Division I invitational — men’s and women’s combined — that is being held in Colorado during the fall college season.

Paintbrush Invitational
Oct. 8-9, 2018 (final) at Colorado GC in Parker
1. (out of 12 teams) Colorado State 287-294-289–870
1. Oscar Teiffel 70-69-67–206
9. AJ Ott 73-74-70–217
17. Davis Bryant 71-76-74–221
32. Jake Staiano 74-75-78–227
39. Cullen Plousha 73-78-78–229
Competing Only as Individuals
25. Andrew Lafferty 80-71-73–224
30. Akedanai Ponghathaikul 74-75-77–226
47. Jack Ainscough 75-76-80–231

3. Northern Colorado 298-291-294–883
5. Coby Welch 71-73-70–214
6. Joshua Matz 73-70-72–215
12. Li Chen 73-70-76–219
60. Nick Sharp 81-78-79–238
68. Marcus Tait 90-78-76–244
Competing Only as Individual
23. Jack Castiglia 79-74-70–223

4. Colorado 295-293-299–887
6. Daniel O’Loughlin 69-70-76–215
17. Trevor Olkowski 74-73-74–221
28. Kristoffer Max 73-73-79–225
39. John Paterson 79-77-73–229
51. Ross Macdonald 79-78-76–233
Competing Only as Indivdual
17. Andre Leveque 77-73-71–221

12. Denver 312-309-308–929
30. Jun Ho Won 75-74-77–226
44. Esteban Missura 81-73-76–230
60. Cal McCoy 79-73-86–238
68. Carson Griggs 77-89-78–244
72. Jackson Solem 82-90-77–249
Competing Only as Individuals
10. Roy Kang 72-72-74–218
32. Eric Hagen 78-74-75–227
57. John Sand 83-76-76–235

Also
39. Coloradan Tyler Severin, Wyoming 76-78-75–229
 
For complete results, CLICK HERE.

 It took a while to get in the groove, but suffice it to say the Rams have now mastered the Ram Masters Invitational.

Each of the first two years the Colorado State University men’s golf team hosted the tournament at Fort Collins Country Club, 2012 and ’13, it suffered through consecutive runner-up finishes — by one stroke each year, no less.

But since then, the Rams have run off team victories in the event three straight years, including on Tuesday in the fifth time the tournament was conducted.

“This is obviously very special to win three in a row here, and against a really good field,” said CSU head coach Christian Newton, whose Rams notched their fifth team victory since he arrived in Fort Collins in 2012. “We had the biggest field we’ve ever had with 100 players. It was awesome to see the guys come out and compete and defend their home turf.”

With senior Blake Cannon (pictured above getting a victory shower) shooting a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 in the final round and becoming the first CSU player to claim an individual college title since Cameron Harrell in 2013, the Rams rallied on Tuesday to earn a seven-stroke victory over Nevada.

After entering the day four strokes out of the lead, CSU shot a 3-under-par 277 to post a 4-over-par 844 total for 54 holes. Air Force, which shared the 36-hole lead, finished fourth in the 18-team field at 858, while Northern Colorado (879) was 11th, Denver (887) 15th and CSU’s second squad (893) 16th.

Three members of CSU’s title-winning team — Jake Staiano, AJ Ott (left, with Newton) and Jimmy Makloski — are products of Colorado junior golf. A week after placing fourth in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitatational, Staiano finished 17th individually on Tuesday at 5-over-par 215. Ott, a freshman, was 32nd at 218, and Makloski was 70th at 227.

“I can tell I’ve come a long way,” said Staiano, who posted rounds of 73-71-71. “Last week at Air Force I didn’t have my A-plus game, but to still be able to get a top-5 was nice. And I can tell it’s carrying over.

“We have so many good guys on this team. We have eight or 10 guys who can play, who can really compete on any given week. For us to put that together feels really good.”

Cannon (left), a product of Scottsdale, Ariz., who spent a season and a half at Arizona State before transferring to CSU, earned his first individual college victory. And he was impressive doing it, with his 64 on Tuesday missing Kyler Dunkle’s single-round tournament record by just a stroke. Cannon carded six birdies and no bogeys on a course that certainly wasn’t set up easy. After all, the next-best score on Tuesday was a 67. All told, Cannon’s 7-under-par 203 total was four better than runners-up Brenden Bone (below) of Air Force and Kaleb Gorbahn of Nevada.

“To get my first win, in my senior year, it feels pretty good,” said Cannon, who played in the U.S. Amateur last month. “I’ve been waiting for it for a while. I’ve come close a few times. It’s nice to finally pull through and get it.

“Honestly, I was struggling with a bunch of different injuries between my back and neck so my expectations weren’t overly high this week. But it felt a little better than I expected. All around, I’ve been striking it so well. I just needed my putting and chipping to come around a little bit, and it finally did. Once those synched up, I was able to really take off.”

Said Newton of Cannon’s performance: “For Blake to come out and play today flawlessly was awesome. We haven’t had somebody win a tournament (individually) in three years, so I’m very happy and real proud of him.”

But it was the whole team — Cannon, Colton Yates, Staiano (left), Ott and Makloski — starting out on a torrid pace that set the tone for the team victory. Collectively, the five golfers played the first four holes in 8 under par on Tuesday. And at one point on the front nine, the Rams were 11 under par as a team for the day. So for almost the entire final round, they were the team to beat. And no opponent came close to matching their 277 final-round total.

Yates, who qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Fort Collins Country Club this summer, joined Cannon in the top five individually, placing fourth at 208 despite a triple bogey on the ninth hole Tuesday.

“You never take for granted winning,” Newton said. “You never know when the next one might come. I hope these boys enjoy it. It obviously means a lot.

“The course is tough — firm and fast — and it’s not like we usually see it. So it’s nice to see them have success in a real major-championship-type setup. It was awesome.”
 

Ram Masters Invitational
Sept. 19-20, 2016 at Par-70 Fort Collins CC

1. Colorado State 284-283-277–844
1. Blake Cannon 70-69-64–203
4. Colton Yates 68-69-71–208
17. Jake Staiano 73-71-71–215
32. AJ Ott 73-74-71–218
70. Jimmy Makloski 76-77-74–227

4. Air Force Academy 281-282-295–858
2. Brenden Bone 69-68-70–207
9. Sunwoo Choi 65-70-77–212
28. Todd Millard 73-70-74–217
65. Joshua Wu 74-78-74–226
76. Bryant Falconello 77-74-77–228

11. Northern Colorado 286-292-301–879

21. Li Chen 71-71-74–216
46. Coby Welch 76-70-75–221
52. Joshua Matz 73-73-76–222
65. Andrew Romano 72-78-76–226
89. Philip Lee 70-84-79–233

15. Denver 299-296-292–887
21. Chris Korte 74-72-70–216
52. Jake Kelley 71-75-76–222
65. Isaac Petersilie 79-74-73–226
76. Petter Mikalsen 75-80-73–228
89. Troy Dangler 79-75-79–233

16. Colorado State B 302-304-287–893
34. Max Oelfke 69-78-72–219
34. Logan Iverson 76-71-72–219
70. Alec Bone 79-75-73–227
76. Kyle Kidd 78-80-70–228
95. Pierce Aichinger 79-80-78–237

Also
21. Victor Bjorlow, Colorado 75-70-71–216
41. Sam Marley, UNC 69-79-72–220
41. Tate Tatom, Air Force 72-74-74–220
64. Ryan Schmitz, Colorado 76-72-77–225
70. Eric Hagen, DU 76-78-73–227
82. Turner Howe, Air Force 76-80-74–230
82. Jack Li, Colorado 77-74-79–230
87. Kade Crossland, Colorado 79-73-80–232
87. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 76-78-78–232
 

Colorado State men’s golf coach Christian Newton called it an “outlier” — in this case a very positive outlier that paved the way for the Rams’ second team victory of the young season.

Kyler Dunkle, a redshirt freshman from Larkspur, shot a competitive course-record 7-under-par 63 Monday at Fort Collins Country Club that set the tone for the Rams’ second consecuctive victory in the Ram Masters Invitational event they host.

To put the performance into perspective, the 63 was the lowest single-round score at this week’s tournament — by three strokes.

“I can’t say enough about the 63 yesterday,” Newton said on Tuesday. “Sometimes when you shoot such an outlier of a round, you give yourself a five- or six-shot (team) cushion before the thing even starts. There’s so much parity in these things; it’s going to be close no matter what. We were able to ride (that cushion) the whole time. It was awesome, one of the best rounds I’ve ever seen.”

In finishing fourth on Tuesday, Dunkle, a former Colorado 5A state high school champion, posted his second individual top-10 in two events this season. He was seventh on Sept. 13 at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

“I was in about as good of a rhythm as I can find that first round (at Fort Collins CC),” he said. “It was really cool. During a tournament setting, this is a hard course to play.”

But sometimes not so much for Dunkle (left). In July, he shot consecutive rounds of 69 at FCCC to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. And in intra-team qualifiers held leading up to the season, he went 65-67-64 in three straight rounds at the club for a 14-under par total.

“That stretch of three days was the best I’ve ever played in my life,” said Dunkle, who also this summer shot a 59 in a casual round at Eisenhower Golf Club’s Silver Course. “For me this course sets up really well. I love this place.”

Dunkle, who posted an even-par 210 total for three rounds, is one of three Coloradans on the CSU roster, and all three of them placed in the top 20 Tuesday out of a field of 88. Jake Staiano (left), a true freshman from Cherry Hills Village, ended up eighth (212) and junior Jimmy Makloski from Pueblo checked in at 19th (218).

“When I got here it really was a priority to recruit those guys and feel like you get the best one (in the state) every year,” said Newton, now in his fourth season at CSU. “I feel like we’ve done that and are continuing to do that. It’s great to see them play like I thought they could when I recruited them. It’s really awesome.”

Another Coloradan, sophomore Chris Korte from the University of Denver, who last month won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, also cracked the top 20 on Tuesday, finishing 12th at 216.

Ben Welle, who plays at Kansas for former CSU head coach Jamie Bermel, claimed the individual title at 4-under-par 206.

All told, Colorado State not only won the team title but put seven of its nine players in the top 20 individually. Senior Dominic Kieffer (left) and sophomore teammate Max Oelfke (below) tied for second place at 208. A week after finishing third at the Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club, Kieffer notched another top-three showing on Tuesday.

Staiano, who advanced to match play last month at the U.S. Amateur, was playing strictly as an individual at the Ram Masters Invitational, but had a strong showing in just his second college event, going 75-68-69–212. He made 11 birdies combined in the last two rounds.

“Obviously I had a good showing at the (U.S.) Am and I came up here and I think I put a little too much pressure on myself,” he said. “I haven’t been playing my best golf since I’ve been up here, but I finally got it going the last two rounds. I was really happy with how I fought back. I played my game for once, which felt good.”

As a team, the Rams fended off Kansas and finished at 1-under-par 839 for three rounds, winning by 10. DU (890) placed eighth, Air Force (894) 10th and Northern Colorado (899) 13th.

This after CSU won the Falcon Invitational by three over the University of Colorado on Sept. 13.

“To start out back-to-back is awesome,” said Newton, who this month has notched his third and fourth victories as a head coach, with three of the four having come in Colorado. “We’re in a good place right now.”

Staiano noted that he hasn’t shot higher than 74 in qualifying, but still hasn’t cracked CSU’s top five, which shows the Rams’ depth.

“I think we have something pretty special,” he said. “It’s just fun to be around a winning atmosphere. Our first qualifier, (Dunkle) shot 14 under (for three rounds). Obviously that’s going to make me a better player too. That’s the best part.”

Added Dunkle: “All of us are working our tails off and it’s finally starting to show. This week was really a testament to what we’ve been doing. Starting out with two wins doesn’t happen very often, especially with the competition we play against. It was really cool.”

And, not be lost in the big week for the Rams, one of the players who competed only as an individual at Fort Collins CC made a hole-in-one on Tuesday, as Alec Bone aced the 250-yard 17th hole.

Ram Masters Invitational
Sept. 21-22, 2015 (final) at Par-70 Fort Collins CC

1. (out of 15 teams) Colorado State 277-283-279–839
2. Max Oelfke 73-66-69–208; 2. Dominic Kieffer 68-72-68–208; 4. Kyler Dunkle 63-74-73–210; 19. Colton Yates 73-73-72–218; 19. Jimmy Makloski 76-72-70–218. Competing as individuals: 8. Jake Staiano 75-68-69–212; 14. Blake Cannon 71-71-75–217; 38. Alec Bone 77-73-73–223; 58. Logan Iverson 75-78-74–227.

8. Denver 304-295-291–890
12. Chris Korte 73-71-72–216; 19. Adam Ruben 69-75-74–218; 58. Arti Edelman 80-76-71–227; 66. Jake Kelley 82-73-74–229; 84. Petter Mikalsen 84-80-80–244. Competing as individuals: 58. Michael Boylan 79-72-76–227; 88. Johan Werge 81-92-84–257.

10. Air Force 303-296-295–894
19. Sunwoo Choi 74-73-71–218; 29. Brenden Bone 78-69-73–220; 52. Bryant Falconello 74-78-74–226; 70. Michael Fan 77-76-77–230; 84. Tate Tatom 84-78-82–244. Competing as individual: 62. Kyle Fuller 74-80-74–228.

13. Northern Colorado 291-311-297–899
35. Conner Barr 70-77-75–222; 35. Steven Kupcho 73-77-72–222; 58. Julian Woodfork 76-78-73–227; 62. Joshua Matz 72-79-77–228; 82. Sam Marley 77-85-78–240.

Also
19. Kade Crossland, Colorado 71-76-71–218
38. Wilson Belk, Colorado 74-73-76–223
66. Coloradan Glenn Workman, Wyoming 76-75-78–229
 

It seemed only fitting that a week that will culminate with the Colorado-Colorado State football game would start with a showdown between the rivals on the golf course.

Though 14 other teams competed in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at the Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course at the Air Force Academy, they ended up playing second fiddle to CSU and CU.

The Rams (pictured above) prevailed in the 16-team tournament on Sunday, earning the Falcon Invite title for the third time in the 47-year-old event. CSU has taken home the trophy in 2008, ’09 and ’15.

“It’s big” to beat CU, said Rams senior Dominic Kieffer, who placed third individually. “The history between the two schools … we’ve always been close to them, (but) they’ve been a little bit better than us the last few years so it’s nice to get a win against them.”

But the Buffs didn’t go home empty-handed. They claimed the individual championship — with senior Philip Juel-Berg (left) earning his first college victory — in addition to being the runner-up team-wise.

Breaking through individually is “awesome,” said Juel-Berg, a native of Denmark who earlier this summer won the Danish International Amateur. “It’s definitely been a dream since I started college. I played really well over the summer, so I thought there was a chance to win a tournament when I got back here. It’s a great way to start off my senior year. I’m obviously really, really happy.”

CSU, which went into the final round three behind CU, shot a 7-under-par 281 as a team on Sunday and finished at 15-under 849. That was three better than CU, the 2012 champions. Wyoming was a distant third at 863. Northern Colorado (877) was seventh and host Air Force (881) was 11th.

Individually, Juel-Berg birdied five consecutive holes in the middle of his round — making a 45-foot putt, then four inside of 3 feet — and was 6 under for the day through 12. Ultimately, he posted a 4-under 68 in the final round. That left him at 12-under 204, good for a five-stroke victory over Devon Purser of Weber State. Juel-Berg matched the CU record for most shots under par in a three-round tournament.

Kieffer (above) and UTEP’s Frederik Dreier shared third place at 210.

Two former Colorado state high school champions also placed in the top 10, with CU’s Ethan Freeman (below) tying for fifth at 212 and CSU’s Kyler Dunkle sharing seventh place at 213.

The last four holes ultimately determined the team title as the four CSU golfers who had their scores count on Sunday went a combined 1 under down the stretch, while the corresponding Buffs went 5 over par.

“The guys did a nice job in general,” said CSU coach Christian Newton. “Kyler Dunkle was 3 over after 3, then made three birdies on the front to get it back to even, then shoots 2 under on the back, which was awesome, really gutsy. Blake Cannon had played really bad yesterday — he was in (71st) place — but he was 1 under for us today, which was huge. It was fun to watch.”

But not so much for the Buffs, who shot 16 strokes higher in round 3 than in round 2.

“It’s obviously real sad standing here afterward not being able to pull it out (team-wise),” Juel-Berg said. “We have to be honest: We just weren’t good enough. We dropped a lot of shots coming down the stretch.”

During Saturday’s first two rounds of the 54-hole event, CU competed with a four-man team, meaning that all the scores counted, with none being thrown out. That was because sophomore John Souza withdrew due to back spasms. He returned for Sunday’s third round and shot a 77.

“We’re very happy for Philip (Juel-Berg, left),” Buffs coach Roy Edwards said. “Anytime you have an individual win the event, you’re real excited. He’s a very hard worker, a senior. I know he’s very motivated to play well this year.

“Second (as a team) is obviously a nice event considering our situation with one guy not playing yesterday and hitting some bunts off the tee today. You’re never happy when you don’t win. We’re definitely not satisfied with second, but I’m certainly happy with how we played.

“It was a great battle with CSU. It’s always good to be in those situations, especially to start the year off.”

CU has a solid lineup, but lost one of its key players after just two seasons, as Yannik Paul is back is his native Germany, expected to soon turn pro. Yannik’s twin brother, Jeremy, remains one of the Buffs’ top players and tied for seventh on Sunday.

As for CSU, it put three players in the top 10 on Sunday — Kieffer, Dunkle and Max Oelfke (who also tied for seventh).

“We’ve got a tremendous amount of competition” on the team, Newton noted. “All the guys have gotten better. We’ve got seven or eight legitimate players; there are good guys at home. That speaks well for the program. There’s a lot of pushing and shoving for those spots. Ultimately that will make everyone better.

“We’re looking forward to next week and our home event (the Ram Masters Invitational Sept. 21-22 at Fort Collins Country Club). I’m really happy for the boys. This is really nice for them because they’ve worked really hard.”

Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational
At Par-72 Eisenhower GC (Blue Course) at Air Force Academy

Team scores — 1. Colorado State 849; 2. Colorado 852; 3. Wyoming 863; 4. Weber State 866; 5. Texas-El Paso 867; 6. Nevada 875; 7. (tie) Northern Colorado and Missouri-Kansas City 877; 9. William & Mary 878; 10. Utah State 879; 11. Air Force 881; 12. Boise State 885; 13. (tie) Abilene Christian and Utah 886; 15. Air Force B 904; 16. Southern Utah 944.

1. Colorado State 286-282-281–849
3. Dominic Kieffer 70-71-69–210; 7. Max Oelfke 72-70-71–213; 7. Kyler Dunkle 71-72-70–213; 15. Jimmy Makloski 73-69-73–215; 52. Blake Cannon 74-79-71–224.

2. Colorado 294-271-287–852
1. Philip Juel-Berg 69-67-68–204; 5. Ethan Freeman 76-67-69–212; 7. Jeremy Paul 71-69-73–213; 52. Ross Macdonald 78-68-78–224; 86. John Souza DNP-DNP-77.

7. Northern Colorado 286-299-292–877
22. Steven Kupcho 72-75-71–218; 35. Joshua Matz 75-71-75–221; 35. Sam Marley 68-78-75–221; 52. Conner Barr 78-75-71–224; 69. Li Chen 71-81-76–228.

11. Air Force Academy 300-291-290–881
18. Sutton Farmer 73-72-72–217; 35. Michael Fan 74-74-73–221; 46. Sunwoo Choi 76-75-72–223; 46. Bryant Falconello 77-73-73–223; 52. Brenden Bone 77-72-75–224.

15. Air Force Academy B 301-297-306–904
59. Tate Tatom 73-73-79–225; 62. Kyle Fuller 76-74-76–226; 67. Dane Hankamer 75-76-76–227; 79. Troy Berglund 86-74-75–235; 80. Turner Howe 77-79-80–236.

Other Local Players and Locals Competing as Individuals Only
22. Tristan Rohrbaugh, Boise State 73-72-73–218
28. Pierce Aichinger, Colorado 74-73-72–219
29. Glenn Workman, Wyoming 72-73-75–220
35. Jake Staiano, Colorado State 72-70-79–221
52. Kade Crossland, Colorado 73-74-77–224
88. Colton Yates 68-72-DNP
 

It was almost a storybook finish to Christian Newton’s whirlwind first month as Colorado State University’s men’s golf coach.

Almost.

It could have been an ideal scenario. The Rams were hosting a brand-new tournament, they were rallying in the final round, and they could have given Newton the first team title of his young college head-coaching career.

Alas, CSU and Newton were dealt an agonizingly close second-place finish. In a tournament where the winning team total was 859 strokes, the Rams ended up a mere one shot behind champion Wichita State Tuesday in the inaugural Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club.

“I’m a competitor so anytime we play, regardless of who we play against, we want to win,” said Newton, who was the national assistant coach of the year in 2011 while with Georgia Tech. “It was really tough, but our guys learned a valuable lesson today — that obviously every single shot counts. We’ll take that with us the rest of the year.”

To make it even more agonizing, a CSU player competing only as an individual — not as part of the five-man team — won the individual title on Tuesday. Had redshirt freshman Jordan Wetsch been one of the five players Newton designated for team scoring purposes, the Rams would have claimed the team title.

While it’s certainly unusual for a player competing only as an individual to win a college tournament, it’s not unprecedented.

“I have to live with the decisions I made a week ago about how to put the best five guys out on the course, and I can’t second-guess that,” said Newton (pictured above with some of his CSU players).

“The dynamic is a little different (for players not competing for the team score). The pressure is off a little. But that’s not to take anything away from Jordan; his golf was fantastic as the score shows. That’s not necessarily the norm (for an individual-only player to win a college event), but I saw Harris English (a former University of George player now on the PGA Tour) do it, and he was off and running. Hopefully that’s what it will be like for Jordan.”

CSU shot an 8-over-par 288 in Tuesday’s final round to finish with an 860 total. Only the 859 by Wichita State, which is coached by three-time PGA Tour winner Grier Jones — was better.

The University of Denver (867) placed fourth in the 15-team field, while Northern Colorado (878) was seventh and the Air Force Academy (905) 14th.

Individually, Wetsch carded a 3-under-par 67 Tuesday to post an even-par 210 total. That was two strokes better than DU’s ChunJi Kim (73-71-68–212) and three better than CSU teammate Kirby Pettitt (73-71-69–213). Parker Edens (214, fourth place) and Kory Harrell (215, ninth) also finished in the top 10 for CSU.

Wetsch (pictured at left), who transferred from Wisconsin to CSU in the middle of the 2011-12 school year, won in just his second college tournament ever.

“I didn’t qualify for the team obviously, but I wanted to come out here to win,” Wetsch said. “That’s the goal. (To actually do it), it was a nice surprise.”

For Newton, it’s been a very busy last month, starting with him formally signing on with CSU on Aug. 17. That was about six weeks after longtime Ram coach Jamie Bermel resigned to take the coaching position at the University of Kansas.

“I signed the paperwork on Aug. 17, and they said, ‘Can you be here the 20th?'” Newton said. “I flew back to Atlanta, kissed my 6-month-old and my wife on the cheek and headed right back. I started the first day of school and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. But this is a dream come true for me. Someone said, ‘Aren’t you so busy?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, and I’m loving every minute of it.'”

Coming on board just three weeks before the season started was challenging enough, but with the Rams hosting a new tournament, that made things even more hectic.

“There are so many things to do,” Newton admitted. “So what I’ve done is prioritize. For me the most important things are taking care of this team and getting players for next year’s team. Fortunately, the support staff has been fantastic. Without my assistant coach, Bret Guetz, and a couple of administrators on campus, I’d be drowning. They’ve done a fantastic job of acclimating me to this role.”

Though this is his first college head coaching job and he’s still in his early 30s, Newton has no doubt he’s ready for his new position.

“There is probably a slight learning curve navigating Colorado State and its policies and some of the logistical things, but it’s still a white ball and a little 3 1/2-inch hole,” he said. “That part there’s no learning curve. I’ve been ready for this for a long time. I was just waiting for the right (opportunity).”

Bermel was highly respected for his work at CSU as the Rams went to the NCAA regionals 12 times and to the NCAA finals in 2011. But Newton is determined to make his own mark.

“Obviously Jamie was extremely successful here, but I have to coach with my 10 years of experience and my personality,” Newton said. “I can’t do things the way Jamie did it. The guys will have to be patient with me. There is some change here — probably some good, probably some bad. But there is change.”

The players, for their part, appear ready to grow along with Newton.

“I’m enjoying coach Newton a lot,” said Pettitt, a senior for the Rams. “He doesn’t quite talk as much as Jamie but when he has something to say it’s meaningful. There’s a little bit different philosophy. He believes in hard work, too, but I think he’s a little more laid back and not quite so intense directly. But at the same time, you’ve got to put in the hard work and concentrate and focus.

“I think he’s well respected by our players from top to bottom. I think we’re all excited for the next eight months to see what we can do.

“But I think both (Newton and Bermel) are going to have success.”

Ram Masters Invitational
Sept. 17-18, 2012 at Par-70 Fort Collins CC

2. Colorado State 287-285-288–860
3. Kirby Pettitt 73-71-69–213; 4. Parker Edens 71-72-71–214; 9. Kory Harrell 67-72-76–215; 28. Cameron Harrell 76-70-75–221; 57. Brett Wilson 76-78-73–227. Competing only as individuals: 1. Jordan Wetsch 70-73-67–210; 52. Dominic Kieffer 74-74-78–226; 57. K.C. Chang 76-76-75–227.

4. Denver 287-292-288–867
2. ChunJi Kim 73-71-68–212; 11. Jordan Burgess 69-75-72–216; 16. Oskar Arvidsson 69-75-73–217; 47. Ole Ramsnes 76-74-75–225; 52. Arti Edelman 78-72-76–226. Competing only as individual: 71. Victor Doka 80-76-75–231.

7. Northern Colorado 298-293-287–878
16. Steve Connell 75-69-73–217; 24. Charlie Mroz 72-73-75–220; 31. Ben Krueger 75-78-69–222; 41. Steven Kupcho 80-74-70–224; 67. Conner Barr 76-77-77–230. Competing only as individual: 81. Nick Umholtz 81-79-81–241.

14. Air Force Academy 300-299-306–905
11. Kyle Westmoreland 72-70-74–216; 52. Andrew Hoops 76-76-74–226; 61. Philip Colwell 77-72-79–228; 79. Jack Howard 75-84-80–239; 79. Ryan Kramer 79-81-79–239. Competing only as individuals: 57. Todd Berglund 83-71-73–227; 66. Blake Jones 78-77-74–229.
 

The overwhelming majority of college golf tournaments played in Colorado take place in September, for an obvious reason: It’s the best month in the state, weather-wise, during the college golf season.

And this year, more than ever, September will be prime time for college golf in Colorado. In the Division I ranks alone, five multi-team invitational tournaments will be played this month in the Centennial State — three on the men’s side and two on the women’s. Four of the events have been held in previous seasons, but the Colorado State men’s Ram Masters Invitational will be contested for the first time.

And the good news for local golf fans is that in many of the Colorado-based tournaments, several of the state’s teams compete against one another.

Here’s the lineup of Division I invitationals being held in Colorado this month:

— Sept. 9-10: Men’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by Air Force at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, UNC.

— Sept. 10-11: Women’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic hosted by Colorado State at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: CSU, CU, UNC.

— Sept. 17-18: Men’s Ram Masters Invitational hosted by Colorado State at Fort Collins Country Club. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, DU, UNC.

— Sept. 24-25: Men’s Mark Simpson Invitational hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, DU, UNC.

— Sept. 24-26: Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge hosted by the University of Denver at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. Div. I team from Colorado participating: DU.

Colorado College Golf Chip Shots: The Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club Sunday and Monday (Sept. 9-10) will mark the first event in his new job for CSU men’s head coach Christian Newton. Newton was hired after longtime CSU head coach Jamie Bermel took the same position at the University of Kansas. … The CU women, who in the spring went to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history, are ranked 16th in the nation in the preseason coaches’ poll. … Also ranked nationally are the Colorado School of Mines men, who are 20th in the Div. II coaches’ poll after placing 11th in the Div. II national finals last season. … Both the University of Denver men and women will be in a new conference this season, moving from the Sun Belt to the Western Athletic. The Pioneer women won the last nine Sun Belt Conference championships. … Former DU golfer Erik Billinger is the new assistant golf coach for the women’s team at his alma mater. Billinger was an assistant for the university’s golf programs from 2002 to 2004. Billinger replaces Lindsay Hulwick, who became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. … UNC sophomore Steven Kupcho is coming off a stellar summer in which he won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, was low amateur at the HealthOne Colorado Open and placed second in the CGA Public Links. … In addition to the Mark Simpson Invitational, the CU men will host a 36-hole one-day tournament at Colorado National this season — the Colorado Spring Invitational on April 22. UNC will be among the teams competing. … The DU men recently announced the addition of two freshmen to their roster: Arti Edelman of Switzerland and Trey Pflug of Portland, Ore.