NO ONE BETTER IN PAST 33: This season marks the 12th anniversary of Sun Devil freshman Alejandro Canizares winning the 2003 title, the 22nd anniversary of Todd Demsey winning the 1993 title, and the 32nd anniversary of Jim Carter winning the 1983 title. ASU has had four NCAA medalists on six occasions as Carter (1983), Phil Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), Demsey (1993), and Canizares (2003) all have taken home the trophy in the past 32 seasons. No other program can match the Sun Devils’ six NCAA champions since 1983, as only Oklahoma State (five), Illinois (two), Stanford (two), and UNLV (two) have had multiple winners in that time.

THE FORMAT: The 2015 NCAA Championships will see the team champion determined via match play for the seventh straight year, as 2009 was the first time the winner wasn’t awarded by total strokes since 1965. The top 15 teams after 54 holes of stroke play will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams after 72 holes of play will compete in match play quarterfinals and semifinals on June 2. The championship match is set for June 3. During the match-play portion, each match will be worth one point with all five players participating. The first team to win three points within the team match will win the match.

RAHM RECIPIENT OF 2015 BEN HOGAN AWARD: The Arizona State junior is the recipient of the 2015 Ben Hogan Award, the most prestigious award in men’s college golf. Rahm, the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, is the first Sun Devil to receive the award since its inception in 1990. With Rahm’s win, the Hogan Award winner has come from a Pac-12 school for four straight years (Patrick Cantlay, 2012; Chris Williams, 2013; Patrick Rodgers, 2014). This year’s finalists, also from the Pac-12, included Maverick McNealy (Stanford) and Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington). This marked the first time that all three finalists played in the same conference.

RAHM TIES FOR 5TH AT PHOENIX OPEN: Rahm’s 12-under 272 (70-68-66-68) at the Waste Management Open in late January fell just short of his quest to be the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Sun Devil Phil Mickelson won the Northern Telecom Open in 1991, but that certainly did not diminish what happened during the week. He hit 51 of 72 greens in regulation and had an average drive of more than 300 yards. The only amateur in the field of 132, the two-time honorable mention All-American had his way with the par-71, 7,266-yard TPC Scottsdale layout. He became the first amateur to finish in the top-five of a PGA TOUR event since Chris Wood (fifth) at the 2008 British Open and Justin Rose (tied for fourth) at the 1998 British Open.