The @SunDevilMGolf program will host its 47th annual Thunderbird Collegiate on April 12-13, 2019, at Papago Golf Course (par 71/7,333 yards). The 13 participating schools will play 36 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday. ASU has won 11 of the past 20 (1999-2001, 2003-04, 2008-09, 2014-15, 2017-18) and 18 of the past 30 years, including last year's win over eventual 2018 NCAA champion Oklahoma State.
ABOUT THE TEAMS: Nine of the 13 teams competing made the NCAA Championship last year, as teams from the Big 12, Mountain West, Big East, ACC and WCC make up the field. The field has won 20 NCAA championships, led by defending Oklahoma State's 11. Former NCAA Champions also in the field include Texas (2012, 1972, 1971), ASU (1996 and 1990), UCLA (2008 and 1988), UNLV (1998) and BYU (1981).
Â
"This is a really exciting year for the Thunderbird Collegiate as we move to Papago, welcome an elite field, and bring many new things on course that will make it a great fan experience. The Thunderbirds have come in strong to help make this event the 'Phoenix Open of College Golf' and our team is playing very well and we have a chance to go against a great field that includes the defending NCAA Champions. We hope to see many people out there cheering us on," notes Sun Devil head coach
Matt Thurmond.
Â
"We will have places for spectators to sit and view the action along with a daily pairings sheet to help you navigate where to go and who to watch. We will have scoreboards all over the course and will feature a couple easy-to-watch foursomes of the top players. We are also anxious to open up the doors for tours of our new facility, The Thunderbirds Golf Complex, for public tours as part of the event."
Â
PAST ASU INDIVIDUAL WINNERS:Â Ten Sun Devils have won the individual titles on 13 occasions, with Phil Mickelson (1991 and 1992) andÂ
Jon Rahm (2014, 2015 and 2016) the only multiple winners. Other Sun Devil individual winners include Mark Sollenberger (1974), Jim Carter (1984), Larry Barber (1994), Todd Demsey (1995), Jeff Quinney (2000), Paul Casey (2001), Alejandro Canizares (2003) and Stephan Gross (2009/shared).
RANKINGS CHATTER: Defending national champion Oklahoma State, who received all 19 first-place votes to open the season No. 1 in the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll, is one of six preseason top-25 teams in the field, along with No. 10 Texas, No. 14 Baylor, No. 21 UCLA, No. 22 North Carolina and No. 23 UNLV.
Â
TEAM BREAKDOWNS...
BAYLOR
Baylor, No. 14 in the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll, has made the NCAA Championships eight times including the past three seasons. It reached match play in 2017.
Â
BYU
Brigham Young University is a two-time West Coast Conference champion, coming off a second-place NCAA regional finish and its first NCAA appearance in 12 years. Prior to last year, BYU made it to nationals 27 times from 1966-2006, including a first-place finish in 1981. The Cougars return almost their entire roster, including 2018 U.S. Open participant Rhett Rasmussen. Notable alumni include Mike Weir, winner of the 2003 Masters, Johnny Miller, Mike Reid, Dean Wilson and current PGA Tour participants Daniel Summerhays and Zac Blair.
Â
COLORADO
The Buffaloes have made 15 NCAA Championship appearances, last making it in 2002. Its best finish was eighth 1968. Buffalo Yannik Paul shared the 2018 Thunderbird title with UNLV's Shintaro Ban, while Steve Jones won the Thunderbird Invitational in 1981.
Â
IOWA STATE
Iowa State has made nine NCAA Championships, and in 2014 made it for the first time since 1953. Its recent appearances were in 2018, 2017 and 2014. Its best finish was fourth in 1939. In 2016 it won the Thunderbird Invitational shooting 20-under 832.
MARQUETTE
Marquette has made two NCAA Regional appearances in the last four years (three all-time), while Hunter Eichhorn and Matt Murlick were selected as individuals to the 2018 Bryan, Texas Regional. The Golden Eagles won two events during the fall (Northern Intercollegiate and Windon Memorial Classic) - three victories is the program record for a single season. Marquette was ranked in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll for the first time in school history in September of 2017.
NORTH CAROLINA
No. 22 North Carolina has made 43 NCAA Championships and finished second in 1953 and 1991. It has made the past two after not reaching the finals since 2007.
Â
OKLAHOMA STATE
The 2017-18 season resulted in Oklahoma State's 11th national championship, who is the unanimous No. 1 in the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll. The title was OSU's first under the direction of head coach Alan Bratton and marked the first time in four tries the Cowboys had won the championship on home soil, doing so at Karsten Creek. Additionally, OSU won the stroke play portion of the event by eight shots en route to becoming the first No. 1 seed since the implementation of match play to emerge victorious. The top-ranked Cowboys took down Texas A&M in a quarterfinal showdown between the top two teams in the country. OSU handled Auburn in the semifinals before rolling past Alabama, 5-0, securing the title and matching the school record for wins (10) in the process. The Cowboys return a pair of first-team All-Americans in Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff as well as second-team pick Zach Bauchou and honorable mention selection Austin Eckroat from last year's squad. Wolff was also named the 2018 Phil Mickelson Award winner as the nation's top freshman.Â
Â
ST. MARY'S
St. Mary's finished 29th in 2013 and also made the tournament in 2008.
Â
TEXAS
No. 10 Texas has made the NCAA Championship 64 times with its three titles happening in 2012, 1972 and 1971. It also has finished second five times. It shot 32-under 832 to win the 2002 Thunderbird Invitational.
Â
UCLA
No. 21 UCLA has made 38 NCAA Championships with titles in 2008 and 1988. It has eight top-five finishes. In 1998 UCLA won the Thunderbird Invitational with a 13-over 867 led by individual champion Brandon Ditullio's 5-under 211. It won the 1987 Thunderbird Invitational and in 1979 Corey Pavin won the individual title and led the Bruins to the team title.
Â
UNLV
No. 23 UNLV has made 21 NCAA Championships and won the 1998 title. Shintaro Ban shared the individual title with Colorado's Yanni Paul last year. UNLV won the 2013 Thunderbird Invitational with a 17-under 835, while Derek Ernst won the 2012 individual title with a 9-under 204. In 2005 UNLV also won the Thunderbird with an 8-over 859.
Â
UTAH
Utah has made six NCAA Championships and its best finish was ninth in 1950. Senior Kyler Dunkle holds the school record for individual titles with wins at the 2017 and 2018 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational and the 2018 Showdown in the Rockies. He has earned PGA Tour Canada card and is the 2018 Colorado State Amateur Champion and a 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifier.
Â
