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Men's Golf Ready for 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-4)

Jan 30, 2021
Sophomore David Puig easily won the Southwestern Invitational (Jan. 25-27) with a tournament record nine-stroke win.

Golfstat Scoring: 2021 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-4)

The Sun Devil men's golf team makes its third appearance in the spring at the 30th Amer Ari Invitational at the Hapuna Golf Course in Waimea, Hawa'i (Feb. 2-4).

ASU will field a lineup of sophomore David Puig (9:24 a.m. first day tee time), senior Chun An Yu (9:24 a.m.), senior Mason Andersen (9:36 a.m.), sophomore Ryggs Johnston (9:36 a.m.) and junior Cameron Sisk (9:48 a.m.). Senior Blake Wagoner will play as an individual also at 9:48 a.m. with Wagoner. ASU will tee with San Jose State.

LAST TIME OUT: Sophomore David Puig, playing in just his fifth collegiate stroke play tournament, easily won the Southwestern Invitational (Jan. 25-27) held at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village for his first collegiate victory with a tournament record nine-stroke win. Only two players shot par for the tournament, and Puig (70-66-70) won the event by nine strokes with a 10-under 206 over Pepperdine's Joshua McCarthey (72-73-70). Puig posted a tournament-best 37 pars and added 11 birdies and one eagle. Per Golfstat, Christian Cavaliers from Boston College (-16) is the last to win a tournament by nine strokes when he did it at the Wildcat Invitational in October of 2019. The Sun Devils shot 13-over 877 (292-282-303) but couldn't hold onto a five-shot lead and finished three shots behind San Diego State, who finished at 10-over 874.

LOTS OF WINNERS: David Puig's title at the 2021 Southwest Collegiate gives Coach Thurmond 17 Sun Devil individual tournament titles (includes co-winners) in his six years by nine swingers. Others to win tournaments in Coach Thurmond's time at ASU include Mason Andersen, Alex del Rey (four times), Cameron Sisk (twice), Chun An Yu (three times), Jared du Toit (twice), Ki Taek Lee, James Leow (twice) and Jino Sohn. 
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: ASU returns for the 30th annual Hawaii tournament, as it took home team honors in 2015 and 1995 while Todd Demsey (1995), Chris Hanell (1996), Jesper Kennegard (2009) earned individual medalist honors. In 2017 the squad finished fourth behind champion Texas Tech, USC and Oregon. ASU made the push to fourth after being tied for seventh to start the day by posting the best final round of any team in the field. Freshman Chun (Kevin) An Yu had an impressive first collegiate tournament, as the twelfth ranked amateur in the world finished six-under and tied for 20th.

LAST YEAR IN THIS TOURNAMENT: Mason Andersen of Chandler tied for first at the 123-player Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii, with a final round and career-best 65 Saturday. He shot a 13-under 203 (69-69-65) that included a bogey-free and seven-birdie final round. Pepperdine's William Mouw won a playoff, but the effort by Andersen was impressive. ASU finished third in the strong field as Pepperdine took home team honors with a 39-under 825 (281-274-270).

"That bogey-free round by Mason today was something special," said Sun Devil head coach Matt Thurmond. "Despite all the great things, his simple par on 16 was my favorite. He showed some really improved mental and emotional maturity. I'm so happy for him and his performance this week."

2015 VICTORY IN THIS TOURNAMENT: Arizona State men's golf brought home its second consecutive team title of the season at the 2015 Amer Ari Invitational. The Sun Devils rallied in the final round to edge out No. 20 Washington, No. 15 Southern California, and No. 3 Oregon with a 38-under 826 (277-278-271) at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings' Course.

TOURNAMENT FACTS (CLICK HERE FOR GOLFSTAT SCORING)
HOSTS: University of Hawai'i and UH-Hilo
DATE: Feb. 2-4, 2021/8 a.m. MT tee times
FORMAT: Three-days; 54 holes (18 holes each day); 5-count-4
WHERE: Hapuna Golf Course (Waimea, Hawai'i)
YARDAGE (PAR): 6,875 (72)
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Pepperdine
NINE TEAMS: Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Hawai'i Hilo, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Jose State, USC and Washington

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: The University of Hawai'i men's golf team will officially open the abbreviated 2020-21 season with the 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate, which will run Tuesday, Feb. 2 through Thursday, Feb. 4. With the closure of Waikoloa Kings Course, the tournament will move to the Hapuna Golf Club at the Mauna Kea Resort. Due to the pandemic, this year's field will only consist of eight teams after top-ranked Pepperdine, the tournament's defending champion, was suddenly forced to pull out. In addition to co-hosts UH and Hawai'i Hilo, the field also includes No. 12 Arizona State, No. 43 Georgia Tech, No. 44 USC, No. 60 Oregon State, No. 64 Washington, and No. 69 San Jose State.  Golfweek's top-ranked individual David Puig of ASU is expected to compete. Designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, Hapuna Golf Course is one of the most beautiful courses in the world with seemingly endless views of the Kohala coast and drastic elevation changes. The links style course hosted the Amer Ari Intercollegiate soon after it was built in 1992.