Men's Golf Continues Solid Play in Hawai'i with One Round Remaining
Sun Devil Men's Golf Best Scores/Records | Sun Devil Men's Golf All-Time Medalists | Men's Golf All-Time Team Victories | Golfstat Scoring: 2021 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-4)
The Sun Devil men's golf team put itself in solid position to earn both team and individual honors at the 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate held in Waimea, Hawai'i Wednesday, as it fired a 13-under 275 for the second straight day and now leads USC by eight strokes heading into the final round Thursday.
On the individual scoreboard, a trio of Sun Devils are in contention for medalist honors with just two shots separating them.
Senior Blake Wagoner fired a course-record 63 in the opening round that included 10 birdies and came back with a 1-under 71 on Wednesday. He is at 10-under 134 (63-71) and has a one-shot lead over teammate David Puig. Puig, who won the Southwestern Invitational by nine strokes last week (Jan. 25-27) and entered the tournament as Golfweek's top-ranked player, is at 9-under 135 (67-68). Puig saw his World Amateur Golf Ranking jump from 31 to 19 after last week's win and he is 3-under on both the par-3 and par-4 holes. Puig notched par on the first hole, made four straight birdies and then made par the the rest of the day.
Junior Cameron Sisk, ranked 30th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, is tied for third and just two strokes back with an 8-under 136 (67-69). He has posted 14 birdies, tied with Blake Wagoner for the tournament best.
Sophomore Ryggs Johnston is at 5-under 139 (71-68), while senior Mason Andersen (70-70) is at 4-under 140.
Senior Chun An Yu -- fourth in the WAGR -- is at 1-under 143 (71-72) and tied for 13th.
ASU will tee with USC starting at 9:12 a.m HT (12:12 p.m. in Arizona). The Sun Devils have taken advantage on the par-4 holes, as they are 1-over while USC is next-best at 11-over.
AMER ARI INTERCOLLEGIATE
HAPUNA GOLF COURSE/WAIMEA, HAWAI'I
HOSTS: HAWAI'I AND UH-HILO
FEB. 2-4, 2021
PAR 72/6,875 YARDS
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Arizona State 275-275=550/-26
2. USC 280-278=558/-18
3. Georgia Tech 274-300=574/-2
4. Oregon State 289-286=575/-1
5. San Jose State 287-289=576/E
6. Washington 285-305=590/+14
7. Hawaii 302-324=626/+50
8. Hawaii-Hilo 306-331=637/+61
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS/SUN DEVIL SCORES
1. Blake Wagoner, ASU (Ind.) 63-71=134/-10
2. David Puig, ASU 67-68=135/-9
T3. Sixian Guo, USC 68-68=136/-8
T3. Cameron Sisk, ASU 67-69=136/-8
T5. Ryggs Johnston, ASU 71-68=139/-5
T9. Mason Andersen, ASU 70-70=140/-4
T13. Chun An Yu, ASU 71-72=143/-1
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: With the closure of Waikoloa Kings Course, the tournament has moved to the Hapuna Golf Club at the Mauna Kea Resort. Due to the pandemic, this year's field consists 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. 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.
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.
ASU'S 12 TEAM TOURNAMENT UNDER MATT THURMOND
2019-2020 (3): Maui Jim Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15, 2019); Trinity Forest Invitational (Sept. 22-24, 2019); Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 1-3, 2020)
2018-2019 (4): John Burns Intercollegiate (Feb. 21-23); Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic (Mar. 11-12); National Invitational/Tucson (Mar. 18-19); ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (April 12-13)
2017-2018 (3): Maui Jim Intercollegiate (Sept. 22-24); Bandon Dunes Intercollegiate (Mar. 11-13); ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 14-15)
2016-2017 (2): Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 10-11), ASU Thunderbird Invitational (Mar. 18-19)
INDIVIDUAL TITLES IN TEAM TOURNAMENTS UNDER MATT THURMOND
David Puig (So.) Southwestern Invitational (Jan. 25-27, 2021)
Mason Andersen (Jr.) Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 6-8, 2020) ** tied for first but lost playoff
Alex del Rey (Sr.) Trinity Forest Invitational (Sept. 22-24, 2019)
Cameron Sisk (So.) Maui Jim Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15, 2019)
Chun An Yu (Jr.) ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (April 12-13, 2019)
Alex del Rey (So.) National Invitational Tournament (Mar. 18-19, 2019)
Mason Andersen (So.) Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic (Mar. 11-12, 2019)
Chun An Yu (So.) Bandon Dunes Invitational (Mar. 11-13, 2018)
Alex del Rey (So.) Maui Jim Intercollegiate (Sept. 22-24, 2017)
Chun An Yu (Fr.) National Invitational Tournament (Feb. 27-28, 2017)
Jared du Toit (Sr.) Prestige at PGA West (Feb. 20-22, 2017)
Jared du Toit (Sr./co-medalist) Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 2-4, 2017)
Ki Taek Lee (Sr./co-medalist) Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 10-11, 2016)
INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT TITLES UNDER MATT THURMOND (NON-TEAM EVENTS)
James Leow (So./co-medalist) Coronado Invitational (Mar. 9-10, 2020)/24-player field
Alex del Rey (Sr./co-medalist) Mea Lanakila Invidual (Sept. 13-15, 2019)/35-player field
Cameron Sisk (Fr.) Sonoran Showdown (March 18-19, 2019)/21-player field
James Leow and Jino Sohn (co-medalists) Arizona Medalist Intercollegiate (Jan. 28-29, 2019)/39 player-field