Final Round Recap: Sun Devils Finish Second at #Pac12Golf Championship
The Sun Devil men's golf team played well enough to win a lot of tournaments this week, but not quite well enough to win the Pac-12 title.
The Sun Devils couldn't overcome leader Arizona and finished second at Mayacama Golf Club (par 72/6,785 yards) in Santa Rosa, CA. ASU finished at 37-under 1,403 (346-349-360-348) while Arizona won the crown at 41-under 1,399 (344-352-355-348).
ASU (-25) was four shots behind Arizona (-29) entering the final round and took a lead midway through the final round, but Arizona played great down the stretch to win the title. ASU's second-place finish is its best since it won the title in 2008.
Arizona grabbed the third-round lead with a 5-under 355 (teams played six and counted five as per Pac-12 tradition) while ASU had sophomore Ryggs Johnston tied for the individual lead at 12-under 204 (67-66-71) and senior Chun An Yu three shots back at 9-under 207 (69-69-69).
Both Johnston and Yu tied for fourth at 4-under 276, with Yu shooting 69 every day and Johnston finishing with a 72.
CHUN AN YU NOTES: In his first five tournaments this season (all of them in the spring), Chun An Yu stroke average was 72.13 and in 15 rounds he had one in the 60s. He got it fixed. In the past four tournaments he is average 69.23 strokes per round and has 10 of 13 rounds in the 60s, including the past seven rounds as he has a 68.9 stroke average in those two events.
SUN DEVIL TOP-FIVE FINISHES PAST DOZEN PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS (2009-21)
1. Jon Rahm, 2016, 70-66-68-68=272 (-12)
1. Paul Casey, 2000, 66-65-67-67=265 (-23)
2. Jesper Kennegard, 2010, 63-66-67-73=269 (-15)
T4. Ryggs Johnston 2021, 67-66-71-72=276 (-12)
T4. Chun An Yu, 2021, 69-69-69-69=276 (-12)
5. Broc Johnson, 2015, 69-72-65-73=279 (-1)
The Sun Devils and Wildcats each had 10 eagles, which tied for the tournament best. David Puig was a tournament best 7-under on the par-4.
Johnston, a sophomore from Libby, MT, finished 10-under on the par-5 holes and tied for tournament best with four eagles. He entered the tournament with a 70.92 stroke average.
NEXT UP: GOLF Channel's College Central will announce on May 5 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT where the Sun Devils will go for NCAA Regional play May 17-19.The men's championship will be held May 28-June 2, with GOLF Channel providing live coverage of the final day of individual championship play on May 31 as well as the team match play on June 1-2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. GOLF Channel has provided live coverage of the men's NCAA championships since 2014 and the women's NCAA championships since 2015. Regional play for the 2021 Men's Golf Championships will be held May 17-19, with play taking place at The Sagamore Club in Noblesville, Ind. (Ball State); Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida State); Championship Course at UNM in Albuquerque, N.M., (New Mexico); Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. (Oklahoma State); Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tenn. (Vanderbilt); and Tumble Creek Golf & Country Club in Cle Elum, Wash. (Washington). Three of the six regional sites will have 13 teams and 10 individuals competing, while three will have 14 teams and five individuals. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site (six individuals total) will advance to the championships at Grayhawk.
RYGGS JOHNSTON 2021 68 OR BETTER ROUNDS
64/-7, second round at Valspar Invitational (Mar. 15, 2021)
66/-6, Ryggs Johnston (Pac-12 Championship second round/April 26)
66/-5, third round at ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 16, 2021)
67/-5, Ryggs Johnston (Pac-12 Championship first round/April 26)
67/-3, third round of The Goodwin (Mar. 25, 2021)
68/-4, second round at Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 3, 2021)
SUN DEVIL BEST ROUNDS OF 2021 (67 OR BETTER)
64/-7, Ryggs Johnston (Valspar Invitational second round/March 15)
64/-7, David Puig (The Prestige first round/Feb. 15)
65/-5, Chun An Yu (The Goodwin second round/March 26)
66/-6, Ryggs Johnston (Pac-12 Championship second round/April 26)
66/-5, Ryggs Johnston (ASU Thunderbird Collegiate third round/April 17)
66/-5, David Puig (ASU Thunderbird Collegiate first round/April 16)
66/-6, David Puig (Southwestern Invitational second round/Jan. 26)
67/-5, Ryggs Johnston (Pac-12 Championship first round/April 26)
67/-3, Ryggs Johnston (The Goodwin third round/March 27)
67/-5, David Puig (Amer Ari Intercollegiate first round/Feb. 2)
67/-5, Cameron Sisk (Amer Ari Intercollegiate first round/Feb. 2)
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PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
MAYACAMA GOLF CLUB
PAR 72/6,785 YARDS
SANTA ROSA, CA
APRIL 26-28, 2021
TEAM LEADERBOARD
Arizona 344-352-355-348=1,399/-41
Arizona State 346-349-360-348=1,403/-37
Stanford 358-357-354-336=1,405/-35
Washington 360-361-353-345=1,419/-21
Oregon 355-350-358-359=1,422/-18
Oregon State 357-363-344-364=1,428/-12
California 358-371-351-353=1,434/-6
USC 356-364-360-367=1,447/+7
Utah 363-373-359-356=1,451/+11
Colorado 367-370-362-352=1,451/+11
Washington State 374-362-361-368=1,465/+25
UCLA 368-368-381-355=1,472/+32
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS/SUN DEVIL SCORES
T1. Brad Reeves, Arizona 66-71-67-68=272/-16 (won playoff)
T1. Henry Shrimp, Stanford 71-69-68-64=272/-16
T4. Chun An Yu 69-69-69-69=276/-12
T4. Ryggs Johnston 67-66-71-72=276/-12
T8. David Puig 68-69-75-69=281/-7
T25. Mason Andersen 68-73-72-73=286/-2
T28. Cameron Sisk 74-72-73-68=287/-1
--. Blake Wagoner 81-DQ-79-70
PAC-10/12 SUCCESS AT ASU: Arizona State has won 12 Pac-10 titles in its 42 chances, including a conference record six straight from 1995-2000 under Pac-12 Men's Golf Coach of the Century Randy Lein. In addition to the six straight Pac-10 titles, ASU's other six Pac-10 titles were in 1979 (its first year in the league), 1981, 1989, 1990, 1993 and 2008. ASU tied for the league title in 2005 with Washington but lost on a tiebreaker formula, and the league decided to go to a playoff format after that championship.
COACH THURMOND HAS THREE RINGS: Matt Thurmond's earned three Pac-10 titles in his 14 years at Washington, as the Huskies claimed the team title in 2010, 2009 and 2005. UW had not won the Pac-12 title since 1988 prior to its 2005 championship.
SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10/12 MEDALISTS: Jon Rahm won the 2016 title and Paul Casey won three straight Pac-10 titles from 1998-2000, which is a conference record for consecutive Pac-10/12 titles. Other Sun Devils who have won the Pac-10 championship are Scott Johnson (1997), Phil Mickelson (1990), co-medalists Dan Forsman and Tony Grimes (1981), Jim Bertoncino (co-medalist in 1980) and co-medalists Scott Watkins and Dan Croonquist (1979).