Men's Golf Tries For NCAA Title at Grayhawk Starting May 28

ANOTHER FINALS APPEARANCE: The 10th-seeded Arizona State University men's golf team -- also ranked 10th by both Golfweek and Golfstat -- competes at the NCAA Championships held May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club (7,289 yards/par-70) in Scottsdale, AZ. Sun Devil fifth-year head coach Matt Thurmond leads the Sun Devils, who under 2008 National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee and Pac-12 Coach of the Century Randy Lein won the 1996 team title and won the 1990 title under 2002 ASU Hall of Fame and 2009 NGCA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Loy. It marks the 56th NCAA Championship appearance for the program, which is fourth-best. ASU has now made the NCAA Finals in the 16 of the past 19 seasons and 34 of past 37.

MOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES
OKLAHOMA STATE, 73
TEXAS, 66
USC, 58
ARIZONA STATE, 56

THE PHIL MICKELSON STUFF: Our legend and alum won the PGA Championship last weekend, so we want to tell you a few things...a great link to family photos of him and brother Tim is HERE. Tim is Phil's caddie, was our head men's golf coach from 2011-16 and played for ASU in the late 1990s...Phil's 2021 PGA Championship has been added to our list of PGA TOUR events won by a Sun Devil...note that Phil was part of the men's team in 1990 that won the title the same year as the Sun Devil women (with current Sun Devil head coach Missy Farr-Kaye). This is the only time in NCAA Golf history that a school has won both golf titles in the same season. Read about it HERE...click HERE for his Sun Devil collegiate bio with round-by-round for each tournament in his four years...Phil wasn't the only Sun Devil to make some coin Sunday at the PGA Championship. The Sun Devils put more than $3 million in the bank. In additions to Phil's $2,160,000 earned, Sun Devils Paul Casey (T4/$462,250), Jon Rahm (T8/$263,000), Chan Kim (T23/$103,814) and Matt Jones (T30/$59,750) all cashed PGA Championship paychecks. You can read about Sun Devil career earnings on the PGA TOUR HERE.

QUICK TEAM RECAP: ASU has earned team titles this year at the Ameri Invitational (Feb. 2-4), the Goodwin (March 25-27) and also earned a Copper Cup match play win vs. Arizona to start the season in January...the Sun Devils didn't compete in the fall...ASU also placed second in four other tournaments (Southwestern Invitational, Thunderbird Collegiate, Pac-12 Championship and the NCAA Albuquerque Regional).

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/Apr. 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, David Puig (NCAA Albuquerque Regional second round/May 18)
67/-5, Ryggs Johnston (Pac-12 Championship first round/Apr. 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)

THE LINEUP
1-SOPHOMORE DAVID PUIG
Seven top-10 finishes and wins at the Southwestern Invitational and Amer Ari Intercollegiate...69.93 stroke average...Newcomer of the Year in the Pac-12...14 tournaments, 43 rounds, 70.44 stroke average, 64 low, 19 rounds in 60s, 32 at par or better (.843) in career

DAVID PUIG 2020-21 TOP-10 FINISHES
1st, Southwestern Invitational (Jan. 25-27, 2021)
1st, Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-4, 2021)
T6th, ASU Thunderbird Collegiate Invitational (April 16-17, 2021)
T7th,The Prestige (Feb. 15-17, 2021)
T8th, Pac-12 Championship (April 26-28, 2021)
8th, NCAA Albuquerque Regional (May 17-19, 2021)
10th, Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio (March 1-3, 2021)

2-SENIOR CHUN AN YU
Has a 70.71 stroke average...tied for 10th at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional and tied for fourth at the Pac-12 Championship...tied for seventh at at the Goodwin...tied for ninth at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate...tied for seventh at the Southwestern Invitational...48 tournaments, 147 rounds, 70.46 stroke average, 63 low, 57 rounds in 60s, 101 at par or better (.827).

3-SOPHOMORE RYGGS JOHNSTON
Has a 70.87 stroke average...posted a fourth place finish at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate...tied for fourth at the Pac-12 Championship...tied for seventh at the 146-player Goodwin...tied for fourth at the Valspar that included a 64...18 tournaments, 55 rounds, 70.95 stroke average, 64 low, 15 rounds in 60s, 40 at par or better (.814).

4-SENIOR MASON ANDERSEN
Nine tournaments and a 71.46 stroke average...tied for seventh at the Valpar Invitationa in March...tied for seventh that the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in February...43 tournaments, 133 rounds, 71.47 stroke average, 65 low, 34 rounds in 60s, 83 at par or better (.711).

5-JUNIOR CAMERON SISK
Third-team All-American in 2019-20...72.45 stroke average...tied for 10th at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-4, 2021)....30 tournaments, 92 rounds, 71.43 stroke average, 64 low, 31 rounds in 60s, 51 at par or better (.701).

GOT TWO GOING: Arizona State in 1990 is the only program to have its men's and women's teams win the NCAA golf championships in the same season.

WHAT TIME, WHERE AND WHOM ARE WE SWINGING THE STICKS WITH?: ASU will tee with Georgia and Vanderbilt in the first two rounds. ASU will go off No. 1 at 12:47 p.m. on Friday (May 28) and at 7:27 a.m. on Saturday (May 29) off No. 10.

HISTORY: The Sun Devil men won NCAA titles in 1990 (head coach Steve Loy) and 1996 (Randy Lein).

SUN DEVIL NCAA CHAMPIONS
Alejandro Canizares, 2003
Todd Demsey, 1993
Phil Mickelson, 1992
Phil Mickelson, 1990
Phil Mickelson, 1989
Jim Carter, 1983

REMINDER: Sun Devil fifth-year head coach Matt Thurmond coached James Lepp to the 2005 NCAA individual title, while also tutoring Cheng-Tsuung Pan (2015) and Nick Taylor (2008) to second-place NCAA finishes during his 15-year Washington tenure. Coach Thurmond also led UW to match-play quarterfinals in 2009, 2010 and 2012 and to six top-20 finishes prior to match play. He led UW to 12 top-20 NCAA finishes overall in 15 seasons, including third-place in 2005. ASU finished 16th in his first year wearing the maroon and gold, finished 13th in 2018 and 16th in 2019.

MATT THURMOND AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
2020: COVID
2019: 16th
2018: T-13th
2017: 16th (first year at ASU)
2015: 15th 
2014: 15th
2013: 16th
2012: 6th (match play quarterfinals)
2011: DNC
2010: 4th (match play quarterfinals)
2009: 3rd (match play quarterfinals)
2008: 7th
2007: DNC
2006: 9th
2005: 3rd
2004: 6th
2003: 11th
2002: 11th

NO ONE BETTER RECENTLY FOR THIS: This season marks the 18th anniversary of Sun Devil freshman Alejandro Canizares winning the 2003 title in Stillwater, the 28th anniversary of Todd Demsey winning the 1993 title, the 29th anniversary of Phil Mickelson winning the last of his three titles and the 38th anniversary of Jim Carter winning the 1983 title. ASU has had four NCAA medalists on six occasions as Carter (1983), Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), Demsey (1993), and Canizares (2003) all have taken home the trophy in the past 38 seasons. No other program can top the Sun Devils' six NCAA champions since 1979, as only Oklahoma State (six), Illinois (two), Stanford (two), and UNLV (two) have had multiple winners in that time.

THE FORMAT: The 2021 NCAA Championships will see the team champion determined via match play for the 12th straight time, 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 Tuesday, June 1. The championship match is set for Wednesday, June 2.

CHAMPS FROM THE PAC-12: Pac-12 teams ASU (1990, 1996), Cal (2004), Stanford (2019, 2007 and 1994), UCLA (2008) and Oregon (2016) have won NCAA men's golf titles in the past 30 years. Other Pac-12 title years are are: Stanford (1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1953), UCLA (1988) and Arizona (1992).
 
MEDALISTS FROM ASU/PAC-12: ASU has had four NCAA medalists on six occasions: Jim Carter (1983), Phil Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), Todd Demsey (1993) and Alejandro Canizares (2003). Other Pac-12 winners include: Frank Tatum Jr. of Stanford (1942), Scott Simpson of USC (1976 and 1977), Ron Commans of USC (1981), Tiger Woods of Stanford (1996), James Lepp of Washington (2005), Jamie Lovemark of USC (2007), Kevin Chappell of UCLA (2008), Max Homa of California (2013), Cameron Wilson of Stanford (2014) and Aaron Wise of Oregon (2016).

NCAA CHAMPIONS: A look at the schools that have produced the most NCAA individual champions and the year the most recent champion took home the title.
 
NCAA MEN'S GOLF MEDALISTS BY SCHOOL
13-Yale, Tom Aycock, 1929
9-Oklahoma State, Matthew Wolff, 2019
8-Harvard, J.W. Hubbell, 1916
8-Houston, Billy Ray Brown, 1982
7-Princeton, G.T. Dunlap, 1931
6-Arizona State, Alejandro Canizares, 2003
6-Texas, Justin Leonard, 1994
 
SIX TITLES: Dating to when ASU joined the Pac-10 in 1978-79, no school in the nation has had more NCAA individual champions than Arizona State's six. Oklahoma State also has had six winners in that time, while Illinois, UNLV and Stanford have had two each.
 
SUN DEVIL NCAA TOP-10 FINISHES (1983-PRESENT) BY YEAR
Chun An Yu (Jr.), 3rd/2019 (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Jon Rahm (Sr.), T3rd/2016 (Eugene, Ore.)
Jon Rahm (Fr.), T2nd/2013 (Atlanta, Ga.)
Jesper Kennegard (So.), T9th/2009 (Toledo, Ohio)
Alejandro Canizares (Fr.) 1st/2003 (Stillwater, Okla.)
Chez Reavie (Jr.), 9th/2003 (Stillwater, Okla.)
Chez Reavie (Fr.), T4th/2001 (Durham, N.C.)
Paul Casey (So.), 4th/1999 (Chaska, Minn.)
Darren Angel (Jr.), T7th/1998 (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Scott Johnson (Sr.), T10th/1997 (Chicago, Ill.)
Chris Hanell (Sr.), T10th/1997 (Chicago, Ill.)
Darren Angel (Fr.), T3rd/1996 (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Joey Snyder (Jr.), T5th/1995 (Columbus, Ohio)
Scott Johnson (So.), T8th/1995 (Columbus, Ohio
Todd Demsey (Jr.), T7th/1994 (Dallas, Texas)
Chris Hanell (Fr.), T10th/1994 (Dallas, Texas)
Todd Demsey (So.), 1st/1993 (Lexington, Ky.)
Phil Mickelson (Sr.), 1st/1992 (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Phil Mickelson (Jr.), T4th/1991 (Pebble Beach, Calif.)
Phil Mickelson (So.), 1st/1990 (Tarpon Springs, Fla.)
Phil Mickelson (Fr.), 1st/1989 (Edmond, Okla.)
Billy Mayfair (Sr.), T9th/1988 (Westlake Village, Calif.)
Jim Carter (Jr.), 1st/1983 (Fresno, Calif.)
   
SUN DEVIL NCAA FINISHES YEAR-BY-YEAR
PAC-12/10 ERA (1978-79 TO PRESENT
2019: 16th
2018: T-13th
2017: 16th
2016: 9th
2015: T-24th
2014: DNC
2013: T-5th (0-1 match play)
2012: DNC
2011: 18th
2010: T-8th
2009: T-5th (0-1 match play)
2008: T-17th
2007: T-18th
2006: 11th
2005: T-11th
2004: T-21st
2003: 6th
2002: DNC
2001: 6th
2000: T-25th
1999: 5th
1998: 5th
1997: T-5th
1996: 1st
1995: 4th
1994: T-9th
1993: 6th
1992: 2nd
1991: 3rd
1990: 1st
1989: 5th
1988: 10th
1987: 16th
1986: 8th
1985: 11th
1984: 9th
1983: DNC
1982: 3rd
1981: 5th
1980: T-20th
1979: 8th

SUN DEVIL NCAA TOP-10 FINISHES (1983-PRESENT) BY PLACE
Alejandro Canizares (Fr.) 1st/2003 (Stillwater, Okla.)
Todd Demsey (So.), 1st/1993 (Lexington, Ky.)
Phil Mickelson (Sr.), 1st/1992 (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Phil Mickelson (So.), 1st/1990 (Tarpon Springs, Fla.)
Phil Mickelson (Fr.), 1st/1989 (Edmond, Okla.)
Jim Carter (Jr.), 1st/1983 (Fresno, Calif.)

Jon Rahm (Fr.), T2nd/2013 (Atlanta, Ga.)

Chun An Yu (Jr.), 3rd/2019 (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Jon Rahm (Sr.), T3rd/2016 (Eugene, Ore.)
Darren Angel (Fr.), T3rd/1996 (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Chez Reavie (Fr.), T4th/2001 (Durham, N.C.)
Paul Casey (So.), 4th/1999 (Chaska, Minn.)
Phil Mickelson (Jr.), T4th/1991 (Pebble Beach, Calif.)

Joey Snyder (Jr.), T5th/1995 (Columbus, Ohio)

Darren Angel (Jr.), T7th/1998 (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Todd Demsey (Jr.), T7th/1994 (Dallas, Texas)

Scott Johnson (So.), T8th/1995 (Columbus, Ohio

Jesper Kennegard (So.), T9th/2009 (Toledo, Ohio)
Chez Reavie (Jr.), 9th/2003 (Stillwater, Okla.)
Billy Mayfair (Sr.), T9th/1988 (Westlake Village, Calif.)

Scott Johnson (Sr.), T10th/1997 (Chicago, Ill.)
Chris Hanell (Sr.), T10th/1997 (Chicago, Ill.)

Chris Hanell (Fr.), T10th/1994 (Dallas, Texas)